Carmen Bryant is currently Marketing Director at Indeed where she is responsible for the development and execution of the integrated marketing plan and go-to-market strategies in the US; the Idea Center, Indeed’s executive briefing center; and Global Evangelist Programs which includes the global alignment, training and development of Indeed’s recruitment evangelists.

Carmen’s international experience also allows her to engage customers and develop scalable strategies that help companies find critical talent. She can often be found presenting at conferences and in boardrooms in the US and around the world.

Prior to Indeed, Carmen led the trends and insights practice for the Content Innovation Agency at NBCUniversal as well as other strategic insights positions at top tier companies including Time Inc. and L’oreal USA. Carmen is a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology and African American Studies.

Annalisa Esposito Bluhm is the Head of Employee Engagement at General Motors.

Curtis Brooks is responsible for Talent, Employee Experience, and Culture at DXC.

Curtis is also a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas’ Executive and Professional Development Coaching Graduate program and is Principal owner of The Blueprint Executive & Professional Development Coaching firm.

The Blueprint firm partners with professionals -through coaching relationships- in identifying necessary confidence, skills, and strategies- to overcome internal and external obstacles; navigate career challenges and opportunities; and, achieve success in every field of endeavor.

He has 20 years of experience designing Talent Strategies and shaping Learning organizations. Prior to his current role, Curtis led DE&I Education, Career Development, and Content Curation for U.S. Bank’s Corporate division and served as head of Learning and Development for U.S. Bank's Mortgage Servicing and Lending Services Division. Before joining U.S. Bank in 2017, he served in a number of leadership roles including Assistant Vice President of Leadership and Organizational Development for Mr. Cooper, Assistant Vice President-Director of Servicing Training for Homeward Residential, and Vice President of Training and Development for Bank of America Home Loans.

Curtis holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Management from Stephen F. Austin State University, is currently completing a Master’s degree in Leadership & Organizational Development from the University of Texas at Dallas; and, is certified in many disciplines including Meyer’s Briggs MBTI, FIRO-B, PDI 360 Coaching, and Prosci Change Management. He resides in Texas with his wife and three children.

Cassandra Mitchell is a community partner, influencer, and advocate. Regardless of her role, connecting the right people together and building relationships has been the primary focus throughout her career. She began her career in Human Resources (HR) holding multiple positions across a variety of industries including, Government, IT Professional Staffing, and most recently Financial Services.

As the SVP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy and Engagement for Washington, Cassandra is responsible for executing Washington’s Community Engagement Strategy through partnerships with local non-profit and community based organizations. Her passion and focus is advocating for Diverse and Inclusive communities and work environments where organizations thrive and people excel.

Cassandra’s personal commitment and focus is serving the Puget Sound community through civic engagement. In 2018, Cassandra joined the Board of Directors for Sound Outreach, Foundation for Tacoma Students and Capitol Hill Housing (Seattle).

Cassandra received her Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from Colorado State University and also completed her Professional Human Resource (PHR) certification. She is originally from Portland, Oregon but has called Puget Sound home for over 18 years with her three daughters, Sierra, Kamryn and Kadyn.

Jennifer is the Vice President of North America Operations for Hertz Global Holdings, and leads the team of field Human Resources Business Partners across the continent.  In her role, Jenn supports the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Joe McPherson.  Jenn joined Hertz in January 2019 supporting Joe and the Southwest Region RAC.  She has more than 20 years of HR expertise, including organizational development, workforce planning/ forecasting and succession planning, compensation and benefits, and labor management and employee relations. She’s held key HR leadership roles with Pepsi Co, New West Technologies, and the City and County of Denver.

In her HR leadership role with Hertz, Jenn has developed a strong reputation for being action-oriented and a propensity to “get stuff done.” She has demonstrated deep caring for employees and receives very high marks for being a strategic thinker as well as a coach and mentor to senior executives.  Notable achievements at Hertz have been her pilot of the Peak Support Team—a cross-regional team that combined operations support with enhanced development training opportunities for high potential managers—and she was on the steering committee for the rollout of the airport Leadership Evolution Program in 2019.

Jenn places high value on the “business of the business” – and often says that the two most important words in the term “Human Resources Business Partner” are BUSINESS and PARTNER.  Jenn herself has both HR and business acumen, having earned her M.S. in HR Development from Villanova University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame. In addition, Jenn is a certified Black Belt and a graduate of Denver’s PEAK Academy.

Lydia Dishman is Fast Company’s senior editor for growth and engagement. She has also written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others.