The Collapse of Standardization

Annette Walker is the visionary health care leader building City of Hope Orange County, a 21st-century approach to treating and curing cancer. In her role, she is driving the development and growth of a robust cancer network throughout Orange County and a state-of-the-art cancer campus in Irvine.

Named one of the 25 most influential women leaders and one of the Top 100 most influential leaders in U.S. health care by Modern Healthcare magazine, Annette believes this latest chapter in her career is the most important, as it allows her to serve the 3.2 million people of Orange County, which has been her home for 40 years. Working with physicians, community leaders, health care experts, and others, Annette is leading the development of a 190-000-square-foot cancer center for innovative cancer research and treatment at FivePoint Gateway in Irvine, Calif. and a regional network of cancer care providing breakthrough treatments and therapies, as well as early detection and prevention.

Known for her ability to get the job done, Annette is a master at strategy and planning. Before coming to City of Hope, she was President of Strategy for Providence St. Joseph Health, the nation’s third-largest health system. While there, she was instrumental in bringing two noted health organizations together, and, within the first year, succeeded in convening key stakeholders to develop a transformational strategic plan.

Annette also served as interim president and chief executive of St. Joseph Health before the merger of St. Joseph Health and Providence. Under Annette’s leadership, St. Joseph Health became a leader in acute care, as well as wellness and disease prevention. Her team opened several groundbreaking Wellness Corners and other programs bringing wellness and health education literally to the doorstep of many communities. Her vision also led to the development of innovative partnerships with large organizations that provide wellness and health management programs for their employees.

The author of numerous articles on wellness, health care marketing, quality, planning and management and, a featured speaker for national audiences, Annette has received many honors for her work.

In addition to the Modern Healthcare recognition, Walker was named a Top Woman in Business and a top 50 OC influencer by Orange County Business Journal (2019), a Top 100 Orange County influencer by The Orange County Register, one of Becker’s 130 Women Leaders to Know (2018), Los Angeles Business Journal’s Executive of the Year (2017), Orange County Catholic Foundation’s Bishop’s Award winner for Exemplarily Business Integrity (2017) and Orange County Business Journal’s Innovator of the Year (2016).

Annette holds a master's degree in health care administration from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is the mother of six children, grandmother of 13, and an advocate of organizations promoting effective work-life balance, personal growth and development.

Glenn Llopis (pronounced 'yō-pēs) is the Chairman of the Glenn Llopis Group (GLLG), a nationally recognized’ workforce development and business strategy consulting firm. A bestselling author of the books The Innovation Mentality and Earning Serendipity, Glenn has more than 25 years’ experience as an executive and entrepreneur. He is a senior advisor and speaker to Fortune 500 companies and organizations in retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare and beyond. In 2019, he introduced his latest book, Leadership in the Age of Personalization. Glenn is a contributing writer to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur Magazine and Huffington Post. He was recognized as a top 20 influential writer at Forbes and a top 100 leadership speaker and business thinker by Inc. Magazine. His writings, speaking engagements, and consulting assignments focus on operationalizing and leading growth in the age of personalization.

Gyasi C. Chisley, PMP, FACHE, is President, CTCA® Hospitals and Clinics at Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc., which includes the Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) Comprehensive Cancer Care Network of hospitals and Outpatient Care Centers.

Chisley brings more than 20 years of hospital/fiscal operations experience to CTCA including:

• Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President, Strategy and Payment Policy/Innovation for UnitedHealthcare, where he created new payment strategies to improve health care delivery, strengthened physician/payer relations and oversaw collaboration with and acquisition of companies to improve quality
• CEO for Methodist Healthcare and Senior Vice President for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis. In these roles he established vision for growth, fiscal, continuum of care and culture approach for two acute sites, long-term care facilities, aligned physicians’ practices and clinics.
• President and Site Administrator for Mercy Health Anderson Hospital after serving as Chief Operating Officer within the Mercy Health network (formerly Catholic Health Partners) in Cincinnati. Under Chisley’s leadership, Mercy Health Anderson Hospital was twice named to the Truven Top 100 Hospitals.

Throughout his career, Chisley received numerous accolades for his achievements within the health care industry, which include, but are not limited to, the Becker’s Top 25 Healthcare Executives, Modern Healthcare Up and Comers, Tenet Circle of Excellence Award, NAHSE Young Healthcare Executive of the Year, AHA Young Executive of the Year, Xavier University Preceptor of the Year, Cincinnati Business Courier’s 40 under 40, and Leadership Academy Alumni Award.

Chisley obtained a Master of Health Services/Business Administration from the University of Michigan and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Biology from Morehouse College.

Dr. Jack Cox is a seasoned senior healthcare executive with over 25 years’ experience in regional and national senior leadership positions including both large integrated healthcare delivery systems as well as national corporate experience. His areas of expertise and experience include: executive coaching, advising, strategic development of performance improvement / quality systems, innovation, clinical program strategic development and implementation, physician leadership development / alignment, large program operations, education, research and national and international publishing and speaking. He has achieved national recognition as an expert in quality and safety. Dr. Cox has regional and national committee and board experience.

Dr. Cox was most recently the Senior VP & Chief Quality Officer for Providence St Joseph Health (PSJH) and the System CMO for Swedish Health Services. PSJH is one of the nation's top Catholic health systems, with 51 hospitals and 119 thousand caregivers serving over 10 million patients in seven states. PSJH is a $23 billion non-for-profit comprehensive healthcare organization.

Dr. Cox is a board certified Family Physician, a fellow of the American Board of Family Practice, a fellow of the American College of Physician Executives and holds a master’s degree in Medical Management from Tulane University. He has been named one of Becker’s Top 100 CMO’s to know in 2014, 2016 and Becker’s Top Expert Leading the Field of Patient Safety in 2017, 2018. He has spoken internationally and published widely including 4 books.

Jeff Pilof is the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain for the retail division of CVS Health. In this capacity, he has responsibility for supply chain and product flow strategy, inventory management, distribution operations, and transportation in support of more than 9,800 stores, e-commerce, and long-term care pharmacy delivery. Prior to CVS Health, he spent more than 20 years in various supply chain leadership roles with Macy’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, PPG Industries, and Nabisco. He is a proud alumnus of Penn State University with a B.S. and M.S. in Business Logistics.

Kety Duron is City of Hope's chief human resources and diversity officer, providing executive strategy and oversight for the organization's human resource initiatives. This includes overseeing City of Hope's compensation, benefits, employee/labor relations, organizational design and development, diversity and inclusion, succession planning and leadership development, talent acquisition and selection, statraining, workforce planning and performance management programs.

Prior to City of Hope, Duron was vice president of human resources at Stanford Health Care where she transformed the department into a customer-focused, proactive thought-partner. Before Stanford Health Care, she served in a variety of human resources leadership roles at UCLA Health for more than 25 years.

Kety has a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Athens, Greece, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University.

Pamela Abner, MPA, CPXP has over fourteen years of experience working with industry leaders to establish best practices and to set strategic, innovative and programmatic plans for diversity, inclusion and equity across business lines. As a certified patient experience professional, a certified unconscious bias educator and an inclusion trainer, Ms. Abner strives to develop and guide initiatives to create inclusive and culturally aware environments. Utilizing research methodologies, creating education curriculum, and applying best practices, she continuously seeks to help organizations structure and implement initiatives to identify disparities and eliminate barriers to care, employment and education for underserved and underrepresented groups as well as foster relationships with community partners. She often serves as a guest presenter at national and international forums and heads her own consulting practice where she provides expert advice to organizations.

Ms. Abner holds the position of vice president and chief administrative officer for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Mount Sinai Health System in New York. With regard to prominent accomplishments, Ms. Abner’s thought-leadership and strategic management guidance was fundamental to Mount Sinai Health System attaining national ranking as the #1 health and hospital system on the Forbes 2019 list of Best Employers for Diversity, and maintaining leading status for five consecutive years ranking #1 in 2017 and 2018 on the DiversityInc Top Hospital System list. Among her many distinctions, in 2019 Savoy Magazine named Ms. Abner as one of the Most Influential Women in Corporate America and recently Crain’s New York Business 2020 honored her as a Notable Women in Talent Resources.

Pamela received her Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Phillips School of Nursing Mount Sinai Beth Israel; a member of the Board of Advisors for MBE Capital Partners; a member of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership Diversity and Inclusion Council; and a volunteer for Brown University’s Alumni Interviewing Program. She serves as mentor to those seeking career and professional advice with particular emphasis on guiding and supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds interested in healthcare careers.

Dr. Rebekah Gee is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and CEO of Health Care Services for LSU Health. She is the former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the state’s largest agency with a budget of $14 billion. Her oversight responsibilities included public health and other direct service programs for citizens in need such as behavioral health, developmental disabilities, aging and adult services, emergency preparedness, and the Medicaid program.

Under Dr. Gee’s leadership, over 500,000 Louisianans became newly insured under Louisiana’s Medicaid expansion, and for the first time, many started receiving much needed primary and preventive health care. Her Medicaid expansion work also resulted in the launch of a dashboard to measure access to healthcare services, which has become a national model used in other states. She has been a national leader in tackling pharmaceutical pricing, including spearheading an innovative effort to eliminate hepatitis C in Louisiana by negotiating with manufacturers on a subscription model for drug access.

Dr. Gee has also led national discussions on maternal mortality and established one of the first state-run perinatal quality collaboratives focusing on maternal mortality. As a result of her efforts, complications due to heavy bleeding—the leading preventable cause of maternal death, have been reduced by 32% in the past two years. Because of her efforts, from 2016 to 2019 the state saw a 32% drop in the severe health consequences of bleeding in moms who are giving birth.

Dr. Gee is an obstetrician/gynecologist and brings a caregiver’s perspective to the people she serves. In addition, she is a trained policy expert who has served in numerous state and national policy roles. Prior to her role as Secretary, she served as the director for the Birth Outcomes Initiative. Her work on birth outcomes led the charge to decrease infant mortality and prematurity statewide – this resulted in a 25 percent reduction in infant mortality; an 85 percent drop in elective deliveries before 39 weeks; and a 10% drop in NICU admissions statewide. In 2017 Dr. Gee was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

She is the mother of five energetic children and lives in New Orleans, where she continues to see patients.

Rich Miller-Murphy has worked in profit and non-profit healthcare his entire professional career, currently as Executive Director for Blood, Laboratory and Medical Services at New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) focusing on digital communications and hospital demand generation/marketing nationwide. Previously he served as their Chief - Strategy & Marketing, Office of the President, managed the Office of Contracts/Pricing Administration, and served as Vice President and Executive Director for NY Blood Services, serving hospitals in Manhattan. He has held senior management roles at Laerdal Medical Corporation, Hitachi Medical Corporation of America and Corometrics Medical Systems (previously part of American Home Products). He started his career with the Hospital Products Division of Abbott Laboratories in New Yok City.

Rich earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry from Fairfield University and his MBA in Business Policy and Strategy from the University of New Haven. In addition to prior service as Chair of University of New Haven’s Pompea College of Business Advisory Board, now Chair Emeritus, he is on the Board of Directors for NY American Marketing Association’s Executive Circle, former Vice President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Laurence O’Toole Conference, and a member of the Healthcare PR and Marketing Society of Greater NY.

At NY Blood Center for 20 years, Rich has received the President’s Award along with numerous other industry awards for communications excellence and public relations. He has actively promoted Corporate Wellness and has served on multiple Steering Committees for NYBCe’s public websites, and enterprise intranet PULSE. He is currently helping set up a formal Office of Philanthropy at New York Blood Center Enterprises to raise funds nationally for their clinical research programs and volunteer blood donor/community recruitment programs.

Rich is married, the father of 13 year old twins and enjoys water-skiing, oil painting and travel. He also operates The Gallery at Riverbrook (www.riverbrook.com) and is a member of the Washington Art Association, Kent Art Association, and the Independent Artists of America.

Teri Fontenot, FACHE, is CEO Emeritus of Woman’s Hospital. She was the President and CEO for 23 years until her retirement in March 2019. Teri began her career at Woman’s in 1992 as chief financial officer and became CEO in 1996. Under her leadership, Woman’s became the largest birthing hospital (8200 births annually) and neonatal intensive care unit (84 beds) in Louisiana, and is the only independent, nonprofit women’s hospital in the country. Teri led tremendous growth and development at Woman’s, including a $340 million replacement campus that opened in August 2012 with increased capacity for service expansion. Recent notable achievements include a strategic partnership with Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center to open the nation’s only specialized breast and gynecologic cancer facility in one location. The Birth Center of Baton Rouge, a midwife model of care facility, opened on Woman’s campus in late 2018 to provide a continuum to the hospital’s core obstetrical service.

Woman’s is a Magnet and Baby Friendly designated health system, and consistently performs favorably to national benchmarks on clinical outcomes, patient safety, financial performance, patient experience, culture, and workforce engagement. In 2018, Woman’s ranked in the 99th percentile for physician engagement, 94% for employee engagement, and the 95th percentile for patient experience. It is the only recipient of Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work award every year the award has been given, ranking 6th in 2018. Woman’s has a dominant market share in all women’s health service lines ranging from 75% to 95% in its primary and secondary service areas. As a tertiary health system, Woman’s provides high risk maternal and infant services statewide as well as access to breast cancer care.

Teri’s leadership service to the healthcare field includes numerous state and national healthcare boards. She currently serves on the American College of Healthcare Executives Board of Governors. She has had numerous appointments the past twenty years with the American Hospital Association, including chair of the board of trustees in 2012. Teri is the only Louisianian to serve in that role in the AHA’s 120 year existence, and was the fifth female chair. Other healthcare service includes a six-year term on the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health for the National Institutes of Health, chair of the board of the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the LHA Professional and General Liability Insurance Funds board, which she chaired for over a decade.

She is currently an independent director on the boards of Amerisafe (AMSF) and LHC Group (LHCG)--both are NASDAQ companies; the Baton Rouge Water Company; and the advisory boards for IBERIABANK, CCs Coffee Shops, and Horizon Wealth Management. Other notable past governance service includes 12 years on the board of directors of the Sixth District Federal Reserve Bank and as the Audit Committee chair, and the New Orleans Federal Reserve Bank branch board.

Teri was included in Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2011 and 2012, and named to Modern Healthcare magazine's inaugural list of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare in 2005. She was honored as Businessperson of the Year in 2013 by the Baton Rouge Business Report, received the inaugural Becker’s Hospital Review Healthcare Leadership award in 2013 and again in 2016, and was a 2011 inductee of the Louisiana State University E. J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction.

Teri is a CPA (inactive), holds an MBA, is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is married with two children, four grandchildren, and a pug.

Dr. Joseph Alvarnas is the Vice President of Government Affairs, Senior Medical Director for Employer Strategy, and an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Hematology/Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. He is accountable for leading advocacy efforts at the Federal, State, and local levels related to the needs of cancer patients and the challenges of bringing new, innovative treatments to patients who need them. He report to the President of Strategy and Business Ventures and assists in developing, marketing, and operationalizing the clinical infrastructure and activities related to employer and payer services. Prior to entering this role, he worked as the Director of Value-Based Analytics for the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center and served as the Director of Medical Quality for the California Institute form Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Alpha Clinic at the City of Hope. Dr. Alvarnas has led two multicenter, national clinical trials related to hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with HIV/AIDS and blood cancers. He co-chaired the inaugural National Comprehensive Cancer Networks Practice Guidelines Committee for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and has been a speaker at multiple NCCN events where he has discussed valued-based care of patients with cancer and issues of patient access to innovative cancer care therapeutics. He currently serves as the American Society of Hematology’s Chair for the Committee on Practice and sits on the Executive Committee for the American Society of Hematology. He is Editor-in-Chief of the publication Evidence-Based Oncology. He earned his undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University where he was recognized as the Valedictorian for his graduating class, his medical degree from the University of California San Francisco, and completed a residency in Internal Medicine and fellowships in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at Stanford University Medical Center prior to joining the City of Hope.

“Dr. Bob” is an executive and physician with three plus decades leading cross-functional business lines, healthcare product management organizations and strategic marketing efforts. His leadership roles have ranged across firms from early stage startups on through major corporate entities that include Thomson Reuters, McKesson, Optum, IBM, and SAS. During his career he has led numerous efforts in the acute and ambulatory provider markets in addition to driving organizations in the payer, life sciences and pharmacy segments. He is known for his passionate, collaborative and motivational results-driven leadership style, is a graduate of Hofstra University and was in private medical practice in New York State for a decade before embarking on his healthcare information technology career. At Lenovo, Dr. Bob leads the effort to transform Lenovo Health from a hardware focused entity into providing a broader portfolio of healthcare technology solutions encompassing software and services.

With a long personal history of MSK injuries including several leg surgeries, Dan has long been passionate about improving outcomes for musculoskeletal disorders. Originally from Miami, Dan pursued a PhD in the medical sciences at the University of Oxford. As CEO, Dan brings startup technology experience and healthcare expertise to Hinge Health.

Terrie Thomas is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist dedicated to maximizing patient outcomes and healthcare experiences. She believes that providing individualized, exceptional medical service is not only an obligation but also a privilege for every healthcare provider.

During her career, Terrie has worked tirelessly to ensure the highest quality of care in her community both through direct patient care and her service in various leadership roles locally and statewide. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, tasked with protecting the safety of Louisianans through the licensing and regulation of physicians and allied health professionals. Terrie has chaired various patient care committees including the Credentials Committee, responsible for ensuring the welfare of patients by establishing and upholding eligibility criteria for clinical privileges of the medical staff. She served as Chief of the Medical Staff for Woman’s Hospital, a national leader in women’s and infants’ healthcare, and guided the medical staff through the hospital’s transition to its current Briarwood campus.

Terrie has shared her expertise in clinical quality as a board member for Health Systems Improvement, which aligns Woman’s Hospital administration and medical staff members to meet quality metrics for patient care. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Louisiana Healthcare Connections, aimed at improving outcomes for more than 450,000 insured members. In 2020, she was elected to the Board of Directors for Woman’s Hospital, one of only four hospitals in Louisiana to achieve Magnet certification, and was chosen as the Secretary of the Executive Committee.

Terrie’s commitment to maximizing the patient experience is also exemplified by her advocacy for numerous initiatives in clinical practice transformation. During her tenure as Chairperson of the Woman’s Medical Review Committee, Terrie led the hospital’s efforts to discontinue elective labor induction before 39 weeks, thereby decreasing cesarean section rates and newborn admissions to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). In her community, she was one of the first robotically trained physicians for minimally invasive surgery, which has decreased hospitalization stays, recovery time, and intraoperative blood loss for her patients.

Terrie has always enjoyed teaching and mentoring medical students and residents because she wants to engender a passion for clinical excellence in upcoming generations. Terrie is an Assistant Clinical Professor for both the LSU and Tulane OB/GYN Departments. She has expanded her educational role to include nurse practitioners and, most recently, physician assistant students.

Terrie is a community volunteer for various organizations. Her efforts include helping raise almost two hundred thousand dollars for the March of Dimes as Chairperson of the Signature Chefs’ Auction in support of reducing premature births in Louisiana. Terrie has also raised over five thousand dollars for the Big Buddy organization, which provides mentoring and free tutoring to at-risk youth.

Terrie achieved her undergraduate degree in microbiology at Louisiana State University where she was honored as a Top 25 Graduating Senior. She earned her medical degree and completed her residency in Obstetrics/Gynecology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. When she is not caring for patients, Terrie escapes the Louisiana heat by traveling to cold destinations with her two children and thoroughly enjoys cooking for family members and friends.

Nanda serves as the medical epidemiologist for Keck Medicine of USC, leading the preparation for and response to emerging infectious diseases. She leads all efforts to reduce health care-associated infections and to optimize infection prevention practices at Keck Hospital of USC, USC Norris Cancer Hospital and all outpatient locations. In addition, she heads up antimicrobial stewardship efforts to ensure the judicious use of antibiotics to treat patients with bacterial infections. She also serves as an associate professor and the infectious disease service chief in the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Nanda has led protocol and guideline development as it relates to patient and health care worker safety. She is an active member of USC’s policy committee for COVID-19, which has created policies for faculty and students, and she has served as an advisor for reopening plans for schools across the university. In addition, Nanda has worked with several non-health care industries on pandemic planning. She has also represented Keck Medicine in multiple media outlets at the local, national and international level to provide accurate information and ensure the community feels safe.

Nanda’s major areas of research are infection prevention strategies to reduce health care- associated infections and emerging infectious diseases. She serves on several national committees, such as the antimicrobial stewardship committee of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and has made significant contributions to the field of health care epidemiology. She completed medical school at the University of Pune, India, then completed her training and served on the faculty at Yale University before moving to USC. Due to her achievements in health care epidemiology, she has been nominated to serve as a fellow of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Dr. Nicole M. Cooper currently serves as Head of Healthcare Policy at Lyft. In this role, she develops and manages Lyft's national healthcare policy agenda while expanding Lyft's presence in the healthcare sector. Since 2016, Lyft has worked with healthcare organizations across the country to help communities in need — including low-income individuals, the elderly, and people with disabilities — travel to health services, such as dialysis treatment, chemotherapy, and prenatal care.

She previously served as Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at UnitedHealthcare, where she led national signature partnerships and local and state social investment strategies to bolster UHC’s social impact across the US. Reporting to the UnitedHealthcare Chief Communications Officer, among other responsibilities, Dr. Cooper spearheaded national corporate philanthropic grant-making efforts and employee volunteerism programs that were focused on addressing basic access to care and the social determinants of health for underserved communities. She was also a member of the executive UnitedHealthcare Culture, Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Dr. Cooper was an Obama administration political appointee, and part of the US Department of Health and Human Services team responsible for implementation of the Affordable Care Act. At HHS, Dr. Cooper served as a policy advisor to key leaders in the agency, including the Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a master of public health (MPH) degree from the University of Michigan, and a doctor of public health (DrPH) degree from Harvard University.

As chief executive officer of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), Dana Woods partners with the organization’s boards of directors to provide leadership and strategic vision for AACN and AACN Certification Corporation. Woods has focused her career on translating innovative business approaches to advance the missions of nonprofit organizations. She leads a team of more than 190 staff who are dedicated to furthering AACN’s vital contribution to creating a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families.

Before becoming CEO in 2014, Woods served as a member of AACN’s senior leadership group for over a decade, leading the teams accountable for strategic planning, marketing, communications, membership, certification, information technology and organizational effectiveness. She led strategy development and implementation for several signature initiatives, including the “AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments” and the AACN Clinical Scene Investigator Academy. She also served as executive director and producer of NTI Super Sessions (plenary sessions) for AACN’s annual National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition.

In addition to leading the extensive market research efforts for the association, Woods served as co-investigator and co-author of three collaborative national studies examining nurses’ perceptions of the health of their work environment. She served as co-investigator for two national studies on how health professionals’ communication skills influence patient safety. Woods also co-authored a landmark AACN white paper on certification.

Woods holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Tufts University and a master’s degree in business administration from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

As president of Banfield Pet Hospital, Brian Garish oversees the largest veterinary practice in the United States, including more than 1,000 hospitals and 18,000 associates.

Under his leadership, Banfield has pioneered associate-centered programs that include expanding available mental health resources, piloting a program that helps relieve veterinarians’ student debt burdens, and creating a culture of inclusion that empowers associates to influence company strategy and growth. He has achieved a practice-wide all-time low turnover rate for veterinarians and the support staff – quite a feat in today’s highly competitive race for veterinary talent.

Garish started working as a 16-year-old sweeping floors, stocking shelves, cashiering and unloading trucks, then advanced through management roles at Walgreens and senior leadership roles at CVS Health before joining Banfield in 2015 as chief operating officer.

That blend of experience with healthcare for both people and pets is why today one of his big goals is to advance human health through pet health. He eagerly shares his bold ideas and thought leadership in the following areas of expertise:

• The intersection of pet health, human health and societal wellbeing
• Strategic and operational excellence
• Leadership and human capital
• Change management

As a leader who connects more with Gen X, but is close enough in age with many Millennials, he is uniquely positioned as the president of Banfield who oversees an organization with a workforce that is nearly two-thirds Millennial and Gen Z. This also gives Garish a unique perspective on how to help leaders prepare their organizations for the demographic shifts underway. Believing these demographic shifts will change everything about how business runs – including how work gets done, which business models will succeed, what products and services people will want, and more – Garish feels an urgency and passion for helping leaders create cultures of inclusion that will fuel growth.

Eric has spent the last 25 years riding through the waves of change in our global corporate environment exclusively in the HR space. From starting as a consultant for HR Technology infrastructure to implementing full-scale performance management programs and plenty in between – Eric is a person who belongs working with people. Whether we call that Human Resources, People Practices or The Employee Experience, Eric thrives on helping drive and enable change through well thought out programs.

Eric has a simple philosophy that he brings to every engagement: “Meet people where they are and keep the experience effortless and sticky.” Everything that needs to get accomplished through process and technology should feel like an experience that each person buys into and they feel it resonate and mean something special to them.

Fred M. Diaz is an Independent Director of SiteOne Landscape Supply Inc. From April 2018 to March 2020, Mr. Diaz served as President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. He previously served in executive roles at Nissan, most recently as Division Vice President and General Manager, North America, Trucks and Commercial Vehicles, of Nissan North America, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Diaz served as Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Operations, of Nissan USA.

Before joining Nissan in 2013, Mr. Diaz spent 24 years at Chrysler Corporation, where he held a number of executive roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler’s Ram Truck brand and President and Chief Executive Officer, Chrysler de Mexico and Latin America.

Fred has two sons and has been married to his bride of 30 years whom he met in church at the age of 14 while growing up in San Antonio, TX. They currently reside in the greater Nashville metropolitan area.

Gisel is a global executive with breadth and depth of experience having served in C-suite level roles in Operations and Human Resources for Fortune 1 company, Walmart Inc. During her 26-year career, she led teams through large scale growth in three fast evolving business segments- Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam's Club.

She recently completed her career as the EVP, Chief Operations Officer at Sam's Club, where she had full P&L responsibility for $65bil in annual revenue, ~600 facilities and 100,000 employees. She led store operations, real estate planning, digital innovation transformation and employee & customer satisfaction strategies.

She’s now the President & CEO of GMR Group Consulting, partnering with investors and executive teams to provide guidance in growth strategies, digital transformation and beyond.

She’s on the Board of Trustees at Santa Clara University, on the Board of Advisors for the Santa Clara University’s Retail Management Institute and was recently named a member of the Board of Directors at Vital Farms, a Certified B, ethically sourced, high-quality food company based in Austin, TX. She’s the proud mother of two college age daughters and splits her time between Northwest Arkansas and Florida with Mike, her husband of 26 years.

Glenn Llopis (pronounced 'yō-pēs) is the Chairman of the Glenn Llopis Group (GLLG), a nationally recognized’ workforce development and business strategy consulting firm. A bestselling author of the books The Innovation Mentality and Earning Serendipity, Glenn has more than 25 years’ experience as an executive and entrepreneur. He is a senior advisor and speaker to Fortune 500 companies and organizations in retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare and beyond. In 2019, he will be introducing his forthcoming book, Leadership in the Age of Personalization. Glenn is a contributing writer to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur Magazine and Huffington Post. He was recognized as a top 20 influential writer at Forbes and a top 100 leadership speaker and business thinker by Inc. Magazine. His writings, speaking engagements, and consulting assignments focus on operationalizing and leading growth in the age of personalization.

Gustavo is the VP of People Analytics at Schneider Electric and he is a very active champion of the analytics community in the industry. He is responsible for all employee analytics related activities to support talent and the implication on business performance. Some of his current responsibilities are to manage a 25+ global analytics team, set the strategy for analytics infrastructure, provides advance analytics support across the entire employee life cycle in collaboration with other areas.

Prior to that, Gustavo worked for Walmart, Inc in several different analytics functions. From 2012 to 2017, he worked in the People Analytics team leading analytics, test & learn, research and strategy. Before Gustavo joined HR, from 2005 to 2012, he worked in different Marketing Analytics and Strategy teams supporting customer insights, advanced analytics and providing strategic analytics support.

Gustavo was born in Panama City; Panamá, where he obtained his degree in Mechanical-Industrial Engineer. He has a combined 12+ years of Research and Analytics experience across different industries.

Hobbies:

During his free time, he enjoys listening to podcasts and working out (yoga, cycling, etc).

Mr. Schwefel joined Cost Plus World Market as CEO in 2017 with a mission to return the decades-old retailer to profitability. He immediately began to transform the organization with a focus on omni-channel performance, data-driven merchandising and marketing and partnerships with reputable brands like Hello Kitty from Sanrio of Japan and Lodge Cast Iron Cookware made in the U.S.A.

Prior to Cost Plus, Schwefel served as a member of the Board of Directors for Dutch Fashion, LLC. A year into his tenure, in late 2014, he became Chief Executive Officer and quickly expanded the retail division, opening 16 sites, bringing the number of locations up to a total of 33 retail stores across all three brands: Joie, Equipment and Current/Elliott. In addition, Current/Elliott Men was relaunched with Schwefel at the helm, and he was a driving force behind the widely popular Kate Moss x Equipment collaboration.

Schwefel joined Dutch with an already strong background in retail business for national and international brands, previously working at Gap, Esprit, Kohl’s, Toys “R” Us and Sur La Table. He began his retail career with Toys “R” Us in New York and Toronto. He continued within in the retail business, holding positions such as Regional Vice President for Kohl’s Department Stores, and Regional Director, Zone Manager for Gap, Inc. Schwefel also worked internationally as a Country Manager for Gap in Japan and France. Moving forward, Schwefel was Executive Vice President – North America at Esprit International for some time before joining Sur La Table in 2006 as Vice President of Retail Stores. He was quickly promoted to President in 2007, before being appointed to the position of CEO in 2008.

A native of New York, Schwefel attended Rutgers University where his focus was in Business and Economics, but it was one of his extracurricular activities that he believes helped him develop many of his leadership skills. Throughout college, he rowed competitively, and still continues to this day. “Rowing was the most important thing I did in college, it truly inspired me. Rowing is both mentally and physically challenging, team oriented and completely selfless; you must put the betterment of the team in front of you and let your ego go.”

Schwefel has been involved with various charities spanning his career, including Edible Garden and the Slow Food Movement. As an avid traveler, he has lived in Paris, Japan, Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle and now resides in Piedmont, California with his wife and three dogs.

Kristin is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Chico's FAS, Inc., an omni-channel retailer of brands including Chico's, White House Black Market and Soma. These brands are all specialty retailers of private label women’s apparel, accessories, and related products. They have 1,400 stores in the United States and Canada, and franchise in Mexico.

Kristin joined Chico’s FAS in December 2012 as Vice President, Human Resources. She was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2016. In 2019, she was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Kristin leads Human Resources, Talent Analytics, Inclusion & Diversity, Charitable Giving, Corporate Communications, Public Relations, Campus Services and Facilities. Leading these various teams under HR aligns the areas of the associate experience and culture together from recruitment to retirement, and the moments in between. This also includes the physical campus and its services, and storytelling venues (internal and external), which wrap the associate journey and experience together. Kristin is committed to cultivating a culture where associates can be celebrated for their individuality and unique perspectives as they enjoy a career in which they can work, learn, and grow.

Prior to joining Chico’s FAS, Kristin served as Head of Human Resources for Pacific Sunwear, a specialty retailer based in Anaheim, California. She also held several positions of increasing scope and responsibility for T-Mobile Wireless in Bellevue, Washington, where she worked through several mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications industry. Kristin holds a Master’s in Human Resources Management from Troy State University, a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Florida State University, and is SPHR certified.

Kristin currently serves on both the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Advisory Committee and the Human Resources Council for RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association).

Kristin enjoys volunteering at the Gulf Coast Animal Shelter and participating in Women’s Build for Habitat for Humanity.

Monica Pool Knox leads Microsoft’s global Human Resources organization for cutting edge technology businesses in Cloud and AI that are transforming the way we live and work. In her current role, she provides HR leadership to businesses innovating with Hololens/mixed reality technology, imbedding computer speech, vision and other AI functionalities across MSFT products and ensuring Azure Cloud remains the most secure and trusted data storage product in industry.

Prior to her current role, Monica led MSFT’s global Talent Management initiatives efforts on internal talent movement, career development, mentorship and Talent Architecture. Prior to joining Microsoft, Monica was based in San Francisco where she led human resources for Global Media, Sales and Brand Strategy at Twitter.

Prior to Twitter, Monica held a number of senior HR roles with Sony and CBS Interactive, leading HR organizations in Marketing, Sales and Engineering businesses. She also served as Sony’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer where she developed and led initiatives that drove talent selection, leadership development, employee engagement and employer branding.

Throughout her career, Monica has held executive HR positions at Fortune 50 companies including those previously mentioned, PepsiCo, The Walt Disney Company and Verizon. She has worked both in the US and Puerto Rico, leading HR for Verizon Wireless International in San Juan, PR. In addition to her professional roles, Monica has worked internationally through her non-profit endeavors in Israel, Brazil, Nicaragua, Ghana, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe and Mexico. She is a dual US/German citizen and is bilingual in Spanish.

Monica serves as a Board Director of Swedish Health Systems in Seattle. She also serves on the Board of Howard University’s School of Communications and the DreamSmart Academy, a non-profit organization that builds leadership skills and financial acumen for young adults in moderate to low income communities. She was also recently named as one of the 2019 Most Influential Women in Corporate America in the 2019 Summer edition of Savoy Magazine and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), an organization consisting of some of the country’s most influential black senior business executives focused on developing Black C-Suite and Corporate Board Directors.

With over 25 years of experience in high performance organizations, she is often sought after as an industry thought leader on the future of Talent, the intersection of HR and AI, Culture and Leadership. She was recently interviewed by Forbes Magazine published in their article, The 3 Ways HR organizations can Help their Companies Grow, featured in MSN.money’s (Portugal/Brazil) Management and Business Growth and interviewed as a featured guest on Jacob Morgan’s Future of Work podcast, The Changing Nature of People and Organizations.

Monica is a Consortium for Graduate Studies alumn with an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin in Marketing and BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Communications.

Monica lives with her husband and son in the Seattle area.

Nik Modi is a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets, where he has responsibility for coverage of Beverage, Household Personal Care and Tobacco industries. The companies under Nik's coverage total over $1 trillion in combined market value. Nik has consistently been ranked as one of the top analysts across the consumer space by Institutional Investor's All Star Analyst Survey. He has also been top rated across various analyst polls, including the Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes.

Rob Wolcott is Co-Founder & Chairman of The World Innovation Network (TWIN; www.twinglobal.org), a global community of over 2,000 innovation and growth leaders from over 30 countries and across sectors (business, government, the arts, academia, defense). Wolcott is a managing partner with Clareo, a foresight and innovation strategy consultancy and a Contributor for Forbes regarding the impact of technology on business, society and humanity. He is also an active early stage investor in over 20 companies, including Indiegogo, Lumni, Kiddom, MagicCube.co and international art show EXPO Chicago.

Adjunct Professor of Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. Wolcott won Teacher of the Year from Kellogg’s EMBA program in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. He holds a BA in European and Chinese History and an MS and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science, all from Northwestern University.

Stephanie Lloyd is Founder and President of Toggle® and Head of New Ventures for Farmers Insurance®. She and her team are disrupting the insurance space from within and creating unique products for digitally-powered, modern consumers.

Toggle debuted in late 2018 with a fresh take on renters insurance – portable, customizable, and with optional add-ons like Pet Parent™ and Side Hustle® coverage. And they’re just getting started.

Prior to founding Toggle, Stephanie served as Farmers® Personal Lines Chief Underwriting Officer, where she developed practical solutions to help improve profitability, quality and efficiency. Before her time in Underwriting, she spent ten years in Personal Lines Product Management and in Agency Distribution.

Digital Insurance honored Stephanie with the 2019 Women in Insurance Leadership award which recognizes excellence across technology and business. She was also a finalist for the 2019 Future is Female award by AdWeek.

Tiffany Scalzitti Monroe became the Chief People Officer for H&R Block on March 5, 2018, reporting directly to President & CEO Jeff Jones. In this role, she leads H&R Block’s people strategies, including organizational and performance management, talent development, and ensuring the workforce has both the people and organizational capabilities to enable and ultimately deliver company strategy. She works closely with the president and CEO and other senior leaders across the company on programs and initiatives to attract, develop and retain a world-class full-time and seasonal workforce of nearly 90,000.

Monroe has almost two decades of human resources experience. Most recently, at U.S. Foods, headquartered near Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., she served as the chief human resources officer from 2015-17. While there, she focused strongly on talent and culture development, including instituting a formal talent assessment process, formal development programs, and redesigning the company’s incentive programs to better attract and retain great talent.

Prior to her position at U.S. Foods, Monroe was employed at Target Corporation from 2001-15. She served as senior vice president for human resources at Target Canada from 2011-15. Among her achievements, she developed a comprehensive total compensation offering, implemented an innovative program focused on enhanced talent development, and maintained high employee engagement and retention levels by ensuring a positive team culture and working environment. Other key positions held at Target included Vice President of Human Resources from 2010-11 and Director of Human Resources from 2006-10.

Monroe holds a bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University and a juris doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Dalana Brand is a seasoned human capital executive with significant global leadership experience in various industries, Dalana has established a career profile that includes both corporate finance and human resources. This dual background allows her to uniquely add value to any organization as she can leverage the link between people and the business. Dalana Brand has worked at some of the world’s foremost Fortune 500 companies where she led global teams to design and develop innovative people programs that equitably engage employees, create a fair and inclusive culture, and help advance the business strategy of the company. Dalana is currently VP People Experience and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Twitter, Inc.

Dalana’s most important work is serving as a fierce equality advocate. She is a frequent industry contributor and speaker on the topics of equality, gender pay equity, diversity and inclusion, and other human resources topics.

Firmly believing in “lifting others while climbing,” Dalana is always involved within her community and supports several non-profit organizations. She is currently a board member for Enterprise for Youth and also served as an Ambassador in the inaugural cohort of the United States of Women where she worked within the community to convene and amplify voices in the movement for full gender equality.

Adlai Wertman is the David C. Bohnett Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business. He is the founding director of the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at Marshall —a University-wide center focused on educating and supporting USC students, faculty, staff, and community members on using business models to address global social, environmental and health challenges. Among numerous programs, the Lab offers a one-year Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship – the first such degree offered by a business school in the United States. Professor Wertman is also the Academic Director of the USC Warren Bennis Scholars leadership program.

Prior to joining the faculty at Marshall, Adlai spent seven years as president and CEO of Chrysalis — the only non-profit in Los Angeles devoted solely to helping homeless change their lives through employment. Prior to Chrysalis, Adlai spent 18 years as an investment banker in New York and Los Angeles.

Adlai is an advisory board member of REDF and the Sydney Harmon Academy of Polymathic Studies, as well as a Trustee of the Jewish Community Foundation. He is a Senior Fellow at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, the Price Center on Social Innovation and the Casden Institute. Prior to joining USC, he was a Senior Fellow at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and a Wexner Heritage Fellow. He has also served as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Fund.

Adlai is a frequent speaker on the topics of social entrepreneurship, social enterprise and CSR. He earned his BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his MBA in Finance, Public Policy Management and Strategic Planning from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bill Hulseman designs rituals, supports educators, and facilitates dialogue. Now an independent consultant, he previously served as Director of Academic Affairs and Director of Middle School at Annie Wright Schools (Tacoma, WA) and as Director of Professional Development and Director of Social Action at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bethesda, MD), and as Director of Campus Ministry and as a Teacher of the comparative study of religion at Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart (Newton, MA).

Bill holds a BA in Religious Studies from Fairfield University, an MTS in the Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard Divinity School, and an EdM in Private School Leadership through the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. He serves on the boards of Tacoma Arts Live and West Sound Academy (Poulsbo, WA).

Bill and his husband, Jonathon, live in Seattle. His interests include architecture, travel, pop culture, social justice, advocacy for underrepresented groups. Bill and his husband, Jonathan, live in Seattle, where he maintains an Instagram account for their 11 year old rat terrier, Stella.

Dr. Daniel Connolly is a professor of management at Drake University’s College of the College of Business and Public Administration in Des Moines, Iowa and a recognized global thought leader in the area of hospitality information technology. His teaching, research, and consulting interests focus on the strategic application of information technology and electronic commerce for business advantage. He frequently presents his work at academic and industry conferences around the world and has authored or co-authored numerous publications.

His book Technology Strategies for the Hospitality Industry (now in its second edition) is the industry’s first book on technology strategy. Dr. Connolly previously served as dean of the College. Prior to joining Drake, Dr. Connolly served as dean of the School of Business Administration at Portland State University and as senior associate dean at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Denver. He has served on the faculties of several major universities including the University of Denver, Michigan State University, and Virginia Tech, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in information technology, strategic management, finance, and hospitality administration.

Before joining academia, Dr. Connolly spent nearly 8 years working at Marriott International’s corporate headquarters as an information systems analyst. In addition, he has consulted with numerous organizations in the hospitality, health care and technology sectors, and has more than 10 years of experience in hotel and restaurant operations.

David C. Banks is the President and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation and the Founding Principal of The Eagle Academy for Young Men, the first school in a network of innovative all-boys public schools in New York City. David’s visionary approach to the education of young men of color emphasizes a partnership between schools and communities based on the guiding principles of academic excellence, leadership and character development. The Eagle model has been adopted in schools throughout all five New York City boroughs and Newark, with replication of the model expanding nationally through the Eagle Institute. As Eagle Academy students achieve outstanding high school graduation and college matriculation rates, the Eagle model proves that a high quality, college preparatory education for young men of color can be provided in a public-school setting. The first Eagle Academy for Young Men was established as part of New York City’s high school reform initiative in partnership with One Hundred Black Men, Inc.

David’s successful approach has been covered in numerous news outlets including CBS This Morning. The Eagle story was chronicled in The Infamous Future, a visionary documentary on the positive transformation of young men through their time at Eagle Academy. National leaders and leading educational voices endorse the Eagle Academy model including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, whose borough has adopted the Eagle model in nine schools as part of the Eagle Demonstration Project. In 2018, Secretary Clinton co-wrote an op-ed with David on Eagle’s philosophy. City & State, the premier political outlet covering New York State, ranked David in the top 75 most powerful education leaders in New York State in 2020.

In partnership with Scholastic, Inc., David helped curate the Rising Voices Library, a collection of nonfiction, biographical and fiction books celebrating Black and Latino boys. The library provides students in grades K–5 with high-interest, culturally-relevant texts that give context to what they’re experiencing in the world around them.

David is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and received his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law. In 2014, David Banks was chosen as one of seven Black Male Achievement Social Innovators nationwide by the Leadership and Sustainability Institute for demonstrating tangible results in improving the life outcomes of African American boys and men. David was a member of the Board of Directors for the International Boys’ Schools Coalition. In May 2014, David was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree from Wheelock College.

David resides in New Jersey. He has four adult children: Jamaal, twins Aaliyah and Ali, Malcolm Rashaad, and two grandchildren, Hayleigh and Nomi Jae.

Erin leads the NYC based Education team at Google. Prior to joining Education in October, Erin oversaw the AT&T business at Google for 3 years. Prior to joining Google, she spent 4+ years at Twitter working in a global capacity leading the company’s largest strategic accounts. She is also a display native as she spent six years with Undertone, one of the original ad network pioneers, in their sales organization.

Erin lives in the Bronx with her Husband, Karl, and two dogs, Mia and Charlie. She’s currently quarantining at their home in the Pocono Mountains in PA.

Glenn Llopis (pronounced 'yō-pēs) is the Chairman of the Glenn Llopis Group (GLLG), a nationally recognized’ workforce development and business strategy consulting firm. A bestselling author of the books The Innovation Mentality and Earning Serendipity, Glenn has more than 25 years’ experience as an executive and entrepreneur. He is a senior advisor and speaker to Fortune 500 companies and organizations in retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare and beyond. In 2019, he introduced his latest book, Leadership in the Age of Personalization. Glenn is a contributing writer to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur Magazine and Huffington Post. He was recognized as a top 20 influential writer at Forbes and a top 100 leadership speaker and business thinker by Inc. Magazine. His writings, speaking engagements, and consulting assignments focus on operationalizing and leading growth in the age of personalization.

Working with his senior leadership team and constituents across campus, President Nemec has positioned Fairfield as a model of the modern, Jesuit Catholic University committed to lifelong learning, holistic formation, and expansive partnership.

Under President Nemec’s leadership Fairfield has continued its rise as a values-based, student-centric, outcomes-focused institution dedicated to forming men and women for and with others, in pursuit of social justice and productive citizenship.

A graduate of Loyola High School, Jesuit College Preparatory in Los Angeles, President Nemec earned a BA in English from Yale, where he was an All-Ivy League rugby player. He received an MA in education and a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan. Early in his career, he taught American politics as a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College, and as an instructor at the University of Michigan.

Most recently, Dr. Nemec served as the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. As dean, he led the school’s significant growth and evolution by focusing on innovative ways to extend the university’s reach to broader student populations. Prior to his tenure at the University of Chicago, Dr. Nemec served as president and chief executive officer of Eduventures, a Boston-based information services firm providing research and advice to the higher education community. He previously had been a member of the executive team of Forrester Research, a provider of similar services to the technology industry.

Dr. Nemec is the author of Ivory Towers and Nationalist Minds: Universities, Leadership, and the Development of the American State (University of Michigan Press, 2006), and a contributor to The Educational Legacy of Woodrow Wilson (University of Virginia Press, 2012).

Beyond his research on the role of higher education in American political development, Dr. Nemec has been a frequent speaker on the current and future state of higher education and has presented to a diverse array of audiences including the White House’s Forum on College Affordability, the British Council’s Going Global, the New England Board of Higher Education’s Summit on Cost in Higher Education, and the annual meetings of numerous higher education associations.

Dr. Nemec was welcomed into the Fairfield community with his wife, Suzanne, and their four children: Alex, Teddy, Philip and Kit. In addition to his role as President of Fairfield University, Dr. Nemec also joined the politics department as a professor within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Nancy Hubbard is Dean of the University of Lynchburg’s College of Business and a Professor of Management. Previously she taught at Goucher College (Md.) and at the Saïd Business School (University of Oxford) in the UK. She has also served as an International Professor at SKOLKOVO, the Moscow School of Management (USSR) and at IAE, University of Aix-Marseilles (France).

Nancy is one of Europe’s best-known experts on acquisitions, change management, and strategy publishing over thirty five articles in both mainstream and academic journals including the Financial Times, Acquisitions Monthly, Financial News, Accountancy Age, Human Resources Magazine, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Professional HRM, Strategy, The European Retail Digest, and The Director. She wrote one of Europe’s best selling acquisition books, Acquisition: Strategy and Implementation which was called “an excellent book” by Ambassador Magazine and “an indispensable handbook…and an essential read for anyone who is involved in, or contemplating, a merger or acquisition” by People Management magazine. Her latest book, Conquering Global Markets: Secrets from the World’s Most Successful Multinationals, sponsored by KPMG Consulting, was published in both English and Japanese. For this, she interviewed leaders from 50 of the world’s largest companies from 16 countries on their strategies for international expansion.

Nancy has consulted throughout the world on strategy, change management and mergers/acquisitions with Booz, Allen & Hamilton and KPMG as well as independently working in 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica. She has worked with Ford Motor Company, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, Reed Elsevier, Rosatom (USSR), Old Mutual, DeBeers, and Westland Helicopters amongst others.

Nancy holds a BSc in Business Administration from Georgetown University and an MSc in Management in Human Resources and a Doctorate in Management both from the University of Oxford. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufacturing (UK).

Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America’s top communication speakers, theorists and coaches. A passionate teacher, he is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas – and then delivering them with panache. He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents. He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear in the media, and to deliver unforgettable TED talks. He has worked widely with political and educational leaders. And he has himself spoken, led conferences, and moderated panels at venues around the world. During the last election cycle, he provided expert commentary on the presidential debates for CNN.

Nick’s methods, which are well-known for challenging conventional thinking, have been published worldwide. His acclaimed book on public speaking, Working the Room: How to Move People to Action through Audience-Centered Speaking, was published by Harvard in 2003 and reprinted in paperback in 2005 as Give Your Speech, Change the World: How to Move Your Audience to Action. His book on authentic communications, Trust Me, was published by Jossey-Bass in January 2009. His book on communications and brain science, Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact, was published by Harvard in May 2014. His latest book is Can You Hear Me?, on the perils of virtual communication, published by Harvard in 2018.

Nick served as editor of the Harvard Management Communication Letter from 1998 – 2003. He has written hundreds of articles for local and national publications, and appears frequently on radio and TV. Nick is a former Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

After earning his PhD. in literature and rhetoric, Nick spent a number of years teaching Shakespeare and Public Speaking at the University of Virginia, Lehigh University, and Princeton University. He first started writing speeches for Virginia Governor Charles S. Robb and went on to found his own communications consulting organization, Public Words, in 1997.

Nick attributes his success to his honest and direct approach that challenges even the most confident orators to rethink how they communicate.

Richard A. Greenwald is a professor of history and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut. Prior to that, he held academic and senior leadership positions at Brooklyn College, CUNY, St. Joseph’s College in New York and Drew University in New Jersey. His books include Labor Rising: The Past and Future of Working People in America, The Triangle Fire, the Protocols of Peace and Industrial Democracy in Progressive Era New York, Sweatshop USA: The American Sweatshop in Historical and Global Perspective, and Exploring America’s Past: Essays in Social and Cultural History.

His current projects include a book-length history of the garment unions, entitled Woven Together for Justice and a history of higher education, entitled Class Dismissed, both under contract with The New Press. He had served as a member of the editorial boards for the journals Working USA, Labor History, the magazine In These Times as well as a series editor for Working in the Americas Book Series at the University of Florida Press.

He is currently on the board of the Journal of Planning History. He has written for a wide variety of publications: In These Times, The Progressive, Businessweek, Bookforum, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, The Boston Globe, The Los Angles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Insidehighereducation, among other places. An early blogger, Richard blogged for The Atlantic Magazine’s Cities Blog and In These Times and is currently a columnist for both Daily Beast and The Baffler.

Sandeep Krishnamurthy is the first Dean of the AACSB-accredited School of Business at University of Washington, Bothell. This role involves managing the School of Business as its chief academic, and, administrative officer, with primary responsibility for faculty, students, curriculum, budgets, and external engagement.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in marketing with a minor in Economics in 1996. He received a PGDBM(equivalent to MBA) from XLRI and a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Bombay.

Scott Lacy is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Chair of the College of Arts & Sciences, and the Faculty Chair of Community-Based Research Initiatives at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He teaches Anthropology, Environmental Studies, and Black Studies courses. Prof. Lacy is also the founder and Executive Director of African Sky, Inc., a non-profit organization that collaborates with hard-working farm families in rural Mali, West Africa. His research interests include cross-cultural knowledge production, food systems, and intellectual property rights associated with seed, and more recently, the anthropology of happiness. He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara where he started his teaching career in the Department of Black Studies as the University of California President's Faculty Fellow. Prior to arriving at his current post at Fairfield University, Lacy taught in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University during his tenure as Marjorie Shostak Endowed Lecturer. Since his first years as a teacher, Professor Lacy has received numerous teaching awards and grants from the University of California, and Emory and Fairfield Universities. His unique teaching style is featured in a DVD/streaming course produced by The Great Courses.

Professor Lacy has worked in Mali since 1994 when he first served in the Peace Corps. Since then, he has partnered with family farmers, teachers, community leaders, plant scientists, engineers, and a host of other knowledge specialists in Mali and throughout the world. A two-time Fulbright Scholar (Mali 2001-2002 & Cameroon 2016-2017), Lacy has presented his work as a consultant and/or keynote speaker for Engineers Without Borders, The Peace Corps, The Material Research Society, ICRISAT Mali, the Institute d’Economie Rural (Bamako, Mali), the Guangxi Maize Research Institute (Nanning, China), the D80 Conference, MIT and, Columbia. Currently, Lacy is working on a book manuscript that chronicles over two decades of friendship and collaboration in southern Mali. His non-profit and academic work has been featured in two major documentaries: Sustaining Life by Sprint Features (nominated for a 2009 academy award), and Nyogonfe: Together (scheduled to be released in 2020).

Lacy is co-editor and author of two popular textbooks, Applying Anthropology, and Applying Cultural Anthropology, both published by McGraw-Hill. He has published a number of book chapters and articles that document cross cultural knowledge production in agriculture, community development, engineering, and even nanotechnology. He was awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition and Achievement from the US House of Representatives in 2011, the same year he was the inaugural awardee for Otterbein University’s Global Intercultural Achievement Award. In addition to his work as an anthropologist, Lacy is also known for his batik artwork, including one piece that toured the country from 2006-2009 as part of a traveling Smithsonian Folklife Festival exhibit celebrating the US National Parks Service.

Dr. Shaden Marzouk, MD MBA, has over two-and-a-half decades of experience in healthcare, with expertise in services, provider, device, technology and pharmaceutical spaces. She is currently President of CareMore and Aspire at Anthem. Previously, she was Managing Director, Health and Global Health Innovation, leading AXA’s health insurance and health services business in Asia; she also helped AXA strategically grow its health services business around the globe.

Prior to AXA, Dr. Marzouk spent almost seven years at Cardinal Health in a series of successive roles, helping grow its offering of products and services through new commercial launches and key acquisitions and partnerships. She lived and worked in China. Ultimately, she became Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Segment, leading a global team in clinical operations, medical affairs and clinical education.

Dr. Marzouk began her professional career as a neurosurgeon and served in Iraq as a Major in the US Army. She transitioned out of surgical practice after receiving her MBA at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. Post-MBA, she was an associate in the healthcare group in the investment bank of Goldman Sachs in New York. Dr. Marzouk also advises growing health technology companies and serves on Boards.

Dr. Sridhar Sundaram is a Professor of Finance and the Tiedemann-Cotton Dean for the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, Muma College of Business, at the University of South Florida. His educational background includes a Master’s degree in Accounting, and a MBA and a Doctorate degree in Finance.

He has received the Faculty Recognition Awards in teaching, research and service. He is an active researcher with publications in some of the top finance journals. His business experience involves several years of working with his family’s retail business, consulting with businesses and serving on for profit and non-profit boards. He has also held leadership positions in professional organizations, non-profit organizations and higher education institutions.

Currently, he serves on the Executive Board of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, Board of the St. Pete EDC, Board of the Saint Anthony’s Hospital and was 2019 Chair of the Grow Smarter Initiative in St. Petersburg.

Tomas Gomez-Arias is the Dean of the College of Business Administration at California State University, Stanislaus. Before joining Stanislaus State, Tomas was Chief Diversity Officer at Saint Mary’s College of California, where he was also a Professor of Marketing and Global Business, Chair of the Department of Marketing, Director of the M.Sc. in Business Analytics, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research at the School of Economics and Business Administration, and Director of the Center for the Regional Economy. Previous appointments include Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of A Coruña, Spain, where he was also Director of its MBA, and Entrepreneurship and Management Programs. He also served as Chief Trade Officer at the Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong. He is a founder of Ivvid Consulting and the California-Spain Chamber of Commerce.

Tomas is currently Chair of the AACSB Diversity and Inclusion Network Affinity Group, and sits on the boards of the Central Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Turlock Chamber of Commerce. He has been on the editorial board of the European Journal of Innovation Management and the Emerald Emerging Markets Case Series,and his research has been published in the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Management Decision, Journal of International Business and Economy, Journal of Business and Economics, Arts and the Market, International Journal of Arts Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and Case Research Journal.

Tomas holds a Ph.D. and a Licenciatura in Business Science from the University of Leon, Spain, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Dr. Tyjaun A. Lee serves as the campus president of Penn Valley Maple Woods campuses at Metropolitan Community College. She is responsible for all campus operations including the Heath Sciences Institute, which encompasses over thirteen health sciences programs. She is also responsible for all academic and student services on the Penn Valley Campus. Prior to arriving at MCC Penn Valley, she served as Vice President for Student Services at Prince George’s Community College. In that role, she was responsible for managing administrative units, programs and student services including recruitment, enrollment, student development, retention, marketing, athletics, and the coordination of the operational oversight of auxiliary services for students.

Prior to her role at Prince George’s Community College, Lee served as Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services at Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, VA, where she provided strategic college-wide guidance and execution for all activities related to enrollment and student services. In addition, Lee served as director of the counseling department at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio at the Metropolitan Campus where she designed programs for students at risk academically. She was also national director for the Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA), where she managed a performance-based NASA contract, monitored and established 15 SEMAA sites across the country, and conducted workshops for at-risk students for NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. She also served as director of the Student Support Services Program at David N. Myers University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Currently, she serves on the Broadway Westport Council, which oversees the community development projects around the campus. She is a recent inductee in the Black Achievers of Kansas City. In addition, she serves on the board for Literacy KC. She is also the current President of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges. She also served as past President for the National Council on Student Development and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges – Pathways Commission. Prior to her arrival in Kansas City, Missouri, she was active in several community programs that are geared toward underrepresented young men and women, including serving on the board for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (Prince George’s County branch), the Homeless Youth Work Group, and the state and local Action Advisory Group for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Lee has been nationally recognized with awards and appointments for her exceptional leadership capabilities and her work with underrepresented and underprivileged students. Lee considers this work near and dear to her heart as she is the product of a single parent home and a first generation college student. In 1994, the city of New Orleans honored Lee for her outstanding recruitment efforts at Ohio University’s Athens’ campus. In 2003, Lee was awarded the Nsoroma Award from the National Technical Association for her commitment to higher education. Lee serves on the Academic, Student, and Community Development commission. She is also an active member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Lee, a Cleveland native, completed her undergraduate and graduate programs at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership, with an emphasis in higher education administration. Lee was appointed by Ohio University School of Education to be the Holmes Scholar for their institution. Her dissertation consisted of a phenomenological study of African-American women deans on predominately-white college campuses.

Wendy York became the 15th dean and first female to lead business education at Clemson University in July 2018, following successful leadership roles in business and academia.

Dean York oversees the academic and administrative functions of the College of Business and its more than 5,000 students, 175 faculty and 90 staff.

With her strong credentials, Dean York is charged with producing the next generation of innovative and ethical Clemson-educated business leaders. The development of those business leaders is being conducted in the college’s newly completed, state-of-art, 176,000-square-foot building.

Most recently, Dean York served as an associate dean in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Prior to that, she held executive-level positions in small and large non-profit and for-profit organizations, including employment with Bechtel Power Corporation and Bank of America.

Throughout her career, Dean York ran high-performance teams and successfully created cultures of accountability, transparency and collaboration. She started and/or led four early-stage technology and internet companies and accumulated more than 20 years of direct profit and loss responsibility. She spent more than five years as a venture capitalist, managing a private portfolio with a market capitalization of $100 million.

Dean York earned an undergraduate degree with High Honors and Distinction at Stanford University. She also earned an MBA with an emphasis on strategy and operations from Harvard Business School.

By far, her most demanding and rewarding role has been as the mother of four daughters, three of whom are sophomores in college. Yes, triplets!!!

Senior Vice President, People & Organization Stephanie Neuvirth is responsible for the leadership, vision and strategic planning for all People and Organization (P&O), including Associate Relations, Human Resource Systems, Recruiting, Compensation, Benefits, and Talent and Learning. Prior to joining Banfield, Stephanie held HR leadership roles with City of Hope, Mars Food, Mars Petcare, the Walt Disney Company and Advantage Sales and Marketing. She is a graduate of the University of Denver and holds a master's in business administration from U.S. International University. Stephanie and her husband have two daughters and a Beagle named Lucy.