About the Speakers

 

Nehrwr Abdul-Wahid specializes in Diversity and Cultural Competence. He works extensively with individuals and organizations to build multicultural competence and work team effectiveness. His philosophy of authentic community building has led to national recognition of some of the programs and students he worked with as Training Coordinator of the University of Minnesota’s Diversity Institute. In almost 10 years at the Diversity Institute Nehrwr used a wide range of programs and services to enhance and promote the climate for diversity at the University. Nehrwr’s educational background includes a degree in mathematics and ranges from urban studies to Arabic language.

Ron Adderley, with more than 24 years of experience as a management consultant, has trained more than 50,000 executives, managers, supervisors, and employees in a variety of corporate and public organizations. Ron has extensive experience in designing adult education programs that are fun and engaging and create a safe environment for participants to challenge themselves and each other while they learn new techniques and skills to enhance their performance. With a passion for training, Ron consistently receives high marks from participants at all levels of management for content, applicability, and workshop style and format. His approach to training is provocative, introspective, and tailored to the real situations and issues that clients are experiencing every day in the workplace.

With a BA from Carleton College and several years of postgraduate study at the
University of Minnesota School of Law, Ron is an excellent storyteller who brings concepts to life and brings out the best in people. Ron has taught thousands of workshops on topics including teambuilding, communications, problem solving, cultural competency in health care, organizational analysis, motivating employees, and presentation skills to name just a few.

Priscilla Ajao is the Diversity Recruiting Manager at the Internationale Nederlanden Group (ING). In her current role, she is responsible for the development, implementation and management of the Diversity Recruiting Strategies for the U.S Financial Services.

Prior to joining ING, Ms. Ajao held several Human Resources and Client Services roles at Deloitte and Touche USA LLP (Deloitte).  At Deloitte, she collaborated with leadership teams, diversity councils, the recruiting channel and employee networks to implement the diversity recruiting strategy across the different business lines and the recruiting organization. She also served as Co-Lead and Team Lead within the Northeast Recruiting Team. Prior to these roles, she worked as an Auditor where she served both Manufacturing and Financial Services Clients.  She has also conducted successful speaking engagements on behalf of the organization at various events and across different universities.

Ms. Ajao is a member several professional organizations including the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). She received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting from Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts. She enjoys public speaking, reading and traveling.

 

 Dr. Gordon L. Alexander, Jr. is President of University of Minnesota Medical Center, and University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview.  In this role, Dr. Alexander is responsible for the operations of this tertiary and quaternary facility of 900 beds and The University of Minnesota faculty clinics (300,000 annual visits).  From 1980 to 1994, Dr. Alexander practiced obstetrics and gynecology with Southdale Obstetrics and Gynecology, PA. in Minneapolis, Minnesota resigning when he took the position of Fairview Senior Medical Director in Jue 1994.  Dr. Alexander received his Bachelor's Business Degree from the University of Minnesota in 1972 with its highest honors.  He graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1976 and completed a residency in Obstretrics and Gynecology at the University of Minnesota and affiliated hospitals in 1980.  He has served as a Fellow in the St. Thomas University's (St. Paul, Minnesota) Physician Leadership College and has received the Courageous Leadership Award from Fairview as well as the Health Care Executive of the Year in Minnesota.

Lacey All

Diana Altstadt, in conjunction with the Diversity Council, helped begin the CSSW diversity initiative in 2005. The identification of a diversity champion and support from the agency President and HR were essential to the development of the initiative.   In her role as Council chair over the next two years, Diana helped conduct listening sessions and agency cultural competency surveys.  The input gained from these mechanisms and a subsequent Diversity Planning session containing a cross section of staff and management team members were part of the process leading to the creation and acceptance of the agency’s Diversity Plan in July 2007.

Dr. Rohini Anand is Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer at Sodexho, the leading global provider of food and facilities management.  In her current role she is responsible for the strategic direction, implementation and alignment of Sodexho’s integrated global diversity initiatives and strategy.  In her prior role as Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Sodexho USA, she was responsible for Sodexho’s compliance, community outreach and diversity and inclusion initiatives in the US.  In this role, she provided leadership for Sodexho’s diversity and inclusion strategy and its integration into Sodexho’s strategic imperatives and its HR and business structures and processes.  Dr. Anand is a leading expert in the field of diversity and inclusion, a frequent presenter at national and international conferences and has made numerous appearances on national TV as a subject matter expert on organizational change and diversity.

Prior to joining Sodexho, she served as the Vice President for the National MultiCultural Institute (NMCI).  At NMCI, she designed, developed and implemented organizational change initiatives for domestic and global clients including Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies.  Her consulting work involved organizational assessments, training, strategic planning, benchmarking and coaching.  Rohini Anand has a doctorate from the University of Michigan. 

Dr. Anand is a published author and a noted conference presenter. She has authored several manuals and written many articles for trade journals. Her works include texts on cultural competency and diversity training such as Customizing Diversity Training Using Case Vignettes (2001), Multicultural case Studies: Tools for Training (1999), Teaching Skills and Cultural Competence: A Guide for Trainers (1997) and Cultural Competency in Health Care: A Guide for Trainers (1997).  Dr. Anand sits on several boards including, the Women’s Foodservice Forum, the MultiCultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, the National MultiCultural Institute, the Johnetta B Cole Global Diversity and Inclusion Institute, ORC’s Global Diversity Advisory Board, ACTSO Board of the NAACP and the Corporate and Philanthropic Council of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund

Sodexho (www.sodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the US and Canada, with $5.5 billion in annual sales.  Sodexho offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset and materials management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho is a proud endorser of the UN Global Compact.

Dr. Deborah Ashton has over 20 years of diversity and human resources management in both the private and public sector. She is the Director of Diversity for Harley-Davidson Motor Company. At Harley-Davidson, Dr. Ashton spearheads the diversity strategy and the integration of diversity into the fabric of the organization. She is the former Senior Director of Workforce Diversity for Darden Restaurants, where she developed a nationally recognized multi-tiered diversity training initiative. Dr. Ashton led the diversity initiatives at Medtronic, a global medical technology corporation, and at Argonne National Laboratory that increased the diversity of their workforces and leadership. In addition, she is the former Chief of Test Construction and Validation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

 Deborah holds a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Clarke College. Deborah has published articles on minimizing adverse impact and has presented "Non-Traditional Authority Figures: New Leadership Styles for Women and Minorities" at international conferences. She is listed in Who's Who in the World.

Amy Batiste, Ed.D., has spent most of her 20-year career leading strategic initiatives in the workplace, the marketplace, and the community.  She most recently served as the founding executive director of the Institute for Diversity Education & Leadership (IDEAL) at the University of Wisconsin (2002 – 2006). 

Dr. Batiste consults in the areas of diversity management, organization development and organizational learning.  Her experience includes leadership roles in associations and nonprofit organizations, and project leadership roles in diversity, training and development at Saturn Corporation and General Motors/Small Car Group. 

She earned her doctorate in human resource development at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee), a master’s degree in public communication at The American University (Washington, D.C.), and a bachelor’s degree in communications at Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas).

David A. Brumbaugh, Vice President, Human Resources, August 2003 to present.  Education:  Master of Business Administration (coursework completed), University of Minnesota; Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Recent experience: CIGNA Healthcare - Southwest Region, Phoenix, Arizona, 1999-2002, Vice President, Human Resources; Honeywell, Inc. (1976 – 1999) - Space & Aviation Control, 1998-1999, Vice President, Human Resources.  Current Professional Affiliations:  Health Careers Program, board member; Metropolitan Healthcare Partnership, member; Roosevelt High School Health Careers Program, advisory board member; Society for Human Resource Management, member (Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification); Delta Sigma Pi Professional Business Fraternity, member.

Monica Bryand

Walt Buckhanan is vice president/corporate diversity manager at M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank.  Buchnanan began his banking career as an associate manager at Household Finance Corp.  He then served as a trust fund accountant for Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company before joining M&I Marhall & Ilsley Bank in 1988 as a retail banking officer.  He was subsequently named assistant vice president/morgage lender, vice president/branch manager and vice president/market manager before being named to his current post in 2004.  He serves on numerous boards, including the Children's Outing Association, Milwaukee BID District 10 and Outlook.  Buckhanan earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA in 1983.

Leondias (Lee) Butcher is currently Medtronic’s Workplace Inclusion Officer.  He has wide-ranging experience in the medical devices, telecommunications, consumer electronic products and automotive and bottling industries.  Lee began his career with General Motors, followed by positions of increased responsibility at Miller Brewing, Litton Microwave and Northern Telecom.  For the last 18 years he’s been at Medtronic, the leading medical technology company in the world.  During this time he has held a number of senior positions before moving to corporate, including Division General Manager.

Lee is currently on the Foundation Advisory Board for Metropolitan State University; Industrial Advisory Council for Minority Engineering, University of Michigan; Computer Information and System Advisory Board for Florida A & M University and on the Board of Directors for the Mixed Blood Theater Company.

Kevin Carothers

Candi Castleberry-Singleton

Yvonne Cheek, Ph.D. is a strategic management consultant and president of Millennium Consulting Group, a firm she established in 1993. She is in demand as a master trainer, facilitator and public speaker. Her firm works with national and local clients in all sectors to help them build high performing work cultures and accelerate intentional change. She and her colleagues enjoy partnering organizations to design and launch bold initiatives, build inclusive environments, design curricula, conduct assessments, build strong teams, develop and implement strategic plans, solve problems, reduce problem creation and manage polarities.

Craig B. Clayton, Sr., was recently appointed the president of global diversity and inclusion practice for TransPerfect Consulting, one of the top five global translations companies, specializing in turnkey management and staffing solutions.

Clayton is the founder and executive director of the Global Center for Diversity and Human Capital Management, providing business-focused research in the field of diverse human capital management. He was the founder and chairman of the Spartacus Group, a global consulting and software firm specializing in analytical tools measuring connections between ROI from managing diversity and the bottom line. He holds a U.S. Patent on a financial metric and process called the dEPS – Diversity Earnings Per Share Factor.

Previously, Clayton was director and diversity strategist of the International Institute for Diversity and Cross-Cultural Management, at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business and created the countries first university based diversity management certificate program.

Clayton has over 20 years of diverse business experience and worked with many Fortune 500 firms in a variety of capacities. He has designed and developed training curricula; facilitated training sessions; mentored diversity councils, committees, and board members; and designed and developed programs and services to support organizations in their efforts to create and sustain long-term change in corporate culture.

Gloria Contreras Edin was born and raised by Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles, California. She is currently a practicing attorney in Minnesota and is the Executive Director of Centro Legal, Inc., the largest Latino non-profit legal institution in the Midwest. The 26-year old law firm not only provides legal services to low income Latinas/os in the area of immigration and family law, it also seeks to empower the community through legal education and the promotion of civic engagement.  Gloria’s vision has directed the agency’s activities toward litigation that seeks to influence policy affecting immigrants at the local and national level and educating the community on the importance and benefits of cultural diversity and facilitating positive cross-cultural relationships. 

Gloria is actively engaged in Minnesota’s community.  She has recently been appointed by Minnesota’s Senate as the Immigration representative on commission for Welcoming New Americans and to Minnesota’s Supreme Court’s Statewide Legal Service Commission.  Gloria also sits on the Board of Directors for the Latino Economic Development Center, a non-profit organization designed to further economic justice within the Latino Community. She serves as on the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, Initiative Foundation of Minnesota and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.  She also serves on the Headwaters Foundation’s Democracy Fund Giving Committee, Hamline University’s Paralegal Graduate Program’s Advisory Committee and a member of the numerous law organizations such as the Minnesota Women Lawyers’ Association, American Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association and the National Hispanic Bar Association.  Currently, she leads litigation in two significant federal lawsuits regarding the immigration raids that occurred in Worthington, Willmar, and Austin, Minnesota. Her dedication to the community was recently recognized by Minnesota Lawyer Magazine and named her one of Minnesota’s “Up and Coming Attorneys for 2007.”

Jeffrey Cookson is an organizational development consultant at Employers Association, where he leads services related to diversity and cultural competence. He has designed and implemented strategic initiatives, workshops and experiential learning programs for organizations of all sizes and has helped senior staff from over 35 countries understand and adapt to U.S. business practices. Expertise includes bias reduction and competency development related to race, sex, religion, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, cultural interaction, immigrant integration, affirmative action, equal opportunity and workplace harassment and discrimination. He helps individuals, teams and organizations manage conflict and change, improve customer service and benefit from the power of applied creativity.

Kathy Cooney is executive vice president and chief administrative officer for HealthPartners.  She is also the chief financial officer.  She is responsible for areas related to information services & technology, human resources, dental administration, finance, actuarial/underwriting, health plan operations, and government programs.  Kathy began her career at HealthPartners in 1986.  Prior to HealthPartners, she served as a management consultant specializing in health care strategies at Ernst and Whitney (now Ernst and Young).  With a nursing degree from Northern Illinois University and a master’s in management from Northwestern University, Kathy brings expertise from both a business and a care provider perspective.

Emma Corrie is the Recruitment Programs Manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Office of Human Resources. She has a Masters in Business and has worked for the State of Minnesota since 1997. She oversees Mn/DOT's statewide recruitment efforts for employees ranging from engineers, land surveyors & technicians to student workers. She has developed innovative recruitment and retention strategies and successfully integrated industry trends and diversity goals into department wide HR programs & processes at Mn/DOT. Her expertise in ethnic and mainstream recruitment & retention of employees in technical areas has been well recognized.

Kim Cunningham

Chris Davies is the founder & president of InnerVoice Works and is an internationally recognized speaker who has been motivating audiences since 2002. Chris is a regular presenter for Mental Health and Disability Advocacy organizations and has presented for several other associations and corporations including 3M. He previously worked as a Job Developer for an employment organization for people with developmental disabilities and (or) mental illness and is the former Director of Human Resources for J&J Distributing where he hired individuals with intellectual disabilities. Chris maintains a very active role in Supported Employment by serving on the National Board of Directors for APSE: The Network on Employment and is the former chair of the Business Advisory Council for Community Involvement Programs. He also provides Job Development and Consultation as an independent contractor for individuals seeking competitive community based employment outcomes. Chris travels throughout the world breaking down stigmas about disabilities and mental illness and advocates for equal opportunity in all aspects of life. He is a full time Speaker, Trainer & Consultant living in St. Paul Minnesota with his wife Andrea and son William.

Jermaine M. Davis has been actively teaching college adults for more than ten years, during which he received the prestigious student-nominated College Instructor of the Year Award.  Jermaine is author and co-author of six books including: Be Diversity Competent and Leading with Greatness.  Jermaine is CEO, Founder and President of two companies:  Seminars & Workshops, Inc., and Snack Attack Vending of Minnesota.  He is currently a professor of Communication Studies at Century College in Minnesota.  Jermaine delivers keynotes and workshops to some of America's leading organizations including:  Best Buy, Wells Fargo, Medtronic, 3M, American Express and the University of Minnesota.  Most importantly, Jermaine still loves to eat his Grandmother's homemade Macaroni and Cheese!

Debra Davis is an award-winning educator and activist and is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and conventions throughout the country. She is the executive director of the Gender Education Center, a Minnesota nonprofit organization of differently gendered people dedicated to support, advocacy and education. She is consulted by employers, law enforcement, human rights agencies and nonprofit service providers regarding policies that affect transgender people and is especially effective in coordinating workplace transitions for transgender employees. She is also a retired high school librarian who came out in May of 1998 as a transgender woman at Southwest High School in the Minneapolis Public Schools. This transition was believed to be one of the first successful transitions in the nation, of a transgender person working with children in secondary education. 

Brian Doran has been a Volunteer of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota since 2004 when he first retired as an executive from 3M.  He has also been a Board member since 2005.  Brian worked at 3M for 35 years in England, Belgium and the USA, where he had managed the international business of one of 3M’s Divisions for several years prior to his retirement.  Brian has lived with depression most of his adult life.  He describes his personal experiences through symptoms, seeking help, diagnosis, treatment and recovery, together with the major stresses, personal and career challenges that affected his life. He describes his own coping techniques and recovery process.  He speaks publicly because he wants others to understand that depression can be treated, and people can live satisfying, productive and hopeful lives.

Phil Duran is the legal and policy analyst at OutFront Minnesota, the state’s leading advocacy, direct service and public policy agency for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Minnesotans and their allies. His work at OutFront focuses on legal information, referral and education; state legislative research and analysis; state administrative agency and local government public policy; school-related issues and direct representation in selected public-assistance and human rights matters. 

Additionally, Duran is a past co-chair of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, which raises GLBT issues within the legal profession in Minnesota, and a past member of the executive council of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He received the Community Service Award in 1997 from the Human Rights Campaign, a national GLBT-focused public policy organization, for his work in his native Michigan. Additionally, he has prior experience with both the Minnesota AIDS Project and the Chicago office of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, the nation’s largest GLBT-specific legal advocacy organization.

Ben Elkin is the Diversity Retention Manager for Target Corporation, and oversees the strategies for headquarters, stores, and distribution populations.  His areas of focus include mentoring, business unit action plans, training, and leadership development.  Prior to Target, he served as University Relations Manager for Nike Inc., with a focus on diversity-driven partnerships and internal organizational development.  Ben has also worked as a civil rights analyst within the Voting Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, and managed the fair housing testing and outreach program at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Northwestern University, and a master's in public policy from UC Berkeley.

Kathryn M. Engdahl is a founding shareholder of Metcalf, Kaspari, Howard, Engdahl & Lazarus, P.A.  After working as a public school teacher and a machinist, Ms. Engdahl became a lawyer.  For 22 years, she has devoted her practice to employee rights, labor law, civil rights, and as a neutral.  She litigates labor and employment cases involving discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, breach of contract, labor law, wage and hour and benefits issues.  Ms. Engdahl develops and conducts training for clients and lawyers in all of these areas, and is a certified mediator in employment cases.

Ms. Engdahl has served as Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section and is recognized by her peers as a “Leading Minnesota Attorney” and “Super Lawyer” in labor and employment law. 

Sheila Engelmeier approaches every legal problem with both considerable intellect and common sense. Her first priority is always avoiding a lengthy legal battle. When proactive planning does not facilitate a swift resolution, Sheila is an aggressive litigator who strongly advocates her clients" positions. Creative and persistent, Sheila was described by one client as the edge that made the difference in that company's success in a hard-fought action.

After her first few years of practice, she has focused a significant part of her practice on employment matters, malpractice matters and issues facing the early childhood education industry. Sheila has been named a Super Lawyer on several occasions, a Top 50 Woman Super Lawyer and Top 40 Employment Super Lawyer by Minnesota Law & Politics, and was selected by the Business Journal as a Woman to Watch in the Twin Cities business community.

Sheila's tenacity and attention to detail make her extremely successful in litigating employment matters. She has handled a variety of employment litigation matters, including many discrimination and sexual harassment cases, as well as wrongful termination claims before administration tribunals and in court. She has drafted multiple employment-related documents including handbooks, releases, policies, applications and appraisal forms for both small and large businesses. Employers and business organizations regularly ask Sheila to conduct training seminars on employment subjects, including handling the disabled employee, hiring, firing, diversity and sexual harassment.

John Fabian is an experienced trial attorney who began trying cases after law school as a Navy Judge Advocate in locations as distant as the Persian Gulf, Turkey and Lebanon.  He joined Nichols Kaster & Anderson in 1991 and has been a partner with the firm since 1997.

Mr. Fabian's practices focuses on Employment Law.  He has litigated hundreds of employment claims involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination, race discrimination, pregnancy discimination, age discrimination, national origin discrimination, marital status discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, reprisal discrimination, the Family Medical Leave Act, Minnesota's whistleblower statute, Minnesota's parenting leave statue, wage, commission and overtime violations, non-compete agreements, trade secrets, contract disputes, fraud, and minority shareholder rights.  Mr. Fabian is often called upon to negotiate severance agreements and mediate employment law disputes.

Mr. Fabian has been repeatedly selected as a Super Lawyer and recognized by his peers as one of the Top 40 Employment Law attorneys in Minnesota.  He served in the U.S. Navy for more than 24 years (active and reserve) and retired in 2005 at the grade of Captain.

Scott M. Fearing, is the Program Director of The Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley in Rochester New York. From 1994-2006 he worked for OutFront Minnesota as the Coordinator of Education and Training. He is a graduate of St Cloud State University with a program focus on Intercultural Communications.

Fearing has provided consultation and training to many public and private sector organizations, his engaging, and lighthearted training style has made him a popular trainer and presenter.

Janice Fenn has over 20 years of human resources and diversity experience.  She is the founder and president of the Professional Resources Organization, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in diversity strategy and diversity training seminars working with clients such as Abbott Laboratories, The American Cancer Society, American Express, DuPont Company, Johnson Controls, McDonald’s Corporation, Microsoft, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance and Time Warner Cable.  Additionally her corporate experience includes serving as Senior Director of Global Diversity for Kraft Foods, and positions in human resources, recruitment, succession planning and diversity at Quaker Oats Company and Sara Lee Corporation.

Ms. Fenn is co-author of the book, Do You See What I See?  A Diversity Tale for Retaining People of Color, serves on the board of the Hubbard Street Dance Company, the Capital Area Sports Foundation, is an advisory council member for the American Institute for Managing Diversity, and trustee at DuPage AME Church.  She is an alumnus of Leadership America and a member of the U.S. women’s delegation to Mexico for the North American Agreement of Labor Cooperation.  Ms. Fenn has been honored for achievement by Dollars and Sense Magazine, the UNCF College Fund and the YMCA.  She was awarded a lifetime membership in the NAACP in 2003 and honored by the NAACP in 2006.  Ms. Fenn has been featured in Ebony Magazine, DiversityInc. and Walmart’s 2006 Black History month publication, Profiles in Pride.  Ms. Fenn’s motto is “Give generously of yourself – your time, your talent and your resources.  It will come back to you not because you desire it to, but because that’s how kindness is rewarded.”

Susanne Fischer is a member of the Litigation Department practicing in labor and employment and the day care industry.  Susanne provides a broad spectrum of employment law support to businesses and corporation, including client counseling, litigation, training employers and managers in employment practices, handbook, policy and employment agreement drafting, representation in administrative agency proceedings, and investigates allegations of harassment and discrimination.  Susanne also advises clients in the daycare industry regarding licensure and compliance with government regulations. 

Prior to entering private practice, Susanne clerked for Judge Mary E. Steenson of the State of Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District.

Before beginning her legal career, Susanne taught in the Exercise and Sport Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. As head coach for both the university's women's and men's tennis teams she received a number of awards including WSUC Tennis Coach of the Year and WWIAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year.

In her free time, Susanne enjoys tennis, golf, hiking, biking and reading.

Cynthia Fraction

Sue Gawelski, SPHR, is vice president of Human Resources-EEO for Marshall & Ilsley Corporation.  She has 20 years of experience at M&I and currently manages a staff dedicated to corporate diversity and equal opportunity/affirmative action compliance.  Gawelski and her team work closely with management to integrate an understanding and adherence of laws and regulations into M&I’s corporate culture.  Gawelski oversees the development and implementation of ten affirmative action plans in six states and orchestrates the successful conclusion of OFCCP audits. 

In addition, Gawelski served as the Corporation’s INROADS Business Coordinator from 1995 through 2006.  She has been a coach and mentor for many interns and has been named “Business Coordinator of the Year” three times.  She now sits on the regional advisory board for INROADS Great Lakes Region – Wisconsin.

Gawelski has been an active contributor to HRMA for twelve years, serving on the Board of Directors from 1998 to 2003.  She has also been a key contributor to HRMA’s Workplace Diversity & Compliance Committee, serving as the Committee’s Co-Chair and Secretary for seven years and chairing the subcommittee responsible for HRMA’s Annual Diversity Roundtable for eight years. 

Gawelski received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.  In the community, she volunteers for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign and Girl Scout Troop 1097, in addition to serving as a coach for the Franklin Little League. 

Dr. Tom Gillaspy has served as the Minnesota State Demographer since 1979.  In his role as demographer, he estimates current population trends as well as forecasting future trends and contributes information to a wide range of policy issues.  Dr. Gillaspy holds a Ph.D. in economics from Pennsylvania State University specializing in economic demography.

Stephen Gould is currently the NETWORKS! Manager at Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the only national non-profit organization devoted exclusively to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workplace equality.  Contrary to assumption, he is not the IT guy, but rather manages Out & Equal’s people networks, in particular the network of Out & Equal employee resource groups, as well as its Regional Affiliate program.  Stephen has been with the organization for over 3 years, and has served in several positions until moving into this role.  Prior to joining the staff at Out & Equal, he was studying and teaching in Berkeley, CA.  He holds a master's degree in religion from Yale University, where he got a taste for LBGT activism as the cochair of the Yale Divinity School LGBT coalition. He also holds an A.B. degree in political science from Duke University. Stephen is based at Out & Equal’s national headquarters in San Francisco, and lives with his partner Ryan.

Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, has been president and Chief Executive Officer of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota since January 2003.  Children's is the 7th largest pediatric health system in the United States, with 2 hospitals (Children's Minneapolis and Children's St. Paul), 326 beds and 4200 employees.  Dr. Goldbloom was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada's largest children's hospital.  After graduating in medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada and training in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital, Dr. Goldbloom practiced General Pediatrics and served as Director of Residency Training at both Dalhousie University in Halifax and at the University of Toronto, before becoming involved in hospital management.  Dr. Goldbloom currently serves on the boards of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, Child Health Corporation of America, the Minnesota Hospital Association, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Mary Pat Grigsby has been an Economic Assistance Unit Supervisor with Hennepin County Eligibility Supports for over 25 years.  She has supervised staff from five continents in a variety of positions and with a focus on public program eligibility.  Ms. Grigsby is an accomplished speaker, considered an expert in public programs, specifically family and Emergency Assistance and currently has responsibility for a team of experts in Medical Assistance Programs.  

Mitchell R. Hammer, Ph.D. is President of Hammer Consulting LLC. In 2001, Dr. Hammer and Diann Hammer, Esq., founded Hammer Consulting LLC in response to growing requests from corporations, government agencies, education, law enforcement and the nonprofit sector to share Dr. Hammer's cutting-edge frameworks and skill sets for helping individuals, teams and organizations increase their capabilities in effectively resolving conflicts across cultures, de-escalating violent confrontations and crisis incidents, and increasing intercultural competence. In 2006, Dr. Hammer was awarded Professor Emeritus from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program in the School of International Service at the American University in Washington D.C.

Whitney G. Harris, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Diversity and Multiculturalism division, for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System’s, Office of the Chancellor.  Prior to assuming this current appointment on July 1, 2005, Dr. Harris served as the Director of Diversity and Affirmative Action at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI.  He also served as an adjunct in the Department of Women and Gender Studies.  Other positions that Dr. Harris has held include, Vice President of Special Services and Social Equity and Professor of Teacher Education at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA.

His affiliations include memberships in the American Association for Affirmative Action, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Dr. Harris holds degrees in education, psychology, and theology; with a doctorate in educational foundations and administration.

Pat Herndon's education includes an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Mathematics from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and graduate studies in Industrial Relations at the University of California at Berkeley.  His over 25 years of human resources management experience in both government and industry uniquely qualify him to help your organization identify and address its human resources needs.

Audrey Hines

Kay Hocker is originally from Ames, Iowa - relocating to Rochester, Minnesota in 1984.  Kay took off for a little less than one years during her college undergraduate years to study dance with the Bill Evans Dance Company of Seattle.  She holds a B.S. in Dance from Iowa State University, a M.A> in Management and a M.A. in Health & Human Services Administration from St. Mary's University of Minnesota.  Kay worked in the corporate retail sector on many levels (manger, district manager, regional recruiter) for BGI corporation (Waldenbooks and Borders Books), for a little over 25 years, ending her career with BGI as a corporate training and was involved in the roll-out of BGI's initial diversity training efforts.  She volunteered for one year at the Diversity Council, was Education Director for four years and is now the Executive Director of the Diversity Council.  Kay has extensive speaking experience, some of which includes presentations for the Building Racially Inclusive Communities conference, the Minnesota League of Cities, and the National School Board conference.

Twanya Hood Hill is currently the Director of Organizational Development  and Learning at Hennepin County Medical Center.  Prior to this position, she was the founder of Akina Consulting, a practice dedicated to learning and organization development.  She has an MBA in human resource management and behavioral science from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Howard University. 

Twanya began her professional career as a chemical engineer in Research and Product Development at Procter and Gamble. After completing her MBA, she has worked as a general management consultant  at A.T. Kearney, Inc., as Manager of Leadership and Team Development at Target Corporation, as Director of Field Training and Development at Gap, Inc., and as head of  Leadership and Management Development in the Commercial division of Genentech, Inc.

Dr. Edward E. Hubbard is president and chief executive officer of Hubbard & Hubbard Inc., an international organization and human performance consulting corporation specializing in business performance improvement, workforce diversity measurement, instructional design and organizational development.

Hubbard is founder of the Hubbard Diversity Measurement and Productivity Institute and author of 37 books, including: Measuring Diversity Results, How to Calculate Diversity Return-on-Investment and The Diversity Scorecard. He developed automated software technology for measuring diversity return-on-investment and performance improvements.

Hubbard is an internationally respected consultant and trainer who has worked for several Fortune 100 corporations such as Battelle Memorial Institute, Mead and McKesson. His articles have appeared in Inc., Fortune, Forbes, American Society for Training and Development Journal and Organization Development Network Journal. Hubbard has also been featured in management development videos, on radio, and at national and international conferences, seminars and workshops.

Chandra Irvin is the founder and Principal of Irvin, Goforth & Irvin, LLC, an organization development firm dedicated to facilitating healthy relationships and increased productivity among people at work. Her commission and passion: Expand the mind and elevate the spirit!
As the Principal of Irvin, Goforth & Irvin, she provides large, midsize and small organizations with strategies and skills to build individual and organizational potential. The firm offers a range of services including culture assessments; performance consulting; strategic planning; change management in diverse environments; leadership, management, and employee development; mediation; and group facilitation.

Some of the organizations she has served include: Sara Lee, Kellogg, Kraft, Keebler, Hallmark, Avon, Corning, Tropicana, Wake Forest University, Future Focus 2020, The Center for Work and the Human Spirit, The United Way, NC Baptist Hospitals, Polarity Management Associates, Professional Resources Organization, The Felicity Group, Ltd., The Diversity Channel, and a lead consultant and frequent presenter on Polarity ManagementTM . Ms. Irvin is the Executive Director of The Diversity Strategy Consortium, a group of corporations that examines domestic and global diversity issues and develops strategies for advancing diversity leadership, accountability, communications, and performance measurements (Corning, Hallmark, Rohm and Haas, Sara Lee, Hanesbrands Inc., and The Vanguard Group).

She is the author of Finding PEACE in Life, Work and Love Listening to the Voice Within (Wheatmark Books, 2005) and she is the co-author of Do You See What I See? A Diversity Tale for Retaining People of Color (Jossey Bass, 2005).

Chandra Irvin has earned a M.Ed. degree from the University of South Carolina, a B.S. degree in Business from Winthrop University, completed post-graduate studies at the University of North Texas.

Alexandra Kalev is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Arizona She received her Ph.D. from Princeton in 2005 and has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her research looks how workforce diversity is affected by corporate restructuring, from downsizing to the adoption of high performance work systems. With Frank Dobbin and Erin Kelly she examines the adoption of diversity efforts by American corporations and their effects on the share of women and minorities in the workforce and in leadership positions. She also studies how politics shapes the development of managerial models.

Kristin Keller is internationally educated and experienced in managing adult literacy and language learning programs in urban and first ring suburban communities for school districts, community-based organizations and libraries. She has taught in the only GED class in a City Hall for out-of-school youth and implemented language access policy for the City of Minneapolis. She serves on the Business and Community Connection group of the Governor’s Workforce Development Council that links trends in education and employment. Ms. Keller has facilitated and served on numerous multi-cultural and multi-ethnic workgroups and committees. Currently, Kristin manages adult literacy and adult enrichment programs for the Anoka-Hennepin School District.

Steve Kuper believes in living your passion and choosing your attitude! As President and Chief Learning officer of Innovative Learning Strategies, LLC, Steve does both on a daily basis! If you’ve ever experienced one of his training sessions, you know Steve fuses creativity, innovation, fun, interaction and practicality to directly impact performance in the workplace.
Steve has more than 20 years of keynote, training and consulting experience, including nine years in the corporate training department of United Airlines in Chicago where he designed and delivered its Onboard Service Division’s Initial Training Program in diversity, conflict management, communication skills and corporate culture. Steve also designed United’s first Diversity Awareness curriculum for the Onboard Division.

In 2000, Steve launched his own company, Kuper & Associates, LLC, with a dual focus on training and consulting. Today, that company is known as Innovative Learning Strategies, LLC (ILS). In his work at ILS, Steve has noted an increasing number of corporations seeking to capitalize on human differences. This creates an escalating demand for diversity learning options. It also has created multiple consulting opportunities for ILS to partner with corporations as they re-examine their cultures to determine whether their organizations are aligned with values that embrace and optimize a diverse work experience as well as are structured in such a way as to retain the talent whom they recruit.

Jules Laing brings diverse experience and impressive educational background to the discussion of inclusiveness, diversity, discrimination and welcoming workplaces. She earned a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from The College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN. Laing spent most of her young career in various roles at 3M. She earned her BA in Organization Development. She has spent substantial time working closely with top-level leadership and management staff, coaching and assisting in the development and understanding of cultural competence. Jules is currently the Director of Diversity for Ramsey County.

Dr. Ghafar Lakanwal is a native of Afghanistan, a Muslim and an American citizen. He studied agricultural science in Afghanistan and received his doctorate in Germany. After working for the German government, Lakanwal returned to Afghanistan in 1978 to be part of the social and economic changes introduced by a new government. In December 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Still wanting to be part of the process of change he accepted the position of minister of agriculture in 1982. But because of his opposition to the government, he was placed under house arrest from 1986-1988. After release Lakanwal was appointed deputy foreign minister and head of the Afghan delegation to the United Nations. That same year while on an official visit, he asked for political asylum and became a U.S. citizen in 1996.

In 1991, Lakanwal founded the MultiCultural Development Center, a non-profit that promotes multicultural understanding and inclusiveness in the workplace and community. He is a practitioner, event coordinator and a speaker in the area of cultural diversity, traveling to over 30 countries.
 
Lakanwal has received many awards for his service, including the Exemplary Practices Award from the American Society for Public Administration, the Omar Bonderud Award from the Human Rights Commission of the City of Bloomington and the  International Leadership Institute's Immigrant Achievement Award. He is the founder and head of the Partnership for Education of Children in Afghanistan (PECA), a non-profit building schools in Afghanistan.

Mary Beth Lamb has helped business people in more than 20 industries on five continents achieve peak performance and maximize return on worldwide business investment by developing global competency.

She coaches, consults and speaks worldwide on global leadership, multicultural sales and service effectiveness, virtual teamwork, global diversity, and knowledge transfer across cultures.

Lamb also co-authored the critically acclaimed book Do's and Taboos Around the World for Women in Business, published by John Wiley & Sons in 1997.

Before that, she spent more than seven years working throughout Europe and North Africa for European, U.S., Canadian and Australian global communications companies.

Lamb pursued graduate studies in the U.S. and Germany, holds a degree in international communications and certificates in global leadership, globalization strategy, cultural competency, and conflict resolution management. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Executive Development Center of the University Of Minnesota Carlson School Of Business where she specializes in global workforce development.

Lamb has lived and worked on five continents where she learned German, Spanish and Portuguese. 

Jonamay Lambert is a noted expert in the field of diversity and inclusion with extensive experience in developing and implementing strategies to help organizations maximize the talents of their diverse workforce. She has over 20 years of experience in servicing a wide range of corporate, educational, government and not-for-profit groups. She is an active speaker and panelist, and has authored 13 diversity trainers’ guides and various articles for over 1,000 national and business publications. 

Jim Langemo has been with Best Buy for 16 years. He has managed people for most of his career and also has experience in sales, retail management, training development and facilitation, change management, process development, and project management. He has been in diversity role for three years. He has lived in Minnesota for most of his life. He is married to his best friend, Dreya Morrigan, a photographer and painter. He is blessed with a daughter, Sadie, who is a freshman in college, and a cat named Neil. When not at work, he loves playing music. Jim plays guitar, harmonica and drums and is teaching himself how to play mandolin and a ru’n, a Chinese folk instrument.

Thom Lewis joined Target in 1988 in the Denver, Colorado market.  He spent his first nine years in a variety of positions throughout multiple stores in the Midwest.  In 1997, he moved into Store Operations, first in Kansas City, and then relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In 1999, he moved into a Special Projects assignment where he worked on SuperTarget as it transitioned from a pilot to a future growth strategy.  Thom moved into Human Resources in 2000, where he has held a variety of positions including Training and Communications Manager, Human Resources Manager and Senior Group Manager of Headquarters Recruitment. In 2006, he was promoted into his current role as Director of Talent Acquisition.   
 
In this role, Thom has been responsible for leading the talent acquisition efforts across all areas of Target Headquarters.  Some of his key accomplishments have been:  creating a more centralized recruitment infrastructure to support Target's rapid growth, the expansion of campus recruitment across headquarters at both an undergraduate and MBA level, infusion of 6Sigma and process improvement into the recruitment organization and being a champion for diversity recruitment.  Last year he assumed responsibility for global recruitment at Target's India offices, as well as the Talent Acquisition strategy and process for Field Recruitment in the Stores and Distribution Centers. 

Amy Loges is a management and organization development professional. She brings more than 18 years of experience with Fortune 100 companies. Amy has helped corporations in more than 15 industries, on five continents, to maximize their understanding of diversity and inclusion as a business investment. In her position as Director, Creative Design and Facilitation for ProGroup Inc., Amy partners with US and international clients to acquire global awareness and knowledge across cultures. Amy is certified as a Master Trainer in leadership as well as diversity, and inclusion training. Amy has worked with US and international companies in over 14 countries in the past three years.

Amy has worked with clients from both the public and private sector. Some of the organizations that she has partnered with are Sodexho, Alliance, Deloitte, Microsoft, Coca Cola, Schering-Plough, Exxon International, the US State Department, Taiwan Gear, and Owens-Corning.

Cheryl Lowe is Senior Director with Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties and has oversight of the Human Resources, Communications, and the Volunteer Departments.  She previously worked as a Lead Investigator for the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and later as the EEO/Affirmative Action Coordinator with the Minnesota Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.  Ms. Lowe has also worked in the private sector as a Human Resources Manager with the Hazelden Foundation.

Jan Malcolm is chief executive officer of Courage Center, a nonprofit rehabilitation agency providing a broad range of therapy and other services for people with a wide array of physical disabilities, speech or vision impairment, or hearing loss. Founded in 1928, Courage Center's mission is to empower people with physical disabilities to reach for their full potential in every aspect of life. Courage serves over 16,000 people annually.Jan is proud to bring her history of progressive leadership in health policy to this vital community resource with its deep legacy of service and innovation.

Prior to joining Courage Center, she was a senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J., where she helped develop funding initiatives to strengthen the nation's public health system.

She served as Commissioner of Health for the State of Minnesota from 1999-2003.Highlights of her term as head of the state's lead public health agency included passage of major budget initiatives in tobacco prevention and elimination of health disparities and implementation of cutting-edge strategies in those areas.

Previously, Malcolm was vice president of Public Affairs at Allina Health System and a senior vice president of Government Programs and Public Policy at HealthPartners. She has been active in state and national health care and public health associations and government commissions on health care access and quality.

She currently serves as a board member of Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., the county subsidiary corporation that operates the Hennepin County Medical Center. She co-chairs the Options Too Steering Committee and is president of the Minnesota Public Health Associ-ation.She is a member of the Healthy Minnesota Steering Committee, the Bush Foundation, the Minnesota Women's Foundation and Planned Parenthood.

In the past, she served on numerous foundation and non-profit boards of directors including United Way, the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco, and the Ann Bancroft Foundation.

Alejandro Maldonado is the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Coordinator for The Department of Human Services, State of Minnesota.  Also, Mr. Maldonado is the founder and Chief Manager of Avante Enterprises, LLC., a company dedicated to provide awareness and customized training to corporate American; and vice-chair of the Latino Advisory Committee (LAC) to the Major and City Council of the City of Minneapolis. A graduate from Metropolitan State University with a degree in Aviation Management.
Maldonado has over 10,000 hours of adult-centered training experience, 16 years of extensive experience as a professional translator and interpreter in the medical field, and more than 14 years of experience with public assistance programs, policy, and the complex infrastructure of their administrative systems.

He holds a commercial pilot certificate with over 1200 hours of flying experience.

Justin Mann

Allan Mark is the Americas Director of the Office of Diversity Strategy and Development. Reporting to Steve Howe, Americas Managing Partner and Inclusiveness Executive Sponsor, Allan works with Americas leadership to implement programs and initiatives to attract and retain ethnically diverse professionals and promote a culture of inclusiveness, consistent with Ernst & Young’s People First culture.

Prior to this position, Allan spent 23 years serving clients in Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) and Assurance and Advisory Business Service.  He has led and worked on a number of Global Priority Accounts with extensive experience in financial services and manufacturing.  Allan recently completed three-year terms on the Americas (Partner) Advisory Council and the Canadian Partnership Board.

Allan is a Chartered Accountant (Canada) and Chartered Business Valuator, and is active in many civic and professional organizations including the U.S. Conference Board’s Business Diversity Council, National Asian American Society of Accountants’ (NAASA) Advisory Board, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, and Institute of Corporate Directors. He resides in Toronto, Canada, with his wife and two children. 

Eric A. McFarland is the founder and CEO of The McFarland Group, LLC, a diversity and inclusion management-consulting firm.  McFarland, an attorney who has specialized in employment law and diversity initiatives for 16 years, has counseled corporate executives and government agencies at the federal, state and local levels.  He received his certification as a diversity professional in 2007 from Cornell University.  He has consulted for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the City of Minneapolis’ Department of Civil Rights and was appointed to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Advisory Task Force and the Minnesota Zoo’s Cultural Diversity Committee.  McFarland received his J.D. from Howard University’s School of Law and is a member of the bar in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Tom McKinnon brings over thirty years experience in corporate human resources to his role as Executive Consultant. In this role he works with executives and senior managers to enable their companies to become the “employer of choice” in the retention and development of all employees. Before joining Novations/J. Howard & Associates in 1999, he served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Services at Ryder System Inc. Prior to Ryder, McKinnon was with UNISYS Corporation for ten years and served as Vice President, Human Resources for his last four years. Prior to joining UNYSIS, he was Employee Relations Manager for the U.S. $6 billion General Electric Construction and Engineering Services Group. He also held a range of human resource positions at The Wickes Corporation, and Chrysler Corporation. He held Human Resource responsibility for as many as ninety countries and supported sales, manufacturing and development operations prior to assuming corporate wide scope.

McKinnon served on the Board of Trustees of the National Urban League in New York for three years and on the Board of Advisors for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Executive Education for nine years. In addition, he has served on the boards for Florida Memorial College, The Pennsylvania State University Valley Forge Graduate School Campus, the Philadelphia High School Academies and currently the American Cancer Society for the Carolinas. McKinnon holds a B.S. in Political Science from Western Michigan University and an M.B.A. from Wayne State University. Additionally he studied at five universities in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Yugoslavia.

Sandra Meicher, PhD: Sandra Meicher currently serves as Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota (MHAM).  In 2004, she was included as one of Minnesota's Most Influential:  "100 Health Care Leaders" by Minnesota Physician Publishing.  A common theme running through Sandra’s service career is the commitment to advocate for individuals disadvantaged by their health status or injustice.  Sandra has served as Director of Evaluation and Executive Director of a rural community mental health center in Arizona; Executive Director of Ramsey Action Program in St. Paul, MN (1987-1990); Director of a county mental health department in Oregon; Deputy Program Director of the Child Health Initiative in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota; Executive Director of a health care provider in Washington; and President of a health research foundation in Madison, Wisconsin, her home town.   Sandra completed her doctoral work in social sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a National Institute of Mental Health trainee in the NeuroPsychiatric Institute at UCLA.  She lived in rural East Africa for nearly two years while conducting research related to children’s social behavior.  Sandra has also completed a year of public health training.   Sandra has a brother who has a serious and persistent mental illness.

Monica Meyer

Jillian Middlebrooks works for the Office of Multi-Cultural Services of Hennepin County, which serves as a gateway to services for refugees and immigrants choosing to resettle in the county. A 20 year employee, Middlebrooks has managed over 100 employees and volunteers, 45 Americorps*VISTAs and continues to manage these groups today as the OMS administrative manager. She is responsible for overseeing operations, budget, staffing and resolving clients' complex immigration issues. From the small OMS operations of 1999, to the present demand for the services provided by over 50 OMS staff, volunteers and VISTAs, Middlebrooks has witnessed the growth of this office and its abilities to serve the multicultural populations of Hennepin County.

Tom Milligan As first vice president of Global Diversity & Inclusion, Mr. Milligan is responsible for governance, external sponsorships and affiliations, benchmarking and marketing communications related to diversity and inclusion, as well as the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.  Since joining Merrill Lynch in 1987, Mr. Milligan has held a number of management positions in corporate communications, including responsibility for internal and external communications related to Merrill Lynch’s employee policies and practices, leadership and development, compensation and benefits, recruiting and workforce diversity.  Most recently, he worked in the firm’s Public Policy group, which entailed policy research, partnering with Merrill Lynch’s business groups globally to help develop the company’s positioning on policy issues, and helping to manage the company’s numerous advocacy group and think-tank relationships.  He also served on the firm’s Diversity Employee Advisory Council.
Mr. Milligan earned a B.A. in English Literature and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Pace University.  He lives with his wife, Michele, and their three sons on Long Island. 

Phillip W. Miner has spent over 30 years as a committed advocate of education and social justice. In November of 2003, he joined the staff of Minnesota's Private College Council where he serves as Director of Community Initiative in St. Paul, MN. Prior to the Council, Miner served 15 years at Hamline University where his last role was as Assistant Vice President for External Diversity and Community. 

Prior to Hamline, Miner's career included a student services role at Kotz Graduate School of Management, now the Executive MBA Program at the University of St. Thomas. He served 13 years in student recruitment and community relations with Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. In between positions in higher education, Miner managed community affairs, affirmative action, and contributions for Honeywell Marine Systems Division in Washington State. 

Miner's past and current service to the community includes; Chair of the National Black Achievers Advisory Committee for the YMCA of the USA, the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, UNCF, Kids Voting - St. Paul, Philanthrofund, and the Multicultural Development Center to name a few. Recent awards include: International Leadership Institute's Rekindling the Flame award; MCTC's MLK, Jr. Individual Humanitarian Award; and the Twin Cities INROADS' Educator of the Year award.

A core component of his professional work and personal volunteerism has been a commitment to serving and lifting up the African American community in all the ways he can.

CH (LTC) Morris is the MINNESOTA Army Guard's designer of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Initiative. This initiative has worked to raise awareness throughout Minnesota on how community leaders can help returning combat veterans successfully transition to civilian life.

Ken Morris

Gretchen Neve has worked with a variety of organizations as a consultant since 1992.  She has a solid background in organizational consulting and adult education with a focus on leadership and team development, diversity and inclusion and individual coaching. Her clients come from various industries including construction, financial services, health care, pharmaceutical, information technology companies, public schools and client service consulting firms.^

Bob Niemiec is the Director of Employment and Community Supports at Community Involvement Programs in Bloomington, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this capacity, Bob is responsible for the direction of three program sites (2 employment-oriented, and 1 senior service). A graduate of Indiana University, Bob has been in the field of employment for persons with disabilities for twenty-six years. He has performed at virtually every level within a human service organization, from direct service to executive director.

Bob served as the Chair of the Minnesota State Rehabilitation Council for seven years as well as being a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development council. He has served as President of APSE – The Network on Employment, is a founding member and President of the Minnesota APSE, Immediate Past-President of the APSE Foundation, and a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Jon Olsen joined ProGroup in 2004 as Electronic Solutions Coordinator. A 1995 graduate of Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theater Arts. Since graduation, Jon has worked in the information field as a creator, trainer, designer, and systems manager and is currently completing coursework toward his Masters in Cross Cultural Ministries.

Jon employs his literary and creative talents to connect the expertise and knowledge of ProGroup's 20-plus years in the field of diversity and inclusion to the digital technologies that are such an integral part of today's workplaces. His handiwork is visible on ProGroup's website, our online manager's toolkit, Desktop Diversity, and in a growing suite of e-learning products and web-based services.

A member of the American Society for Training and Development, in his free time, Jon is a musician, writer, director, and multimedia artist. He has written four plays that have been performed on stage and his poetry has been published in Electric Wine and Tales of the Unanticipated magazines. Jon lives in Minneapolis with his wife and young daughter.

Jen Olson

Tony Orange is an esteemed member of ProGroup's professional consulting team with over 25 years of experience working as a trainer and facilitator. He has successfully worked with individuals, businesses, and organizations from both the private and public sector and is dedicated to promoting healthy interpersonal skills among diverse groups of people. Tony specializes in the areas of personal development, multicultural communication, and sexuality, including gender and harassment issues. Drawing on his background in theater and video production, Tony has played a pivotal role in designing many innovative training solutions including ProGroup's theatrical learning troupe, ProGroup Players.

Traci Parmenter is the Chief Operating Officer of Admission Possible, a nonprofit organization working with low-income students in the Twin Cities metro area to help low-income high school students prepare for and earn admission to college.  In that capacity she has helped the organization embark on a growth plan to serve over 1,200 students in 15 area high schools during the 2007-2008 school year, with further future growth planned for the coming years.  A former high school Spanish teacher and education policy researcher, Ms. Parmenter has worked for nearly 15 years in the field of education to provide opportunities for all students to achieve their dreams.  Ms. Parmenter holds a bachelors degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Trish Patton has worked in the Human Resources field, specifically in Training and Development for over 11 years for both grocery retail and luxury clothing retail.  Prior to working in Human Resources, Trish worked in retail store management for Michaels Arts and Crafts, Mays/Drug Warehouse and Revco.  Trish has been with Saks Fifth Avenue for 4.5 years and is currently in their Jackson, MS Operations Center as the Director of HR/Training and Development.

Trish is a graduate of Northeastern University in Oklahoma, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications.

Sue Plaster, Fairview Health Service's Director of Diversity, guides Fairview's system-wide diversity initiative, focused in three strategic areas: culturally competent care, workforce diversity and welcoming environment. Sue's work affects Fairview's patients, employees and communities. She guides policy, vision, strategy and practice related to inclusion and cultural responsiveness at Fairview, whether it is at the bedside or in the office environment. She works with individuals and groups to help advance their diversity learning, and help them take appropriate action to address diversity issues and opportunities. Sue reports to Senior Vice President of Human Resources Diane M. Iorfida.

Sue works with Fairview leaders in one-on-one and group sessions to help them set and act on personal and business goals to create meaningful impact in the three strategic focus areas of the initiative. This includes the experiential executive learning series called Walk in My Shoes, focused on diversity learning for the health system's top operations executives. Many of Fairview's top leaders, including CEO David Page, have diversity goals and action areas that reflect and demonstrate their commitment to diversity. Besides leadership commitment, a major asset of Fairview's diversity initiative, is the Fairview Diversity Council, more than 43 empowered and informed diversity advocates. Consistent with their strategic plan for 2006-07, Council members work on diversity change in three areas for Fairview overall; workforce diversity, culturally competent care and welcoming environment.

Previously, Sue was the Director of Leadership, Mobility, and Succession Planning for Honeywell Inc. Her staff of 12 led global programs to develop Honeywell's current and future leaders. She managed worldwide talent review, leadership recognition, rotational candidate slates, and development/succession planning for key positions. The company's global mobility unit managed more than 160 high-profile international assignments, plus immigration. Attention to diversity and increasing the company's global mindset were significant factors in each aspect of this work.

As Honeywell's Director of Worldwide Employee Communications from July 1990 through March 1997, Sue led world-class global employee communications for the company. The department established Honeywell as best in class in employee communications practices such as electronic news, benefits communications, two-way media, global employee sensing, and strategic use of global publications. Employee communications were cited when Honeywell was named one of INDUSTRY WEEK's 100 Best-Managed Companies in 1997.

Sue's Honeywell career included management positions in communications, public relations and internal communications. Before joining Honeywell, Sue was Corporate Communications Manager for Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. (CPI), a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company (Now Guidant). She led the company's media relations, advertising, sales promotion, medical communications, customer seminars, and employee communications. 

Sue holds a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota, with a concentration in leadership development. Her bachelor's degree is in English, education and speech from the College of St. Catherine. Professional accomplishments include serving as an instructor for the University of St. Thomas in the master's degree program in business communications. Sue is a board member and member of personnel committee for the nonprofit agency, HIRED. She is also on the Diversity Council for the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center. Sue is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the Twin Cities Diversity Roundtable, the Multicultural Forum Planning Committee, Minnesota International Center and the Center for Victims of Torture.

Raúl Ramos is Community Outreach and Training Specialist for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities out of the Diversity and Multiculturalism Division. He works on the recruitment and retention of students from under-represented and underserved populations for the statewide system. He has nine years experience in this area beginning in with Minneapolis Community and Technical College and moving on to a position in the Office of the Chancellor. His efforts are directed towards making Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities an inclusive place where all people are valued and respected He is an organizer and core-trainer for Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative and a board member for Minnesota TRIO programs; in addition he is currently on the advisory board for the education committee of the African-American Men’s Project.

George F. Robinson is founder and president of The Robinson Group, a Minneapolis-based consulting and training company. He uses his twenty-seven years of corporate experience to help companies align their culture strategy with business goals to heighten productivity and bottom line performance. As a seasoned executive consultant, he has implemented breakthrough training, sales and marketing strategies for clients such as Ford Motor Company, Philip Morris, Cendant, Bayer and Riddell.

Robinson is the former president of The Kydd Group, an integrated marketing and event-planning agency, specializing in ethnic markets. In that capacity, he forged and facilitated key partnerships with clients such as General Motors, Miller, General Mills and Target Corporation.

Robinson has served in leadership roles for a number of companies: Pecos River Learning Center, Inc., Control Data Corporation (Ceridian), the Lincoln Mercury Division of Ford Motor Company and Wilson Learning Corporation. In each case he increased sales and marketing effectiveness by large amounts.

Robinson serves on the Board of Trustees for the Breck School in Minneapolis and is a former board member of the Rio Grande School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has also been on the board of advisors for Urban Venture Leadership Foundation and the board of the Fairway Foundation.

Rebecca Robinson, CCDP is the senior manager of diversity initiatives for RBC Dain Rauscher.  She is responsible for implementing and coordinating the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and alignment of employee resource group strategies. Previously, Robinson owned a marketing resource company in Colorado, serving the diversity, marketing and minority supplier needs of Fortune 1000 companies. She has served on many boards and is a member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, National Black MBA Association, Twin Cities Diversity Roundtable, Society of Human Resource Management and board chair of the Minority Input Committee.

Jerome Sakpeider was born in Liberia, West Africa, and immigrated to the United States of America to seek higher education. He attended the University of Minnesota where he earned an undergraduate degree in Business and a Masters degree in Industrial Relations/Human Resources Management. A key part of his work in the public and non-profit sector human resources management over the last 12 years has been in the areas of employee benefits administration and employment testing.  In his current position as a Human Resources Consultant, Jerome also designs and delivers training in Diversity and Workplace Conduct/Respect.

Jane Sanders is a consultant, coach, and speaker with 17 years of corporate experience in sales and marketing and over 14 years as president of her own successful company.

Jane helps companies create GenderSmart cultures to recruit, retain, and advance more women. Her speaking programs include GenderSmart® Communication, Recruiting & Retention of Women, Life Planning, and Leadership Confidence for Women. Jane’s clients include MassMutual, Ameriprise Financial, Prudential Financial, Deloitte & Touché, Ford Motor Co., Toyota USA, Chevron, Anheuser-Busch, Nestlé, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and many more.

Andrew J. Sherman is a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Dickstein Shapiro LLP, with over 350 attorneys nationwide.  Mr. Sherman is a recognized international authority on the legal and strategic issues affecting small and growing companies.  Mr. Sherman is an Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University where he teaches courses on business growth, capital formation and entrepreneurship.  Mr. Sherman has been General Counsel to Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization since 1987.  Mr. Sherman is also the founder of Grow Fast Grow Right, an education and training company for executives of middle market companies (http://www.growfastgrowright.com).  Mr. Sherman is the author of seventeen (17) books on the legal and strategic aspects of business growth and capital formation.  His most recently published books include the recent three-part Kaplan business growth series, Grow Fast Grow Right (November 2006), as well as Build Fast Build Right and Start Fast Start Right, to be published by Kaplan in the Spring of 2007.  Other recent titles include The Complete Guide to Running and Growing A Business, published by Random House in November of 1997 and Mergers and Acquisitions: A Strategic and Financial Guide for Buyers and Sellers, published by AMACOM in March of 1998, the second edition was published in November 2005 and Parting Company, published by Kiplinger’s in May of 1999, Raising Capital, published by Kiplinger's in Spring of 2000 and Raising Capital (2nd Edition), published by AMACOM in February 2005 and Fast Track Business Growth, published by Kiplinger's in January of 2002. 

Yvonne Shorts joined Larson King after serving as Vice President and Senior Corporate Counsel at U.S. Bank National Association where she counseled Human Resources and management on a wide range of employment issues including leaves of absence, disability accommodations, wage and hour compliance, discrimination and harassment.  Prior to that, Yvonne was an Assistant Attorney General in the Employment Law & Torts Division of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and a litigation Associate at a large Twin Cities law firm.  Yvonne was named a Rising Star by Minnesota Law & Politics in 2005, 2007 and 2008.  She focuses her practice on employment counseling, investigations and litigation, where she represents clients in several states.

Dr. Cassandra Simmons started her distinguished career as an academic psychologist at Michigan State University where she attained tenure.  A widely published author, lecturer, expert witness in over 20 court cases and an educational, government and corporate consultant,  Dr. Simmons prior to joining The Conference Board was an Assistant Dean and member of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health.  She has organized and led several delegations of medical and other scientific professionals to developing countries to assess health disparities and the effectiveness of health care delivery systems.  Dr. Simmons has continued to focus on issues of equity, access, leadership and innovation in her role as Program Director, Program Development with The Conference Board (TCB). She expanded the Diversity Councils from two to six during her seven years with TCB.  Her contributions resulted in the publication of research reports addressing mature workers, the establishment of standards for effective diversity leadership, diversity accountability and the development of competency models for corporate diversity executives.

Tom Sipkins is head of Maslon's Labor & Employment Group.  He is a trial lawyer and counselor who has focused the majority of his practice on commercial litigation, internal investigations, and employment and labor law matters on behalf of management.   He has been practicing law for 34 years.  Tom has tried over thirty cases in state and federal courts, and before state agencies.  He has also handled appeals at the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Tom has frequently lectured on employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful discharge law for continuing legal education courses. In 1994, at the Chinese Law Society, he lectured to 600 Chinese and Far Eastern lawyers in Beijing, China, on sex discrimination and sexual harassment, and also on the roots of the Chinese Labor Law. He also coordinated and contributed to Minnesota Employment Laws and Regulations: A Survival Guide, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Business Services, 1995. Tom has also lectured on the False Claims Act and qui tam litigation.  He lectured annually for the Minnesota School Board's Association on discrimination and sexual harassment law for ten years.

Tom's recent focus has been on the defense of age, race, sex, religious and disability discrimination claims, a variety of commercial litigation, whistleblower claims, and claims under the False Claims Act. He has also assisted government contractors in responding to investigations of alleged government contract improprieties and in the prevention of potential qui tam suits. Tom's clients include Simon Property Group, Mel Simon & Associates, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Quality Wine & Spirits, Pioneer Metal Finishing and Unisys.  In addition to performing internal investigations, he has performed human resources audits for multinational and regional companies.

Tom is a 1969 graduate of Williams College, and a 1973 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, following service in the United States Army as a Russian linguist. He began his career as an attorney at the U.S. Renegotiation Board in Washington, D.C. specializing in government contracts and Freedom of Information Act litigation. Later, he tried civil rights, discrimination, personal injury, and zoning matters for the City of St. Paul. Tom has been in private practice since 1977. He is also an experienced Certified Mediator. He has been selected by Minnesota Law & Politics as a Super Lawyer in the labor and employment and commercial litigation areas  from 1997-present, and has also been a Top 40 Employment Lawyer from 2003 to the present.

Tom has served as national coordinating counsel in consumer fraud and employment litigation for Fortune 500 Companies; defended against and prevented the certification of class actions in numerous employment discrimination cases; and served as case manager for clients defending against multiple employment and toxic tort cases. 

Sue Stanek, as a Senior Consulting Partner in MENTTIUM Consulting division, designs and facilitates all aspects of MENTTIUM®’s proven intra-company mentoring solutions. She trains client teams to customize, coordinate, implement, and evaluate successful mentoring programs within their organizations. In addition, she facilitates mentee and mentor training sessions, conducts checkpoint meetings, and leads program close sessions.  With over 20 years of experience supporting organizations achieve their business goals through the development of people, Sue brings a unique mix of formal training and practical application. Sue holds a Master of Arts degree in Adult Learning, and a Doctorate in Training and Development.  Sue served as Training & Development Director for two national healthcare organizations. In both organizations her focus was squarely on management development. She was involved with Wilson Learning as a product manager for its flagship curriculum for sales and marketing.  As a consultant for BI (Business Incentives) Performance Services, Sue designed and delivered training and development solutions for Fortune-ranked companies around the globe.

Cecilia Stanton received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Bloomfield College and her Masters of Arts degree in Sociology from Lehigh University. She has over 10 years experience in industry and higher education. Ms. Stanton focuses on the issues of diversity, assisting in the implementation of diversity initiatives in educational institutions, human service organizations and corporations. In 2001, she received the A. Vincent Toth Award for excellence in psychological research on stereotyping. Ms. Stanton’s inspirational writings on the topic of diversity can be found in Colors magazine, the Journal of Lesbian Studies, Amaranth Literary Journal and Diversity in Online Learning. In addition, Ms. Stanton currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Culture and Leadership Development at Allianz of North America.

Sue Stingley is a partner in the Minneapolis firm of Stingley & Ho, PLLP.  She is a certified mediator, in addition to representing employees and employers in litigation in State and Federal Court.   She consistently has been elected by her peers as a Superlawyer, and was voted one of the top 100 female lawyers in Minnesota. Since 1981, Ms. Stingley has mediated thousands of employment cases to settlement.  She speaks extensively on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Employment Law.

Howard Tarkow’s law practice focuses on representing employers on their workplace issues and concerns.  For 25 years, Howard has advised Maslon’s business and non-profit clients to help them maintain positive employee relations and minimize the risk of expensive and disruptive legal claims.  He provides timely, service-oriented, cost-effective, and practical advice and counsel.  His litigation practice includes representing employers before judges, juries, and arbitrators, and in administrative proceedings.  Howard also represents employers in matters involving unions, including at the National Labor Relations Board, in grievance and arbitration cases, and at the collective bargaining table.

James E. Taylor, PhD, is Director, Diversity Strategy Implementation, National Diversity. James is responsible for insuring Kaiser Permanente’s continuing visibility and influence in corporate diversity management and achievement of business goals through the development of key strategies, communications vehicles, partnerships, products and services to improve organizational capability, national visibility, and Kaiser Permanente’s competitive position in the market. To this end, James executes leading-edge and next-generation diversity initiatives to advance the organization’s diversity management capability and national presence as a diversity leader; creates national strategic alliances and partnerships with corporate and community leaders to maximize National Diversity’s influence and impact on diversity initiatives, national forums and governance bodies; and develops media strategy to maximize internal and external visibility and product/service awareness, and align key diversity messages to compliment the overarching Kaiser Permanente brand strategy.

James also serves as the liaison to the National Diversity Council and is Co-Chair to the Program Offices Diversity Council.  He received his doctorate in Organizational Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University and completed his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College in New York.

Sara Taylor, as the Principal of Sentient Consultants, has nearly twenty years of extensive training and consulting experience serving local, national and global clients.  Five years ago she used that experience to launch Sentient Consultants, which today has grown to a team of nearly ten trainers, consultants and project managers.  She and the rest of her team at Sentient work with high-performing individuals, teams and organizations to create greater success in the areas of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership and Diversity.

Sara holds a Master's degree in diversity and organizational development from the University of Minnesota and has held positions such as Leadership and Diversity Specialist at the University of Minnesota, Extension and Director of Diversity for Ramsey County in St. Paul, MN.

Angela Thomas-Anderson As a new age global leader, whose executive aptitude and influence spans across industries and business best practices - Angela Thomas-Anderson is the vice president of Diversity and Procurement for Spherion Corporation, a $2 billion publicly traded workforce solutions and recruitment company.  In this role, she adeptly provides leadership in driving both the organization’s workforce diversity strategies and corporate wide procurement initiatives. 

She has over 18 years of international leadership experience in partnership/alliance development, workforce strategies, sales operations and supply chain management.  Angela is well suited to accomplish a corporation’s objective to drive profitability by guiding key market and community endeavors that engage the best talent.

Her breadth and depth of diversity experience ranges from her appointment by the International Olympic Committee as the Envoy to Senegal during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, to a featured panelist at the Women in Technology International (WITI) conference.  She serves as a board member for the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council and The Foundation for Diversity Inc. – where she is chairperson for B.E.S.T. – a national youth development forum.    Angela holds a MBA in international business from Georgia State University, with international studies at Groupe Ecole Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) in Toulouse, France and a B.A. in Finance from Howard University, in Washington, DC.

Jacqueline Thomas-Hall has over 13 years of experience in the areas of diversity and inclusion.  She is a diversity practitioner and has worked in both the private and non-profit sectors. 

In her current role as the Senior Manager for the Office of Workplace Inclusion (OWI) at Medtronic, Jacqueline is responsible for diversity/inclusion education and training programs, employee resource groups and inclusion councils.  Jacqueline also provides internal consulting to business units within Medtronic. 

Prior to her corporate experience, Jacqueline consulted with many non-profit agencies in the Twin Cities on diversity related topics.  She has conducted diversity awareness sessions for the University of St. Thomas’ continuing education program specifically targeted for teachers in the Minneapolis Public School system.  Her past employers include The Pillsbury Company and General Mills.

Jacqueline graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in psychology.  She is currently enrolled in the HR MBA program at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.

Jacqueline resides in the Twin Cities with her husband Thelonious and daughters Jasmine and Bria.

Mary Thompson is senior vice president, Talent Strategies, for M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (M&I), a division of Marshall and Ilsley Corporation—a diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  M&I employs approximately 10,000 people and has assets of $60 billion.  She has been with M&I for over thirteen years and is responsible for Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Performance Management and Corporate Diversity.

Prior to M&I, Thompson was the owner of Thompson and Associates and Director of Training Services for the DeLaney Company.  Both positions were responsible for delivering HR consulting services to small to medium-sized business.  In addition, she served in public education as a high school teacher and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction consultant.

Thompson graduated from Luther College (1975) with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Education and has a Masters of Science in Management from Cardinal Stritch University (1994).   Thompson also attended the Graduate School of Human Resources in Boulder, Colorado, and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Thompson is a member of the Executive Committee and on the board of directors for MRA (Management Resources Association).  And, she is a member of the American Society of Training and Development, the Employment Management Association and the Society of Human Resources Management.

Amy S. Tolbert, Ph.D., CSP develops multicultural organizations and individuals by bringing you cutting-edge topics, such as, multicultural and diversity initiatives, leadership competency development, managing to style, and creating breakthrough teams. 

She is principal of Effecting Creative Change in Organizations (ECCO International), which specializes in increasing individuals’ productivity and organizations’ profitability through e-learning, technology and facilitated learning.

She's the author of "Reversing the Ostrich Approach to Diversity: Pulling your head out of the sand," and various self assessment online tools for diversity.  She received the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association and is a bona fide Baby Boomer!

Kim Vappie, as COO of MENTTIUM Corporation, oversees the strategic plan of this growing company.  She directs the policies, initiatives and business objectives that help MENTTIUM meet its vision to assist organizations across the globe to develop their human capital.  Prior to joining MENTTIUM, Kim worked in human resources and employee relations for a variety of companies, including Target Corporation and Prudential.  Kim received her Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota and her undergraduate degree in Economics and Management from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  While receiving her law degree, Kim working in Liberty Mutual’s law department, served as a Labor and Employment Law fellow at Hamline University School of Law and served on the Executive Council of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section.  Kim is an Advisory Board member of the Human Capital Institute.  Active in the community, Kim co-chairs the Program Committee for Minnesota Women Lawyers and serves as an Executive Committee and Planning Committee member for the Minnesota Multicultural Forum.  Together with Lynn Sontag, CEO of MENTTIUM, she received The Business Journal’s prestigious Women Changemakers award in 2004.

Langston Verdin

Tim Vigue is an Executive Consultant, based in Boston, MA. He works with organizations from a wide variety of industries and functions to increase their ability to hire, promote and retain top performing employees. He is responsible for overseeing the development of Novations’ Selection capabilities and providing subject matter expertise as needed. Mr. Vigue is highly skilled in the identification, design and delivery of custom client solutions. Some of the clients he has worked with include Deloitte, Pfizer, Boston Scientific, Fidelity Investments, DaimlerChrysler Services and UnumProvident.

Prior to joining Novations Group, Mr. Vigue was Assistant Vice President of Human Resources for MFS Investments in Boston. In this position, he led a team responsible for providing corporate staffing and employee relations support. During his eight years at MFS, Mr. Vigue led numerous projects with internal clients that resulted in significant improvements in employee retention,
productivity and performance. He. also spent six years in retail management and human resources before joining MFS.

Luke Visconti

Deb Waggoner is the Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness at Courage Center located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In this role, she also acts as the Executive Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion.  Deb served on the planning committee for the Multicultural Forum from 20056 to 2007.  She has worked in healthcare for over 25 years including holding various positions in Human Resources and Organizational Development at the Benedictine Health System and Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

Deb has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa, a Master's in Adult and Continuing Education from the University iof Minnesota and a MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

Eric Watson joined Food Lion as Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion in
October 2003. He is responsible for the development and implementation of Food Lion’s diversity and inclusion business strategy. He is also responsible for leadership and associate development, and measuring progress in the areas of culture and environment, diverse supplier development, minority recruitment and retention, education and training, and assisting in growing and sustaining a diverse market presence. 

In 2007, Watson accepted additional responsibilities for Talent Acquisition for Food Lion, LLC, which includes, strategic sourcing, recruitment, managing strategy, measuring processes and resources.  Also, in June 2007, Watson was selected to become a member of Food Lion, LLC’s Executive Committee.

Watson brings 28 years of experience in operations management, with more than 15 of those years in the field of diversity. Watson has developed strategies to impact business success by creating a vision to manage diversity, designing leadership mentoring programs to promote diversity and establishing an accountability system for business diversity. 

Immediately prior to joining Food Lion, Watson was the Executive Director of Diversity and Workforce Capability at the Williams Companies Inc.  From 1994 to 2000, he served as Vice President of Global Diversity for the St. Paul Companies Inc. 

He is a member of the PFLAG National Board, member of the MCDC Board (MultiCultural Development Center), Chair for The Conference Board Workforce Diversity Council and a member of the ELC (Executive Leadership Council) Human Resources Committee.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of North Carolina-Center for International Understanding, The ARC/Rowan, and the Urban League of Central Carolinas in Charlotte, where he also chairs the Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP).  He is a member of the Board of Visitors for Johnson C. Smith University, a member of the Leadership Team of the Community Building Initiative (CBI) in Charlotte, and is on the North Carolina NAACP Youth & College Division Advisory Board. 

He attends University Park Baptist Church and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C.   

Alonzo Weems is the Director of Global Workforce Diversity for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, IN.  In his role, he is responsible for driving the development and implementation of the workforce diversity agenda for the corporation.  Prior to assuming this role, he served Lilly as legal counsel with primary responsibilities for the oncology business.  Mr. Weems graduated from Wabash College, cum laude, in 1992 and Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington in 1995.  He was admitted to the Indiana Bar the same year.  He is the current vice chair of the Success by Six Leadership Council for the United Way of Central Indiana and is a teen Sunday school teacher at his church. He is the immediate past president of the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners.  Alonzo is married and has a one year old son.

William Wells is president of W. Wells & Associates LLC, providing management consulting services to clients in corporate, public, private and nonprofit sectors.  The main focus of Bill's work is in diversity and inclusion, human resources, organizational development, change management, culture change and transformation. Wells helps clients create a vision and develops strategic solutions to advance diversity in their respective workplace. Additionally, he works with clients to develop plans for becoming high-performance organizations, Employer of Choice and A Great Place to Work.

 Additionally, Wells' consulting services include developing strategic plans for minority recruitment and retention, Employee Resource/Affinity Groups/Diversity Councils, mentoring, coaching, team building and leadership development. Previously, Wells was the Chief Diversity Officer and served as Vice President of Global Diversity at The St. Paul Companies.  In this role he was responsible for developing and implementing the corporate diversity strategy for the company. He has also held various executive level positions in the telecommunications and educational consulting industries.

 Wells serves as a public speaker both locally and nationally. He is co-producer and Master of Ceremonies of the Multicultural Forum and was instrumental in the design and development of the Minnesota Boulevard Consortium - an approach that enhances an employer's efforts for recruiting and retaining diverse business professionals to their respective organizations. Wells serves on a number of boards and is currently the national chairman for the National Black MBA Association.  Additionally, Wells serves as an executive mentor in the Menttium100 Program along with various duties as an executive coach as well.

David Zander is a cultural anthropologist with the State Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans. For the past eleven years he has worked for the Council on legislative issues affecting the Asian Pacific population. His research has focused on the challenges faced by Southeast Asians such as Welfare Reform, Asian Juvenile Crime Prevention (Asian gangs, homeless runaway children), Casino Gambling Addiction, and Refugee Mental Health.