Alexis brings a passion for quality writing, incisive editing, and strategic creative storytelling to every professional endeavor. An ATL native, she recently moved back to her hometown after having lived and worked in Boston, Washington D.C., New York and Los Angeles. In addition to her current role as content strategist for Green Gate Marketing, an agency based in Decatur that works with nonprofits, she has written and edited for daily newspapers, alt weeklies, trade publications, arts and culture blogs, and national magazines. Some of these include the Atlantic, National Journal, Mental Floss, Washington City Paper, and TIME. Alexis holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in English/Creative Writing and a master’s degree from Emerson College in Publishing and Writing. In her spare time, she is an avid traveler, marine biology enthusiast, new experience seeker, film buff and performing arts connoisseur. She and her husband are proud to be raising two saucy cats.

Willie Jackson is Head of Learning & Development at ReadySet, a diversity strategy firm that creates more human-centered workplaces. In this role, Willie leads a team that brings a range of expertise and lived experience to bear in addressing complex organizational challenges.

Before ReadySet, Willie founded a digital magazine for Black men called Abernathy. In its four year run, Abernathy published 400+ articles, backed by companies like Atlassian, Mailchimp and WeWork.

In a prior life as a technologist, Willie designed and scaled web applications for small businesses, including serving as Founding Technical Lead of Seth Godin’s altMBA program. Willie studied Information Technology at Florida State University and started his career as an IT Consultant at Accenture.

A frequent public speaker, Willie has been featured in conferences (MAKERS keynote) documentaries (I’m Fine, Thanks), on HGTV (House Hunters International), and in print (The Hollywood Reporter). When he’s not facilitating on Zoom, he can be found tending to his sprawling houseplant jungle.

Obehi Ogunbayo is a Strategic Talent Acquisition and Human Resources Leader with comprehensive full life-cycle recruitment, retention, long & short-term strategy design and execution experience across North America. She is the Director of Executive Recruiting for Cox Enterprises, a leading communications and automotive services company with $21 billion in annual revenues and more than 55,000 employees worldwide.

Prior to joining Cox, Obehi was the Director of Corporate Recruiting for Hertz Holding. Other previous experience includes Human Resources and Talent Acquisition roles at Mercedes-Benz USA and The Bank of New York.

Obehi graduated from Montclair State University, New Jersey with a degree in Marketing and Management Information Systems.

Among other interests, Obehi volunteers with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Atlanta.

Tim Mapes is Delta's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. He is responsible for the strategy and coordination of Delta’s internal and external communications as the global airline builds on its reputation as a reliable, customer-focused brand setting new standards for innovative products and experiences. His oversight includes marketing, advertising, product development, corporate communications, social and traditional media engagement, and community affairs activities, with an overall focus on propelling Delta’s reputation as a trusted global consumer brand. Tim is a member of the Delta Leadership Committee of top executives who report to CEO Ed Bastian.

Previously at Delta, Tim has led the strategic direction and execution of Delta’s global brand as Chief Marketing Officer, including advertising efforts, sponsorship relationships, promotional and event marketing programs, customer experience programs, distribution, internal cultural transformation efforts, and digital brand experiences. Prior to that, Tim was Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Song, Delta’s award-winning, low-cost division that was named one of the top three U.S. airline brands by the readers of both Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure.
Tim’s background includes 30+ years of agency and client-side experience including various leadership positions held at Omnicom’s BBDO, and Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt. He has been inducted to the Hall of Achievement by the American Advertising Federation, recognized as one of the country’s “top innovative marketers” by Advertising Age, and named to Forbes’ list of the Top 50 Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers.
Tim is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he serves on the Advisory Board of the Grady College of Mass Communication.

Erica coleads McKinsey’s Center for Societal Benefit through Healthcare and is part of our broader Healthcare Systems & Services Practice. She has spent almost 15 years working with the management teams of leading public- and private-sector healthcare organizations. Through the Center for Societal Benefit through Healthcare, Erica is leading McKinsey’s ongoing efforts to invest in issues deeply relevant to society, such as social determinants of health, rural health, maternal health, and behavioral health—including mental health and substance use—with the explicit purpose of sharing insights and results so others can replicate what proves effective.

To that end, Erica is leading the firm’s efforts around social determinants, working with payer, provider, and government clients to take specific action to move from philanthropic pilots to scaled programs. She is also a leader of McKinsey's client service and research on behavioral health, focused on improving care delivery for mental health and substance use disorders. Erica is committed to improving behavioral health outside of McKinsey as well, including having served on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City.
Erica helped to launch and lead our McKinsey Center for US Health System Reform for the last seven years. She remains a go-to voice for McKinsey and clients on health policies and health insurance markets more broadly, particularly as it relates to regulatory implications in the above identified areas critical to the benefit of society.

Before joining McKinsey, Erica worked for a boutique strategy consultancy serving pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic firms. She was also with Massachusetts General Hospital, collaborating on clinical trial research and assisting in the management of a mental health-focused nonprofit, and spent time working with the Carter Center Mental Health Program under Rosalyn Carter, based in Atlanta.

Denise currently holds the role of Vice President Sales - North America. Denise is passionate about helping our clients build and maintain successful employee engagement programs that align with strategic business objectives. Denise has dedicated the past 8 years to working side by side with many diverse, global organizations who share her belief in the power of a work environment committed to employee recognition and engagement. Outside of work Denise enjoys travelling the globe with her husband and their 5 year old daughter

Sonja Steptoe is a veteran journalist and communications executive. Currently she is a communications and outreach manager for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Over the course of her career, she has been the director of marketing and communications for major law firms in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as a communications leader for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau. As a journalist, she has worked as a reporter, writer and editor at Time, People and Sports Illustrated magazines, as well as the Wall Street Journal. As a correspondent for HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Journalism for reporting that uncovered an East German government doping program for Olympic athletes.

Christian Leard joined LEVOLOR as president in 2017. Immediately prior to joining LEVOLOR, he served as the global vice president of sales for Char-Broil, a market-leading marketer and manufacturer of outdoor grilling products. Prior to his time at Char-Broil, Leard spent 15 years at Newell Brands in various leadership roles supporting nearly every business within the Newell Brands portfolio. During his tenure at NWL, he served as the vice president of sales and trade marketing for LEVOLOR, laying the foundation in the industry that would ultimately lead to his role today. Early in his career, he worked at Stanley Black & Decker in several sales and marketing roles. He also proudly served four years on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a deep sea diver. Leard sits on the board of directors as the corporate-relations chair for the Georgia Chapter of Autism Speaks. Leard did his graduate business studies at the University of Georgia, where he received a BBA in marketing and holds an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Morgan Chaney is Senior Director of Marketing and Employer Branding Lead at Blueboard, an experiential employee rewards platform for the modern workplace. She is a seasoned professional speaker and employee recognition thought leader, hosting Blueboard’s monthly webinars and presenting across a variety of industry conferences and professional meetups including HR Redefined, HR Transform, HR Southwest, DisruptHR Regional Events, Culture Con Madison, and CalHR Conference.

As a leader of the Blueboard Culture Committee, Morgan focuses her attention on crafting a more meaningful candidate experience. Her current projects center around building a powerful employer brand as a tool for attracting top talent, creating a memorable candidate journey, and setting up “Newboarders” for success through streamlined onboarding efforts.

Living Blueboard’s mission around adventure and exploration, outside of the office you’ll find Morgan photographing wildlife, practicando su español, or teaching yoga. Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganchaney.

Debra is the leader of DDI's women in leadership practice. She is responsible for helping clients tap the hidden potential in their organizations by developing women and diverse associates. She is also involved in the internal education of DDI associates to help them stay knowledgeable and current regarding women in leadership and diversity and inclusion topics.

Prior to her current role, Debra was vice president of DDI’s healthcare practice. She was responsible for a team of healthcare specialists as well as the DDI thought-leader regarding industry trends and implications. She was a frequent presenter at national healthcare events and wrote numerous articles regarding leadership in healthcare.

Debra also serves as a coach for our executive services business. She is passionate about helping women and diverse individuals thrive in leadership roles. She has also coached numerous executive clinicians including CNOs and CMOs. Debra is very experienced in coaching sales leaders and exceptional sales professionals. At DDI, she is known for building very collaborative and highly engaged teams.

Bill is NAF’s Vice President, Outreach and Partnership Development. His responsibilities include spearheading the organization’s strategic expansion and deep placed-based engagement efforts designed to deliver on the full promise of the NAF design by delivering work- based learning and closing the paid internship gap for high school students in several, high priority geographies. Bill leads a team that identifies, establishes and nurtures cross sector partnerships in key regions and local ecosystems that support emergent Industry Hotspots and Future Ready Labs once established.

A Dean’s List graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Bill holds a B.S. in Sociology.  Prior to joining NAF in 2000, Bill was Social Studies teacher and Coordinator of the Science & Technology Institute at Martin Luther King High School in Manhattan, New York and cast member of Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Dr. Kim Richards is a Solutions Consultant at BetterUp where she works to advance the science and practice of evidence-based coaching and behavior transformation in the workplace.  Over her 20+ year career, Kim has led and partnered with leaders at all levels to bring leadership, talent and organizational initiatives to life across a diverse range of large, complex and global organizations in financial services, home improvement retail, diversified manufacturing, non-profits and start-ups.  Kim also is the Founder and Principal of Thrive consulting, LLC, where she focused on activating, integrating and sustaining the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual energy of organizations, teams and individuals.

Immediately prior to BetterUp, Kim was the Organization Effectiveness Leader at Ingersoll-Rand where she reimagined and refreshed O.E. strategy, solutions and practices to enable corporate transformation.  Kim lead the sponsorship relationship with NoBarriers, USA and founded, chaired the VisAbility business resource group to advocate for and develop organizational culture welcoming to people and families with diverse abilities.

During her time in the Financial Services industry, Kim created a vision and roadmap for Talent Management at LPL Financial to prepare for impending IPO and instill confidence from investors and Wall Street.

Jonathan T.M. Reckford began his journey as chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International in 2005. Drawing upon his decades of experience ranging from Wall Street to a local church, Jonathan has led the global nonprofit’s tremendous growth. Through his management, Habitat has grown from serving 125,000 individuals a year to helping more than 7 million people last year alone build strength, stability and independence through shelter.

Jonathan is deeply influenced by his parents who were active in the civil rights movement, and by his grandmother, U.S. Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick, widely known for her commitment to justice. Jonathan seeks to follow in their footsteps by leading Habitat’s efforts to draw nearer to a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

His path to Habitat was neither immediate nor direct — with stops at Goldman, Sachs & Co., the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Marriott, the Walt Disney Co., Musicland, Best Buy, and Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota. Every position prepared him to lead Habitat with a passion for the mission, tireless commitment to the work and bold vision for the future.

He is the author of Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World, which provides practical inspiration to bridge the divisiveness of the day. He is a noted speaker and sought-after contributor to home affordability conversations throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Jonathan serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is the chair of Leadership 18 and is a member of the Freddie Mac Housing Advisory Council. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum.

Jonathan holds an MBA from Stanford and a BA in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. In 1986, he was awarded a Henry Luce Fellowship.

He and his wife, Ashley, have three children and live in Atlanta.

Follow Jonathan on social media — @JReckford on Twitter and Instagram.

Lain is senior director of corporate citizenship at Mailchimp. He joined the company in 2011 and has been a nonprofit manager and a brand marketing manager. He oversaw Mailchimp's sponsorship program before starting their corporate citizenship program. He's a native of Decatur and a graduate of Kenyon College.

Monica Bankston was recently named U.S. Group Director for the Global Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Coca-Cola Co. In this role, Monica will develop and lead the D&I strategy for the U.S.

Monica was the Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Corning Inc., a multinational technology company specializing in glass, ceramics, and related technologies based in Corning, NY. She was responsible for partnering with leadership teams globally to improve the diversity of Corning’s workforce through three areas of focus: hiring to availability, managing promotions, and minimizing attrition. Her results included designing and implementing a five-year strategy focused on D&I education, metrics, branding, recruiting and retention. She also managed 18 Employee Resource Groups.

Monica has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and diversity & inclusion in the financial, retail, and manufacturing industries. Prior to her role with Corning, Inc., Monica led diversity & inclusion and talent-management initiatives for Walmart and held a variety of HR roles at Bank of America.

She has a B.A. from Montreat College and an M.S. from Pfeiffer University, both located in North Carolina. Monica and her husband Deron are both Atlanta natives. They have two sons: Myles, a sophomore at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Michael, a junior in high school.

Mariel Smith’s primary practice is labor and employment law. She has years of experience in defending companies in lawsuits and prelitigation investigations involving agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Her litigation experience in employment and labor law include defending employers in wage and hour, discrimination and harassment claims. She also has experience in representing clients in mediation. She has assisted clients in workplace internal investigations, as well as those involving employees charged with white-collar federal crimes. She also has experience assisting private companies undergoing workforce reductions.

Mrs. Smith originally joined the Columbus office of HBS in 2011 after she worked for several years as a Superior Court judicial law clerk and subsequently as an assistant district attorney, all for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. During her first few years at HBS, Mrs. Smith also served as the Associate Magistrate Judge for Muscogee County and occasionally filled in on the bench for Municipal Court, presiding over civil lawsuits, criminal first appearance hearings, truancy hearings, and warrant applications.

Mrs. Smith left HBS in 2017 to work as general counsel for a global manufacturing company and recently returned to HBS in 2019. During her time as general counsel, Mrs. Smith managed complex litigation, including lawsuits involving products liability matters, patent infringement and trade-secret theft, and also maintained the company’s trademark and patent inventory. She gained a significant amount of experience in negotiating, revising, and managing agreements including those with two of the largest multinational retail corporations. She has also successfully negotiated international agreements as related to operations and procurement in the manufacturing industry. Mrs. Smith has unique expertise in consumer and commercial law, particularly as related to e-commerce, business compliance with consumer privacy laws, consumer products packaging/labeling, and international trade.

Rich Maiore brings more than 25 years’ experience in corporate social responsibility strategy, activation and communications with a track record of developing and implementing impactful CSR programs for numerous Fortune 500 companies and leading nonprofit organizations.

Rich spent 12 years at Cone Communications, the recognized pioneer in CSR strategy and communication. As Senior Vice President, Rich managed the CSR team and created award-winning numerous national CSR initiatives for Gillette, T-Mobile, Northwestern Mutual, and Coca-Cola.

He founded Rocket Social Impact in collaboration with several colleagues from Cone. The agency provides a full range of CSR services including strategic

Teri Hassell is Vice President, Human Resources & HR Business Partner at Sysco Corp.

Ximena Juncosa is the Vice President of Executive Talent of McKesson Corporation. Currently ranked 7th on the FORTUNE 500, McKesson is a global healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better.

Ximena is a Global Human Resources leader with proven track record executing business strategies and operational initiatives for Fortune 500 companies. Human capital management experience includes talent acquisition, talent management, succession planning, change management, priority setting, communications and employee relations. Uniquely skilled at helping start-ups take flight. A native Spanish speaker with extensive experience in Latin America.

Prior to joining McKesson, Ximena was the Vice President - Corporate Human Resources at Fiserv ($5.5B). Previously, Ximena held several global HR leadership roles for ADP ($12.4B). Roles there included the HR Leader - Latin America, before a promotion to the HR Leader - Sales, Global Enterprise Solutions and finally to the Head - Executive Talent Acquisition. Ximena began her HR career in the luxury hotel segment as the Director - Human Resources for the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne and the Four Seasons in Miami.

Ximena earned an undergraduate degree from Florida International University as well as two certifications from the Society for Human Resources Management: Senior Certified Professional (SCP) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR).

Ximena currently resides in Johns Creek, Georgia with her family and is based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Vicki Cansler is SVP & CHRO at Piedmont Healthcare.

As the university’s first chief diversity officer, Henderson helps lead the realization of Emory’s vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with campus leaders and representatives to define community goals, establish guiding principles, and create a strategy for moving forward and communicating progress. Henderson partners with Emory’s leadership, students, faculty, and staff to reimagine and strengthen comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the university and to create mechanisms for communicating the institution’s commitment to these principles and practices. She also serves as the public voice on these issues, helping to shape the discussion in the Atlanta metro area, nationally, and internationally.

Henderson joined the University of Delaware faculty in 1995 and served as the university’s vice provost for diversity beginning in 2014. In that role, she oversaw and promoted diversity efforts across the university and provided strategic leadership in advancing diversity as an institutional value and an academic priority in all facets of the academic community.

A widely recognized scholar and specialist in African American literature, Henderson also was professor of English and Africana studies at the University of Delaware, and served as interim chair and chair of the Department of Black American Studies from 2010 to 2014.

Her authored and edited volumes include Imagining the Black Female Body: Reconciling Image in Print and Visual Culture (2010), America and the Black Body: Identity Politics in Print and Visual Culture (2009), James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain: Historical and Critical Essays (2006), and Scarring the Black Body: Race and Representation in African American Literature (2002).

Henderson holds a BA from the University of California–Los Angeles, an MA from California State University of Dominguez Hills, and she received her PhD from the University of California–Riverside.

Allison serves as the Head of Diversity & Social Responsibility for Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm with over $13 billion in equity capital invested in restaurant and retail consumer brands such as OrangeTheory Fitness, Jamba Juice, Arby’s and Sonic. The portfolio has over $37 billion in system-wide sales, 36,000 locations in 81 countries, and employs 670,000 people. Allison is responsible for developing and leading Roark’s initiatives related to diversity and inclusion and philanthropic giving and community service.

Allison previously served on the executive team at one of Roark’s portfolio companies, Miller’s Ale House, as the Vice President of Marketing, where she led the re-branding and re-positioning of the 80-unit chain. Prior, she held global and domestic brand and marketing roles with the Coca-Cola Co. and Sprint, as well as developing and launching two start-up concepts in the retail and restaurant industries. Allison earned her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Cornell University, where she is currently serving a six-year appointed term and is on the Steering Committee for the President’s Council of Cornell Women to advance and champion women. She also serves on the board of the Michelle McGann Fund, which advocates for diabetic children. Allison has been married to her college sweetheart, Geoff, for 25 years. They have two daughters, 18 and 15, and 3 dogs. Allison also loves live music, cooking, traveling, running, reading and sometimes just doing nothing.