Mark Valerius is the Sr. Vice President of Global Compensation & Benefits of Stellantis, N.V, one of the largest global automotive/mobility companies in the world, where he is responsible for the strategy, design, implementation and oversight of the company’s executive compensation and global compensation and benefits programs. He has over 30 years of experience in executive and board compensation, global compensation and benefits, global mobility, and HRIS with other multinational organizations in the automotive and health care/medical device industry.

Mark’s education and professional background includes actuarial science consulting (pension & OPEB), a Master of Business Administration from University of Michigan-Dearborn and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Physics from Eastern Michigan University.  He also holds a Certificate in International Benefits with the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.

Melissa Fisher is self-proclaimed [total rewards] nerd! Her love of superheroes and Star Wars runs deep in her DNA. Dedication to community service also runs deep as she comes from a long line of teachers and public servants. Melissa shares her family drive for providing service to the community, with over 17 years in human resources with non-profit and public-sector organizations. Throughout her career, Melissa has led teams through strategic planning efforts to ensure alignment between HR and business goals and has implemented new and innovative technologies, motivated teams, and delivered results. Melissa is passionate about making a positive impact on Children’s Hospital Colorado by creating and maintaining rewards programs to support team member needs.

Melissa holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado and an MS in Management from University of Colorado at Denver. Prior to joining Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2014, she served in HR leadership roles with the City and County of Denver.

Hannah Wilkowski, CEBS is a Human Resources professional with a decade of experience in both the Talent and Reward space, with a specialty and passion for Global Benefits and Wellness.

Currently, Hannah is the Senior Manager of Global Benefits and Wellness at BuzzFeed. In this role, she is responsible for the quality, integrity, and sustainability of all employee health, wellness, and retirement plans. Prior to this role, she was a Business Partner and Global Reward Specialist in the financial services industry. Hannah’s accomplishments include rebranding and expanding global employee benefits, implementing and growing Wellness Programs, and enhancing Parental Leave policies and offerings.

Hannah is a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) by the IFEBP and Wharton Business School, received an M.S. from New York University, and a B.S. from Muhlenberg College. Hannah lives in Manhattan with her husband and 2 rescue dogs. Hannah enjoys yoga, hikes, and red wine.

Jeanne Walsh is responsible for overall strategic leadership in the design, development and success of BSC’s competitive and innovative North America Benefits and Global Mobility programs. She partners closely with Senior Business Leaders and HR Business Partners to translate business strategy into meaningful programs that meet the organization's needs and investment in its talent. She is Chair of the BSC Employee Benefits Committee and participates in multiple Employee Resource Groups.

Jessica Kim is the co-founder/CEO of ianacare on a mission to encourage, empower, and equip family caregivers with the practical tools and communities, so no one does it alone. The platform leverages the powerful combination of technology + personalized navigation to organize and mobilize all the layers of support. Her dedication stems from being the primary caregiver for her mom who fought a seven-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Jessica is a 3x startup founder, speaker, and caregiving advocate, was honored as Crain’s Top 40 under 40, Forbes Next 1000, and Woman in Digital Health Award 2020, served as the inaugural EIR & Presidential Council advisor at Brown University, & Venture Partner at Praxis Labs. She graduated from Brown University and received her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Boston with her three young children, husband, and 83-year-old father.

Angela Nelson is the Executive Director, Clinical Services for RethinkCare. She oversees RethinkCare’s consultation services and content generation for our industry leading Parental Success solution. She specializes in working with parents raising children and teens with learning, social, and behavioral challenges, as well as organizations motivated to best support their employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Angela holds a master’s degree in Counseling, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Education with a specialization in organizational behavior change.

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

Matt Tremmaglia leads the Customer Success and Professional Services teams at Achievers, a technology platform focused on enhancing culture, improving employee belonging, and driving improved business performance in today’s workplace at scale. As the Chief Customer Officer, Matt focuses on creating repeatable high value outcomes for all organizations who leverage the Achievers platform. With over 15 years of experience working with companies of all sizes and backgrounds, Matt leverages behavioral data, proven best practices, and real-life examples from hundreds of global organizations to build stronger communities of employees who are aligned to values and carry a high sense of belonging.

Matt is known for pushing the boundaries on what an organization can learn from their employee data; examples include how to identify top talent early, how to structure employee strategies that are both global and locally relevant at the same time, and how to recognize the whole employee such that they feel welcomed, known, and connected within their organization. Matt holds an honors degree from Queen’s University in Software Engineering and is an avid endurance athlete who enjoys swimming, cycling, and volleyball.

As Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Ceresa, Nicole Tanzillo is dedicated to changing the landscape of leadership, using technology and neuroscience to democratize access to transformative leadership development for all, and particularly for traditionally underrepresented leadership communities. She is responsible for driving all aspects of the Ceresa experience, inclusive of Product, Design, Engineering, Operations, and Brand, building both a deeply human and data-driven solution for supporting early career talent.

Prior to joining Ceresa in 2018, Nicole was the Vice President of Strategic Operations at Spiceworks where she drove both long-term strategic planning and objective-aligned business operations across the company. During her eight-year tenure, she held multiple roles across marketing, operations, and product, pioneering the product management function.

Previous to her work at Spiceworks, she held multiple leadership roles at Surgient and NI (National Instruments) that included more than 2.5 years of working and living abroad in the UK, Europe, and Asia.

Over the course of her professional journey, the common theme is one of service and connection, leading Nicole to become a sought-after speaker and mentor, delivering engaging workshops and keynotes around the world.

A product technologist from the start, Tanzillo earned a BS in Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University where she was a President’s Endowed Scholar.

Taylor Padalino is an Enterprise Partnerships Account Executive at Carrot Fertility, the leading global platform for fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits. In her role, Taylor creates strategic partnerships with enterprise employers, working with HR benefit leaders to design a lifelong fertility and family-forming benefits program that offers comprehensive, inclusive coverage to support all employees.

Taylor's personal fertility journey sparked her curiosity in the fertility healthcare space. After a less-than-ideal experience navigating IVF, she felt there had to be a better way to access care, and was drawn to Carrot's mission of fertility care for all.

Prior to Carrot, Taylor spent 10 years in the healthcare technology and digital health space working for industry-leading companies, including Cerner Corporation and Rx Savings Solutions. At Cerner, she partnered with large hospitals and health systems to implement clinical software solutions to improve provider workflows, patient safety, and clinical outcomes. While at Rx Savings Solutions, Taylor partnered with HR benefit leaders to implement transparency software to help people save money on prescription costs.

Lauren Reed, MHA, serves as senior manager for Accolade’s solutions management team responsible for
leading market research. Lauren is a digital health fanatic who joined Accolade after nearly ten years
with the University of Washington’s health system. Lauren earned her graduate degree in Health
Administration from the University of Washington and her undergraduate degree in Spanish at the
University of Oregon. Beyond her work at Accolade, Lauren enjoys spending time with her family,
training her new puppy, and traveling.

Kaeli Yuen, MD is a clinical product manager who currently leads Accolade’s Frontline Care Team
products. Prior to joining Accolade, she served as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow detailed
to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where she worked to modernize healthcare delivery for
Veterans by leading development of a standards-based (SMART on FHIR) clinical decision support
platform.

She was recognized for her work at VA with a 2021 Service to the Citizen Award, 2021
FedHealthIT Innovation Award, 2020 FedHealthIT 100 Award, 2020 FedScoop50 “Disruptor of the Year”
nomination, and others. She enjoys building products, processes, and teams from the ground up, and
has practiced these skills at Y-Combinator-backed healthcare startups The Human Diagnosis Project and
Akido Labs.

Kaeli received an MD from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern
California, and a BS in biology from Stanford University. She is passionate about driving data and
compassion-driven transformation of healthcare and improving provider experiences. Outside of work,
she enjoys rock climbing, baking, and Peloton.

Jennifer is the Director of Employee Wellbeing for Piedmont Healthcare.  She has over 20 years’ experience in the wellness industry including research, club management, program development, digital therapeutics and facility renovations/expansions.

In her role, she creates, develops and executes strategic health promotion programs, leads wellness campaigns and is the business owner of the mobile benefits platform relationship.   She oversees coordination of joint vendor/Piedmont working teams supporting Benefits and the Piedmont Clinic and the formulation of employee wellness communication.

Jennifer is certified through the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Cancer Society, STAR Oncology Rehab and is a Fellow of the Medical Fitness Association.  She served as President of the Women’s Leadership Alliance of Piedmont Healthcare and President of the Southeastern Chapter of the Medical Fitness Association.  Presently, she serves as a Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Medical Fitness Association fulfilling her passion for the promotion of Exercise is Medicine and to support career advancement for medical fitness professionals.

A native of Benwood, West Virginia, she received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from the School of Medicine at West Virginia University.  Jennifer resides in Buford, Georgia with her husband and fur babies.  She enjoys golf, stand up paddle board and spending time with family and friends.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Stephanie Denton is the People Operations Lead at Northstar, the financial wellness platform for employees. With over 13 years of HR experience, Stephanie specializes in recruiting, employee engagement, benefits, employee relations, leadership coaching, and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging). Previously at Uber, Postmates, Twitch, and KIXEYE, Stephanie focuses on providing education and guidance for employees to be their best personal selves at work. At a very young age, Stephanie was taught to give back and volunteer in the community and to this day is passionate about serving traditionally underserved communities, which is why she joined Northstar.

Patti Taylor is the Head of Total Rewards at Xerox.

Joanna Daly is Vice President, Compensation and Benefits for IBM.  In this role, she has global responsibility for the design and delivery of all compensation and benefits programs in addition to HR for acquisitions and divestitures, and Corporate Health and Safety.  She is responsible for compensation matters at the Board level, and led IBM’s pandemic response, as well as the spinoff of Kyndryl, IBM’s managed infrastructure services business, in 2021.

Joanna has served in a number of leadership roles in Human Resources in IBM.  Prior to leading Compensation and Benefits, Joanna was the Vice President, Talent, with global responsibility for talent acquisition, people analytics, employee experience, performance management, and careers & skills.  She has held past leadership roles for HR as the CHRO for IBM’s Consulting business in Europe, for new business ventures in software, in addition to various Compensation leadership roles.

She has lived and worked in New York, Bangalore, London, Madrid, and Singapore, and currently is based in Austin, Texas.  Joanna is a frequent speaker at conferences and in media on automation in HR, diversity and inclusion, skills, and the future of work. She holds an MBA from Syracuse University and is a Certified Compensation Professional.

Jess serves as a partner to the most innovative employers in the world, working to create equitable and accessible opportunities for their employees to find care.

Bryan Walsh is the editor of Vox’s Future Perfect section, overseeing coverage on policies and technologies that will make the future a better place. Previously he worked at Axios as the Future Correspondent, wrote the 2019 book End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World, and worked at TIME magazine for 15 years as a foreign correspondent in Asia, a climate change writer and as the international editor.