Alicia Lopez is a dynamic leader fiercely invested in driving Cisco’s mission to power an inclusive future for all. As head of learning and careers, Alicia leads a global team of 150 with a passion to help underrepresented talent succeed and empower every Cisco employee to own their seat at the table. She is a learning and development expert, highly adept in systems thinking and specialized in building diverse, agile, high-performing teams.

Alicia has held a variety of roles in Engineering, Operations and most recently People & Communities (Human Resources) in her 26-year tenure at Cisco. A visionary as it relates to development, her current Learning and Careers team designs programs and solutions to help Cisco’s 85,000-plus employees unlock the full potential of their career, growth and development.

Programs delivered by her team support learning, networking, personal branding and hands-on experiences aligned to the individual employee’s growth aspirations. Most recently, Alicia and her team are building a skills academy to enable the reskilling and upskilling necessary to help Cisco employees more easily move across the enterprise and into new roles.

In all Alicia does, her chief aim is to provide the utmost value while remaining fully authentic in all her interactions. She abides by Kevin Carroll’s mantra to “...be present, be where your feet are.”

In doing so, she models servant leadership in a multitude of advisory capacities, including as LEAD LinkedIn Member, Customer Advisory Board Member of Degreed and MasterClass, Conexion, The STEM Advisory Board at View Ridge Middle School, UPWARD Member, and Brandon Hall Group Excellence Club. 

Alicia is a California bay-area native and proud daughter of a migrant worker. She and her husband, Hector, live in Ridgefield, Washington, with their five children.

Michela Vernon is Executive Vice President and Chief Learning Officer of Truist Financial Corporation. Michela is an
 active member of the Senior Human Resources Leadership Team. In her current role, she is responsible for driving 
learning strategies across the Truist teammate population from senior to entry level teammate. Her team consults,
 designs and implements practical solutions that support teammate readiness for business execution as well as
developing teammates for future critical skill requirements.

She joined the firm in 1997 as an early career teammate participating in an intensive multi month program preparing her 
for an entry position within the branching network. For the first several years of her career, Michela held roles within the
 retail community bank, serving as a loan officer and branch leader. She later transitioned to the Learning and
 Development organization pivoting her skills to facilitate courses and later leading the early career practice to include
 recruitment, program management and retention strategies. In 2019, she was promoted to her current role of Chief
 Learning Officer. From October 2020 to March 2022, she also served as the Teammate Experience Horizontal lead 
reporting into the Truist Merger Program responsible for establishing a teammate readiness framework during merger
 conversion events. 

Michela holds a degree in Economics from The University of Chapel Hill. She completed her SPHR certification in 2009. Michela currently serves as the Learning and Development Council Chair for RMA.

Marie Potter has always gravitated towards working with people and supporting their development, believing that life is about choosing a positive attitude, being creative, leading with curiosity, and making a difference. After 15 years in higher education and student services, she made a bold career transition into human resources and the corporate world, shifting from helping students prepare for their careers to helping professionals thrive in them. She joined Getty Images in 2017 where she currently serves as Senior Director of Culture & Development, leading a global team that champions the experience, engagement, and development of employees enterprise-wide. With a focus on learning and development, diversity and inclusion, and people insights, the team is forever guided by their motto, “We shape and tell the story of our people”.

Mark Cousino is the VP, Learning & Effectiveness at Kyndryl.

Shveta Miglani currently serves as the Head of People Development Experience for Micron Technology. In her role, she fulfills the growth and development needs of all 40,000 Micron employees across 18 countries. Her global team is dedicated to creating a culture of continuous learning through digital transformation of the learning space. Shveta held leadership roles at GlobalFoundries, SanDisk, Palo Alto Networks and LiveRamp. She is passionate about Future of Work and is currently working on upskilling and reskilling efforts.

Shveta is also an official Member of Forbes HR Council, an Executive Board Member of CityYear and a member of World Economic Forum. Shveta holds a Bachelor’s in Economics and Sociology, Master’s of Science in Instructional Technology and a Master’s in Organizational Development. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Leadership Development and Organizational Development.

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.

Kelly Woltornist is the Head of Global Learning at Takeda.

Lauren Mendoza is the Director Organizational Development at ABM Industries.

Mary Vinette is the Global Head of Learning & Development at Technicolor.

Steve has spent the last ten years of his career building technology that helps people to learn, grow, and connect. Before starting Campfire, he spent 5 years at Instructure building a talent management platform focused on career development and human performance. He worked with product, marketing, sales, and strategy teams to grow the business from the ground up to $27 million in annual revenue. While with Instructure, he worked with teams at Disney, Tesla, Lululemon, Johnson and Johnson, and other global brands to strengthen their talent management practices.

Now, Steve is focused primarily on finding ways for people to learn and grow through connected learning experiences called Campfires. The business has strong investment and is responsible for training hundreds of managers in the key skills needed to effectively lead teams. Steve’s experience in technology, content, facilitation, and talent management provide a rich mix of skills for solving these challenges.

Campfire was founded in 2020 at the very beginning of the pandemic and has benefitted from the changes and shifts that allow for us to consider new ways of connecting and working with each other. Steve has three co-founders - Todd, Taylor, and Marinne - who are all passionate about the mission of providing universal access to connected learning experiences.

Kelly Bourdet is an award-winning journalist and editor with over a decade of experience in science and technology journalism. Kelly was a Managing Editor at CNN Business where she oversaw the brand’s technology and transportation coverage. She was the Editor in Chief of Gizmodo where she led a newsroom of over 30 journalists across five desks covering the business and culture of technology. While at Gizmodo she launched Earther, G/O Media's climate science-focused vertical, as well as “The Gateway,” Gizmodo's first investigative podcast. Prior to joining Gizmodo, Kelly held leadership positions at Vocativ and Refinery29, where she founded the site's health and technology verticals, and was a contributing writer and columnist at Vice's Motherboard.

Shivani Dhir is the Assistant Dean of Digital Learning at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. She has extensive expertise in launching and growing innovative and inclusive graduate and professional education programs that align with the workforce needs of high-growth industries, including healthcare and technology.

Shivani has created professional development content for students across undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs and is a frequent presenter at higher education events such as the Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) Annual Conference. She holds a B.A. in Sociology & Economics from the College of Arts & Sciences at NYU and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance reporter and From Day One contributing editor based in Richmond, Va., who writes about workplace culture and policies, hiring, DEI, and issues faced by women. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Food Technology, among others, and has been syndicated by MSN and The Motley Fool.

Elizabeth Fiting is an accomplished Chief Learning Officer with a passion for delivering consistency and continuity in learning. With over 15 years of experience in the field, she has become a recognized expert in developing effective learning strategies that drive organizational growth and success.    

Throughout her career, Elizabeth has worked with a diverse range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Her innovative approach to learning has helped these clients achieve their goals by providing customized training solutions that are tailored to their unique needs.  

As Chief Learning Officer, Elizabeth is responsible for leading the learning and development efforts of her organization. She understands the importance of creating a culture of learning that supports employees in their professional development and helps them reach their full potential.  

Elizabeth's expertise in delivering consistency and continuity in learning is unmatched. She has a proven track record of developing and implementing successful training programs that deliver measurable results. Her passion for learning and commitment to excellence make her an invaluable asset to any organization looking to enhance their learning and development initiatives.  

When she's not busy helping others achieve their learning goals, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family and is an avid traveler.

Angie Maizlish, currently Senior Account Manager with Coursera, has over 20 years of experience as a strategic leader empowering Fortune 500 global companies with HR Tech software. Previous to Coursera, she led Digital Learning Services for Adobe where she consulted some of the world's most recognized brands on transformative enablement. Earlier at Cornerstone OnDemand, she was an award winning Regional Sales Manager for the US West, where she formed long-term relationships at various levels within client organizations.

Angie has always been passionate about the intersection of technology and people, and for ten years ran her own Career Coaching business that resulted in over 300 individuals securing new career opportunities. She was a frequent guest speaker at The University of Utah’s MBA program as well as Careerbuilder and Indeed.com.

When not working she loves spending time with her family, skiing with friends, hiking with her Dachshund,  and  traveling as often as possible. She is passionate about championing customer success, bringing out the best, achieving together, and innovating every day.

Steve graduated Yale University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and was elected captain of the baseball team. He spent several years as a closing pitcher after being drafted in 2008 by the Detroit Tigers. Following baseball he spent time as an Intelligence Officer for the Department of Defense, completing embassy tours as a diplomat in Cairo and Abu Dhabi. He attended
Columbia Business School, graduating in 2015 with his MBA, it was then he Co-Founded blockparty, which changed the way tailgating partnerships are developed Division 1 colleges. While building the company in Dallas, TX, he received a direct commission into the US Navy as a Reserve Intelligence Officer, where he currently serves as a Lieutenant.

Steve is an investor and advisor in technology companies including, Moon, Preeta, Flyline, and Life Style Plan. Steve moved back to NYC area at the end of 2020 and started OneRange with the goal of providing efficient upskilling and training to companies and
their workforces.