Michael is a  movement-builder, activist, storyteller and proud father. He is co-founder of The Soze Agency, a creative company focused on social impact campaigns and triple bottom line companies.

He is a respected leader in the new social justice movement who, among other topics, helped ignite conversations around America’s relationship with race, the death of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner, and the Obama presidency.

He was recently profiled in the NY Times for his civil rights activism, and identified as "the man you go to if you...want to leverage the power of celebrity and the reach of digital media to soften the ground for social change."

He is a prolific voice on social media, with more than 250,000 followers, and a regular commentator on outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR and HLN.

From 2009-2015, Michael served as the President of GlobalGrind.com, a millennial driven news website founded by hip-hop impresario, Russell Simmons.

Michael serves on the Board of Directors for The Trayvon Martin Foundation, Policy Link, The Gathering For Justice and The Young Partners Board of The Public Theater.

Earlier in his career, Michael spent over a decade as an award winning film director and producer.  He is the proud father of Mateo Ali.

is Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at New York Life Insurance Company, responsible for leading the company's diversity and inclusion strategy, with a focus on talent recruitment, development, and retention; and internal and external communication.  Ms. Navarro heads up the company’s Executive Talent & Diversity Council and works closely with New York Life’s department heads to align diversity initiatives with business strategies and goals.  Ms. Navarro also manages the company’s seven employee resource groups and 20 external diversity partner relationships.

Ms. Navarro joined New York Life in 1994 and has held a variety of finance, strategy, and operations roles spanning Insurance and Agency, Investments, and Corporate Departments.  She was involved with strategic planning to increase the company’s presence in the women’s and Hispanic markets, both top priorities for the company.  Prior to becoming Chief Diversity Officer, Ms. Navarro co-led The Women’s Initiative at New York Life, an employee resource group whose focus is to help women take their place at the corporate table.

Ms. Navarro holds an MBA in Accountancy from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business and a B.S. in Statistics and Management from New York University Stern School of Business.  She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Financial Women’s Association, The Conference Board U.S. Diversity & Inclusion Council, 30% Club Steering Committee, and CEB Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Council.

Cisco Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Collaboration Officer Shari Slate is responsible for building a strategy that enhances Cisco’s vision to be a world class, benchmark company for inclusion and collaboration, driving exponential value across Cisco, its partners and customers. She is promoting thought leadership across Cisco’s people strategy enabling employee engagement and inclusion outcomes to fuel innovation and market leadership. She is also directing the integration of new models of inclusion and collaboration designed to guide future workplace practices to realize the $19 billion opportunity of the Internet of Everything over the next decade.

In her previous role, Slate served as Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Strategist for Cisco’s Sales Organization. She was responsible for making inclusion relevant in the revenue generating arm of the business and incubating new strategies for fostering full spectrum participation to unleash the power and potential of people.

Slate joined Cisco in 2010. Prior to that, she was Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Global Community Affairs at Sun Microsystems.

Slate has been widely recognized for her visionary leadership and her transformational views on the true value of inclusion. The YWCA recently named her a 2014 “Tribute to Women in Industry” honoree. In 2013, she was named one of Diversity Woman Magazine’s “Stars Who Mean Business”. Previously, she was honored by the California Diversity Council as one of the “Most Influential Women in California” and a “Woman Worth Watching” by Diversity Journal Magazine. She received the National Coalition of 100 Black Women 2010 Corporate Leader Award and The Network Journal's "40 Under Forty" Achievement Award. Slate serves on numerous charitable and community organizational initiatives and advisory boards.

Slate holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political, legal, and economic analysis from Mills College.

A highly sought-after speaker on all aspects of human resources and talent management, Kevin has overseen the production of hundreds of research assets pertaining to best- and next-practices in human capital management (HCM), and has extensive experience in global HCM. His team’s works are frequently cited in leading business and industry media. In his role, Kevin also advises the corporate and human resources leadership teams of many leading employers on human capital strategy and impact, and also serves as executive sponsor of i4cp's distinguished Chief HR Officer Board. He has been recognized as a “Top 100 HR Influencer to Follow on Twitter” by Witty Parrot and a “Top 100 HR Influencer” by HR Examiner.
Prior to joining i4cp in 2012, Kevin worked for several years at Aberdeen Group, where he built one of the industry’s leading HCM research practices. At Aberdeen, he was promoted in to multiple leadership roles including VP and Principal Analyst for HCM, VP and Research Group Leader, SVP of Research Operations with general management oversight of the company’s 17 research practices, and SVP of International Operations. Prior to building and managing research organizations, Kevin spent 15 years leading the sales and marketing efforts at several companies in multiple industries, primarily human capital management.

Kevin serves on the advisory board for the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration. From 2009 to 2011, Kevin served as board president for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massachusetts, an organization he’s been affiliated with since 1995; first serving as a Big Brother from 1995 to 2004 and then serving on its board of directors from 2005 to 2014. In 2006, Kevin was honored as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s “Big Brother of the Year”.
Kevin earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Dayton. He resides in Massachusetts with his wife (Laura) and their three sons.

Tony Tenicela currently advises C-Suite executives on the role of the workforce in the age of disruptive technologies with expertise in  diversity strategy, talent management, leadership, and social collaboration.  In honor of his accomplishments, Tony was awarded the Diversity Leadership Award by the World HRD Congress and the DiversityFirst Award by the California Diversity Council in 2016.  Tony also manages IBM’s global LGBT commercial strategy and was recently named one of the Top 50 LGBT Executives by the UK’s Telegraph and Out at Work.

Prior to joining IBM, Tony was a founding employee of Worldview Systems, where he led the creation and development of the initial prototype for the Travelocity™ on-line travel service.  Tony holds an MBA in Business Strategy from the Anderson School at UCLA, a MA equivalent in Personality/Organizational Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Tujuanna B. Williams is the Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Fannie Mae.  Williams is responsible for leading the development, implementation, management, and evaluation of Fannie Mae’s corporate diversity and inclusion strategy, policies, and programs.  Williams has been instrumental in driving culture change through the organization using tools that access the cultural competence of the company and implementing coaching plans to address gaps.  She has created initiatives and platforms that encourage courageous conversations in the workplace to address conflicts and barriers to employee authenticity.

Before joining Fannie Mae, Williams was co-founder and managing partner of New Season Coaching and Consulting Group, LLC, a management consulting and executive coaching firm. Prior to that, Williams was Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Freddie Mac. Her previous positions include Director – Diversity and Recruiting Strategies, Verizon Business; Director – Workplace Diversity, MCI; and Director – Diversity and Work Life Programs, US Airways Group.

Williams has a bachelor of arts in advertising and public relations from Middle Tennessee State University, Executive Leadership Certificate from Harvard Business School (HBS), Executive Coaching Certificate from the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute (CaPP).  She  has been recognized for her work by Black Enterprise Magazine as 2016 Top Chief Diversity Officer, Working Mother Magazine- Working Mother of the Year, Profiles in Diversity Journal-Women Worth Watching, MReport Magazine-Women in Housing 60 Leading Ladies, Diversity Inc  and Savoy magazines.

Tujuanna resides in Northern Va., where she is active in her community, church and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is married to her college sweetheart and the proud mother of two beautiful daughters.

JENNIFER BROWN is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker and diversity and inclusion expert. She is the founder, president and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC), a strategic leadership and diversity consulting firm that coaches business leaders worldwide on critical issues of talent and workplace strategy. Brown is a passionate advocate for social equality who delves into the “business case for diversity” as she helps businesses foster healthier, more productive workplace cultures.
With over a decade of experience consulting to Fortune 500 companies including Toyota, Starbucks, and Capital One, Brown is a highly sought-after expert source on changing demographics, specific communities of identity including women, people of color, LGBT individuals, generations like Millennials, and the role of male leaders in change efforts.
Brown has appeared in leading media outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and on Fox News. In the past several years, she has been named Social Entrepreneur of the year by the NYC National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), a finalist for the Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award, a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Winning Women Program, one of the Top 40 Outstanding Women by Stonewall Community Foundation, and NYC Controller Bill Thompson’s LGBT Business Owner of the Year.
Brown’s new book Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change (Advantage Media Group, November 2016) will inspire leadership to embrace the opportunity that diversity represents and empower advocates at all levels to find their voice and be a driving force in creating more enlightened organizations that resonate in a fast-changing world.

Ken Barrett, became General Motors’ first Chief Diversity Officer in 2012.  He has 14 years of executive experience, including five years of award-winning performance as the U.S. Navy's Diversity Director, where he achieved historic levels of minority and female officer additions and transformational work-life balance initiatives. Before joining GM, he served as the Under Secretary of Defense’s Acting Director, Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity. He began his career with the U.S. Navy in 1984, and after commissioning through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, he held positions in engineering and operations.

Cal Jackson is the Director of Tech Data’s Global Diversity & Inclusion program. He is also a certified NTL Diversity Practitioner. Cal is most known in the Diversity and Inclusion community for his design, development and delivery of engaging and thought-provoking cultural competence workshops.  Topics include generations, gender, lookism, self-awareness, discrimination, bias, classism and enhancing the cultural competence of managers.

He has received various accolades for his work from Centers for Disease Control, FL Blue, The Florida Diversity Council, the Conference Board, Jacksonville Business Journal, Indo-USA Chamber of Commerce (Jacksonville, FL), and the First Coast Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

Cal Jackson has been an advocate for social justice through his many associations which include the board of directors of the Florida Diversity Council, Hispanic Institute for Life & Learning, OneJax’ Project Breakthrough, Blueprint for Prosperity, Jacksonville Diversity Council, Northeast FL United Negro College Fund Advisory Board, and Community Hospice of Northeast

Maryella Gockel is EY’s Americas Flexibility Leader and a member of the Inclusiveness Center of Excellence. In this role, she is focused on embedding a sustainable inclusive and flexible culture to enable EY professionals to achieve their potential and build a better working world. Maryella also leads EY’s global [email protected] initiative (formerly known as Workplace of the Future) for Talent,

Maryella also leads EY’s global [email protected] initiative (formerly known as Workplace of the Future) for Talent, focused on the future of work.

Maryella was part of the team who brought paid parental leave to EY in 2002 and EY’s recent gender neutral parental leave that continues to create the EY culture that supports families. The team and she also identify and implement programs that help families manage their busy lives such as backup child and adult care, College Coach, and most recently the Career and Families Transitions Coaching program that supports men and women before, during and after the birth/adoption of their child. Maryella testified on the business benefits of paid parental leave before a Senate Sub Committee in June 2014.

Maryella joined EY in 1980 after completing her M.B.A. in accounting from Rutgers Graduate School of Management and her CPA certificate. She has two children, Jaesy 29 and Alexandra 26.

Cecily Joseph is vice president of corporate responsibility for Symantec Corporation, a global leader in cybersecurity. As leader of  Symantec's global corporate responsibility efforts, Cecily drives environmental, social and governance program development, integration and communication. She is responsible for designing and implementing initiatives focused on online safety education and cybersecurity skills development.  Cecily is an ongoing champion for diversity and inclusion, pioneering numerous initiatives to increase diversity and equity within Symantec and the corporate sector.  Cecily has built programs in strategic philanthropy, diversity & inclusion, and environmental sustainability from the ground up. Cecily currently serves on the board of directors for Net Impact, a global non profit focused on addressing social and environmental challenges. She is an active contributor for The Huffington Post and speaker at industry conferences such as RSA. You can follow Cecily on Twitter, read her blog and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Amber Boyle is the Diversity and Inclusion Director at VMware. She leads VMinclusion, an enterprise-wide initiative focused on fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace in order to harness the power of human difference and drive great business outcomes. Amber brings a unique background and strong passion for driving inclusive workplaces. Her experience includes gender and diversity, organizational strategy and change, communications and program management. Prior to VMware, she worked at Deloitte, doing human capital consulting and operations, and at Catalyst, a non-profit dedicated to advancing women in business.

Mrs. Boyle holds a M.Sc. in Gender and Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Gender Politics from Yale University.

Jason R. Thompson was named director of diversity and inclusion for the United States Olympic Committee in April 2012. In his current role, Thompson is responsible for creating and managing the USOC's diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives. A 25-year veteran in the area of diversity and inclusion programs, Thompson previously served as vice president of diversity and community health improvement at INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City.

The diversity and inclusion programs develop by Jason have won several awards at the local and international level.  Most recently the D&I Scorecard developed by Jason received the top honor in the 2016 International Innovations in Diversity Awards program from the Profiles in Diversity Journal. Jason was also recognized as a 2017 Diversity Leader by the Profiles in Diversity Journal.  In 2015, the USOC D&I department received the Diversity Champion Award for Excellence from the Colorado SHRM.

Jason was also director for the Office of Diversity at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. In 2006, he established the Undergraduate Pre-Health Program (UPP) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, which earned honorable mention for the 2013 Examples of Excelencia for its work to accelerate Latino student success in higher education. The UPP program was recognized for the impact, innovative and the promising approach that it has had on Latino students.

He has served on local, regional and national committees for a multiple organizations, including the Diversity and Inclusion Sports Consortium, Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Oklahoma Diversity Officers and Practitioners Consortium, United States Commission on Civil Rights, Advisory Board and the Center for African-American Health.

Thompson earned a master's and bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Wyoming and is a graduate of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School executive training program.

Mr. Roy Zambonino is a Sr. Solutions Consultant with PeopleFluent’s Workforce Compliance and Diversity Solutions division and has over 18 years helping implement Affirmative Action and Diversity programs for companies ranging in size from a few thousand to several hundred thousand employees across a variety of industries.

Theresa Thompson is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Strategy at MGM Resorts International.  In this position, Theresa plays a key role in shaping the development and implementation of long- and short-term D&I strategy, policy and initiatives across the Company. She also leads the management of 16 Employee Network Groups and support for the operations of 15 Corporate Social Responsibility Councils.

Theresa joined MGM Resorts International in January 2017. In her previous role with Lowe’s Companies Inc., she provided strategic direction on D&I and consultative services to leaders and employees. She also held roles in the D&I space with Thomson Reuters, Darden Restaurants Inc., and Raytheon Inc. Theresa began her career as a diversity practitioner in 2000 at Walt Disney World.

Theresa is also a certified public accountant (CPA). She started her career in the accounting field and led budget and financial management teams while serving in the Air Force for more than 11 years. She also held various leadership roles in accounting and finance with Darden Restaurants and Walt Disney World.

Theresa has presented and led discussions on D&I for many professionals and organizations, including Diversity Best Practices, National Black MBA Association, and the National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference. She also owned and operated a D&I consulting company, which helped organizations create diverse and inclusive work environments.

Theresa most recently was appointed the Chair of the United Way Board of Directors in the Mooresville/Lake Norman area of North Carolina before moving to Las Vegas for her role with MGM Resorts International. She also served on the board of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and has been a member of several diversity councils, including the Conference Board Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, National Diversity Council, and the Lake Norman Diversity Council

Tisa is a visionary leader with purposeful passion who believes being a diversity and inclusion leader is a privileged obligation. She’s a respected strategist, disruptive thought leader, speaker, community builder, and business leader. Tisa has received several personal accolades and for her employers including DiversityInc’s Top 10 Regional Companies for Diversity, Global Organization for Leadership & Diversity’s Bridge Builder Award, and Emerson College 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Her work has been performed for diverse companies ranging from Global 100 and Fortune 35 to start-ups and non-profits in the software, gaming, internet, semiconductor, financial services, telecommunications, and management consulting industries including Microsoft, Deloitte, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and the Y.W.C.A. of the West End.

Tisa’s work has been featured the Wall Street Journal and HR Magazine, and others. Her columns have been published in Diversity Journal, addressing topics such as cultural competency, market intelligence, creating a training plan, and the future of Diversity & Inclusion.

Tisa holds a BS in Management and Organizational Behavior and Political Communications from Emerson College in Boston, MA.