Martha P. Gomez (she/they) has worked with the LGBTQ+ community for over 25 years. As a Non Binary person, Martha continues their work in educating others about Transgender identities beyond the binary. Martha spent most of her early career working with children but has always focused on creating programming for gender equality. Since joining Trans Can Work, they have been able to work toward economic empowerment in the TGI (Trans, gender non conforming, non binary, intersex) community, thus continuing to advocate for her community.

Jovan Wolf is an innovative and passionate advocate for the TGI community, seamlessly blending roles as a fashion designer, herbalist, and Director of Workplace Equality at Trans Can Work. With unwavering dedication, Jovan rallies their efforts to foster TGI inclusivity in workplaces, empowering employers to be more supportive and providing essential opportunities for job seekers to thrive. Drawing from a multi-racial, Black and Filipino background, Jovan identifies as Trans and Gender Non-Conforming, utilizing their passion for art, advocacy, and media to uplift the TGI community. Their impactful contributions extend beyond their current role, including their service on the board of Gender Justice Los Angeles and their insightful perspectives shared in the esteemed 75th anniversary edition of the Society for Human Resource Management magazine. Through art, advocacy, and tireless efforts, Jovan serves as a catalyst for impactful change, illuminating the path towards a more inclusive and equitable future for the TGI community and beyond.

Kelley began her career in Education as a teacher, then later in Administration and Curriculum Development, providing educational consulting services to urban school systems. After taking a career break to raise her children, she opened a thriving practice as a CTI-trained certified Co-Active coach. She is a LinkedIn Learning author-instructor and the co-founder of Prepare To Launch U - a learning company that provides instruction, inspiration, and community to women navigating work-life transitions along the continuum of life. Kelley and Susan Rietano Davey co-founded the learning company Prepare to Launch U that provides instruction, inspiration, and community to people navigating work-life transitions along the continuum of life. In partnership with the veteran organization FourBlock, they lead the renowned Career Readiness Program supporting military spouses. Together, they have helped launch thousands of career returners globally.

Susan began her career in Fortune 50 Tech where she rapidly moved up the ranks from producer to manager to staff roles, and earned many top performance honors. After taking a career break to care for her children, she became a pioneer for the flexible workspace as a partner in a consulting and recruiting firm, Flexible Resources, Inc. Later, she ran a robust executive coaching practice. She is a LinkedIn Learning author-instructor and the co-founder of Prepare To Launch U - a learning company that provides instruction, inspiration, and community to women navigating work-life transitions along the continuum of life. Susan and Kelley Biskupiak co-founded the learning company Prepare to Launch U that provides instruction, inspiration, and community to people navigating work-life transitions along the continuum of life. In partnership with the veteran organization FourBlock, they lead the renowned Career Readiness Program supporting military spouses. Together, they have helped launch thousands of career returners globally.

Esther is the Event Manager at Coding Dojo, where she has been working for the past 2 years. Esther has worked in the marketing and events space for several years and is extremely passionate about helping people learn and grow. Esther is committed to creating events that are both informative, engaging and inclusive. In her free time, Esther enjoys watching movies, checking out new museums, and spending time finding the best vegan restaurants in the area.

Sydni Perry-Anderson (she/her) is the TransWork Administrator with the Independence Business Alliance, Greater Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. TransWork addresses economic disparity in the trans community, focusing on connecting job-seekers and entrepreneurs with supportive and affirming employers and business partnerships. It was launched in 2018, and is the first trans economic empowerment project housed within a chamber of commerce. Prior to joining the IBA and TransWork, Sydni worked in nonprofit fundraising and spent several years as a bicycle mechanic. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in May 2022 with a double major in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Political Science. Her honors thesis in W.G.S.S. explored the different structural systems that impact arguments used to advocate for and against including trans student-athletes in interscholastic sports, and she also has experience working as an administrative assistant in both the School of Law and Department of W.G.S.S. during college. Having recently moved back to Philadelphia after college, she is excited and inspired by working for her community. Outside of work, Sydni likes to explore new places, go to concerts, spend time with her cats, read, and play video games.

Stela Lupushor is a thought leader, speaker, educator and futurist on a mission to humanize the workplace. She advises startups, venture funds, mature enterprises on the use of design thinking, technology, analytics to create inclusive workplaces.

Lynne is co-founder and Director of VOICE and COO at the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA). VOICE is an international organisation established to harness the immense experience, skills and insights of the public to facilitate a cross generational dialogue on healthy ageing.

Erika Underwood is the Director of Partnerships and Recruitment at Coding Dojo. She has been a partnership manager for over 7 years in the Ed Tech Industry and is passionate about helping businesses strategically solve their problems while also helping to remove barriers into the tech industry.

Ben has been working in the career services and career development fields in the tech space for over 10 years, doing everything from providing direct support and facilitation to program and curriculum design and implementation. Prior to that he was in the psychology and counseling world where I spent nearly 10 years supporting a diverse range of people in community mental health settings. He draws upon these skills and experiences in all aspects of his current work with Coding Dojo.

Michael is the Senior Director of Programs and Instruction at the Coding Dojo. Experienced in adult learning, Michael is a passionate developer and problem solver. Michael is a hobbyist fiction writer and Rubber Ducky Programming enthusiast.

Robyn Grable is the Founder and CEO of Talents ASCEND and Veterans ASCEND, now part of The ASCEND Collective (501c3), which she created to help employers invest in a skills-based talent acquisition strategy that is an intentional model of inclusivity for military talent, people with disabilities and justice-involved candidates. An award-winning advocate, speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, and proud Navy veteran Robyn Grable does many things. Yet woven throughout her diverse pursuits is a mission of service—and a passion to give a voice for underserved talent to be included. Her unwavering commitment to inclusive employment is well-served by her corporate and military experience, including more than 30 years of private sector human resources after nine years of service in the U.S. Navy. Her ongoing study of America’s workforce has made her a leading voice on advocacy, removing barriers and providing connections to successful employment for our underserved talent pools. In recognition of her work, Robyn was named among the 2023 GSA Women of Influence and a 2023 Veteran Champion of the Year in Corporate America by G.I. Jobs Magazine. In the private sector she focused primarily on workforce management, human capital planning, recruitment, process and procedure evaluation, strategic alignment and relationship management. She created skills assessment programs at blue chip companies McDonald’s Corporation and McGraw-Hill and during her tenure as a Strategic Client Partner at ADP, a leading human capital management firm, Robyn successfully managed and grew the largest client portfolio of Fortune 100 companies. Today she is focused entirely on ensuring the skills of veterans, military spouses, the disability community and second-chance candidates are recognized and valued for their talent and that America’s employers implement intentional change to realize the full value of diversity, equity and inclusion for all to truly ascend.

Kelly is a career manager, relocation strategist, and global talent acquisition leader. She is the founder of Allora Collective, a team of coaches who guide people through their job search, career growth and transitions, and relocations. After developing scalable talent programs for Booking.com, the NFL, and General Assembly, Kelly built Allora Collective. She works with businesses to acquire talent, improve their hiring programs, facilitate workshops and design coaching packages for their employees. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn, follow @alloracollective on Instagram, and book a free session at AlloraCollective.com.

Kimberly Brown is a career + leadership expert whose mission is to help women and people of color navigate the workplace, make more money and become industry leaders. Her leadership development company, Manifest Yourself, LLC, provides organizations with tailor-made solutions to hire, develop, engage, and retain women and people of color. Through her experience as a career development adviser in some of the nation’s top universities and diversity + inclusion professional in a Fortune 100 company, she has learned that there is so much more to career + leadership development besides having a high paying job; it's about creating actionable strategies that enable professionals to do more, be more, and achieve more. Next Move, Best Move: Transitioning into a Career You’ll Love is the highly anticipated, career planning and advancement book by Kimberly Brown, set to release and inspire in Spring 2021. Kimberly has had the opportunity to speak to and create workshops for many organizations, including the New Jersey Conference for Women, Ellevate Network, Urban League, Princeton University, Salesforce and National Sales Network, among others. Her work has been featured on Forbes, Blavity, MONEY Magazine, TeenVogue, Glassdoor, Fox 5, and more. She is also on the Board of Directors for The Power of You Teens organization. Kimberly is a graduate of Long Island University and received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Science in Counseling. To learn more, please go to www.kimberlybcummings.com Pre-order: Next Move, Best Move: Transitioning Into a Career You'll Love [6/9/2021] https://bit.ly/NMBMBook

Tracy Timm is a CEO, speaker, and author specializing in helping purpose-driven professionals find extreme career clarity and pursue their dreams with confidence. Tracy attended Yale University where she got her degree in psychology and discovered her own need for career clarity—both of which led her to starting a company and writing a book on the subject. She is the founder of Thrivist, a proven career counseling business that serves both individuals seeking more clarity for themselves and organizations seeking more engagement for their employees. Her newly released book, Unstoppable, leads you through her proven, trademarked career clarity system called The Nth Degree®: the step-by-step process to discover your true value, define your genius zone, and drive your career forward. Tracy’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNN Business, Indeed, and more. If you believe that you’re made for more but feeling stuck in your career, Tracy’s expertise can help. Tracy currently lives and works in Dallas, Texas.

Nia T. Evans is writer and organizer working to end state violence against Black women and girls. A community-based researcher and storyteller, Nia built national campaigns and advanced state and federal legislation to uproot policing from our nation’s schools. She is the leading researcher of a nationally heralded study, co-written with 21 Black students, that exposed the harmful impact of dress codes on girls� educations. The report is currently on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s exhibit . Starting in the fall of 2021, Nia will serve as an inaugural Black Voices in the Public Sphere fellow at the Boston Review. She holds a master’s degree from Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Her writing has been published in Slate, The Hill, Education Post and her research has been featured by NPR, The New York Times, Vox, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

Christina started off her career in accounting with a specialty in tax consulting prior to making a career change to brand management. She spent several years managing multi-million dollar brands at major CPG companies before most recently moving into the food tech space by joining the Product Development team at HelloFresh. She is a first-generation American & first in her family to pursue higher education in business, and is therefore passionate about helping to mentor the next generation of young leaders in navigating educational and professional aspirations based on her experiences across several industries.

Christina received a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is originally from Naperville, IL and currently resides in New York City, NY.

Steph Cartwright is a Certified Resume Writer, a LinkedIn Profile Specialist, and the Founder of Off The Clock Resumes. Since 2014, she has helped hundreds of job seekers get their resumes through Applicant Tracking Systems and in front of hiring decision makers by presenting them as the best fit for the jobs that they want. Steph is certified by the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches and an active member of the National Resume Writers� Association.

Leena Bahulikar is a mid-level IT professional who is passionate about financial literacy and advocacy, mentoring and coaching. She has an MS in Information Technology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Michelle is the founder of DirectHer, your Salary Negotiation Bestie. Whether negotiating a raise or promotion, navigating a new job offer, or wanting that much-needed gut check on if you're getting paid what you're worth, DirectHer teaches you how to advocate for yourself and your paycheck as a woman in the corporate world. To date, her clients have secured an additional $500,000 in salary and benefits (and counting!). Michelle leverages her Talent Acquisition and HR expertise to share relevant industry insider secrets, insight into how compensation cycles and salary bands actually work, and the best tools for you to utilize to speak up authentically and confidently. Outside of work, she serves on the United Women in Business board in NYC, which focuses on professional and personal development for women of all ages, industries, and backgrounds.

Jessica has a bachelor's in Social Communications who fell in love with code and the transformation ability of the tech industry.

She has been working with digital products since 2018 when I started at the Apple Developer Academy and since then made my way from iOS developer to Product Manager as I gained experience in different areas such as finance and education.

Allison Smith is a project consultant at APCO Worldwide and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. She specializes in media relations and is a member of the firm’s North America Media practice. At APCO, Ms. Smith combines her abilities to write and research with her interests in international relations and public affairs.

Ms. Smith previously interned for APCO’s global marketing team where she assisted with project management, media monitoring and internal communication. Prior to joining the firm, she interned at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina with its marketing and research team. She developed a social media strategy and calendar while also creating public relations materials for external distribution.

Ms. Smith graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Journalism and Peace, War, and Defense.

Alex Mancuso is an associate consultant at APCO Worldwide and is based in Washington, D.C. He specializes in client and project management and is a member of the firm’s Amplify team. At APCO, Mr. Mancuso collaborates with different teams and vendors to ensure each campaign produces one succinct and cohesive message.

Prior to APCO, Mr. Mancuso served as a project manager at Interface Media Group where he oversaw media projects for various nonprofit, corporate and political media campaigns.

Mr. Mancuso graduated from Elon University where he double majored in international studies and cinema/TV arts. During his junior year, he studied in Morocco and Jordan for six months where he earned the Critical Language Scholarship for Arabic.

Danielle Calhoun is an associate director at APCO Worldwide and is based in Washington, D.C. With a background in digital media, public relations and project management, she has experience executing strategic communications solutions and building strong client relationships. Ms. Calhoun is a member of the firm’s Equity & Justice practice where she leverages her past agency experience having supported a variety of diversity and inclusion client projects, as well as having led Black American and anti-racism employee resource groups.

Prior to joining APCO, Ms. Calhoun worked as a senior digital account manager at Social Driver where she was keenly focused on managing and growing client relationships and fostering business development. She worked with advocacy and issue-based clients that spanned the civil rights, education and health care spaces to propose digital communications solutions to best meet their needs and reach their target audiences. Ms. Calhoun began her career at Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) where she worked for several years across multiple client accounts in the health care, food & beverage, automotive and financial industries. Specifically, she supported clients in implementing grassroots communication strategies and outreach to hone in on target audiences at a local level.

Dr. Brandy L. Simula (she/they) is the founder of Brandy L. Simula Coaching and Consulting and a Leadership Development Consultant at a Fortune 50 tech company. An award-winning strategist, consultant, speaker, and professional coach, she has spent the last decade leveraging her doctoral training in social psychology to help organizations address top workplace culture and organizational development challenges including at multiple top-ranked universities a Fortune 50 tech company. An ICF certified executive and leadership coach, she writes and speaks frequently on people and culture strategy, DEIB, workplace well-being, leadership and organizational development, and women+ and LGBTQ+ career development. She is passionate about helping organizations empower people to bring their authentic selves to work and flourish personally and professionally and about supporting women+ and LGBTQ+ professionals thrive in their careers. Dr. Simula holds a PhD in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology from Emory University. Read more about her work at brandysimula.com.

Lynda has had a 40-year career in business as an entrepreneur, employee, and employer. A social entrepreneur focused on helping the over 50 generation to navigate their unique path in a world impacted by longevity and technology. Lynda is the CEO of The Refirement Network and 50Plus-Skills in South Africa. An accredited retirement life coach, speaker, writer and facilitator, resident in South Africa. Lynda has built a network of connections around the world to understand the challenges globally and to bring impact locally. Lynda facilitates a 6 module course called Designing your Next Chapter. This course is ideal for anyone in mid-life, planning their next season.

Elizabeth Gish is Managing Director at the career reentry consulting, training, and events company iRelaunch, and has been immersed in career reentry thought leadership for nearly five years. She was a featured speaker at the iRelaunch Employer Summit in 2021, and has an excellent multi-dimensional perspective and highly relevant experience on both the employer and relauncher sides of career reentry programming. Elizabeth relaunched into corporate social responsibility at Oracle a few years before Oracle had a formal career reentry program, and she was instrumental in launching and leading the Oracle Career Relaunch program, in partnership with iRelaunch. Elizabeth earned an MBA from Denver University and a BA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. She was trained in Design Thinking techniques by Stanford’s dSchool, and has served as an advisor for ReBoot Accel, a recruiting firm that helps companies hire, advance and empower women. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

I have a diverse background in Data Analytics, community management, and digital strategy. Founder of stuops, an active observer of the Startup Ecosystem, and a community enthusiast. Skilled in managing communities, organizing events, and strategizing hackathons. A Growth Marketer adept at driving digital campaigns for traffic, leads, and sales. Freelancing experience includes empowering early-stage startups and offline enterprises through content-driven social media marketing. Currently, a Product Marketing Manager at PowerToFly, dedicated to B2C community growth. Passionate about building connections and fostering growth in every endeavor.

Helen’s background includes over twenty years working in recruiting, education in Women and Gender Studies, as well as African American Studies. She is the founder of Tanagui, whose primary focus is to offer services that result in breakthrough resumes and interview mastery for women over 40.

Tami Forman is chief evangelist at How We Do It, a newsletter and community for people building great careers and meaningful lives. She is an expert on gender equity and women’s participation in the paid labor market. In 2016 she founded Path Forward, a nonprofit that empowers family caregivers to return to paid work. She led Path Forward for seven years, working with more than 100 companies, including Amazon, Apple, Netflix, SAP, Walmart, and Pepsi, to hire thousands of people through returnships. Subscribe to her newsletter at https://tamimforman.substack.com/