Israel has been listed as “The Top Ten Trending Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Training Experts” by All American Entertainment. In addition to being owner and founder of GCG, he is also a Senior Consultant with Envisioning Equity and a contributing member of the “A World Without Suicide” organization. GCG’s primary focus is on Leadership Development and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategy for tech firms and an array of other industries. As a Certified Diversity Executive, Israel has been booked to consult and present his proven ‘V.E.T.’ Diversity Framework and strategy to companies such as Whirlpool, Northwestern Mutual, Chicago Public Schools, and Leadership Conferences throughout the United States.

Angela R. Howard is an HR executive and workplace culture strategist who works to build human-centric workplaces, better leaders, and thriving communities. She is a trusted thought leader and advisor to owners, founders, and CEOs interested in shaping and “actualizing” their organizational cultures for the collective good of their organizations, employees, and the communities they serve. Angela received her M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology – a specialized field focused on rigor and research around behavior and human potential in the workplace and hosts a podcast called Humanly Possible: Future of Work Conversations.

Deb is NFP’s Global Well-being and Engagement Practice Leader. In addition, Deb serves as a subject matter expert for the Insurtech, Fintech and Digital Health verticals of NFP Ventures. Over the past 25 years Deb has received a multitude of certifications and designations in organizational health and productivity and consults with a variety of clients, including numerous Fortune 500 companies, to develop programs and practices that empower employees and leaders to lead healthy, productive lifestyles through innovative and highly engaging solution

Sara’s purpose is to help people fulfill their highest potential in work and life through corporate health promotion. She has launched award-winning wellness programs, created new wellness products, and engineered work environments to create cultures of health across multiple industries. She has been a session and keynote speaker at a variety of community and national events including the National Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) Conference, the Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference, and the National WELCOA Summit. She sits on the Johns Hopkins Mental Health in the Workplace Advisory Council and the CDC Workplace Health Resource Center Steering Committee. Sara was also recently designated as one of the Top 100 HR Tech Influencers by Human Resource Executive®.

Deya Smith-Taylor, aka Deya Direct is an Author, Producer, Media Personality and Certified Life Coach in Social & Emotional Intelligence. As the Executive Producer of the SuperpowHer Podcast & the Creator of The Super Self-Care Power Summit, she champions self-care and emotional wellness.

Most recently she launched her non-profit the Super Self-Care Project designed to empower women in transition with tools to enhance self-care and overall wellness via content, events, and services.

Deya is also the former Senior Content Producer for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, which reached 8 million listeners daily for almost 10 years. Deya remains committed to creating life-changing content.

As a former Miss Black USA, Deya is a celebrated and soughtafter speaker and mentor, however, she is no stranger to pushing through and overcoming drama and trauma. Her personal motto is “Make Your Pain Pay You Back, if it happened to you, then make it also happen for you!

Deya has written three books; most recently Soft is the New Power: Embracing Your Feminine Edge to Win in Love & Life.

World-renowned positive psychology expert, executive coach, and speaker, Stella Grizont, helps employees work happier and live better with her signature program, The Work Happiness Method^™. Stella supports organizations in elevating the engagement, well-being, and productivity of their employees.

Stella delivers keynotes, workshops, and trainings for dozens of clients including Google, Johnson & Johnson, Dow Jones, VMWare, The Wall Street Journal, Cigna, and Genentech. In the last 17 years, Stella has also coached over 1,600 leaders in 30 countries. She speaks to over 50,000 people annually.

Stella is consistently rated as the #1 speaker at conferences because of her compelling scientific insights, her relatable and effervescent personality, her funny stories, and well-designed material. She’s been rated as a favorite speaker for: Comcast’s Talent Day, The WELCOA Summit, Women in Cable Television Conference, BambooHR’s Virtual Summit, and more.

Stella’s unique approach to being happier and more engaged on the job has been featured in the media including: MSNBC, The Today Show, Entrepreneur, Vanity Fair, Fox News, and ABC. Stella was a repeat guest on MSNBC’s Your Business, Bulletproof Radio, and is a regular contributor to Forbes, happify.com and Thomson Reuters.

Stella was one of the first 150 people in the world to earn a Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology (aka the science of happiness) from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Israel has been listed as “The Top Ten Trending Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Training Experts” by All American Entertainment. In addition to being owner and founder of GCG, he is also a Senior Consultant with Envisioning Equity and a contributing member of the “A World Without Suicide” organization. GCG’s primary focus is on Leadership Development and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategy for tech firms and an array of other industries. As a Certified Diversity Executive, Israel has been booked to consult and present his proven ‘V.E.T.’ Diversity Framework and strategy to companies such as Whirlpool, Northwestern Mutual, Chicago Public Schools, and Leadership Conferences throughout the United States.

Ilana Shapiro Yahdav, MPA, and Kim English Hanlon, MA, are Grief Advocates and Advanced Certified Grief Recovery Specialists, fueled by their own personal loss experiences. They co-founded Yahdav & Hanlon Grief Support out of a shared passion for offering individual grief support and enhancing corporate wellness programs to support employees around loss and life changes. Their tools and programs help increase productivity, emotional resilience, retention, and engagement both in the workplace and in one’s personal life.

Ilana and Kim take what can be a very difficult topic and through gentleness, humor, and vulnerability, make it accessible for all. They have worked with corporations, higher education institutions, law firms, and individuals; and have recently consulted on a film about suicide loss to bring insight, tools, and support to process the difficult themes throughout the film.

With the belief that it is important to meet grievers exactly where they are, Ilana and Kim continue to create new ways to engage and support them, from workbooks to online courses and workshops. They are the authors of the digital workbook: Grief & Gratitude: Building Your Coping Action Plan, with the goal of having it in print by the end of 2022.

Angela R. Howard is an HR executive and workplace culture strategist who works to build human-centric workplaces, better leaders, and thriving communities. She is a trusted thought leader and advisor to owners, founders, and CEOs interested in shaping and “actualizing” their organizational cultures for the collective good of their organizations, employees, and the communities they serve. Angela received her M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology – a specialized field focused on rigor and research around behavior and human potential in the workplace and hosts a podcast called Humanly Possible: Future of Work Conversations.

New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) and it’s highly anticipated and very newly released follow-up, Find Your Unicorn Space, Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World. A Harvard-trained lawyer and former foundational manager at J.P. Morgan, Rodsky combines her experience in organizational management and family mediation with the science connecting creativity with improved mental and physical health. Her step-by-step approach in Fair Play, which helps partners rebalance their domestic workload, has been recognized by Reese’s Book Club, Good Morning America, Today, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and other outlets. Learn more at fairplaylife.com.

David Hoke is the Chief Well-Being Officer at Thrive Global. David has spent the last 20+ years working with a variety of organizations, focusing on measurably improving the health and well-being of the workforce. Prior to joining Thrive, David was the Senior Director of Health and Well-being at Walmart, where he was responsible for designing and delivering offerings that improve the well-being of Walmart associates and their families. David’s history in the industry includes work with the University of Kentucky, Dupont, and Lifebridge Health System. David served as a Co-chair of the Institute for Innovation in Workforce Well-being at the National Business Group on Health, serves on the Board of Health eVillages, and was awarded the Health Value Award as Outstanding Benefit Professional in 2018 by the Validation Institute & World Health Care Congress.

Serving a variety of populations in a multitude of industries, Maggie understands the complexity and depth of the corporate wellness industry and the needs of the professionals and employees they support. Her role at WELCOA is to ensure members receive stellar service and build sustaining connections as a community.

Nicole is an award-winning social entrepreneur and workplace equity advocate. As a 2018 People’s Liberty Haile Fellow, she founded Ellequate, the nation’s first data-informed employer certification and cohort-based leadership program for intersectional workplace equity. In 2019, the company received a CLIMB Award for Advancing Gender Equity from the Cincinnati Business Courier and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

For over a decade, Nicole developed and implemented design and brand strategy for mission-driven organizations around the globe. Prior to founding Ellequate, she served as a Social Innovation Specialist, applying the principles of design thinking and human-centered design to complex social challenges alongside marginalized communities in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Arts from Suffolk University. She is a member of the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2020. Her work has been featured in WCPO, The Cincinnati Experience, Cincinnati Business Courier, WVXU, Northern Kentucky Tribune, The River City News, and Cincy Chic. She is regularly invited to share her expertise with audiences around the country.

Celeste Viciere, also known as Celeste The Therapist™️, is a renowned therapist, mental health advocate, best-selling author, and podcast host. She is frequently quoted by the media as a mental health expert, including The Washington Post, NBC News, VICE, Healthline, Bustle, and has appeared on TV One and Fox Soul TV. Celeste has been in the mental health field for almost 20 years and believes in the power of living a conscious life. She has dedicated her personal and professional endeavors to breaking the stigma surrounding mental and emotional health, especially in communities of color.

“Celeste The Therapist Podcast” streams on all podcasting platforms in over 100 countries with more than 300,000 unique downloads. Celeste features guests who empower others in a variety of capacities. Celeste The Therapist Podcast has been featured as one of the top therapy podcasts by Bustle. And she has been featured as one of the top 10 mental health influencers to follow by Verywell Mind.

Celeste has been in private practice since 2015 and currently conducts her practice online full time. She also speaks for organizations around the world both corporate and non-profit about mental health and the importance of living intentionally. Celeste also has a self-guided program called healing the inner child.

Barbara Zabawa, JD, MPH is the Founder and President of Center for Health and Wellness Law, LLC. She specializes in providing legal advice, resources, training, and advocacy to help the health and wellness industries operate in a compliant and optimal manner, which ultimately benefits clients and employees. She understands, appreciates, and shares in the goals of the health and wellness industries and the professional who work within them.

What is joy? With more than 25 years of well-being leadership, Derek’s passion lies in the evolving nature of how well-being influences the human experience and how organizations can create cultures and spaces for people to thrive, leading to joy. Derek believes well-being is supported by creativity, care, contributions, and connection. An executive leader, consultant, podcaster, and amateur jogger. Derek is #opentowork.

Jae started her career as an Administrative Dietitian and practiced in both Canada and the US as a Director of Nutrition in healthcare, business, and education for 10 years prior to moving to the corporate world in the Human Resources area. She joined Delta Air Lines in July of 2006.

Jae is responsible for developing and executing initiatives that drive “a culture of health and wellbeing” across Delta globally by translating the Company’s strategic health and wellbeing goals into clearly defined and developed initiatives to impact the health & lifestyle risks of 80,000 employees and their families worldwide.

Jae is passionate about finding effective and creative solutions that are meaningful and inclusive. She has successfully developed programs that engage employees, garner the support of business units, and are tied to metrics that demonstrate their value. Delta’s comprehensive wellbeing programming supports physical, mental, financial, and social wellbeing.

A life-long learner, along with a Bachelor of Science degree from Western University in Canada and a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RDN) designation, she completed her PMP (Project Management Professional) certification in 2012. In February 2018, Jae completed a fellowship from Duke University with a focus on Leadership in Integrative Healthcare. In September of this year, she is excited to start her MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership at Oxford University in the U.K.

raChelle Karman is the Health & Wellness Program Manager for the City of Albuquerque’s BetterHealth Program, which provides wellness initiatives to more than 18 thousand employees and dependents throughout the city, including multiple participating government entities. Ms. Karman’s formal studies include Music Performance, Computer Science, Alternative Medicine, and Public Health Education Promotion. She successfully integrates her education skills, which gives her methodology a well-rounded holistic emphasis in her work with employees and their families. Her passions include gardening, hiking, writing, and spending time with her fur babies.

In addition to co-founding Workr Beeing, Patricia has spent her career leading behavioral science teams and consulting with over sixty different client organizations from various industries, implementing Industrial/Organizational Psychology solutions to improve wellness, retention, performance, and engagement within their organizations. Her areas of expertise include workplace wellness, employee engagement, emotional labor, assessment, person-organization fit, behavioral nudges, and competency modeling. She has also served as an adjunct professor, teaching leadership and organizational psychology courses at Penn State University and the University of Southern California.

Our other co-founder, Katina, is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations in the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. Her areas of expertise include diversity, work-life balance, leadership, and positive workplace behaviors. Over the years, Katina has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her work has been cited in many public outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Business Week, The Atlantic, Forbes, and The Conversation. She has been awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as from the Society for Human Resource Management. In 2017, Katina received recognition as Top 40 under 40 from the Philadelphia Business Journal. She also has extensive experience consulting with various organizations, providing data-driven solutions.