Claire Brody

Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Warner Bros. Discovery

Claire is Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Warner Bros. Discovery. Her passion to influence the way people see themselves and experience the world through content and storytelling is foundational to her role at Warner Bros. Discovery. In 2018, Claire relocated to London from Los Angeles with Walt Disney International to localize DEI efforts with employees in each region and was appointed in 2019 to build the first DEI function in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, alongside creating the first mental health infrastructure for the enterprise. She founded the inaugural enterprise Disney Pride employee resource group with LGBTQIA+ employees and allies and scaled the effort over the years, eventually supporting 200+ Business Employee Resource Groups globally.

Claire believes in leading with radical empathy and sincere intention to foster an inclusive, conscious culture by creating a sense of belonging and wellbeing for all employees.

Kim Cerda

Organizational Change, Culture & Engagement Lead, Hudson Lake

Kim is Hudson Lake’s Chief Human Resources Officer and Organizational Change and Culture practice lead. She delivers customized solutions to clients, leveraging 25+ years of industry expertise as a highly-skilled executive in corporate communications, organizational development, employee engagement, and change management. A recognized leader in human resources strategy, Kim brings a strong understanding of internal communications, including talent acquisition, culture, and organizational design, HR technology, compensation, and employee engagement. Prior to joining Hudson-Lake, Kim served as the Vice President of Human Resources and Operational Excellence at Toyota Financial Services.

Peter Church

Chief People Officer, Point32Health

Peter leads human resources and culture for Point32Health which brings more than 90 years of service to 2.2 million members across New England.  Peter provides strategic direction and oversight for all aspects of Human Resources including talent management, total rewards, organization effectiveness as well as diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.  Peter is a member of the Board of Directors for RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.

Kimberly Cockrell

Chief Human Resources Officer, Toyota Motor North America

Kim Cockrell is chief human resources officer for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), responsible for TMNA’s human resources (HR) function. In this role, she is responsible for contributing to successful team member engagement including Compensation, Benefits, Talent Development, Training & Learning, Executive Liaison, Strategic Planning Office, HR Technology, HR Analytics, HR Communications and Ask HR.

Prior to Cockrell’s current position, she served as vice president of Human Resources, Toyota Motor North America.

Ms. Cockrell joined TFS in 2006, as human resources (HR) manager for the company’s Eastern Customer Service Center (CSC) and, later, its Western Region and Sales, Marketing & Product department at Toyota’s national headquarters. She provided strategic partnership in a variety of areas, including enhanced associate engagement, morale, organizational effectiveness, leadership development, recruitment, and staffing. In 2011, Ms. Cockrell was promoted to national HR manager for CSC Operations & Field Services, providing leadership and strategic direction to four HR teams responsible for providing guidance to all CSCs and various teams nationwide. She was also national manager of business readiness for the Core Receivables Program before joining the TFS service operations team in 2013 as the General Manager for service operations strategy, planning & support.

Ms. Cockrell began her career in recruiting, training, and development at Lehman Brothers, where she worked with senior management to develop strategies and create a continuing education curriculum for the company. She later continued with the HR teams at Yahoo, First Data Corporation, and BearingPoint Inc., where she held the role of HR manager.
Ms. Cockrell serves on the Southern Regional board for Step Up Women’s Network and is an active volunteer with Children’s Ministry at Fellowship Dallas Bible Church. She was recognized by Who’s Who in Black Dallas in both 2018 and 2019.

Ms. Cockrell earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and her Master of Science in Counseling from Fordham University in New York.

Paula Connolly

Partner and Co-Chief Technology Officer at Bain Capital

Paula joined Bain Capital in 2011. She is a Partner and Co-Chief Technology Officer. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Paula was a Vice President at Fidelity Investments, where she worked in a variety of technology positions, including production operations, program and project management, disaster recovery management, and technology process and governance. She holds an MBA from Bentley University and a Bachelor of Arts from Clark University.

Susan Esper

Audit & Assurance Partner, Deloitte

Susan Esper has more than 31 years of public accounting experience and has focused on serving financial services clients for the majority of her career. She has been an audit partner for several of Deloitte’s largest investment management clients, with responsibility for the planning and execution of all aspects of the audit process, including compliance with internal control requirements and industry regulations. Currently, she is the lead client service partner for Market Street Trust. Other prominent industry clients she has served include MFS, Eaton Vance funds, Fidelity Investments funds, MassMutual Funds, and Pioneer Investments funds.

Susan is the New England leader for growth in Deloitte’s private company practice, which includes private equity-backed, family-owned, and closely held businesses. She previously led the New England financial services industry practice, which comprises clients in the banking and securities, insurance, asset management, and real estate sectors.

Susan also serves as the Audit & Assurance Clients leader, with responsibility for developing and executing strategies to deliver a differentiated client experience across industries and geographies. She leads a team that develops programs to help client teams execute service delivery at the highest level of quality and build a problem-solving mindset to provide insight into our clients’ most critical business challenges. Additionally, she serves as a business liaison to connect Deloitte engagement teams to resources and offerings that build relationships and create breakthrough experiences for C-Suite client executives and audit committee members.

Susan’s extensive record of service to complex industry clients and Deloitte leadership roles have allowed her to work closely with audit committee and C-Suite leaders across numerous organizations, and she is committed to straightforward and clear communication throughout the audit.

Susan has been recognized numerous times for her leadership in the business community; this includes winning the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award and being selected as a Boston Business Journal’s Women of Influence Honoree.

April Evans

Partner, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer, Monitor Clipper Partners

April is Partner, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer of Monitor Clipper Partners, which has raised and managed $2 billion in private equity. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Simmons University and is on the Business Advisory Council for the Simmons University School of Business. She also serves as a board chair or board member for several organizations: Microgame, STS Medical Group, the Women’s Association of Venture and Equity, the Financial Executives Alliance, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, the Association for Corporate Growth’s Private Equity Regulatory Taskforce, and the Boston Private Bank Venture and Private Equity Advisory Board. She is a frequent speaker at private equity industry conferences and an angel investor in and advisor to numerous start-ups.

Tracy Fagan

Senior Vice President, PMO Natixis

Tracy has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services arena. She is currently Senior Vice President, Project Management Office for Natixis Investment Managers where she is responsible for the firm’s project management office, vendor management office, and business continuity program. Tracy helped to launch the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative and is committed to empowering women to grow into leadership positions with the firm. She has held leadership positions at Strong Women, Strong Girls, a multi-generational mentoring program for elementary school girls.

Paul Francisco

Chief Diversity Officer, State Street

Paul is the Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Workforce Development programs at State Street Corporation where he leads the implementation of global diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. He also oversees the execution of workforce development strategies and the Affirmative Action planning. Prior to joining State Street, Paul was a Managing Director and co-founder of Foster & Francisco LLC, an executive search and diversity consulting firm based in Boston. Recognition for his groundbreaking work includes the 2007 Boston Business Journal’s “Top 40 under 40”; 2009 “20 on the Move” recognizing Hispanic executives making a difference in Boston; and Color Magazine’s 2009 “All Inclusive Award for Leadership”.

Asha George

Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Electronic Arts (EA)

Asha George is Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Electronic Arts (EA) where she partners with leaders and team members across the organization to deepen and advance the culture of inclusion as a fundamental business imperative. She is an experienced HR executive with over 20 years of experience ranging from acquiring and integrating new businesses to leading business transformations and shaping long-term relationships with top global clients. She accelerates business performance with leading-edge strategy, innovation, and signature practices across the talent and culture ecosystem.

Stuart Kliman

Partner & Head of the Center of Excellence, Building Industry Partners

Stuart is a Partner at Boston-based Building Industry Products, the leading private equity firm in the building industry. Kliman also serves as the Head of BIP’s newly formed Center of Excellence (CoE) focused on human capital management. Kliman is a veteran strategic consulting firm leader and an expert in organizational change and individual capability building. Stuart’s long-standing interest in these areas began at the Harvard Negotiation Project, the think tank responsible for authoring Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, a seminal work on negotiation and collaboration. Kliman has authored many research reports and other white papers on topics ranging from alliance strategy and management to key capabilities for leaders and the future of work.

Suzanne Leonard

Professor of Literature and Writing and Program Director of the MA in Gender and Cultural Studies, Simmons University

Dr. Leonard is Professor of Literature and Writing, Director of the MA in Gender and Cultural Studies (GCS), and Faculty Senate President-Elect at Simmons University. She is also the co-chair of the executive committee for the Consortium of Gender, Culture, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, hosted by MIT. Suzanne is the author or editor of four books, including Wife, Inc: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century (2018) and Fatal Attraction (2009). She is currently a member of the Winthrop School Committee in Winthrop, Mass., and is working on a book manuscript entitled A Feminist Guide to Marriage.

Devendra Malladi (Dev)

Global Business Executive, General Manager, Servant Leader, DEI Champion

Dev has been instrumental in transforming multi-billion-dollar businesses at Cisco and SAP over the last two decades by helping grow teams and leaders. Dev is a global IT executive who has managed small startups to multi-billion-dollar businesses by building diverse high-performance teams and driving strategy, transformation, and growth. Dev believes in a collaborative, people- first approach to leadership and is passionate about bringing out the best in diverse teams to deliver sustainable outcomes. Dev was a sponsor for several employee resource groups and, more recently, an Executive Sponsor for PRIDE initiatives at Cisco.

Dev is passionate about building an inclusive future for all through proximity and sponsorship. He is an active advisor on both business strategy and DEI and has also been a speaker at the 2019 international edition of the Simmons Leadership Conference.

Gregory Martin

US Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at John Hancock

Greg is US Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at John Hancock. As US Head of DEI, he leads the development and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that support Manulife/John Hancock’s national and global strategy. As a member of Manulife’s Global DEI leadership team, he is building a DEI framework that cultivates signature programs focused on engagement, career development, community, and business efficiency. Greg has been at John Hancock for 15 years and held positions as a partner relations manager, project manager, communications consultant, senior trainer, and chair of an employee resource group (ERG).

Prior to joining John Hancock Greg served as an Ameriprise Financial Advisor and an Investment Advisor at TD Bank. He has an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Organizational Leadership.

Denise Millard

Chief Partner Officer, Dell Technologies

Denise Millard is Senior Vice President, Global Alliances and Industries at Dell Technologies. Global Alliances is a fundamental part of how Dell Technologies goes to market, wins business, and serves customers. These partnerships make Dell Technologies stronger, more competitive, and more profitable through purpose-built solutions that help customers solve problems and achieve business outcomes.

Millard’s passion for connecting with customers and enabling sales and partner organizations has been a constant throughout her 20+ year career. She previously held senior executive roles leading Sales Operations, Professional Services, Channel Sales, Learning and Enablement, Field Marketing and Sales Strategy.

Effective collaboration is a hallmark of Millard’s leadership. During her decade in partner-centric roles, she launched partner and partner services programs, managed top partner relationships and drove program enablement to support direct and partner selling motions. She played a vital role in the integration of Dell and EMC as a member of the Value Creation Integration Office focused on Go-To-Market integration and field readiness for the newly-combined organization.

Intensely committed to developing the next generation of talent, Millard is a strong believer in mentorship and development. She is a long-standing sponsor and contributor to Dell’s Women In Action (WIA) Resource Group and serves as the Executive Sponsor for the New England WIA chapter. Millard lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. As an avid fitness enthusiast, she can often be found at her local CrossFit. She holds an MBA from Clark University and a BS in Business from Bryant University.

Greg Morley

Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Moët Hennessy

Greg is Regional Director Human Resources Asia Oceania for Moët Hennessy, a division of LVMH, leading the company’s HR operations across the region. Greg also heads Moet Hennessy’s Global strategies to increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He brings a personal and professional passion to the development of talent and to helping others achieve more than they believe they can. Greg played a leading role in the team that produced Gay Games Hong Kong 2022, a 12,000 participant sports, culture, and inclusion event, in Asia for the first time in its 40 year-history.

Lindsey Otradovec

Regional Vice President, Western US, Intuitive Surgical

Lindsey Otradovec is a leader who is passionate about inspiring people and enabling business success. She is firmly rooted in the belief that everyone can be extraordinary. Throughout her 23 years of experience in the medical technology sector, she has remained motivated to help others reach their potential and been an advocate for actionable change, especially around driving culture, developing leaders and female talent.

During her twelve years at Intuitive, she has been instrumental in the development of inclusive leadership training and has served in key board positions for Intuitive’s employee resource groups. In 2021, Lindsey was the recipient of the Linkage, Inc.’s Women in Leadership Executive Impact Award. In her current role as a Regional Vice President of the Western US, she leads a diverse team of more than 500 employees focused on growing markets with meaningful, yet disruptive technologies.

She currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and resides in Wisconsin with her husband and three sons. Lindsey is a breast cancer survivor, and her passions include watching her sons play basketball, cooking, Green Bay Packer football, and spending time with family and friends at their second home in Door County, WI.

Regina Pisa

Chairman Emeritus & Partner, Goodwin

Regina M. Pisa is Chairman Emeritus and a Partner of Goodwin Procter LLP, a leading Global 50 law firm. Ms. Pisa led the firm as Chairman, and before that also as Managing Partner, for more than 16 years, through 2014. She was the first woman to lead an AmLaw 100 law firm in the United States and one of the youngest executives – at age 42 – to take the helm at the time of her appointment. Ms. Pisa’s vision and leadership fostered an unprecedented period of growth for Goodwin. She spearheaded a strategic plan that resulted in the firm’s dramatic expansion into new markets and intense focus on high-growth industry-facing practices. Under her visionary leadership, Goodwin transformed from a major regional firm to a leading national and then global firm and saw its attorney headcount grow over three-fold, its revenues grow over five-fold and its profitability grow over seven-fold. Today, Goodwin is a firm of over 1,200 attorneys, serving clients from thirteen locations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In 2017, The American Lawyer chose Ms. Pisa as its Distinguished Leader of the Year, heralding her as a pioneer and noting how her strategic vision and innovative style transformed not only Goodwin but the legal industry. Among many other current board service and community roles, Ms. Pisa serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Simmons University.

Colleen Richards Powell

Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, American Tower

Colleen is the architect of American Tower’s diversity and inclusion strategy, where she oversees the implementation of social change initiatives and best practices to advance the organization’s global footprint and inclusive culture. Previously, Colleen was the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at MFS Investment Management where she built the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy engaging with pivotal clients, strategic partners, internal and external stakeholders across North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. Colleen is a chair or member of numerous educational, civic, and philanthropic boards including the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. Colleen began her career by serving on the Capitol Hill staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, where she worked on the policy concerning education, children, and low-income policy.

Darlene Slaughter

VP, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

Darlene is a visionary with a passion to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all. At the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Darlene is leading a culture of engagement, innovation, accountability, trust, diversity and inclusion. Darlene’s work in diversity and inclusion has received many awards and honors, including SAVOY’s 2012 Top 100 Influential Women in Corporate America, Profiles in Diversity Journal’s list of Women Worth Watching, Black Enterprises’ Top Executives in Diversity, and Heart & Soul’s Women of Substance in Finance. She has also graced the cover of Inclusion Magazine.

Lori Spicer Robertson

VP, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Lori Spicer Robertson is a creative change agent always pursuing opportunities to transform
lives and foster sustainable progress. As a natural connector and multi-hyphenate, she currently serves as the VP, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founder of The DEI Collective — an industry-agnostic collaborative of DEI leaders creating just work environments and communities, and the founder and Chief Joymaker of an experiential membership community created to reconnect women and mothers to a life of joy called Wundher. Most recently, she held the role of VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Saks Fifth Avenue to design a more inclusive experience for employees, customers, and partners. A thought leader on women and mothers; diversity, equity, and inclusion; leadership and authentic joy, Lori is sought after by companies, universities, and organizations annually to share her narrative. She is wife to her fellow community crusader Eric Robertson, mother to her amazing boys, Liam and Emory. They all believe in their family motto to “live in your vision and not your circumstances.”

Stephanie Turner

Vice President, Inclusion, Diversity, and Social Innovation, Mitre

Stephanie E. Turner collaboratively integrates inclusion and diversity strategies in talent acquisition, social innovation, and leadership development. Stephanie is known for optimizing organizational sponsorships and brand presence at national diversity conferences, expanding national presence and increasing overall membership in employee resource groups, establishing governance models to improve customer service, and launching employee resource group referral programs.

Karen Wetherholt

Global Head of Talent, Illumina

Karen is a results-driven leader with over 20 years of leadership and a breadth of experience across the HR ecosystem. She has lived and worked abroad and brings a global multicultural perspective. She drives work by understanding the business’s strategic objectives and translating them into talent strategies that drive proven results. Karen is currently Global Head of Talent at Illumina, the global leader in DNA sequencing and unlocking the power of the genome. Previously, she has held leadership roles in several divisions of Walt Disney Company.

Valerie L. Ward, MD, MPH

Senior Vice President and the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Director of the Sandra L. Fenwick Institute for Pediatric Health Equity and Inclusion, the Director of the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion at Boston Children’s, and an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School

Valerie L. Ward, MD, MPH is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Director of the Sandra L. Fenwick Institute for Pediatric Health Equity and Inclusion, and the Director of the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion at Boston Children’s. She is also an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ward is a practicing pediatric radiologist in the Department of Radiology at Boston Children’s Hospital, and she held a previous position of Physician Director for Quality Improvement in the Department of Radiology at Boston Children’s.

Dr. Ward leads the essential work to make Boston Children’s Hospital a leader in pediatric health equity and inclusion, for all patients, faculty, staff and trainees. She provides leadership, vision and strategic oversight for the newly created Boston Children’s Sandra L. Fenwick Institute for Pediatric Health Equity and Inclusion. The Fenwick Institute is focused on evidence-based knowledge creation from innovative pediatric health equity research that addresses relevant and important health inequities for children. The Fenwick Institute has also created a novel leadership development program for mid-career professionals with a focus on health equity, diversity and inclusion, and has innovative biomedical research initiatives to ensure more equitable health outcomes for all children.

As a nationally recognized thought leader on pediatric health equity, Dr. Ward is sought after to provide her expertise through national pediatric research and clinical collaborations, and she represents Boston Children’s on national steering committees and collaborative working groups, including the Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) Health Equity Leadership Workgroup, SPS Safety Disparities Steering Committee, Inaugural Children’s Hospital Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group, and Pediatric Health Equity Collaborative. She is also a Health Equity Advisor and a Co-Leader of the Health Equity Core for the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Research Network.

Dr. Ward received her A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University, her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, and a master of public health degree also from Harvard. She completed her internship in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, her residency in diagnostic radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a fellowship in pediatric radiology at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a research fellowship in the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship Program.

Susan MacKenty Brady

CEO, Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership

Susan is the Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Chair for Women and Leadership at Simmons University and the first Chief Executive Officer of The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership.

Susan has previously published two books on leadership. Her third, co-authored by Executive Chair of the Board of Deloitte US Janet Foutty and Simmons University President Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten,  Arrive & Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership (McGraw-Hill), debuted in April 2022 and landed on the best-seller list in the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.

Susan also serves as emeritus board member for Strong Women, Strong Girls and as a Strategic Advisor for the relationship technology company, Our.Love.

Susan resides in the Boston area and is the proud Mom of two awesome daughters and two rambunctious Portuguese Water Dogs.

Professional Experience

Prior to joining Simmons, Susan was Executive Vice President at Linkage, Inc. a global leadership development consulting and training firm. She founded Linkage’s Women in Leadership Institute™ and launched Linkage’s global practice on Advancing Women Leaders and Inclusive Leadership, and led the field research behind the 7 Leadership Hurdles Women Leaders Face in the Workforce™.

Publications

Featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, Susan is the author of Mastering Your Inner Critic and 7 Other High Hurdles to Advancement: How the Best Women Leaders Practice Self-Awareness to Change What Really Matters (McGraw-Hill, 2018), The 30-Second Guide to Coaching Your Inner Critic (Linkage, 2014), and co-author of Arrive & Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership (McGraw-Hill, 2022).

See Susan’s Insights below for more details.

Public Speaking & Consulting

A celebrated speaker, Susan has keynoted or consulted at over 500 organizations around the world. She is host of the popular “Better Understanding” podcast series and a sought-after guest expert on leadership across media platforms, including The Gallup Podcast with Mohammand Younis on The Most Important Leadership Skill? Listening.

Download Susan’s speaker kit to learn more about her work and impact and book her as a keynote speaker at your next event.

Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten

President, Simmons University

Dr. Wooten is the ninth president of Simmons University and the first African American to lead the university. A seasoned academic and an expert on organizational development and transformation, Lynn specializes in crisis leadership, diversity and inclusion, and positive leadership—organizational behavior that reveals and nurtures the highest level of human potential. Lynn is an innovative leader and prolific author and presenter whose research has informed her work in the classroom and as an administrator. Lynn has also maintained a robust clinical practice, providing leadership development, education, and training for a wide variety of companies and institutions.