With over 15 years of senior HR leadership in Fortune 500 companies, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and certified coach, Shayla N. Atkins is now the Founder and CEO of The Atkins IMPACT Consulting Firm. As an award-winning business and leadership strategist, an authority in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Organizational Effectiveness, Shayla believes “Authenticity Is the New Leadership Currency”, as the key to unlocking human potential. Receiving the 2022 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented by President Joseph R. Biden, and Shayla’s proven track record, has earned her invitations to speak on some of the largest stages across the country.

Janet Gipson is the Head of Talent Acquisition for Yale University. She leads a team of TA professionals and is responsible for all aspects of staff hiring for Yale including the function and placement of recruiting technologies, processes and people that deliver talent for the organization. Janet chose Talent Acquisition after a successful career in sales engineering, business development, and finally as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. She pivoted to the recruitment space to help large, Fortune 200 companies put their best brand forward to attract talent and has been in this space for the past 6+ years. Additionally, she is passionate about helping candidates achieve their desired personal and professional goals. With degrees in math, engineering and business, Janet applies her technical background to the data driven marketing and people talent space to deliver consistently for organizations. A compassionate professional that always looks for ways to give back, she holds or has held memberships in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., SHRM, and other professional and community organizations. Janet is a student member of the Pilates Method Alliance while she is working on her mat certification after being introduced to Pilates 11 years ago. Janet has been married 27 years to Marcus, and they have three children, one son in-law and 1 grandchild. They currently live in Middlebury, CT.

Svenja Gudell. Ph.D. is Chief Economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Business Economics. Prior to joining Indeed, Svenja was Chief Economist at Zillow Group. Previously, Svenja worked on economic, financial and strategic consulting for Analysis Group, and was an assistant economist in the research group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Svenja has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree in economics from New York University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Rochester.

LaFawn Davis is Senior Vice President of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) at Indeed leading teams across sustainability, diversity, inclusion and belonging, social impact, inclusive hiring products and AI ethics. She is a frequent advisor, contributing thought leader, and public speaker. LaFawn has been named in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Women of Impact, Fast Company’s Queer50 and San Francisco Business Times’s Most Influential Women in Business, in addition to being counted among Fortune’s Most Powerful Women. She serves as an Advisory Board member for Lesbians Who Tech and Power to Fly. LaFawn is also a Limited Partner in Operator Collective, an Angel Investor and a Fellow of the Black Venture Institute.

Jessica Jensen is Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Indeed. She is responsible for brand, communication, product and acquisition marketing globally.  Before joining Indeed, Jessica was CMO at OpenTable. Prior to OpenTable, she led B2B marketing for Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and other Meta platforms. She has held leadership roles at Apple and Yahoo! and started her professional career at the Boston Consulting Group. Jessica holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Masters in International Relations from University of California San Diego and a B.A. from Amherst College.

With over 25 years of experience in human capital leadership, Michelle has expertise across all HR disciplines and is a true business partner.  As the HR consulting lead for HUB’s Midwest region, Michelle orchestrates a team that is focused on all points along the employee lifecycle.  Michelle works with clients on strategy and planning, talent and performance management, and drives all compliance efforts including audits, investigations and training.

Prior to HUB, Michelle was an HR leader for United Airlines Employee’s Credit Union (today branded as Alliant), where she championed leadership coaching and development programs.  As a former HR business partner for DuPage County, Michelle overhauled its talent acquisition program, significantly improving talent quality and retention. Today, using her 14 plus years of consulting experience with HUB International, Michelle specialize in conducting HR assessments, delivering practical solutions to clients with the goal of building high performing HR departments.

Michelle’s clients today span a broad range of clients and industries. As a Prosci® certified change practitioner, Michelle specializes in a broad range of change management solutions for her clients.  As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, Michelle helps her clients develop best-in-class employee engagement programs and leadership development.  Michelle graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Clarke University, is a certified Senior Professional in HR (SPHR) and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).