Harris is considered an expert in the field of diversity and holds several leadership positions in many national organizations. She began her career with McDonald’s over 30 years ago as an administrative assistant in the Corporate Legal department. Harris was quickly promoted to several positions within the Human Resources department leading to her current global leadership role.

She has documented her experience with McDonald’s in her book, None of Us Is Good as All of Us: How McDonald’s Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity.

Why Patricia is a Game Changer:

• She is responsible for the development and implementation of diversity strategies throughout McDonald’s Corporation, including the 31,489 restaurants in 118 countries.

• Harris is a founder and member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum, founder and past chair of the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, and past President of the Board of Directors for the Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization).

• Under her leadership, McDonald’s has been widely recognized for its commitment to inclusion and diversity. This recognition includes Fortune magazine’s “Top 50 Places for Minorities to Work”, Black Enterprise magazine’s “Top 40 Companies for Diversity”, Latina Style magazine’s “Best Companies for Latinas”, Asian Enterprise magazine’s ”Top 25 Companies for Asians,” and the “Disability Diversity Award” by Worklife Matters magazine.

For the past 25 years, R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., has been at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative concepts and strategies for maximizing organizational and individual potential through diversity management.  He currently serves as CEO of Roosevelt Thomas Consulting & Training, Inc., and as Founder/Trustee Emeritus of The American Institute for Managing Diversity (AIMD).  Dr. Thomas is the author of seven published books; his most recent World Class Diversity Management: A Strategic Approach (2010).  Dr. Thomas has been active for more than twenty-five years as a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, corporations, professional firms, government entities, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions, and he has served as a frequent speaker at national conferences and industry seminars.  He has also served as secretary of Morehouse College, dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Atlanta University, assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, and instructor at Morehouse College.  Further, Dr. Thomas has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top ten consultants in the country, elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources, and cited by Human Resource Executive as one of HR’s Most Influential People.

Lisa Rosser is on a mission to help organizations improve their veteran recruiting and retention. Her unique background with years of experience in both military and human resources is what makes her the ideal person for training human resource professionals how to recruit, hire, and retain military veterans for employment.

Lisa's military career includes 10 years of Active Army duty and 11 years of service with the Army Reserve, including 2-1/2 years of mobilization after the events of 9-11. During her Active Duty time she participated in 3 major engagements (Gulf War, Somalia, and Bosnia). Her Army Reserve career focused on operations and performance management, recruiting, placement, training, and skills development. She retired from the Army Reserve in July 2011 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Lisa's civilian career capitalized on her Human Resources and Training military experiences into an eight year career at Accenture, a Global Fortune 500 consulting firm. In 2007, Lisa founded The Value Of a Veteran and published an employer guide to recruiting the military. The enthusiastic response to the hiring guide led to workshops for corporate, government and higher education organizations, as well as webinars on critical military hiring topics.

Doug Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Kaleidoscope Group with over 20 years of experience in the field of diversity & inclusion consulting. Today, as the leader of The Kaleidoscope Group, Doug empowers organizations to achieve their diversity and inclusion goals.  He has extensive experience working with senior executives to champion diversity and develop commitment and enthusiasm across all employee groups. His energy and passion for the work is contagious and people seldom walk away without a memorable experience. Some of Doug’s clients include: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca-Cola Enterprise, CNA, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Farmer’s Insurance, McDonald's Corporation, Nationwide Insurance, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Provena Health, The Federal Reserve Banks, The Wharton School, Watson Wyatt Worldwide and several nonprofit social service/government agencies. Along with numerous presentations Doug delivers for clients worldwide, he is also in demand as a speaker for various organizations and associations such as The Conference Board, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), local SHRM Chapters, Linkage, Inc., etc. In keeping with his personal commitment to serve the community, Doug works actively to develop mentoring programs for students that promote education and build self-esteem. Doug holds degrees in Economics and Sociology from Tufts University.

Over the past 18 years, Lionel Laroche has provided cross-cultural training, coaching and consulting services to over 75,000 people in 18 countries. Lionel specializes in helping organizations turn the challenges often experienced by organizations into a source of creativity and innovation. His client list includes many Fortune 500 organizations in North America and overseas.

Lionel is a thought-provoking, informative and entertaining speaker / facilitator who presented at over 250 conferences and venues, including many Human Resources conferences (SHRM, HRPA, HRIA, SAHRP, HRMAM, CSTD, etc.) He is the author of over 100 publications examining the impact of cultural differences on organizations in general and human resources in particular. He has written three books:

·         Danger and Opportunity: Turning Cultural Diversity into a Competitive Advantage (Dec. 2013)

·         Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Diverse Employees (Nov. 2007)

·         Managing Cultural Diversity in Technical Professions (Nov. 2002)

Born in France, Lionel obtained his “Diplôme d’Ingénieur Polytechnicien” from the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, France and his Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, USA.

Dr. Hrabowski has served as President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since 1992. With philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 1988. The program is open to all high-achieving students committed to pursuing advanced degrees and research careers in science and engineering, and advancing minorities in these fields. The program has become a national model, and based on program outcomes, Hrabowski has authored numerous articles and co-authored two books that are used by universities, school systems, and community groups around the country.

Why Freeman is a Game Changer:

• In 2008, he was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report, which in both 2009 and 2010 ranked UMBC the #1 “Up and Coming” university in the nation and among the top colleges and universities in the nation for commitment to undergraduate teaching.

• In 2009, Time magazine named him one of America’s 10 Best College Presidents.

• He won the Hessy Award for Leadership Excellence in 2011.

• In May 2010, he was among 10 national and world leaders to receive an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.

• He chaired the National Academies’ committee that recently produced the report, “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads.”

Bill’s diversity journey began in 1987 when he attended a two-hour presentation on the topic at the suggestion of a friend. It led to a mentoring relationship that fundamentally transformed his life, personally and professionally. Bill pioneered white male only workshops in the mid-90s after repeatedly noticing that white male leaders disengage from diversity efforts. His provocative work seeded creation of White Men as Full Diversity Partners.

For more than 30 years, he has served as a consultant, coach and facilitator to countless companies and organizations on issues of team effectiveness, diversity and leadership development. He is the founder of the ETD Alliance, a small trade association for experiential training and development consulting firms, and was president of the Association for Experiential Education for two terms.

An energetic contributor to global solutions toward poverty, injustice, education and personal empowerment, Bill has been taken part in interventions such as getting relief supplies to the Burmese people devastated by Cyclone Nargis; assisting displaced monks and leaders of the Saffron Revolution in Burma as they seek asylum in the United States; and helping individual and family micro-business enterprises in northern Laos and Thailand.

These and other efforts arise from Bill's love of adventures down remote rivers and untraveled roads. Many of his most gratifying cross-cultural learning experiences have occurred in remote corners of the developing world. These experiences inform and enrich his leadership work and consultation.