Jamie Scarano is the Director of Integrated Inclusion and Internal Operations for the Center for Inclusion at UPMC, an $8 billion, 20-hospital global health system and health plan based in Pittsburgh, PA. With a 50,000 employee base, she is responsible for ensuring that inclusion is integrated into the day-to-day business practices and overall strategic initiatives. She has met with key stakeholders to strategize on how inclusion can transition from being a bolt-on approach and rather, built-in to their strategies. Jamie has the opportunity to promote a culture of inclusion through UPMC’s Dignity & Respect Campaign, a workplace and community initiative designed to promote inclusive behaviors. Jamie has presented the concept to employee groups of 10 to 100 through system-wide road shows and focus groups. The center also launched a bi-annual culture survey in 2010 that will help drive year over year improvement in areas such as employee engagement and retention.   

Prior to this role, she was the Director of Human Resources for the UPMC Cancer Centers where she provided both strategic and day-to-day management of overall HR functions to ensure business objectives and goals were met. Jamie was instrumental in creating initiatives such as the 52 for You Calendar that was instituted system-wide and ensured managers were utilizing day to day retention tools in their practices. She has partnered with other leaders in the organization to share her expertise around organizational development opportunities such as DISC and Strengths Finders. Jamie was chosen as a member of the first Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) Program that focuses on continuing education for high-potential leaders of the organization. She spent 12 years in human resources at Apria Healthcare, a billion dollar, nationwide homecare company prior to joining UPMC. 

Jamie holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations from Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Consumer Marketing from Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA. Her community involvement and professional affiliations include serving as a board member for Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Pennsylvania; on advisory boards for PA Women Work, Robert Morris University, and PA Diversity Council - Pittsburgh. She also is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). 

Candi Castleberry-Singleton is the chief inclusion and diversity officer at UPMC, a $10 billion, 20-hospital global health system and health plan. She is responsible for developing UPMC’s inclusion strategy, including its Dignity & Respect Campaign and Cultural Competency Initiative, as well as for overseeing progress toward system-wide goals involving 55,000 employees. In 2008, she launched the UPMC Center for Inclusion.

An experienced strategist, Castleberry-Singleton created The Integrated Inclusion Model, a systems integration model that helps companies transition from compliance-driven processes led by human resources, to integrated activities that shift the responsibility for achieving an inclusive culture to every employee. The model is featured in Crossing the Divide: Intergroup Leadership in a World of Difference (Harvard Business School Press, August 2009). Her inclusion initiatives have been implemented at Motorola, where she was vice president of global inclusion and diversity, and at Sun Microsystems, where she led the Global Inclusion Center of Expertise.

Recently, Castleberry-Singleton was named a 2010 Top Woman of Substance in Healthcare by Heart & Soul Magazine, one of the 25 Influential Black Women by The Network Journal, Top 100 African Americans in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine and a Woman of Humility by Point Park University in Pittsburgh. In 2009, Castleberry-Singleton was named one of the 50 Women of Excellence by The New Pittsburgh Courier and recognized by Diversity MBA Magazine as a Top 50 under 50 Executive Leader.

Professor Lisa Hisae Nishii joined the ILR School as an Assistant Professor in July of 2003. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland and her B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College. She won the Best Dissertation Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) for her work on the attributions that employees make about management's motivations underlying HR practices.

Professor Nishii's research focuses on three main areas: (1) Cross-cultural/international; (2) organizational diversity and inclusion; and (3) employee perceptions of organizational practices, or climate.  Her research on culture focuses on theories about, and measurements of, dimensions of cultural variation. She has worked with colleagues to advance theory and application of individualism and collectivism and cultural tightness-looseness. In her ongoing research, she is examining how the cultural context influences the effectiveness of HR "best practices." Her work on diversity and inclusion focuses primarily on investigating climate for inclusion as well as other moderators of the diversity to performance relationship. She has been working most recently on multi-level research funded by the SHRM Foundation and the Department of Labor that examines the interplay of organizational practices and climate, leader characteristics, group processes, and experiences in shaping the engagement of workers in general, as well as of aging workers and workers with disabilities in particular. In her third stream of research, Nishii focuses on employees' perceptions and experiences of organizational practices. She is particularly interested in the role of employee perceptions, attitudes and behavior in driving unit and organizational performance.

Professor Nishii regularly presents her research at conferences for SIOP and the Academy of Management, and her research has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Review, and Personnel Psychology. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Management. Professor Nishii has also worked as an organizational consultant for several organizations on a variety of topics, with the bulk of this work focusing on diversity and inclusion in organizations.

Anika K. Warren, Ph.D., leads and supports research and consulting projects focused on organizational change and effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, human capital management, career coaching and counseling, and women in leadership at Catalyst Inc. She serves as an active member of the Women of Color/Diverse Women and Inclusion Issue Specialty Team and a former member and current advisor to the Catalyst Diversity and Inclusion Action Council. Prior to joining Catalyst, Dr. Warren was a full-time Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College of Columbia University, where she continued to teach until September 2010. She also consults to professional service firms, bioscience corporations, and telecommunication companies, provides career coaching, and publishes research articles and book chapters on issues related to diversity and inclusion, organizational change and effectiveness, and counseling psychology. She has served as an educator, consultant, and counselor to numerous Fortune 500 and multinational companies, universities, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and community health organizations. Dr. Warren also develops training videos catering to the unique needs of multicultural clients and their individual and organizational challenges.

Prior to graduate school, Dr. Warren worked in finance at Gap Inc. and The Charles Schwab Corporation and was involved in recruitment and career development efforts at both corporations. She received her B.B.A. in Finance from Howard University and earned her M.A. and M.Ed. in Psychological Counseling at Columbia University, focusing on organizational, multicultural, and school psychology. She completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Boston College.

Christopher J. Metzler, Ph.D. is Associate Dean of Human Resources for the Masters of Professional Studies at The School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Georgetown University, he was on the faculty at Cornell University's ILR School where he directed the EEO and Diversity Studies program. Prior to entering higher education, he headed the strategic issues and research practice at an international consulting firm and provided advice to multinational corporations and governments on human rights, human capital, equality, corporate social responsibility, discrimination and diversity. He lectures globally on diversity, global employment practices, corporate social responsibility, human rights, human resources and comparative employment systems.

Dr. Metzler is the author of The Construction and Rearticulation of Race in a Post-Racial America (University of Aberdeen Press, 2008) and his forth coming book is Jim Crow on Steroids: And why the election of a black President does not change it (2009). In addition, he has reviewed books in multiple disciplines including: law, human rights, human resources, human relations, political history and others. He is also a reviewer for The Human Relations Journal and Southwest Journal of Cultures.

Dr, Metzler is a frequently sought after cultural critic and commentator and has appeared as an analyst on: The BBC News, Sky News, News Channel 8, BBC Arabic, Channel 7 News The Joe Madison Show, 1290 Radio, ABC News and others. He is frequently quoted in major newspapers including The New York Times and The Washington Times.
 
In addition, he blogs regularly on The Daily Voice and Diverse Issues in Higher Education. In addition to a Masters degree in Human Rights from Columbia University, he also holds a Ph.D. from University of Aberdeen in Law as well as diplomas and postgraduate certificates in law. He is a member of The University of Oxford in Oxford, England as well as a member of Kellogg College at the University of Oxford.

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.