Pat joined Out & Equal Workplace Advocates in 2008 and is now the Director of Training.  She has expanded the classroom, online and asynchronous diversity training for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) cultural competency during her tenure and now is extending that reach to global LGBT workplace equality.  Out & Equal recently completed their first Global LGBT Workplace Summit in London and the lessons learned from corporations and agencies around the world are an integral part of the work Pat does.

Mark Butler graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1979.  

He joined Marathon Oil Company in 1981 in the Findlay, Ohio office as an Associate Employee Relations Representative.  During his 25 years with the Company, Mark has held a variety of positions within the human resources function.  In 2002, Mark was assigned to his current position as Manager of Diversity.   In this capacity, he’s responsible for the development and implementation of diversity initiatives that create an environment where the talents and differences of all employees are respected and valued for business success.

Over the last 5 years, he’s spoken to over 3,000 people from both inside and outside of his company.  He continues to speak on a national level and has been a presenter at the national conferences for the American Association for Affirmative Action, The National Conference Board and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Giselle is the Practice Lead in Optimus SBR’s Learning & Development Group with over 25 years experience as a sought after resource to industry leaders across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors dedicated to building strategies and programs that help clients target, motivate and engage employees in order to increase performance and productivity.

Giselle has devoted more than 20 years to researching the impact that generational differences have on organizational performance, creating solutions and programs in four areas – leadership, high performance teams, early career talent, and reinforcement & sustainment of learning. Giselle has co-authored two books and completed her Master of Arts Degree in Communications Studies at the University of Windsor.

She is Chair of the Board at The Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL), co-chair of the Cross Academy Association and Advisory Council member at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Howard Ross is lifelong social justice advocate, and is considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing unconscious bias.  Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and major institutions within healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias:  Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His latest  book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2018, received the Nautilus Gold Medal for Social Change and Social Justice. His next book, Building Belonging: 9 Pathways to Creating Inclusive and Joyful Organizational Communities, will be published in 2020.

On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. And on August 26, 2008, when he stood on top of Puncak Jaya, in Papua New Guinea, Weihenmayer completed his 12-year quest to climb the Seven Summits— the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

He joins only 150 mountaineers who have accomplished this feat. Additionally, he has scaled El Capitan, a 3,300-foot overhanging rock wall in Yosemite; Losar, a 2,600-foot vertical ice waterfall in the Mt. Everest region of the Himalayas; and a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya. He has also completed the most brutal adventure race in the world: Primal Quest, 460 miles in nine days, with no time outs.

Why Erik is a Game Changer:

• Erik is the only blind man in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.

• Erik, along with his Everest teammates, led a group of soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan to the summit of Lobuche, a 20,000- foot peak in Nepal, to give back to America’s heroes and show what is possible despite adversity.

• Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, he has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider and skier who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life.

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.