Categories: Conference Speakers

Charlene Li is a Bestselling Author, CEO, Harvard Alumnus and Expert in Disruption, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work

At the forefront of some of Society’s Biggest Transformations

From the emergence of the Internet to the rise of artificial intelligence, Charlene has been at the forefront of some of society’s biggest transformations. For the past three decades, she’s worked as an author, analyst, and entrepreneur, exploring and explaining the new world being created right before our eyes by these new technologies.

That’s what Charlene does. But what she lives and works for is creating the “big gulp” moment.

That moment is what happens when you move from a place of confusion, where something is happening to you, to a place of understanding, where you have agency over your situation. Helping leaders take that first step toward a sense of empowerment and optimism, tempered by the knowledge of the journey ahead, is what drives her.

At the Heart of Disruption

After earning an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an A.B. degree magna cum laude from Harvard College, Charlene has spent the past three decades helping people see the future and thrive through disruption. She has advised executives and boards to recognize the vital truth that companies can’t simply innovate in order to stay competitive. They must transform.

As a sought-after expert on disruptive transformation, leadership, customer experience, and the future of work, Charlene has worked with hundreds of organizations—ranging from Adobe to Southwest Airlines and 14 of the Dow Jones Industrial 30 companies—to provide her insights to support a winning strategy for disruptive growth and a plan to identify and seize an opportunity no one else has the audacity or confidence to reach for.

Throughout her career, Charlene has been at the edge of disruption. She worked in newspapers in the early 1990s and helped them navigate the shift from print to online. As a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, she covered interactive advertising, search marketing, and the rise of social media. In 2008, she founded Altimeter Group, a disruptive competitor that challenged analyst firm incumbents such as Gartner, Forrester, and IDC, which was acquired by Prophet. Charlene went on to serve as the Chief Research Officer at PA Consulting, where she led the company’s thought leadership program. She currently leads her own firm, Quantum Networks Group.

Accolades

• Named One of the Most Creative People in Business and Most Influential Women in Technology by Fast Company
• Named by Inc Magazine as One of the Top 50 Leadership Innovators
• Named by Adage as One of its Top 40 Women to Watch
• Named by LinkedIn as One of the Top 10 Marketing Influencers
• Named by NowPublic as One of the 50 Most Influential People in Silicon Valley
• Named by Thinkers 360 as a B2B Marketing Leaders to Follow

Books:

• Winning with Generative AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success – Being Released Soon!
• The Disruption Mindset – 2019
• The Engaged Leader: A Strategy for Your Digital Transformation – 2015
• The Seven Success Factors of Social Business Strategy – 2013
• Open Leadership – 2010
• Marketing in the Groundswell – 2009
• Groundswell – 2008

Keynote Topic:

Leadership in the Digital Age

Digital technologies have revolutionized relationships, and leadership is no exception. To be truly engaged, effective leaders must harness and master the power of digital communications and branding, especially with the challenges of leading a distributed team.

In this speech, Charlene explains that the key is understanding how your leadership style can be extended and scaled through digital techniques to achieve your most important goals. You’ll learn the art and science of how to listen, share, and engage with employees and customers in the digital era. We’ll also discuss common objections and concerns of leaders and how to address them.

Key Takeaways:

• Master a new way of developing relationships, which begins by stepping out of traditional hierarchies.
• Listen at scale, share to shape, and engage to transform.
• Shift to a digital mindset.
• Apply the right digital tools to meet strategic goals.

Celeste Warren is Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence. As the leader for Merck’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence, she is responsible for working with Merck’s global leaders to advance and embed diversity and inclusion throughout the organization to enhance the employee experience and maximize business performance. Celeste is one of the more tenured Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers in the Fortune 100 companies having held the role for 10 years.

She has been recognized for her work in diversity, equity and inclusion including:
• Black Enterprise’s “Top Executives in Global Diversity and Inclusion”
• Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Women in Corporate America”
• Diversity Global Magazine’s “Influential Women in Global Diversity”
• Diversity Woman Magazine’s: “Elite100” List

She was also recognized as the Chief Diversity Officer of the Year by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

She serves on the boards of RWJBarnabas Health Systems and Paradigm for Parity. She is also a member of CNBC’s Workforce Executive Council and World 50’s Inclusion and Diversity Impact Community.

Celeste is a published author and her articles on diversity, equity and inclusion have been featured in numerous national and global publications and she has had the opportunity to speak at various events across the world.

Celeste attended the University of Kentucky where she earned her B.S. degree. She received her master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

She is the wife of John Warren and the mother of two children, Christina-Celeste and John Steven, Jr.

As the Chief Diversity Officer, Shane leads the firmwide diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy and advises executive leadership at Baker Tilly. Prior to joining the top 10 professional services firm based in the United States, he worked at Amazon within their Worldwide Consumer and Global DEI teams. Additionally, he’s held positions at Brown and Yale University, two of the nation’s leading academic institutions. He also worked at Cook Ross, one of the world’s leading diversity and inclusion consulting firms as a consultant. In 2022, Shane was named to the Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40 List. Shane’s work and insights have been featured in Insider, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and a Netflix documentary.

Shane holds a Master of Public Health degree from Brown University and a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University. Outside of work, Shane sits on the Racial Equity and Social Justice Advisory Committee for Montgomery County of Maryland.

Dana Scarcella is a high energy leadership consultant, specializing in creating
high performance cultures. Dana is on a mission to help people achieve their
impossible goals and help leaders get extraordinary results. After an illustrious
corporate career spanning nearly two decades, Dana set out to redefine
leadership consulting by incorporating a holistic framework that considers not
just professional success, but also individual happiness and fulfillment. Her
methodology emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, building on
strengths, and creating systems and habits to achieve personal and
professional goals.

As a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator, Dana leaves her audiences
both inspired and ready to take action. Whether working with Fortune 500
companies, emerging startups, or non-profit organizations, Dana delivers
tailored programs that encourage self-discovery and sustainable success.
Committed to continuous learning, Dana stays at the forefront of industry
trends, incorporating the latest research and methodologies into her training
programs. Every program has science to back it up, while understanding that
because everyone’s journey is unique, different strategies are required.

Armed with a passion for empowering individuals and organizations to achieve
their full potential, Dana’s purpose is to ignite possibilities in others and help
people live an inspired life.

Dana has coached leaders at all levels, from first time managers to the C-suite,
and holds a Level 7 Certification from The Institute of Leadership &
Management (ILM). She also holds certifications in Six Sigma, Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator, Predictive Index, Korn Ferry Leadership Architect, and change
management. Dana holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management
and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Relations from Rutgers University. She
resides outside of Philadelphia with her spouse and two children.

Scott J Prendergast is a Professional Speaker, Certified Coach, Author,
College Professor and Mental Health Advocate based in Philadelphia, PA
and owner of Scotty P Inspiration LLC. A graduate of Temple University,
Scott speaks about the importance of acknowledging mental health in
society, and encourages techniques to overcome the everyday mental
obstacles that hold us back in life. Scott travels across the country speaking
to audiences ranging from college students and faculty, to corporate leaders and executives, while sharing his own story of hope and resilience in learning to overcome depression. He uses a practical approach of mindful strategies combined with a compassionate touch to help others validate their own feelings, and work towards moving past them. Scotty P has participated in speaking events across 38 different states totaling over 150,000 people in six plus years. Scott has also been featured on Fox 29 Good Day Philadelphia on multiple occasions, and has appeared as a keynote speaker for multiple prominent organizations including for the Philadelphia Phillies “Strike Out The Stigma Event.” In addition, he just released his first published book titled; From Rock Bottom to rock solid: Learning to Navigate Life Through The Lens of Hope, in March of 2024.

Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year. He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc.

Michael has a passion for education and for taking on a challenge. Both of these traits likely were sparked by his mother, a former high school teacher who, after being fired from teaching due to her being pregnant with Michael, challenged a mandatory maternity leave policy all the way up to the United States Supreme Court where she won a victory for all working women, in a case captioned Cohen v. School Board of Chesterfield County Virginia. Michael is a proud husband to Jamie and father to Maddie and Mia, a travel softball coach for the Philadelphia Phillies Urban Youth Academy and a fanatical Philadelphia and University of Michigan sports fan.

Merrick Rosenberg, affectionately known as The Bird Guy, is not just an
author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. He is a true visionary! In 1991, he
founded Team Builders Plus, one of the first companies in the United States. His
groundbreaking work laid the foundation for today’s team building industry.

But Merrick didn’t stop there! After transforming the lives of hundreds of
thousands by creating positive work environments, he took his mission a step
further by connecting classic DISC styles to Eagle, Parrot, Dove, and Owl. In 2012,
he launched his second venture, Take Flight Learning, to share these powerful
insights with the world.

His impressive client roster includes two-thirds of the Fortune 100 companies,
showcasing his expertise across small, mid-sized, and large organizations, as well
as non-profits and government agencies. He’s penned eight award-winning
books, including The Chameleon, Which Bird Are You?, and Personality Wins,
empowering individuals to harness the strength of their personalities.

Merrick is also an acclaimed filmmaker. His personality styles movie, BirdBrains,
Inc., has won an astounding 23 film festival awards, including Best Short Film,
Best Original Song, and Best Educational Film. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it
today! And good luck getting the song, Personality, out of your head.

Armed with an MBA in Organizational Development from Drexel University,
where he was honored as Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, Merrick’s accolades
don’t end there. He’s been recognized as New Jersey CEO of the Year by AI magazine and Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Merrick not only understands how to grow a business but also knows how to create an organization where people love to work. Under his leadership, Take Flight Learning was named New Jersey Business of the Year by NJ Biz magazine and recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the Fastest Growing Companies and Best Places to Work in the region.

Merrick captivates audiences at major conferences and events, including TEDx, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Association for Talent Development, Vistage International, Commercial Real Estate Women, the Project Management Institute, the International Society for Performance Improvement, the Young Associates, President’s Club, and countless others for organizations and associations.

He’s also a sought-after media guest, gracing the airwaves of ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, SiriusXM, iHeart Radio, and Radio Disney, with interviews in prestigious publications like The New York Times, Fortune, The Wall Street
Journey, Forbes, Newsweek, Fast Company, Inc., Parents, and Glamour.

And when he’s not inspiring others, you might find Merrick unwinding in a yoga studio, meditating on a serene beach, or strumming his guitar with friends. His passion for personal growth truly sets him apart!

Audrey Mickahail is Senior Vice President, Private Sector & Membership Experience, at Opportunity@Work. In this role, she is responsible for the organization’s Private Sector business as well as the team that ensures a high quality and consistent customer experience with Opportuniy@Work through its service offerings to help employers, philanthropies, regional consortia, and the public sector enable economic mobility for workers who are Skilled through Alternative Routes (STARs).

Before joining Opportunity@Work, Audrey built a corporate solutions practice at JFF focused on equitable talent practices and social impact strategies. She was previously a senior director at Gartner, a research and consulting firm, where she played many roles during her 20+ years at the company, including working with multiple research teams to develop insights that she presented to clients globally at executive retreats and Gartner events; leading an advisory team; and leading research teams at CEB and Meta Group, both of which were acquired by Gartner.

As Opportunity@Work’s Vice President of Policy, Blair leads the organization’s partnerships with the public sector, guiding the strategy to support policy shifts to enable STAR mobility nationally and in regions across the U.S. In her time at the organization, she has helped guide the strategy and execution of numerous projects across different departments, including the design of STARsight, the STARs Community, and the STARs Public Sector Hub.

Over the course of the last 15 years+, Blair has worked at the intersection of strategy and economic mobility in the public sector and mission-oriented organizations. She has taught and led participatory design engagements that resulted in innovative solutions in affordable housing, public service delivery, and federal hiring. She has also worked with states, local governments, non-profits, and training institutions to explore, develop, and implement new approaches to family economic security and wellbeing.

Kristie Pappal joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007 and currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources. In this role she provides comprehensive human resources leadership including developing and leading HR strategy and policy, cultivating a positive and productive work environment, talent acquisition, employee relations, benefits and wellness, compensation and organizational development. Proud to serve as a confidant and consultant to the senior leadership team. Kristie is also involved in the team’s environmental initiatives through its Go Green! Program.

Kristie came to the Eagles from Town Sports International (TSI), parent company of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington Sports Clubs where she was the Director of Human Resources. Prior to working with TSI, Kristie was the Human Resources Representative for Iron Mountain.

She holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Fox School of Business at Temple University and a Bachelor of Science in Labor & Industrial Relations and a minor in Psychology from Penn State University. She is SPHR and SHRM-SCP certified. Kristie is a Co-Chair of The Penn State University, School of Labor and Employment Relations Affiliated Alumni Program Group and a Chair for the Philadelphia CHRO Leadership Summit. In addition, Kristie is a member of the Senior HR Advisory Group for the Fox School of Business at Temple University as well as a Board Member of POWER, The Power of Professional Women. Kristie serves as a student mentor with the College of Liberal Arts. She was the 2015 recipient of the Penn State University College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Young Alumni Award and 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni from the School of Labor and Employment Relations.