Lydia Dishman is Fast Company’s senior editor for growth and engagement. She has also written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Responsibilities: Carrie Theisen is Fannie Mae’s Senior Vice President of Total Rewards reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, Theisen is responsible for leading the design and execution of Fannie Mae’s Total Rewards strategy targeted at attracting, retaining, engaging, and rewarding talent in support of meeting the short-term and long-term workforce needs of the company.

Experience: Prior to her present appointment, Theisen was the VP of Global Total Rewards & People Operations at Medidata Solutions. She was responsible for directing global compensation, benefits, equity, sales compensation, and people operations functions. Before that, Theisen was a leader in Total Rewards for The Winebow Group, The Advisory Board Company, and the MidAtlantic Employers’ Association. Her work has included designing pay structures, job architecture systems, and compensation processes, along with providing compensation consulting services to clients. She designed and administered a holistic wellness program to promote employee mental, physical, and financial health; and delivered home-based self-care programs for a newly remote employee population due to COVID-19.

Affiliations: Theisen is active on the Board of Directors since 2012 for Touch the Nations. She has also served as a Pro Bono Consultant at the Children’s Law Center from 2015-2020, Reading Connection from 2014-2018, and KIPP Charter Schools in Atlanta and Austin from 2013-2014.

Education: Ms. Theisen has a Bachelor of Science in human resources from the University of Nebraska and has both her Senior and Global Professional in Human Resources certifications.

Devin is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the financial technology and workplace savings industries. As CEO and Co-Founder of SecureSave, he is leading the charge in reinventing the emergency savings account. Throughout his career, Devin has developed financial technology solutions used by tens of millions of Americans across a variety of industries, with a particular focus on consumer finance, small business, and payments. He has also been awarded multiple issued patents and has been instrumental in numerous successful startup acquisitions. Devin's expertise in product development and consumer finance has earned him recognition in media outlets such as CNBC, The New York Times, and Business Insider. When he's not working, Devin enjoys spending time with his wife and six children, and exploring the great outdoors in his home state of Washington. 

Sarah Schutzberger is the Global Wellness Program Manager at Samsung.

Sherry Rais, CEO and Co-Founder of Enthea, has helped dozens of startups, non-profit organizations, academic/research institutions, and small businesses raise funds, operate according to their mission and values, and implement processes that enhance their overall efficiency.

Sherry believes in living and working in alignment with purpose and is currently focused on expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapy to alleviate human suffering. Enthea is a licensed, third-party administrator of health plan benefits with a mission to provide as many people as possible safe and affordable access to psychedelic therapy.  Before this, Sherry consulted for over 10 years with the United Nations and World Bank, implementing cash transfer programs at the national
level in over 35 countries.

Sherry holds a master’s degree in public policy and administration from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and international development from McGill University. She also completed the Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research from CIIS in 2021. In addition to being Enthea's CEO, she is the Executive Director of the Boston Psychedelic Research Group and the Grants Manager for CIIS.

Abby Schneiderman is an entrepreneur, innovator and visionary leader with a passion for finding ways to use technology to make people’s lives better. Together with Adam Seifer, she is currently the co-founder and co-CEO of Everplans (Everplans.com), a life and legacy planning company dedicated to transforming the way people think ahead and get their families organized. Everplans is offered by hundreds of financial services companies, insurance providers, and employers across the country. As an industry expert in the areas of digital estate planning, technology and consumerism, Abby has been featured in numerous publications including the NYT, WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Huffington Post. Abby was named to Fast Company’s list of the most creative people in business in 2016 (https://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2016). Abby lives with her husband and two little girls in Washington, D.C.. Abby is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bijal Toprani is a senior physical therapist and clinical solutions lead at Hinge Health, where she combines her clinical expertise with industry knowledge to transform healthcare delivery. Her clinical background includes specializations in orthopedic conditions, pelvic floor disorders, stroke rehab, and geriatric care, with previous roles at California Rehabilitation Institute and Kessler Institute for Rehab.

At Hinge Health, Dr. Toprani contributes to both patient care and commercial strategy, driving innovation in digital musculoskeletal care. She is well-versed in employer benefits and their role in improving employee health outcomes, aligning with Hinge Health's mission to provide accessible, effective care.

Dr. Toprani is passionate about leveraging digital health solutions to improve access to quality care while reducing costs and enhancing patient function.

Kimberly Young is an HR benefits executive specializing in global strategy and design of health and welfare programs, Union negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, compliance, analytics and organizational development.

Prior to Amentum (formerly PAE), Kimberly led national benefit programs in a cross section of industries. Former employers include: Booz Allen Hamilton, ETRADE Financial and XO communications. She has been in the industry for more than 20 years and worked with industry leadership teams including Carl Icahn and The Carlyle Group. In addition, Kimberly has been a speaker at CEBS, ERISA Group and NBGH on topics that include Health Care Reform, benefit analytics and wellness strategy
design.

Her passions include volunteering, mentoring at risk women and interior decorating.

Jeanhee Kim is a freelance journalist and editor at Unchained. She has worked as an editor, producer and writer at CoinDesk, Crain's New York Business, Meredith Interactive, Oxygen Media and Money Magazine.

Alecia Williams-Pierre is the Vice President, Total Rewards at Atrium Hospitality.

Casey Smolka is the Head of Actuarial Analytics at Spring Health.

Elizabeth is the North American Head of Strategic Benefits. She is a dynamic senior-level lead in benefits and wellbeing with 20 years of experience in benefits program design, development, and strategic implementation. She has amassed extensive knowledge of relevant regulations and legislation related to employee benefits. Elizabeth is focused on meeting organizational goals and staying ahead of the curve by thinking objectively and globally. She maintains clear communication with her team and is adept at troubleshooting while effectively managing relationships at all levels of the organization.

Megan Burns is a Benefits Solutions Consultant at Benepass and helps employers launch customizable spending accounts that meet their benefits goals and budget while providing an incredible experience that employees love.

Megan has been in the benefits industry for over 10 years supporting employers’ benefits planning, employee engagement strategies, technology implementations, ongoing administration and compliance.

Megan specializes in global plan design, benchmarking, financial projections, program education, system implementations and more.

Megan is incredibly passionate about employee benefits that support employees and their families. She is equally passionate about delivering for the clients and administrators she supports as well.

Katie is a healthcare advocacy and navigation veteran, having served her 13 year tenure at Accolade in roles across service operations, product and now as the Accolade’s Advocacy Solutions Lead.  She’s an expert in the company’s proprietary engagement and influence model and has launched several of Accolade’s flagship user applications, including the brand new buyer portal, featuring the True Health Dashboard.

Umair Khan is Executive Vice President of Solutions Management & Marketing at Accolade. In this role, he leads the solution design and positioning for Accolade’s solutions that help families more quickly and easily manage their health. During his 13 years at Accolade, he has held multiple roles covering product development, product strategy, learning & development, sales, and managing daily operations. Each of these roles has helped shaped new innovation in the healthcare advocacy industry. Prior to Accolade, Umair held leadership roles in corporate development and strategic planning at GE Healthcare and Monitor Group. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and dual Bachelor's degrees from the University of Houston.