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.

Shannon leads the talent function inclusive of talent acquisition, learning and development, and talent management for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), one of the nation’s largest health care organizations with over 25 million members and 30,000 employees. With over 25 years of experience in HR, Shannon has held several senior HR roles at large global organizations including PepsiCo, Yum Brands Inc, Best Buy, and DHL Global Logistics. Shannon holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration and is also a certified executive coach.

Known for his energy, enthusiasm, and forward-thinking strategies, Shannon’s HR career has advanced him into roles at large, global brands across various industries. He has worked for major Fortune 50 and Fortune 250 companies and directed large-scale HR initiatives spanning succession planning, leadership training, organizational design, and workforce planning.

Giselle Battley is the Head of Global Emerging Talent, Talent Acquisition at Yahoo. She has a proven track record in leading global teams and executing large-scale initiatives. With expertise in recruitment, DEI programming, talent engagement, and leadership of Business Resource Groups (BRGs), she is recognized for her impactful contributions to organizational growth and inclusive cultures.

Giselle’s credentials include certifications as a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE), Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Certified Lean Practitioner (CLP), and Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB). Her leadership has earned her notable recognition, including spots on The Power 100 List by Diversity Woman Magazine (2021) and RippleMatch’s Exceptional Leader for a Large-scale Enterprise award (2021-2023).

Specializing in global talent acquisition, strategic partnerships, and DEI programs, Giselle is a recognized expert in driving change through diverse and inclusive recruitment practices, executive reporting, and public speaking.

Kason is the Global Director, Future of Work and Skills Based Organization (SBO) Strategy at Merck.

Patrick Manfroni is a strategic partnerships executive with extensive experience building ecosystems across payroll, HR, and workforce technology. At Stream, a global leader in earned wage access and financial wellness, Patrick leads U.S. partnerships and expansions with major providers including ADP, Paylocity, iSolved, Oracle, and many others. Throughout his career, Patrick has built a reputation for blending commercial strategy, product enablement, and legal expertise to advance partnerships that fuel long-term growth. 

Beyond his role at Stream, he is passionate about advancing financial inclusion for frontline workers and helping organizations use technology to improve employee wellbeing and business performance.

John Von Arb is the VP, Total Rewards at Essentia Health. 

Gianna Cruz serves as Director of Client Success at Maven Clinic, where she leads the strategic management of employer relationships to scale the company’s comprehensive family and women’s health platform. With a track record of driving client engagement and outcomes, she ensures that organizations meaningfully deliver women's and family health benefits through Maven’s integrated digital-care model. Passionate about aligning benefits strategy with organizational culture, Gianna partners with HR leaders to amplify workforce well-being, retention and business impact.

Melanie Stave is the North American Practice Leader for Career Development & Mobility solutions at LHH. LHH is a part of the Adecco Group, the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company, headquartered in Zurich Switzerland.

At LHH, we exist to help people, teams, and organizations find and prepare for what’s next. Our end-to-end HR solutions future-proof organizations and careers all over the world. Through Advisory, Career Transition & Mobility, Insights, Leadership Development and Recruitment Solutions, we enable transformation.  We make a difference to everyone we work with, and we do it with local expertise, backed by global infrastructure and industry-leading technology. LHH’s over 8,000 colleagues and coaches span 66 countries worldwide, working with more than 15,000 organizations, most of the Fortune Global 500, and over 500,000 candidates each year. Together we address needs across the entire talent journey, helping organizations build their capabilities and individuals build brighter futures.

Prior to joining LHH in 2018, Melanie was in the Banking and Financial Institutions sector for over 22 years. Initially with Citi, she spent the first half of her career in the Corporate and Investment Bank holding roles in both Sales and Relationship Management and then moved into Human Resources as the Global Head of Learning & Development for the Risk Management organization. After leaving Citi, Melanie continued to hold similar roles at GE Capital Corporation and Credit Suisse. Melanie holds an MBA in Banking & Finance from Hofstra University.

Kathi is a Senior Vice President and Global Industry Analyst at The Josh Bersin Company, supporting clients and the market with evidence-based insights on all areas of HR, Learning, Talent, and HR Technology. Kathi has more than 20 years global experience from management consulting with IBM, PwC, and EY, and as a talent leader at McKesson and Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, Kathi led talent and workforce research at Deloitte. She is a frequent keynote speaker, author, and thought leader. Originally from Austria, Kathi has worked in Vienna, London, San Francisco, and Spain and now lives in Palo Alto, California. Her passion is to make work better and more meaningful. Kathi holds a doctoral degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Vienna, Austria.

Rebecca has been with Eightfold nearly five years (December marks the big milestone!) — first helping to build the Customer Success team, then making the jump to Marketing in 2024, where she now serves as Sr. Director of Talent-centered Transformation. Before that, she spent 20+ years in TA leadership across retail, CPG, agri-business, and restaurants, which means she understands leaders, practitioners, candidates, and vendors.

She’s a connector, strategist, and storyteller who can find patterns in the chaos and cut through noise with clarity — often with a story that makes people nod along and think, “Yes, that’s exactly it.” She partners with leaders and teams to sketch out the art of the possible, spark new ideas, and turn future-focused visions into practical next steps.

Outside of work, Rebecca is just as energized. You might find her off-roading in her FJ, cycling, hiking, watching hockey, or plotting elaborate murder mysteries (the fun kind — written and facilitated, not committed). She’s also a food enthusiast, traveler, bookworm, youth mentor, and proud mom of three adult kids. She grew up outside of Chicago, did her undergrad in Seattle, MA in Minneapolis, and currently lives south of Phoenix.

Her CliftonStrengths are Activator, Strategic, Futuristic, Connectedness, and Includer — a mix that explains why she’s equally at home inspiring vision, building community, and getting things moving.

She brings experience from teaching, building her own startup, and leading in organizations of all sizes — from early-stage to global scale — with a consistent focus on the human side of work. With a background in arts education, Becky brings creativity and fresh perspective to designing meaningful learning and growth experiences. Her approach to development centers on empathy, coaching, and a growth mindset. She has led both individual and team transformations across diverse contexts, driven by a mission to build more inquisitive, empathetic, and inclusive workplaces. Prior to F5, she held senior leadership roles at Snap and Uber, where she built and scaled innovative learning and talent programs through rapid growth and transformation.

Em is an operations professional with expertise in HR, Finance, and Administration. She is Sayari's Director of People Operations, focused on ensuring all operational efficiencies run smoothly and acting as the "glue" on the HR team to connect business partners, recruiters, and cross-functional teams. She was born and raised in Massachusetts but currently resides outside of Washington, D.C. with her husband and rescue dog, Ollie! 

Matt Dietly is the Employee Experience Lead at WongDoody.

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.

Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. She is a contributing columnist for Harvard Business Review and her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

Rebecca frequently appears on national television and radio and as a moderator at conferences. Originally from Maine, she's a graduate of Wesleyan University. She lives in Boston’s South End with her family.

Amanda has enjoyed 16+ years helping brands find their voice and their edge. As an award-winning strategist, she's led global teams, shaped early-stage ventures, built campaigns that earn loyalty and products with sustained traction. Her work is grounded in how people actually live, think, and feel, weaving cultural instinct with a clear grasp of what technology can (and can’t) do. Known for her energy and candor as a mentor and facilitator, Amanda brings curiosity, care, and a passion for what’s never been done before.

Noelle is a Senior Director of Onboarding & Business Operations at Remote, where she leads a global team creating speedy, compliant, and delightful employee onboarding experiences for customers and their team members. Noelle is a passionate career generalist - with experience leading diverse functions like global HR operations, partner onboarding, digital product management, advertising agency operations, and client services. She loves getting stuff done faster/better/smarter, and anchors these efforts through intelligent people leadership and talent development.