GRACE under Pressure John Baldoni

Erin A. Cech is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her research, which is funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, investigates how seemingly benign and taken-for-granted cultural beliefs reproduce workforce inequalities. Her new book is “The Trouble with Passion: How Search for Fulfillment Fosters Inequality.” www.erinacech.com

Cali Williams Yost is the leading authority on high performance work flexibility. A visionary workplace futurist, strategist, author, and keynote speaker, Yost is the Founder and CEO of the Flex+Strategy Group, a solutions company helping organizations unlock performance and engagement by reimagining how, when, and where work is done. She coined and codified her concepts on the flexible future of work in the empowering book, Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day, (Center Street/Hachette, 2013), and the critically- acclaimed, Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2004).  www.flexstrategygroup.com

Jennifer J Fondrevay is the Founder of Day1 ReadyTM, a consultancy that advises forward- thinking business leaders, owners and C-Suite executives on how to prepare for the human capital challenges of M&A. As a Fortune 500 C-Suite “survivor” of three multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, Jennifer has been on all sides of the deal equation. She saw countless growth strategies fail due to a workforce that couldn’t pivot and adapt as quickly as leadership anticipated. She is the author of the book, “Now What?: A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving through Mergers & Acquisitions.” When her Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, “After a Merger, Don’t Let “Us vs. Them” Thinking Ruin the Company” went viral, Jennifer recognized the power and interest in a human-centric approach to business transformation, where employees are at the heart of the change. She shares her expertise as a contributor to: Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Thrive Global, American Marketing Association, Middle Market Growth; and as a frequent podcast guest and keynote speaker for HR conferences, associations and Fortune 500 companies. Jenniferjfondrevay.com

Alaina Love is the CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting (PLC), and developer of PLC’s groundbreaking instrument: The Passion Profiler™. Prior to founding PLC, Alaina was Executive Director of Human Resources for Merck & Co, with responsibility for the HR services of over 15,000 employees worldwide. She’s also been a research scientist in the field of immunology and a clinical researcher monitoring international drug trials. Alaina co-authored the book, The Purpose Linked Organization, which focuses on PLC’s research into the importance of purpose and passion in creating a fulfilled and motivated workforce. www.thepurposelink.com

Michael Bungay Stanier helps people be a force for change. He’s best known for his book The Coaching Habit which has sold close to a million copies and has thousands of 5-star reviews online. His newest book is How to Begin. Michael founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led. They’ve trained hundreds of thousands of managers to be more coach-like and their clients range from Microsoft to Gucci. He left Australia about 30 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University ... where his only significant achievement was falling in love with a Canadian ... which is why he now lives in Toronto, having spent time in London and Boston.  www.mbs.works  www.howtobegin.com

GARY GENARD, Ph.D., is the founder of The Genard Method of performance-based public speaking training. An actor, speech coach, and keynote speaker, he works with the world’s top brands, including Amazon, Google, IBM, Citigroup, Intel, Pfizer, McKinsey & Co., and the Boston Red Sox. He also trains political candidates and diplomats at the U.S. State Department and the United Nations, and at NASA and both houses of Congress. For the eighth consecutive year, Global Gurus has listed him as one of “The World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals,” while naming his “Speak at Your Best!” program as one of the top 10 speech training programs in the world. He has also been named as one of America’s 5 best speech coaches. You’ll find his popular blog, “Speak for Success!” at www.genardmethod.com  www.garygenard.com

Dean Miles is the founder and president of Bridgepoint Coaching & Strategy Group, a global executive coaching firm. He has spent his career coaching executives how to better lead themselves and their organizations. Dean is a master at understanding the needs of organizations and individuals. He has been coaching and facilitating programs for groups and individuals around the country on many organizational, inter-personal and personal topics since 1996. Dean's work with Fortune 500 CEOs has been featured in publications such as Forbes Magazine, Fast Company, CareerPro, Vistage & Inc. Magazine. www.bridgepointcsg.com

Ruth Gotian Ed.D. is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology Weill Cornell Medicine. Ruth is the author of is the author of the “The Success Factor – Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Performance.” She has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentoring and leadership development and is currently a contributor to Forbes and Psychology Today where she writes about ‘optimizing success’. She also has a weekly show and podcast by the same name where she gathers high achievers to talk about their journey to success. In 2021, she earned the Thinkers 50 Radar award as the No. 1 emerging management thinker in the world. www.ruthgotian.com

Shannon Huffman Polson is the author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, and the founder of The Grit Institute, a leadership institute committed to ethical whole leader development with online and supported training. As one of the first women to fly the Apache helicopter in the U.S. Army, Polson combines her passion for creativity with firsthand experience in leadership and grit to deliver world-class training to companies and organizations.  After serving for a decade in the armed services, including leading two flight platoons and a flight company on three continents, Polson earned her MBA at the Tuck School at Dartmouth. She went on to lead outstanding teams in the corporate world as well at Guidant Corporation (later Boston Scientific) and Microsoft Corporation. www.shannonpolson.com www.thegritinstitute.com