Speakers
2026 Keynote Speakers
Hannah Austin
Chief Executive Officer and Author, She Shatters LLC
Hannah Austin, bestselling author and mental health speaker, leverages over two decades in healthcare to advocate for workplace well-being. After a distinguished executive career in healthcare, she founded SheShatters in 2021 to challenge corporate hustle culture and promote balance for employees and managers. Her expertise has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, establishing her as a leading voice in organizational wellness.
Porter Knight
Owner, Porter Knight, LLC
Since 1996, Porter Knight has transformed lives by teaching how to apply brain-based strategies to maximize focus, performance, and happiness. Her simple systems and frameworks help professionals get more done with less stress, feel lighter during the day, and rest with satisfaction at night. Author of Organized to Last: 5 Simple Steps to Staying Organized (2005) and the upcoming book Stop Managing Your Time (2026), Porter is a sought-after keynote speaker and consultant. She has presented to over 800 audiences and has consulted with professionals at over 250 organizations. Porter was among the first in the nation to earn the credential of Certified Professional Organizer® and has been one of the most popular presenters at National Association of Professional Organizers conferences, where she has twice been nominated for the prestigious Founders Award. An avid hiker, equestrian, and community leader, Porter lives in Bristol, Vermont.
2026 Session Speakers
Amy Beacom, EdD
Founder & Chief Executive OfficerCenter for Parental Leave Leadership
Dr. Amy Beacom is the founder and CEO of the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and creator of parental leave coaching and consulting as a field of practice. She developed the evidence-based RETAIN Parental Leave Coaching™ methodology and launched the first comprehensive U.S. parental leave coaching program with Microsoft in 2014. Drawing on 35+ years in leadership development and her own experience navigating severe postpartum mental health challenges, Dr. Beacom has dedicated her career to ensuring no parent faces the parental leave transition alone. She holds a doctorate from Columbia University and authored The Parental Leave Playbook (Wiley, 2021). Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Working Mother.
Jim Bagley
Manager, Strategy, Growth & Transformation,
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Jim is a Manager in Deloitte’s Compensation Strategies consulting group and has been helping clients on a variety of compensation projects since joining the firm. Examples of projects Jim has led include developing new job architecture frameworks, executing global pay equity studies, building new compensation structures, and defining and implementing a new compensation strategy to help attract and retain talent. Prior to joining Deloitte, Jim was with a leading health and wellness company, managing pay equity assessments, large scale compensation accruals, regulatory compliance, and integrating HR systems with Workday.
Natalie J Bendza
Coach/Author, The Human Forcefield, LLC
After a neurological collapse erased her emotional timeline, Natalie's recovery led her yo discovering all she could about how the mind works, from Hypnotherapy, to Belief recoding, to Neuro-Coherence. Using several different techniques to recode her nervous system from the anxiety that drove her to collapse, she now teaches others how to recode their entire system, not just beliefs, for a calmer, healthier, and more productive life.
Jonathan Herrera
Washington Saves Program Manager, Washington Saves Program - Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
Jonathan Herrera is the inaugural leader for Washington Saves, an initiative helping 1.2 million Washingtonians gain access to retirement savings. With over 20 years of experience in personal, small business, and government finance, Jonathan has built a career advocating for financial inclusion and empowering communities through innovative programs. Previously, Jonathan was a founding leader of California’s CalSavers program, serving as Director of Strategic Stakeholder Engagement and Customer Experience. He also held roles at the California State Treasurer’s Office and Citibank, where he led investment and wealth management initiatives. Jonathan earned a BA in Government from California State University, Sacramento, and is committed to advancing financial security for all.
Josh Levine
Author, Educator, and Advocate for a Better Work Future
Josh Levine is a work futurist, author, and educator recognized as one of North America’s leading voices on organizational culture. He has spent nearly two decades helping leaders design cultures that drive engagement, retention, and performance. His clients include global technology firms, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 corporations navigating growth, transformation, and IPO preparation. Josh integrates design thinking and business strategy to develop frameworks that align people and purpose. Levine is the author of Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love, which BookAuthority listed as one of the best culture books of all time. He has written for Forbes and Fast Company and appeared on APM’s Marketplace.
Denise Liebetrau
Founder and Principal Compensation Consultant, Prosper Consulting
Denise Liebetrau maximizes profit, revenue, and impact for employers as a trusted advisor on HR and compensation issues. She has more than 25 years of experience in a variety of industries and has expertise in job architecture, market pricing, base pay, short- and long-term incentives, executive compensation, and global compensation. Denise also partners with high performers, so they get paid what they are worth. She speaks on topics like compensation, pay negotiation, difficult conversations, pay transparency, emotional intelligence, and executive presence. Learn more at www.ProsperConsultingLLC.com.
David Mitchell
Senior Career Consultant, HR Transformation, Mercer
David is a Partner in Mercer’s Career consulting business, based in Seattle, with extensive experience guiding corporate and HR leaders in transforming organizations to enhance productivity, engagement, and innovation. With 15 years as an expatriate consultant and HR leader across Europe, South Asia, and East Asia, he has advised innovative companies on agile decision-making and flexible organizational structures. David has also served as Chief Human Capital Officer for a unicorn healthcare start-up, where he built an HR function based on global best practices. He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University.
Sheila C. Sever, CCP
Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Sheila is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Human Capital practice with more than 25 years of consulting and corporate experience working with a wide range of clients in energy, healthcare, technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, consumer products, and nonprofits. Sheila has authored several articles published in WorldatWork’s workspan and WorldatWork Journal publications and has presented on compensation and rewards topics for local and national Compensation and Human Resources groups. Sheila is also a recipient of WorldatWork’s Lifetime Achievement Award and serves as faculty for the association, including the development of new curriculum for the Total Rewards Leader certification program.
Serilda Summers-McGee
Executive Officer and Founder, Workplace Change
Serilda is deeply committed to building healthy business ecosystems where employees feel positive about their workplaces and organizations thrive. She is an experienced Human Resources executive, founder and CEO of Workplace Change, and author of Change the Workgame: Building and Sustaining a Diverse Workforce. Workplace Change is a full-service HR consultancy specializing in recruitment, talent management, labor relations, leadership development, and organizational culture. An innovator in Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Serilda is known for identifying challenges and opportunities while empowering leaders and embedding DEI into HR functions. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, workshop presenter, and panel moderator, recognized as an engaging and dynamic orator.
Fred Whittlesey
Founder and Principal Consultant, Intelligent Compensation LLC
Fred Whittlesey is the Founding Principal of Compensation Venture Group. His 35 years of consulting experience include positions with Towers Perrin, Mercer and Radford. He has taught WorldatWork’s “Accounting and Finance for HR Professionals” and the basic and advanced Executive Compensation courses, and was the developer of the online version of these courses. He is co-founder of Global Equity Organization (GEO). Fred received his MBA with honors from UCLA and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from San Diego State University with a BA in industrial/organizational psychology. He earned the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation from the Santa Clara University, and the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP) designations from WorldatWork.