Speakers
Nicole CaseNicole Case is a Career and Leadership Coach for women corporate leaders who are asking themselves “what’s next?”. With over a decade of experience in corporate Human Resources, she saw countless smart, driven, and talented women stall in their careers or continue working in soul-crushing jobs.
Now, Nicole helps women identify their strengths, set boundaries, and rebuild their confidence to find and succeed in their ideal careers. In her coaching programs, she uses her corporate insights on how decisions get made and what it takes to get ahead to coach her clients in navigating the crazy corporate world and to make the money they deserve. Nicole also supports women in their careers as the Co-President of the NC Triangle Chapter of Ellevate Network, a global professional women’s organization. Nicole has a BA from Penn State and her Master’s Degree in Human Resources from Western Carolina University. Nicole is a professional aunt and champagne enthusiast who lives in Apex, NC, with her husband and their two cats, Neville and Luna. |
Lalin AnikLalin Anik is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. As an expert in the science of behavior change, she combines insights from psychology and economics to tackle big business and societal problems. Professor Anık has worked closely and consulted with major companies, organizations and governments to design novel social interventions that help consumers, employees and communities make better decisions and lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.
Professor Anik teaches the core marketing course in the full-time MBA program at Darden as well as the Second Year elective “Deviant Marketing.” As an award-winning teacher, Anik was named as the “2019 MBA Professor of the Year” as well as one of the “2019 Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors” by Poets & Quants. She holds a doctorate of business administration degree in marketing from Harvard Business School and a B.A. degree in psychology and business from Brandeis University. |
Roshni RaveendhranRoshni Raveendhran is an assistant professor of business administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. She received her Ph.D. in business administration (management) from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Raveendhran's research focuses on understanding the future of work. In particular, she examines how technological advancements influence organizational actors, workplace practices and the management of employees. In doing so, she develops insights about how organizations can effectively integrate novel technologies into the workplace to manage their employees. She also explores how organizations can increase the effectiveness of their human resource management practices to address the changing nature of work. Raveendhran’s research has been published in academic journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Behavioral Science and Policy, and outlets such as MIT Sloan Management Review. It has been featured in outlets such as Financial Times, Business Insider, Marie Claire, Forbes India, and Virginia Public Radio. Her research has also received numerous international awards including the Academy of Management’s 2020 Outstanding Practitioner-Oriented Publication in Organizational Behavior and was recognized as a finalist in the INFORMS Best Dissertation competition in 2017. At Darden, Raveendhran teaches an elective on “Negotiations” and the First Year core course on “Leading Organizations.” |
Kelli PalmerKelli Palmer is a multidimensional leader who focuses on historically underrepresented populations and has done so throughout her career. She leverages education and analytics to provide insights that galvanize change.
Kelli is currently the Head of Global Inclusion & Diversity and Corporate Citizenship for CFA Institute. She is a strategist and business leader with expertise in IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability), sustainability, philanthropy, people and systems management, and the performing arts. Her talent for developing strategy and translating it into action have allowed her to serve organizations ranging from institutions of higher education to leading membership organizations and non-profit start-ups. In these spaces, she improves business processes and operations; builds policies and procedures; creates and oversees high-talent and diverse teams; and aligns business goals with corporate citizenship opportunities. Kelli earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Higher Education Administration with a focus on Social Foundations of Education. A scholar of diversity, she published Faculty Service in Black and White, a quantitative study of the impact of faculty service on tenure attainment. This was the first quantitative analysis of “cultural taxation”, a term first used by Amando Padilla in 1994. She also coauthored Driving Change: Diversity & Inclusion in Investment Management, a research based practical guide for industry leaders. Her M.A.Ed. was earned at Wake Forest University in Counseling and her B.A. from Elon University in Elementary Education. Learn more at KelliPalmer.com. |
Rachel LeeA “management consultant with a conscience”, Rachel spent the past 15 years not just recommending tailored solutions to 30+ clients, but also rolling up her sleeves to help them effect the change. Her experience across the education, energy, government, nonprofit, and financial sectors enables her to find creative means to improve business processes and successfully implement better technologies.
Her recent speaking engagements were at the Albemarle County Town Hall, the Charlottesville Chamber Jobs Summit and a Central VA Project Management Institute Chapter meeting. A Princeton University graduate, Rachel became one of the youngest Principal Consultants at PA Consulting Group and is currently the Director of Client Solutions at Tech Dynamism. She and her husband Albert are the (mostly) proud parents of three young children. |
Ryan LooneyRyan Looney started her tech journey in 2004 after earning a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology from the UVA School of Education.
After a few unexpected twists and turns along the way, she now finds herself happily working in a "technology adjacent" role at Overleaf, a smallish scale-up focused on a LaTeX authoring tool for scientists and researchers. Ryan spent much of her career teaching and training colleagues, customers, and users, and is currently the Customer Services Director at Overleaf. |
Sarah AdamsSarah Adams is a Data Analyst and Visualization Specialist at University of Virginia's Curry School of Education and Human Development and a part-time virtual student in the University of Virginia's Masters of Data Science program.
Sarah has 7 years of experience in academic research within neuroscience, cognitive behavioral sciences, and education. During those 7 years, she has provided trainings and workshops for undergraduates and graduate students on finding their niche and articulating their experience to assist them in easy transitions between fields. In her (pre-covid) free time, Sarah was an improv artist and true story teller in Charlottesville. |
Christina HoChristina Ho, Elder Research & Analytics
Christina is a senior executive with decades of broad experience in public finance, policy development, strategic planning, program and financial management, accounting and auditing, data analytics, and technology innovation. As Vice President of Government Analytics and Innovation, Christina leads and manages Elder Research’s Government business unit that delivers trusted analytics and practical solutions to enable impactful government actions and transformation. Christina brings extensive experience in serving the federal and state government. She was the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Transparency at US Treasury and was responsible for leading the implementation of the DATA Act of 2014. Prior to joining Elder Research, Christina was the Controller and Interim CFO for University of Maryland College Park (UMD) -- the state's flagship university with a $2B annual budget and a diverse research portfolio of over $1B in grants and contracts. |
Jennifer ForrestBouncing from the mountains of Southwestern Virginia to icy Minnesota then finally to swampy DC, Jenn Forrest has cultivated a rewarding career as an Agilist and Technologist in commercial and federal consulting, financial, and now the start-up world.
She's been in a myriad of different roles like Project Manager, Proxy Product Owner, Agile Business Analyst, Scrum Master, Technical Project Manager, Atlassian SME/nerd, Team Lead, Project Control Officer, Quality Auditor, and AmeriCorps volunteer. Super powers include: cat whispering, grocery store analysis, wine drinking, Airbnb hosting, and list making. |
Dr. Lisa PastoreDr. Lisa Pastore has business experience in the financial sector, as well as academic hospital experience as a women's health researcher.
With a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she has been a faculty member since 2003 and has presented her research at national and international conferences. She is currently pivoting her career closer to tech by pursuing certification as a Senior Data Scientist. |
Dr. Kilan C. Ashad-BishopDr. Kilan C. Ashad-Bishop is a biomedical scientist and advocate for inclusion who has carved her niche at the intersection of science, health, and social change. She is a proud alumna of Morgan State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, and the University of Miami, where she earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology. Kilan is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development and the Director of College Access for Breakthrough Miami. Her professional experience spans academic research, policy, and the nonprofit and private sectors, but her goal remains to improve the health and well being of communities of color.
Kilan is an outspoken advocate for equity and inclusion in health, science and society and the responsibility of science (and scientists) to advance positive social change. She is a regular volunteer and advisor to various K-12 and collegiate STEM programs designed to mentor, uplift, and support the next generation of scientists. In this interest, Kilan co-founded STEMNoire, a research and wellness community for Black women in STEM. This community is leveraging technology to shift the narrative of Black women in STEM and foster global culturally- responsive fellowship to improve recruitment and retention of Black women in STEM education and the workforce. |