2018 Speakers Speakers

Thank you to all of our amazing 2018 speakers! Check out the Conference Center page for recaps and resources.

If you’re interested in speaking, please CLICK HERE.

2019 Speakers will be announced here starting in the Fall.

Keynotes

Amal Clooney

AMAL CLOONEY is a British human rights lawyer practicing at Doughty Street Chambers in London, where she specializes in international law and h... Read Full Bio

Jodi Kantor

JODI KANTOR is a prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, and a best-selling author. Kantor specializes in long-form, de... Read Full Bio

Kelly McEvers

KELLY McEVERS is co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine. She hosts the program from NPR West in Culver ... Read Full Bio

Elaine Welteroth

ELAINE WELTEROTH is an award-winning journalist, media personality, and the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. At the time of her h... Read Full Bio

Reese Witherspoon

REESE WITHERSPOON has created the kind of unforgettable characters that connect with critics and audiences alike, making her one of Hollywood�... Read Full Bio

Maysoon Zayid

MAYSOON ZAYID is an actress, comedian, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of, and a guest comedian in residence at, Arizona Sta... Read Full Bio

Special Guest Speakers

Jessica Aguirre

JESSICA AGUIRRE is the 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM evening anchor at NBC Bay Area News, and an Emmy award-winning journalist. She has been a primetime... Read Full Bio

Allison Allen

ALLISON ALLEN is VP of diversity, inclusion and talent management at Oath. In this role, she leads global efforts across Oath’s more than fi... Read Full Bio

Karen Ashley

KAREN ASHLEY is vice president of corporate development integration in the chief strategy office with Cisco. In this role, she drives operatio... Read Full Bio

Greg Becker

GREG BECKER is president and CEO of SVB Financial Group, and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. Becker has been a champion of the innovation economy ... Read Full Bio

Falguni Desai

FALGUNI DESAI is a senior manager for Cisco’s Corporate Strategy Office. She is a successful business operations leader with over twenty yea... Read Full Bio

Laura Garcia

LAURA GARCIA anchors weekday mornings, Today in the Bay and Midday In The Bay alongside Marcus Washington. This multiple... Read Full Bio

Mayor Sam Liccardo

MAYOR SAM LICCARDO took office in January 2015, and at the age of forty-four became one of the youngest mayors in San José’s modern history... Read Full Bio

Rami Rahim

RAMI RAHIM is chief executive officer of Juniper Networks, and a member of the company’s board of directors. A rarity in the industry, he ... Read Full Bio

Brian K. Reaves

BRIAN K. REAVES is chief diversity and inclusion officer with Dell. In this role, he’s responsible for Dell’s global equality and inclusio... Read Full Bio

Robin L. Washington

ROBIN L. WASHINGTON is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gilead Sciences, Inc. Gilead is a thirty billion dolla... Read Full Bio

Breakout Session Speakers

Morra Aarons-Mele

MORRA AARONS-MELE is the founder of award winning social impact agency Women Online and The Mission List, a social change influencer database.... Read Full Bio

Jessica Aguirre

JESSICA AGUIRRE is the 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM evening anchor at NBC Bay Area News, and an Emmy award-winning journalist. She has been a primetime... Read Full Bio

Komal Ahmad

KOMAL AHMAD is the founder and CEO of Copia. In this role, she is working to solve the world’s dumbest problem by eradicating hunger while r... Read Full Bio

Tara Arvedson

TARA ARVEDSON is director of research with Amgen. She is a researcher and team leader in the Oncology rese... Read Full Bio

Shannon Audino

SHANNON AUDINO works with Medallia's prospective clients, consulting on customer experience management program design and best practices. Sh... Read Full Bio

Kim Azzarelli

KIM AZZARELLI is the co-founder of Seneca Women, and co-author of the book, Fast Forward. She is a business, phil... Read Full Bio

Valerie Biberaj

VALERIE BIBERAJ is director of philanthropic programming for kate spade new york. In this role, she has overseen the reinvention of the kate s... Read Full Bio

Bridget Bisnette

BRIDGET BISNETTE has contributed to the IT Industry for more than thirty years. Her employers include global companies such as Riverbed, Cisco ... Read Full Bio

Madonna Bolano

MADONNA BOLANO is group vice president and head of human resources for Applied Materials. Bolano and her team support the business to attract,... Read Full Bio

Diana Brainard

DIANA BRAINARD is vice president of clinical research, liver diseases at Gilead Sciences, Inc. Over the last seven years she has overseen the ... Read Full Bio

Mark Brillhart

MARK BRILLHART brings over twenty years of high-performance network infrastructure equipment supply chain, manufacturing operations, supplier ... Read Full Bio

Kelly Williams Brown

KELLY WILLIAMS BROWN is the New York Times-bestselling author of Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps... Read Full Bio

Mary Bui-Pham

MARY BUI-PHAM is vice president of global operations for media brands and products at Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon. She is responsible for... Read Full Bio

Karen Cahn

KAREN CAHN is founder & CEO of iFundWomen, a company on a mission to increase access to capital for female entrepreneurs, empowering women ... Read Full Bio

Courtney Carver

COURTNEY CARVER changed her life by simplifying it after a devastating diagnosis in 2006. She’s the founder of bemorewithless.com and mini... Read Full Bio

John China

JOHN CHINA is the head of technology banking with Silicon Valley Bank. In this role, he is focused on delivering best-fit so... Read Full Bio

Kathy Chou

KATHY CHOU is VP of research and development operations and central services for VMware. She has more than twenty five years of operations and... Read Full Bio

Sophie Couteaux

SOPHIE COUTEAUX is a vice president with Mastercard working on the digital partnerships team. In this role, she is focused on creating connect... Read Full Bio

Paula Delaney

Paula Delaney is vice president of finance for VMware, one of the top five software companies in the world.  She leads a global team of mo... Read Full Bio

Deary Paul Duffie

DEARY PAUL DUFFIE leads diversity and inclusion, and learning and organization development functions at Genentech, a biotechnology affiliate o... Read Full Bio

Kirstin Early

KIRSTIN EARLY is a research scientist at Oath, where she works on dialog management for an intelligent personal assistant to plan conversations... Read Full Bio

Anne Elkin

ANNE ELKIN is a vice president and a human resources business partner in HR for Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego, CA. She has been with Qualcomm s... Read Full Bio

Luna Federici

LUNA FEDERICI is vice president of funding strategy with Lending Club. Lending Club is a marketplace lender focused on empowering borrowers th... Read Full Bio

Amy Flood

AMY FLOOD is vice president of public affairs with Gilead Sciences, Inc. She joined Gilead’s corporate communications department in January ... Read Full Bio

Molly Q. Ford

MOLLY Q. FORD is the senior director of global equality programs at Salesforce. Salesforce has been called the World’s Most Innovative Compa... Read Full Bio

Paul Francisco

PAUL FRANCISCO is the chief diversity officer, and head of workforce development programs at State Street Corporation. He leads the implementa... Read Full Bio

Nely Galán

NELY GALÁN is a Latina media dynamo and women’s empowerment advocate, dubbed the “Tropical Tycoon” by The New York Times Magazine Read Full Bio

Meg Galistinos

MEG GALISTINOS leads Mercer’s Career business in the New York Metro area, overseeing a team of talent consultants and industry experts that... Read Full Bio

Adriana Gascoigne

ADRIANA GASCOIGNE is the founder and CEO of Girls in Tech (GIT), the world’s first group focusing on millennial women in technology and ent... Read Full Bio

Teresa Ghilarducci

TERESA GHILARDUCCI is an expert on retirement, pensions and personal savings. She is the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz chair in economic policy... Read Full Bio

Jackie Glenn

JACKIE GLENN is vice president, global diversity and inclusion at Dell Technologies / Dell EMC, the newly merged technology industry leader wi... Read Full Bio

Alison Green

ALISON GREEN writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she answers readers' questions daily on workplace and management issues. From what... Read Full Bio

Michelle D. Hare

MICHELLE D. HARE works with the State Farm® marketing department managing national sponsorships pertaining to the life stages of getting marr... Read Full Bio

Celeste Headlee

CELESTE HEADLEE is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and author of the book We Need To Talk - How To Have Conversations That Matter... Read Full Bio

Kristen Hedstrom

KRISTEN HEDSTROM is the director of health economics and market access for the Neuromodulation business of Boston Scientific, where she devel... Read Full Bio

Carolyn Herzog

CAROLYN HERZOG is the executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Arm, the world’s leadin... Read Full Bio

Kelly Hoey

KELLY HOEY is the author of Build Your Dream Network (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee). She has been lauded from Forbes a... Read Full Bio

Dena A. House

DENA A. HOUSE is the senior director of HR, organizational development and learning at Counsyl, Inc. She has been a global leader in this spac... Read Full Bio

Rachel Herrick Kassabian

RACHEL HERRICK KASSABIAN is an intellectual property litigator at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a leading AmLaw 100 litigation-only l... Read Full Bio

Meredith A. Kraus

MEREDITH A. KRAUS is the director of human resources for Merck Research Laboratories in South San Francisco. In this role she has primary resp... Read Full Bio

Jessica Lahey

JESSICA LAHEY is a teacher, writer, and mom. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Publ... Read Full Bio

Lori Nishiura Mackenzie

LORI NISHIURA MACKENZIE is executive director of Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research, home to eminent scholars and act... Read Full Bio

Bonnie Marcus

BONNIE MARCUS has extensive business background, including serving as CEO of a ServiceMaster company, VP of sales at Medical Staffing Network,... Read Full Bio

Becky Margiotta

BECKY MARGIOTTA is the managing director of The Billions Institute. In this role, she inspires leaders in the social sector to step all the wa... Read Full Bio

Clare Markovits

CLARE MARKOVITS serves as chief of staff in the Cisco's chief digital office. In this role, she supports the organization’s overall operatio... Read Full Bio

Felicia Mayo

FELICIA MAYO is currently serving as the head of diversity and inclusion and G&A HR at Tesla. This position gives Mayo the unique opport... Read Full Bio

Patty McCord

PATTY McCORD served as chief talent officer of Netflix for fourteen years and helped create the Netflix Culture Deck. Since it was posted on t... Read Full Bio

Vicki Mealer-Burke

VICKI MEALER-BURKE was appointed as Qualcomm’s first chief diversity officer in November 2016. In this role, she brings nearly twenty years ... Read Full Bio

Nikki Medoro

NIKKI MEDORO is an award-winning journalist, with nearly two decades of experience in news as a reporter, anchor and talk show co-host. B... Read Full Bio

Pat Milligan

PAT MILLIGAN is a senior partner and global leader in the multinational client group with Mercer. Previously, she served as president of Merce... Read Full Bio

Dr. Vivienne Ming

DR. VIVIENNE MING Named one of Inc. Magazine’s “Top 10 Women to Watch in Tech,” Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, technologist, and e... Read Full Bio

Rajat Mishra

RAJAT MISHRA has been named to Wharton’s #40under40 2017 list. As Cisco’s vice president of worldwide services strategy and innovation, Mi... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Mueller

JENNIFER MUELLER earned her PhD in social and developmental psychology at Brandeis University, and has been on the faculty of many top busines... Read Full Bio

Stacey Clark Ohara

STACEY CLARK OHARA is global head of diversity and inclusion and the Juniper Networks Foundation Fund with Juniper Networks. She is c... Read Full Bio

Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D.

AMY COOPER HAKIM, Ph.D. is an industrial-organizational psychology practitioner and workplace expert. She is a speaker, author, and the executi... Read Full Bio

Therese Huston, PhD

THERESE HUSTON, PhD, is a cognitive psychologist at Seattle University who is changing how we talk about women at work. Her book How Women De... Read Full Bio

Anna Akbari, PhD.

ANNA AKBARI, PhD, is a sociologist, entrepreneur, and writer. She is the founder of Sociology of Style, an image and life coaching company, an... Read Full Bio

Susan Reid

SUSAN REID is a managing director and global head of diversity and Inclusion at Morgan Stanley. She works closely with the firm’s leaders ... Read Full Bio

Marilee Rhodes

MARILEE RHODES is AVP of sales with Akamai Technologies. With over twenty years of experience as a sales leader, Rhodes oversees a team of s... Read Full Bio

Wendy Sachs

WENDY SACHS is a master of the career pivot. She is the author of Fearless and Free—How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch their Careers, a boo... Read Full Bio

Tina Sandford

TINA SANDFORD is the managing director of HR operations, policy and projects and a member of Silicon Valley Bank’s human resources leadershi... Read Full Bio

Shireen Santosham

SHIREEN SANTOSHAM is the chief innovation officer for Mayor Sam Liccardo where she leads efforts to make San Jose the most innovative city in A... Read Full Bio

Missy Schnurstein

MISSY SCHNURSTEIN has worked in ad tech for most of her career, primarily in sales, client services and ad operations, at both start-ups and F... Read Full Bio

Laura Sherbin

LAURA SHERBIN is co-president at the Center for Talent Innovation and a managing partner at Hewlett Consulting Partners. She is an economist w... Read Full Bio

Pamela Sherman

PAMELA SHERMAN is the HR business partner for the HR organization at Applied Materials. She was recently named as the leader for diversity and... Read Full Bio

Amanda Slavin

AMANDA SLAVIN is a Millennill, Millennial Minded*, and Generation Z expert as well as the CEO and founder of CatalystCreativ. CatalysCreativ i... Read Full Bio

Jessamyn Stanley

JESSAMYN STANLEY is the author of Every Body Yoga, as well as an internationally recognized yoga teacher, award-winning Instagram star... Read Full Bio

Cynthia Stoddard

CYNTHIA STODDARD is senior vice president and chief information officer with Adobe Systems Incorporated. In this role, she oversees Adobe’s ... Read Full Bio

Lesley Stolz

LESLEY STOLZ, PhD, fosters Johnson & Johnson’s external R&D engine and supports the innovation community by leading the Johnson &... Read Full Bio

Hayley Tabor

HAYLEY TABOR is vice president, global industry solutions at Dell EMC. A twenty five-year veteran of the IT industry, Tabor leads a dedicated ... Read Full Bio

Lisa Skeete Tatum

LISA SKEETE TATUM is founder and CEO of Landit, a technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women in the workplace... Read Full Bio

Amy Trask

AMY TRASK has had many titles during her career: chief executive, analyst, and author. The former CEO of the Oakland Raiders, and current football analyst for ... Read Full Bio

Laura Vanderkam

LAURA VANDERKAM is the author of several time management and productivity books, including I Know How She Does It, What the Mos... Read Full Bio

Cy Wakeman

CY WAKEMAN is a dynamic international keynote speaker, business consultant, New York Times best-selling author, and global thought ... Read Full Bio

Caroline Webb

CAROLINE WEBB is CEO of Sevenshift, a firm that shows people how to use insights from behavioral science to improve their working life. Her boo... Read Full Bio

Dr. Jen Welter

DR. JEN WELTER became the first female to coach in the NFL when she joined the Arizona Cardinals as a linebackers coach in the summer of 2015.... Read Full Bio

Robin Wolaner

ROBIN WOLANER is an executive with broad experience in startups and managing companies. Prior to joining We Care Solar as COO in 2015, she was... Read Full Bio

Sonya Zilka

SONYA ZILKA is vice president of human resources and communications for Actelion, U.S. Prior to joining Actelion, she was an independent consu... Read Full Bio

Small Business Roundtable

Adam Granoff

ADAM GRANOFF is a senior vice president with Mastercard, working on the digital partnerships team responsible for the account management of No... Read Full Bio

Sarah Heck

SARAH HECK leads external affairs and new markets for Stripe Atlas, Stripe’s platform that enables entrepreneurs around the world to start a... Read Full Bio

Gail Hunter

GAIL HUNTER is in her sixth season as vice president of public affairs, community relations and event management for the Golden State Warriors... Read Full Bio

Somie Park

SOMIE PARK is a client advisor on the small business team at LendingClub. LendingClub is the world’s largest online credit... Read Full Bio

Dorit Perry

DORIT PERRY is an adjunct Professor of Law at Santa Clara University Law School. An international attorney, Perry has over twenty five years o... Read Full Bio

Susan Repo

SUSAN REPO serves as corporate treasurer and vice president of finance for Tesla, Inc. Since joining the company in March 2013, she has guided... Read Full Bio

Singari Seshadri

SINGARI SESHADRI runs the Stanford Venture Studio, a program for graduate students exploring new venture ideas. Her previous work experience... Read Full Bio

Shilpi Sharma

SHILPI SHARMA is the co-founder and CEO of Kvantum, a marketing performance analytics company. Previously, she spent more than fifteen years i... Read Full Bio

Mana Sopheak

MANA SOPHEAK is currently a senior client advisor with Lending Club, where she has been instrumental in providing millions of dollars to sma... Read Full Bio

Hope Timberlake

HOPE TIMBERLAKE is a workshop facilitator, executive coach and keynote speaker who works with leaders and teams to improve their effectiveness... Read Full Bio

Anarghya Vardhana

ANARGHYA VARDHANA is a senior associate at consumer VC firm Maveron, where she invests in cutting-edge consumer startups. She published a math... Read Full Bio

Norma Watenpaugh

NORMA WATENPAUGH is the founding principal and CEO of Phoenix Consulting Group, which provides education and consulting services with expertis... Read Full Bio

Tech Roundtables

Andrea Corson

ANDREA CORSON is an Emmy-nominated television producer, digital strategist, and consultant. Most recently she has created awesome video for a ... Read Full Bio

Nicola Peill-Moelter

NICOLA PEILL-MOELTER is senior director of environmental sustainability with Akamai. In this role, she leads Akamai’s global sustainability ... Read Full Bio

Bonnie Grant Petrich

BONNIE GRANT PETRICH is a senior director of sales development at EMC. For the last seven years she has been passionately educating the DELL E... Read Full Bio

Lisa Poon

LISA POON is a versatile HR professional in the areas of recruitment, HR shared services, program management, and benefits design and administ... Read Full Bio

Mimi Schiffman

MIMI SCHIFFMAN has worked as a filmmaker and producer for nine years, creating content for CNN, Huffington Post, The New York T... Read Full Bio

Suzanne Shade

SUZANNE SHADE is a creative director and curator, and has spent the last twenty five years imagining brand experience for startups, advertisin... Read Full Bio

Kathy Strahs

KATHY STRAHS is the award-winning author of The Lemonade Stand Cookbook, The 8x8 Cookbook, and The Ultimate Panini Pr... Read Full Bio

QVC & Zulily Product Search

Anna Baker

ANNA BAKER is the director of global merchandising strategy and category development with QVC, a position she took on in February 2017. In t... Read Full Bio

Lorraine Beltran

LORRAINE BELTRAN is the merchandising manager with zulily. Prior to joining zulily in 2010, shortly after the site launched, she was at Nords... Read Full Bio

Rachel Boesing

RACHEL BOESING is a program host with QVC. Her true passion for storytelling has defined her professional life. She left a successful advertis... Read Full Bio

Bridget Love

BRIDGET LOVE is the director of apparel merchandising with QVC. In this role, she is responsible for leading product selection and strategy, ... Read Full Bio

Lori Twomey

LORI TWOMEY is chief merchant with zulily. Before joining zulily in November 2009, prior to the site launching in January 2010, she was the p... Read Full Bio