Speakers

Lisa
Bourne

Senior Director - Diversity, Inclusion, & Social Impact

Zwift

Lisa is a senior leader, African-American Harvard MBA, and an avid cyclist with 18+ years professional experience (Retail, Ecom, Consulting, Non-Profit) and 20 years on the bike. She is a general manager focused on driving both top and bottom line results within large, highly matrixed, and complex organizations through effective coalition building, strategic analyses, and an exceptional ability to influence C-suite leadership. Lisa is a lifelong learner with a deep understanding of brand fundamentals and a serious dedication to deepening the customer-brand connection through both traditional and digital means. Her leadership style is unapologetically inclusive and collaborative - empowering individuals and teams to deliver only their best and to enjoy the process along the way - having founded Accenture’s first project specific mentoring program and more recently having been elected as one of the lead mentors within the Neiman Marcus Marketing, Advertising, and Creative’s formal mentor program. Above all, Lisa is a purpose driven leader who has aligned her passion with her career in order to create a professional legacy worthy of the opportunities she’s been granted. As a woman of color, and as the only active member of her family, Lisa’s primary goal has been to try to inspire and motivate others by riding 5,000+ miles per year on her bike. Her love for cycling started with social impact and the 2000 AIDS Lifecyle - raising funds and awareness for those living with HIV/AIDS. Since then, she has volunteered in various cycling ambassador capacities (i.e. Team Luna Chix Seattle, Bicycles Plus Dallas, Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, etc.) with the goal of driving diversity and inclusivity within the sport. Lisa is a global soul, fluent in Spanish, who has repeatedly been recognized for top performance through her selection for high-priority initiatives and internal promotions. Lisa earned a BA with high honors from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School, and holds a Digital Marketing Professional certification with the Digital Marketing Institute and the American Marketing Association. She is an active, informal career mentor and is passionate about creating more diverse and equitable spaces within the workplace.

Erin
Eisner

Founder

work/REFINED

Erin is an engaged leader who has spent her career working on and around people initiatives and workplace systems. She is an experienced strategist and trusted counselor who steps in alongside businesses and leadership teams to deliver practical, impactful results. Erin’s passion is to work with and lead teams of diverse professionals in an effort to help companies elevate the entire work experience. Erin is an attorney by education and experience and spent her legal career as an employment law trial lawyer and acting as inhouse counsel for both small and large companies. Erin has experience working with small and midsize business owners in the Burger King, KFC, and Carl's Jr. franchise systems, as well as representing the United States Departments of the Treasury and Homeland Security in employment related litigation, arbitration, policymaking and advice counseling. Erin was the first woman appointed to serve in the C suite of the Boy Scouts of America as the top executive leading human resources, diversity and inclusion, corporate culture, change management, training and leadership development. Erin has served and advised board clients throughout her career and is experienced with board governance issues from both a legal and executive perspective. Erin is a frequent presenter and facilitator in the areas of people systems, DEI, leadership development, conflict resolution, management training, board governance, workplace culture, and employment law. Erin is a native of Southern California but calls Texas home after her 25 years in the Dallas area. She attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. She enjoys travel with her family and trying to keep up with her teenage children.

Dinaz
Jiwani

Founder/COO

work/REFINED

Dinaz is an analytics and research expert who combines her passion for data and people to help problem solve, strategize and generate outcomes for clients. Dinaz is an experienced data scientist who has worked for several Fortune 500 clients and international non-profits to provide data driven solutions to attract and retain underserved consumers. Dinaz was an innovative analyst and lead research methodologist at Nielsen and successfully worked on projects for Walmart, Verizon, Google, Comcast and Bank of America. Her keen insight into understanding and addressing the challenges with recruiting, engaging and retaining multicultural audiences, led her to eventually switch gears and focus on driving workplace inclusion and culture transformation as her full-time role. At the Boy Scouts of America, Dinaz served as a Diversity & Inclusion leader, where she was instrumental in developing strategic plans, creating and expanding employee resource groups and key community partnerships. Dinaz successfully introduced benchmarking key metrics, professional development curriculum for diverse, high potential employees and integrated Diversity & Inclusion throughout the operational verticals of the organization. Born and raised in India, Dinaz moved to the United States in the early 2000’s to pursue her higher education. Dinaz has a master’s degree in Applied Research from Boston University and University of Pune (India). She has been a board member for several professional associations, a proud mother of three children and enjoys playing Throwball, traveling and creative arts.

Jobi
Martinez, PhD

Executive Director

Racial Justice Institute

Jobi Martinez, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of J|M Consulting. Dr. Martinez has 20 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion and has worked with non-profits, city municipalities, colleges and universities, and for-profit corporations. Her work and research primarily examine how institutions advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. The last five years, Dr. Martinez has strategically focused on antiracism and guiding institutions on becoming antiracist institutions. In 2018, Dr. Martinez joined the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), one of the most diverse universities in the nation, as the Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion. With over 20 years of experience in diversity and inclusion, Dr. Martinez has spent most of her career leading DEI work in higher education. Dr. Martinez worked closely with the president and other administrative leaders on diversity, access, equity, and inclusion initiatives with a special focus on the university’s antiracism initiatives. In her capacity building role, she led the university to receive its first Insight into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. Prior to joining UHD, Dr. Martinez served as the Managing Director and Deputy Chief Diversity Officer at Texas Tech University (TTU) where she helped establish a division of 13 units committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement from 2009 to 2014. In 2014, she left her position to complete her doctorate degree and examine to advance her research and teaching in diversity and inclusion. During this time, she consulted colleges and universities on campus climate studies, diversity and inclusion marketing and communication, antiracism, and strategic plans. Dr. Martinez was recognized as a National Thought Leader (2018 and 2019) for her diversity leadership, innovative practice, and media and communication research.

Ivette
Mayo

Motivational Business Speaker & Author

President & Chief Executive Officer of Yo Soy I AM, LLC

Ivette Mayo is an awarding winning entrepreneur, international author and motivational business speaker. Ivette’s POWER is that she gets what is important, the bottom line – people, profits, and productivity. As the CEO of Yo Soy I AM, LLC, a professional development and consulting firm. She is known as a POWER ADVOCATE by her clients for creating POWERFUL and IMPACTFUL results. Her 27 year global career was spent working in business development, sales, marketing and training. Her focus is to incorporate cultural awareness and competencies into all her training programs to assist participants in stimulating performance and to gain more insight into themselves and others. This dynamic facilitator has worked with several Fortune 100 & 500 companies such as Shell, Direct Energy, Comcast, Nationwide, Comerica Bank, H&R Block, Nielsen, and State Farm. Her high energy style, direct approach and humor make Ivette a powerful motivational business speaker. Her message is always centered on these five key areas, leadership, confidence, change, courage and culture. These keys are certain to empower and unlock potential to lead with confidence in today’s marketplace. Most importantly, she dares her audiences to challenge limited thinking, to take bold action, to push past excuses, and move beyond complacency to be POWERFUL. From 2012 to 2016, Ivette served as a Public Diplomate for the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. In 2017, became an award winning international author by pinning her book “A 30 Day Guide to Your POWER - Powerful Outcomes through POWERFUL Words”. In June 2018, she establish POWER On Heels Fund, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on the advancement of Latinas in the workplace and marketplace and minimize the impact of pay-gap inequities faced by providing unique programs, mentorship, and scholarships to accelerate their professional growth and cultivate future leaders. Most recently, Ivette was recognized by TalentLMS and made their list of "Top Female Career Coaches to Follow in 2020", and “2019 Woman Worth Watching” by the Diversity Journal, a national publication.

Brian
Norgaard

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Culture Change Specialist

Practitioner, writer, speaker, and consultant, Brian Norgaard has been accompanying individuals and organizations on their diversity, leadership, and empowerment journeys for over twenty years in the US and abroad. As a culture-change specialist, he has directed nationally recognized DEI initiatives. Known for his frank and engaging style, Brian is a sought-out speaker on DEI and empowerment topics. Brian is one of the few professionals in the diversity field to hold an advanced degree in diversity studies. He received his MA in intercultural relations from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, concentrating in DEI training and consulting. By additionally completing a graduate business program at Harvard University with a concentration in organizational development, Brian possesses a rounded set of skills, theoretical and practical, sensitive to the art and science of DEI strategy and organizational design. He also holds a BA in Asian studies from the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, was a Fellow at the Health Research and Education Trust’s Cultural Competency Leadership Fellowship, and spent two years as an undergraduate student in Japan. Born and raised in rural Oregon, Brian currently resides with his family in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, promoting race unity, skateboarding, and tracking his car.

Eddie
Pate

Founder & Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer

Eddie Pate Speaking and Consulting, LLC

Eddie Pate is currently the Founder and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer of Eddie Pate Speaking and Consulting, LLC. Eddie Pate Speaking and Consulting focuses on illuminating Inclusion, Diversity and Equity issues and solutions. Our mission is to provide thought leadership in I&D, pushing organizations to be intentional in their approach and focused on addressing issues from a systems framework. Keynote presentations, roundtable and panel facilitation, I&D and Leadership consulting, and Executive guidance will be the primary methods to accomplish our mission. Eddie spent 20th years doing I&D work in the corporate world. He was the Director of Inclusion and Diversity for the World Wide Operations (WWOPs) organization at Amazon. He was responsible for the development and implementation of Global I&D efforts in the largest organization at Amazon. Eddie was formerly the VP of Diversity and Inclusion at Avanade. He was responsible for developing and implementing all diversity and inclusion efforts globally. Prior to Avanade Eddie was the Founder of Pate Consulting & Associates where he focused on I&D and Leadership development consulting. Prior to his own gig, Eddie had two roles at Starbucks. He was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Starbucks’ Global Diversity team and, prior to a reorganization, Eddie was responsible for all of the diversity efforts Starbucks’ US Business. Prior to joining Starbucks Coffee Company, Eddie was a Director in Microsoft’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Team and was responsible for overseeing implementation of Microsoft’s global diversity initiatives. Prior to joining Microsoft’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Team, Eddie’s career started as the Diversity Manager for Microsoft’s Enterprise and Partner Group reporting to SVP Charles Stevens. Before his corporate journey began, Eddie was a graduate student at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he earned his Ph.D. in sociology focusing on comparative race and ethnic relations/stratification and social psychology. Before graduate school, Eddie served as the Assistant Director of Admissions and School Relations at Humboldt State University in northern California. Eddie also had a short stint in the NFL but severe knee injuries cut his career short. Eddie excelled in college earning All American and All West Coast honors as a wide receiver. He is currently in Humboldt’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Eddie also holds a BA in Wildlife Management and a MA in Sociology from Humboldt State University. He has been married for 33 years to Valeri and they have two children, Karley (27) and Arthur (21). He has three dogs named Lola, Macy and Captain Fantastic.

Shane
Portfolio

Senior Vice President, Reliability Engineering

Comcast Cable

Shane Portfolio is Senior Vice President, Reliability Engineering for Comcast Cable. Previously he was Senior Vice President of Field Operations Engineering leading the company’s One Network, XOC, Headend Operations and Plant Maintenance organizations. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Engineering for Comcast Cable’s West Division, with responsibility for engineering, technical operations and advanced services for more than six million customers. Shane oversaw the Division’s fiber network and IP-based infrastructure. He also led the Division’s technical operations and engineering teams responsible for testing and deployment of new technologies and resources to deliver innovative new products and services as well as a reliable network and customer experience. Previously, Shane served as Regional Vice President of Engineering for the California region, responsible for the oversight, guidance, direction and vision for all technical engineering aspects throughout the Comcast California footprint. With a career at Comcast spanning 23 years, his journey has taken him from the Central Division’s Engineering and eXcellence in Operations Centers (XOC), which monitors the network around the clock to identify and address issues that could impact service for multiple customers, to the National Engineering and Technical Operations center, which oversaw Comcast’s nationwide backbone and wholesale organization, to leadership roles in IP Operations and network capacity planning. Shane’s extensive experience, leadership ability, and passion continues to assist with setting the pace and direction of the Engineering teams across the enterprise. Shane is a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army, where he was a Platoon Sergeant recognized as a Top Gun for Colorado and served as a leadership instructor for Combat Arms Units. Shane is also a lifelong learner; after earning his Bachelor of Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Computer Information Systems and Management Science, he went on to earn several advanced degrees, including master’s degrees in Organizational Leadership from Regis University and in Telecommunications from Denver University. He is now in his PhD program focused on diversity and inclusion in the technology industry, with an expected completion of 2022.

Julianne
Robbins Cenac

Executive Dir., Organizational and Talent Dev and Program Dir., The Leadership Institutes

UTHealth

Dr. Julianne Robbins Cenac serves as the Executive Director for Organizational and Talent Development and Program Director for The Leadership Institutes at UTHealth. She was named to the Forbes Coaches Council in 2018 and is a frequent contributor to Forbes.com on the subject of leadership. Her 20-year career includes working internationally as a management consultant and corporate learning executive throughout China, Singapore, Europe, India, the Middle East and South Africa. Previously, Dr. Cenac served as assistant vice president at Regent University where she led the Professional and Continuing Education Division and helped launch the institution’s executive education programs internationally. Prior to that role, Dr. Cenac served as a senior management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Virginia where she led projects in strategy and performance for clients including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and Department of Justice among others. In addition, Dr. Cenac serves as an executive leadership coach—having worked with hundreds of executives in corporate, non-profit and government leadership roles including a senator and heads of state. Dr. Cenac earned a PhD in organizational leadership and an MBA in Management. She also holds a BA degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Russian Studies from the University of Houston. She is author of the upcoming book Emergence and a featured speaker at international conferences and retreats. Her research interests include global leadership, political leadership and leader emergence. Above all this, Dr. Cenac is the proud mother of two teenage sons and resides in Houston, Texas. She enjoys travelling, sporting events, community service and playing cello in a local chamber orchestra.

Jonathan
Stutz

President and Chief Diversity Officer

Global Diversity Partners

Jonathan Stutz is the President and Chief Diversity Officer at Global Diversity Partners. Previously, he led Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity for several global businesses at Amazon. His business experience includes Amazon, Microsoft, and Zulily. He has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and has experience in cross-cultural management, international business, operations, human resources, corporate governance, and leadership development. Jonathan serves on the Board of Trustees for Youth Eastside Services, a Seattle area non-profit focused on the behavioral health of children. He serves on the City of Kirkland, Washington’s Human Services Commission and co-founded the Seattle area’s Eastside Diversity Task Force, the Eastside Latino Leadership Forum, and the Professional Technical Diversity Network in the Puget Sound and Bay Areas. Jonathan is a former President of the Lake Washington Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He also served on the National Diversity Committee for SHRM. Jonathan is an active runner and hiker and while born in Toronto, Canada, has lived in the Seattle area most of his life. He is married to Stacie for 30+ years, they have two adult children and a Golden Retriever.

Hem
Suri

Founder & Managing Partner

Spark Growth Ventures

Hem is an accomplished investment, board and executive management leader with two decades of experience as an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, board professional, investment banker, general management executive as well as a researcher. His passion lies in early-stage companies where he loves “rolling-up his sleeves” to help create and executive 360⁰ strategies to maximize commercial outcomes. Hem’s industry experience spans software, technology services, food manufacturing, industrials, transportation, financial services, property & casualty insurance, restaurants, education tech, healthcare and digital marketing. He currently serves as the Founder & Managing Partner of Spark Growth Ventures -- a technology venture capital firm out of San Diego. Previously, he was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ClearVision Equity Partners (a boutique VC firm), a 2x Interim CEO of emerging companies, an executive of a KKR Private Equity portfolio company, an investment banker on Wall Street as well as a functional leader in multiple Fortune 500 companies in the US. Hem has also served on over 20 startup and social enterprise boards across US and is heavily involved with several prominent incubators and accelerators in Southern California supporting budding entrepreneurs. He has executed 35+ venture, private equity and M&A transactions with over $2B in total capital spanning over ten years at Spark Growth Ventures, ClearVision Equity Partners, Deutsche Bank, a KKR private equity portfolio company as well as an independent board professional working with startups. Hem has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from University of Illinois and a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. He is passionate about the environment, equality and education for under-privileged children and loves reading, traveling and active pursuits.