George Perry is dean of the College of Sciences and professor of biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Sonali currently serves as general counsel and secretary to the board of trustees of Cleveland State University. She oversees the Office of University Compliance, which is part of her division to which the Office of Institutional Equity and the Office of Internal Audit report. She joined the University in 1996 as a lecturer in the College of Law and in 1997 became assistant university legal counsel. She served as secretary to the board of trustees from 2000 to 2011, and was recently reappointed to serve as secretary. Sonali was named general counsel in 2004.

Sonali has been an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys since 1998, is a former NACUA Board member and has served on several NACUA committees. In 2013, she was elected to serve as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association for an inaugural two-year term, and currently serves on its Diversity and Thought Leadership Committee. Sonali received the 2013 Trailblazer Award from the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, was named 2014 Professional Woman of the Year by the Women of Color Foundation, and was a finalist in Crain’s Cleveland Business 2014 Class of Top Ten General Counsel and In-House Counsel in the Region. In 2015, she was named a YWCA Woman of Achievement.

Sonali holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University, a master’s degree in government studies from Harvard University, and a juris doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Active in community service, she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Dean’s Advisory Board, College of Arts and Sciences, as well as Black Alumni Leadership Council at Boston University, and the Board of Visitors for the Cuyahoga Community College.

Denise has worked with John DiJulius, best selling author and THE Authority on World-Class Customer Experience, for almost 20 years.

Shalini Singhal joined Farmers & Merchants State Bank in 2020 as Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer. Shalini has over 20 years of information technology and banking experience. She previously served as the Chief Information Officer for The Middlefield Banking Company in the Cleveland, Ohio market. Shalini earned a Master in Business Administration in Systems and Operations from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad, India. She is passionate about technology, reads daily, and participates in many industry trainings to keep her competitive edge and industry knowledge up to date. Shalini resides in Perrysburg, Ohio, with her husband and their two daughters.

Dr. Airica Steed serves as the “first woman, first black person, and first nurse” to be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and President for The MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio comprised of $1.7B net revenue, 5 acute and specialty care hospitals, 8000 employees and providers, over 40 ambulatory care locations, and one of the most highly regarded academic public health systems across the country. She is renowned for spearheading large scale transformations encompassing greater than $300M in combined financial improvements, top decile quality/safety performance outcomes, healthy profitable growth, as well as making monumental groundbreaking advancements in advancing health equity and eradicating healthcare disparities. As a proud 4th generation nurse, she is fighting passionately to zero out the death gap and to make sure that every person has an equal chance at living long and healthy lives while simultaneously lifting up the wealth in the underserved communities.

Dr. Steed is a vastly accomplished and award winning transformational healthcare executive with over 20 years of exceptional leadership experience and proven track record of driving results, including recognition as Modern Healthcare’s “Top Women Leaders”, “Top 25 Minority Leaders in Healthcare”, “Top 25 Healthcare Innovators” and “Up & Comer”; Diversity MBA Magazine “Top 100 Executive Leaders Under 50”; and Becker’s Healthcare “26 Women CEOs of Hospitals & Health Systems to Know”, “Top 130 Female Healthcare Leaders to Know”, “Black Healthcare Leaders to Know”, and “Rising Star”. Dr. Steed is recognized as a strategic and visionary change leader, transformational architect and international expert in Lean Six Sigma, Malcolm Baldrige framework, and “Big 4” management consulting across academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, safety net organizations, ambulatory clinics and network, multi-site clinically integrated healthcare systems, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

Dr. Steed is a an avid speaker on both a national and international level and published author, as well as a Board Member and Faculty Member spanning several organizations. She received her Doctorate of Education in Ethical Leadership (Ed.D) with distinction, Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and numerous certifications, including Master Black Belt and International Trainer in Lean Six Sigma and Fellow of American College of Healthcare Executives. She is currently pursuing a second Masters in Global Development from Harvard University. On top of her many accolodates, her most prized accomplishment is being a devoted mother to 4 children and 2 dogs.

Kathy is a solo attorney specializing in intellectual property law, based in Oberlin, Ohio at CoWork Oberlin. Originally from Massachusetts, she is licensed to practice law in Ohio, Texas and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Kathy is proud to have the opportunity to help with technology that she hopes will make a big difference in the lives of so many people a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

John Grace is a strategic thought leader with more than 15 years of human resources experience gained across diverse industries—from startups to Fortune 500 organizations. As JumpStart’s Chief People & Culture Officer, he provides coaching and leadership development training to the JumpStart team. He is also responsible for employee relations and organizational change initiatives with the goal of steadily enhancing JumpStart’s culture while creating and maintaining a highly-skilled workforce.

Prior to joining JumpStart, John gained extensive experience serving as a key Human Resources professional for brands such as Ashley Furniture HomeStores, Swensons Drive-In Restaurants and Target Stores. Outside the corporate sphere, he also spent time pursuing his own entrepreneurial endeavors through the launch of a successful HR consulting firm aligned with the personal mission to serve as an advocate for both the company and the client.

John earned his MBA in Human Resource Management from Tiffin University and is working toward his personal goal to obtain a doctoral degree in Business Administration.

Kimberley Spates, Owner of Spates Accounting Services. Experienced Controller with a demonstrated history of working in the individual and family services industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Budgeting, Cash Flow, Team Development, Internal Controls, Process Improvement and Account Reconciliation.

Dianna Campbell is Chief Development Officer at National Council on Aging leading strategic partnership and business development. She a mission-driven, results-oriented hands-on leader with close to twenty years of experience in fund/strategic development, marketing, business development and team management within the non-profit and business services industries.

Christine Kohls is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Association of Fundraising Professionals Master Trainer whose 20 years of experience includes leadership positions reporting to college presidents and C-suite executives. Her fundraising experience includes development planning, capital campaigns, advocacy, and proposal writing. Her project management experience includes campus master planning, strategic planning, and construction (public bids, RFP development, firm selection, and project management). Christine serves on the boards of Business Volunteers Unlimited and Chair-ity and volunteers on two committees with AFP Global. In 2023 Crains Cleveland recognized her as a Notable in Consulting and Accounting.

Robert Arnoff is president of Arnoff and Associates Inc., a full-service employee benefits firm in Ohio. He began his career with Northwestern Mutual Life assisting individuals with their life, disability and insurance needs. He received his BBA in business management from Kent State University and acquired his life, health & accident license while attending KSU. His professional training in the field of employee benefits started with the Wharton School of Business Certified Employee Benefit Specialist program. He is a recipient of the 2009 Solutions Superstar Award as the Most Innovative Broker/Advisor, an award given by FieldMedia publications, CDHC Solutions Magazine and EmployersWeb.com. (http://ebn.benefitnews.com/3Rsbook/)

Bob’s first literary success, The Three Rs of Employee Benefits: Recruiting, Retention and Rewards, features advice and strategies for business professionals and consumers to improve their working environment in today’s economy. This book was co-authored by the past managing editor of Employee Benefit News, Leah Shepherd.

In addition to his endeavors in employee benefit consulting and authoring, Bob continues to accept professional speaking engagements across the country. He has been a speaker at the Annual Benefits Forum and Expo for four years, as well as numerous other venues in the field, including various human resources and financial management associations.