Member Conference: Advance Your Global DEI Strategy

Jamie Adasi (pronouns: she, her, hers) is Greenhouse Software’s Head of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship (IDEA). Jamie’s focused on advancing an international multi-year IDEA strategy as well as building a people-first IDEA program that positively influences people across various industries worldwide.

As a first-generation Queer Nigerian-American, Jamie began her self-reflective DE&IB/social justice journey as a high school and college student educating peers, staff, and faculty about diversity and social justice issues affecting the world.

With over 15 years of experience, Jamie helps leaders and teams reach their highest potential by bringing people together across multiple and intersecting experiences. Jamie is also an advocate for using well-being practices, data, and technology to create a systems-thinking and human-centered approach to everyday IDEA/DE&I issues.

Prior to Greenhouse, Jamie held various diversity and recruiting leadership positions across higher education, nonprofits, SaaS, and behavioral health. Jamie holds an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, an M.Ed. in Counseling and Personnel Services from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Spanish Language & Cultures from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Kaela (she/they pronouns) is currently the Associate Director of Advisory at Seramount, focused on the Employee Resource Group (ERG) advisory offerings, providing advice and resources to organizations executing ERG strategies.

Before coming to Seramount, Kaela drove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at various organizations, including Assured Partners, Wawa, and Aramark, which included ERG strategy-building, ERG leadership upskilling, aligning objectives to the business, and executive leadership engagement. Prior to specializing in DE&I, Kaela’s background centered around critical HR functions, such as talent management, organizational development/change, HR systems/analytics, communications, and employee engagement. They also served as an ERG leader during their time in HR roles.

Kaela has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership with a focus in Human Resources from Northeastern University and is an alum of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. They hold a Senior Certified Professional (SCP) certification from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Kaela is also an active member of the local Philadelphia community and holds board and operational leadership roles with Philly SHRM, Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center, and cinéSPEAK. Kaela is also an active thought leader and frequently contributes their insights on panel discussions, workshops, and conferences.

They were nominated as an HR Rising Star in 2020 by the Delaware Valley HR Person of the Year Awards and named one of Philadelphia’s Top 40 Connectors and Keepers by Leadership Philadelphia in their 2021 class. True to their passion, Kaela loves to travel to new cities and explore new foodie dishes to learn more about the cultures of others. They also geek out on sci-fi and space travel and can easily get lost in a good book, movie, or TV show.

Barbara Frankel is the Managing Director of the Insights division at Seramount, working on global and US diversity surveys, national thought-leader projects, and groundbreaking research on inclusion and DEI topics and how to create family-friendly workplaces. She was the leader of the recent Pledge to Progress research project, which details corporate America’s progress in combating racism in the year since the murder of George Floyd.

Barbara is a thought leader, editor, writer, manager, and consultant in global and US diversity management, business development and marketing, business journalism, and human- and civil-rights advocacy.

She previously was executive editor and senior vice president at DiversityInc. Barbara has served on the national Board of Directors of GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and the global advisory board of WeConnect International, a nonprofit that helps women entrepreneurs be corporate suppliers, as well as Garden State Equality.

Susan Haseley leads enterprise ESG and DEI global strategy and programming for Robert Half and its subsidiary, Protiviti. She has been with Protiviti since its inception in 2002. In addition to her ESG and DEI responsibilities, Haseley serves as an advisor to key clients and draws on over 30 years of experience providing internal audit, technology and risk consulting services. She previously served as Protiviti’s Global Industry Leader for the Healthcare and Life Sciences practice and as the Market Leader for the Dallas office. Under her leadership, Protiviti’s Dallas office has been recognized multiple times as one of the best places to work in Texas.

Prior to joining Protiviti, Haseley spent seven years with Arthur Andersen as a partner in its Risk Consulting practice, responsible for directing technology risk consulting and outsourced internal audit services. Earlier in her career, she held industry positions as vice president of IT Audit for a large insurance organization and a system analyst implementing financial systems for a large aerospace company.
Haseley earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Ohio University.

David Livermore, PhD (Michigan State University) is a social scientist devoted to the topics of cultural intelligence (CQ) and global leadership and the author of several award-winning books, including  Leading with Cultural Intelligence, Driven by Difference, and  Serving with Eyes Wide Open. His newest book, Digital, Diverse & Divided, addresses one of the most pressing issues of our day–how to overcome polarization in our personal and professional relationships.  

David is a founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center in East Lansing, Michigan, Research Professor at Questrom’s School of Business at Boston University, and a Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He consults with global organizations around the world, including the Harvard Business School, Google, Coca-Cola, the US Department of Defense, BMW, Qatar Airways, the United Nations, and dozens more. He has traveled to more than one hundred countries and is a frequent speaker at conferences. He also serves on several boards and is a Fellow with the Society of Leadership Fellows, Windsor Castle, a select leadership community that meets to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing us globally. 

David loves to make social science accessible to practitioners. He has been interviewed and referenced by myriad news sources, including The Atlantic , CBS News, Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, Forbes, NBC, the New York Times, USA Today,  the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal , and the South China Post.  

David and his wife, Linda, have two adult daughters, Emily and Grace. Emily is embarking on a career as a litigation lawyer, and Grace is a graphic designer. Some of their favorite family activities are traveling (fortunately!) and discovering new foods together. 

Katie Oertli Mooney is a Managing Director at Seramount. She is an accomplished DEI leader and thought partner with expertise in driving strategy and growth of diversity and inclusion change management, planning and programs. Prior to joining Seramount, she was responsible for overseeing the client delivery, staffing, operations and growth as Vice President of Jennifer Brown Consulting. She was accountable for the firm’s successful consulting project delivery to clients from the Fortune 1000, government agencies, startups, to nonprofits.

Prior to that, she managed the DEI enterprise learning and development strategy at Capital One specializing in differential investment programming to support historically underrepresented talent and communities of color. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the GSBA; the largest LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce in North America and is supporting the organization in 2020, by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion for the Board of Directors, for the benefit of GSBA staff, members, partners and the LGBTQ+ and allied community of Washington State. Katie has a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management with a concentration on Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University. She is based in Seattle, WA.

Amy Nakatani is the Senior Director of the Insight Analytics Team at Seramount, leading the administration, analysis, and reporting efforts for Seramount’s many DEI initiatives and indexes. This work provides benchmarks and insights that help companies assess their areas of strength and opportunities for improvement to further advance their DEI efforts and create a more inclusive workplace for their employees.

Prior to joining Seramount, Amy was the Director of Assessment, Measurement, and Insights in the Office of Data Analytics at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this position, she helped campus leadership utilize data to make informed decisions to help improve student and employee experiences. She has had a career in higher education that includes several director-level assessment roles as well as serving as a faculty member at CU Boulder and Carleton College.

Throughout her career in academia, Amy has had a commitment to improving DEI excellence in the workplace. At CU Boulder, she served on the Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Council and the Chancellor’s Committee for Women, and she co-led a large-scale Campus & Workplace Culture Survey initiative that was administered to all students and employees. With almost 18,000 responses, this survey provided critical data necessary for understanding the variation in experiences of people across diverse identities, followed by use of this understanding to develop action plans for addressing these inequities and creating a more inclusive campus environment for all.

Amy’s work at Seramount allows her to continue combining her two passions: using her quantitative analytics skills and helping to improve DEI efforts in the workplace.

Amy holds a BS degree in Computational Mathematics from Michigan State University and a PhD in Mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. In her free time, she enjoys the Colorado outdoors as well as binge-watching a great TV series.

Megan Pierouchakos is a senior director and membership relationship advisor at Seramount. In her role at Seramount, Megan advises Fortune 100 & 500 companies on their talent and DEI initiatives. Prior to Seramount, Megan spent 15 years in corporate roles as a Talent & DEI practitioner spanning the entire talent lifecycle. Most recently, she was Vice President of Human Resources at the American Bankers Association (ABA) where she set the strategic direction for learning and development, talent management, and succession planning. Prior to that, Megan was the Workforce Diversity Manager in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Freddie Mac.

She was recently a part-time adjunct faculty member with the Georgetown HRM program, served a two-year term on the Georgetown HRM Advisory Board, and was a strategic plan task force member with the Centre for Global Inclusion. Megan holds a SPHR certification from HRCI and a Prosci ADKAR Change Management Certification.

Megan received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College with a dual major in International Relations and Spanish and has a graduate degree from Georgetown University in HR Management. She resides in Northern Virginia with her family and actively volunteers with the Girl Scouts of America and other youth organizations her children participate in.

Alta Ray (she/her/hers) is an experienced employment attorney with broad expertise in employment litigation, employee relations, workplace investigations, and human resource policy development, compliance and training.
Alta is a Senior Employment Counsel at Greenhouse Software, Inc., where she guides and provides advice to internal stakeholders on a wide range of global employment issues. She works closely with the People (HR) team and outside legal counsel to ensure compliance with state, federal, and international employment laws and best practices. Additionally, Alta provides legal support for Greenhouse’s DEI efforts and handles employment-related litigation matters. Alta is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law where she teaches Human Resources Compliance.

Previously, Alta has held legal and employee relations roles at Okta, AstraZeneca, the D.C. Office of Human Rights and Marriott International. Alta began her career as an employment attorney at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and then at two national law firms, where she advised employers on how to comply with local, state, and federal labor and employment laws and litigated employment and labor union cases.
Alta is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park and Howard University School of Law. She resides in Washington, D.C. and loves to travel and spend time with her family and friends.

Bridgette Scales is Managing Director on Seramount’s Advisory team. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert with experience in sales and human resources. Bridgette joined Seramount from American Airlines in 2020, where she was the human resources business partner for customer experience. There, Bridgette was responsible for collaborating on people policies, talent management, career development, succession planning, departmental training initiatives, and aligning employee strategies with American Airline business goals.

Prior to her time at American Airlines, Bridgette spent 27 years at Proctor & Gamble. During her tenure at P&G, she was instrumental in developing and implementing strategies, programs, and processes across a complex and matrix organization. As a DEI practice leader for North America, Bridgette guided and counseled senior leaders on the integration of strategies that included awareness, cultural competency, leadership development, accountability and employee engagement. This led to better processes in the identification of high-potential employees, reduction in attrition rates of minorities, and increased DEI scores on the corporate employee survey.

Bridgette currently serves on the Global Advisory Board for the Women’s Leadership Forum within the P&G alumni network. She also sits on the She Runs It Foundation board’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

She has a BA from the University of Oklahoma, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a Senior HR Professional certification from HRCI.

Annie Colson (pronouns: she, her, hers) serves as Senior Manager of Global Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Kellanova (formerly Kellogg Company). Currently, she sets the global strategy for ED&I learning activations and works closely with regional partners to ensure continuity across the world.

Prior to Kellanova, she worked at Allstate Insurance Company’s global headquarters for a decade, serving in multiple leadership, HR and Learning & Development roles, where she led leadership development initiatives and mentorship programs.

Annie earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from Ohio University and is a strong believer of intrinsic motivation and perpetual learning. She is dedicated to creating a place at Kellanova’s table for all, where everyone feels like they can bring their authentic selves to work.

Laura Agharkar serves as Nasdaq’s Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Culture, where she spearheads the development and implementation of the company’s comprehensive inclusion strategy. With a global presence spanning 38 countries, Laura is deeply committed to fostering a workplace where every employee, regardless of their background, experiences a genuine sense of belonging.

Prior to joining Nasdaq, Laura has leveraged her expertise in similar roles at prominent organizations such as Global Pharmaceutical, Ferring, and Samsung Electronics.

In her personal life, Laura dedicates quality time to her two children, Fiona and Charlie, while also sharing her passion for golf and tennis with her husband, Nikhil.

Laura’s commitment to making a positive impact extends beyond her professional life, as she is on the verge of completing her third NYC Marathon this November, running in support of Nasdaq’s Women’s ERG for Girls on the Run charity. Laura is an alumna of the University of Oregon, where she laid the foundation for her career.