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.

Lis Rakanovic is an IT Audit and Compliance Lead, where she is responsible for managing and supporting internal audits, external and regulatory inspections, and compliance related activities that impact Information Research – Business Technology Solutions (IR BTS) globally.

Lis is a Chemical Engineer by training, and holds a Master of Science in Regulatory Compliance and Quality Systems, from Northwestern University. Lis began her career at AbbVie in 2014 as part of the Post-Market QA team that prepared for Duodopa launch in the U.S. Lis pivoted her path into the Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC) in 2019 and was responsible for developing compliance metrics for Executive Leadership, Board of Directors and other key stakeholders.  

Lis is currently the Global Chair of AbbVie’s Asian Leadership Network (ALN) and is responsible for leading, developing, and executing the ALN’s short- and long-term strategies aligned with the enterprise Equity, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EEDI) mission and vision. She manages 50+ volunteer leaders and leads the organization of more than 4,400 members. Lis has been a member of all the seven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) since joining AbbVie in 2014, she led the first AbbVie Eid event in 2016, and partnered with EEDI to launch the Diversity Calendar at AbbVie. Lis is passionate about representation and fosters safe and inviting environments in which diverse perspectives are shared, so that everyone feels valued. Lis has collaborated with companies such as Odyssey Impact to promote cultural competency and inclusion across AbbVie. Lis was recognized for her EEDI contributions in the inaugural Legal and OEC Outstanding IMPACT Award in 2021. 

René leads Prudential’s global employee community engagement strategy and a portfolio of grants and programs that strengthen the capacity of nonprofit organizations. This includes volunteer activities under the PruCARES brand, a board service program to place Prudential leaders on boards of nonprofit organizations, pro-bono consulting projects and the company’s disaster relief and recovery efforts. He is also leading an evaluation and learning process to measure the social and business impact of Prudential’s philanthropic endeavors. Rene also manages a portfolio of grants to promote inclusive communities and improve pathways to quality jobs for individuals facing multiple barriers. Rene developed and launched a unique nonprofit board service program focusing on emerging leaders of diverse background as part of Prudential’s diversity & inclusion and talent management strategies.  Prior to this role, René was a Relationship Manager working with business units and corporate functions to develop strategies that bring the full power of Prudential to address social needs and meet business objectives.  René started his career at Prudential almost 21 years ago as a program officer with The Prudential Foundation where he managed the youth development, civic leadership, capacity building and business alignment portfolios. During this time, he developed the company’s first international philanthropic strategy, developed a disaster relief framework and co-created and implemented a board service program targeting leaders of diverse background.  

Before joining Prudential, René worked in his native Puerto Rico in a community development initiative working in public housing projects. He was also the executive director of a multi-service nonprofit organization in Newark.  René has served in a number of nonprofit boards and advisory councils, and currently represents Prudential on the Council of NJ Grantmakers board. 

Rene holds a BA and MPA from Rutgers University in Newark and is currently a Part Time Lecturer at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. 

Jamell G. Mitchell serves as the Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence Global Ecosystem Leader at EY. His experience relative to market trend analysis and business strategies spans close to two decades.

Jamell is responsible for sourcing securing and scaling talent, while curating the broader ecosystem which supports the broader Neurodiversity Movement. He manages teams across the Americas and has worked to drive global adoption of inclusive hiring efforts. He has developed training procedures, analyzed budget reports and implemented best practices within and outside of the space of Neurodiversity.

Jamell sits on the Board of Trustees for Hill-Top Preparatory School in Rosemont PA and Landmark College in Putney VT. He has an MBA with specific focus on Leadership and Finance from Walden University, Minneapolis and holds a BS in Criminal Justice Administration and Planning from John Jay College in New York. He is also a CNP (Certified Neurodiversity Professional) via IBCCESS University.

Karmetria Dunham Burton is Sr Director- Global Supplier Diversity for McDonald’s Corporation. In this position, she is responsible for developing and executing a global Supplier Diversity program while enhancing the processes to assist McDonalds’s achieve its vision of being an industry leader of making minority and women owned businesses (MWBEs) a natural and integral part of the way the company does business. Karmetria has worked in strategic sourcing in various national and international corporate settings, including Delta Air Lines, Xerox, AT&T, and Union Pacific Railroad. A rising star in her field, Karmetria was the 2005 recipient of the Trailblazer Award presented by the Black Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs organization and was recognized as Who’s Who of Black Atlanta in 2010. In 2012 and 2013, Dr. Burton was honored as one of the Top 25 Women Impacting Diversity by Diversity Inc. Magazine. A well-respected authority in supplier diversity, she is a contributing writer for MBE Magazine which focuses on minority business development. Also in 2013, she was honored by Kentucky State University with the Thorobred Award. And in 2014, she was noted as a Woman of Excellence by the Atlanta Daily World Magazine. Her work and her passion have gained her notoriety in several publications: Black Enterprise, AMOI and Diversity Inc. In 2015 she was awarded the InfluenceHER Award and was featured in the June issue of Black Enterprise Magazine for her work at Delta Air Lines in supplier diversity, along with being awarded as one of the Top 25 Women of Atlanta. She has an honorary doctorate degree from Global Oved Dei Seminary and University. In 2016, she was awarded the Women of Vision Award by Atlanta Business League and awarded, for the third time in a row, a 2016 Woman Impacting Diversity. Karmetria has also been awarded one of the top women in diversity for 3 years.  

Karmetria holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Southern University-Baton Rouge, La., and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska. She also has a doctorate degree in business from Argosy University. Dr. Burton has instructed business, procurement, and diversity related courses at Kennesaw State University as well as Shorter College, Strayer University, Georgia State University and Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y. Dr. Burton is a sought out speaker of women’s organizations, youth empowerment groups, and entrepreneur forums. 

An international speaker coined as the “Transformational Leader”, Dr. Burton is an advocate of servant leadership with the ability to transform and motivate executives and entrepreneurs to become fearless, impactful, resourceful, and engaged leaders. Dr. Burton’s 7-step system develops inner power through transformation.  

Karmetria is also the founder of “Paint Your Lips Red” movement, a global non profit platform to encourage, motivate, and empower women to level up their lives as mothers, wives, leaders, and entrepreneurs through the power of a red lip. She started the 5by20 pledge, a commitment to have 5000 women sign the pledge by the year 2020. Karmetria volunteers locally and globally with organizations who serve women who were victims of sex trafficking. Dr. Burton is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and a board member of Southern University- College of Business. She is also the founder of Women Connecting Through Christ. A prayer group of women across that globe. A native of Houston, Texas, Karmetria is married to Horace A. Burton, and resides in Atlanta. Her philosophy is: “Show up!” 

Rajesh Anandan is an impact entrepreneur and growth architect. He is the co-founder and CEO of Ultranauts, an award winning data & software quality engineering firm with employees in 30 states, 75% of whom are on the autism spectrum. Named a FastCompany World Changing Idea, MIT SOLVE Challenge Winner and Interbrand Breakthrough Brand, Ultranauts is reimagining how a company hires talent, manages teams and develops careers. Rajesh is also the founder of Unicef Kid Power which launched the world’s first Wearable-for-Good product and was named one of TIME’s 25 Best Inventions. He began his career at Microsoft, worked at Bain & Company, launched Unicef Ventures, and currently lectures at MIT. Rajesh has a BSc and MEng in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT with concentrations in AI, Systems Dynamics and Economics.