Karla oversees GDIS external affairs in more than 50 countries working to accelerate Intel’s strategy to become the most inclusive and responsible company on the planet. A 25-year Intel veteran, advanced her career into different management and leadership positions. She is a best-selling author of Unleash Your Career Potential, a speaker, coach, and trainer certified through John Maxwell’s leadership training. Karla has received numerous leadership recognitions, including “El Financiero,” top 40 under 40 country leader, PBWC industry leader award, recognized as woman of excellence by the Women Economic Forum and women leader in Latin America by the Continental University in Mexico. Aspen Institute Fellow, member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Karla completed her undergraduate studies in customs administration at the University of Costa Rica and pursued an advanced MBA in international business. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
A Human Resource Leader with 29 years of work experience spanning across multiple facets of HR. Currently leading a multidimensional global portfolio encompassing, Diversity & Inclusion, Talent Development, Employee Experience & Engagement.
The charter of Diversity and Inclusion is based on the premise that an increased degree of diversity, inclusion and a ‘sense of belonging’ in an organization translates into smarter, more creative, innovative and empathetic workforce. This in turn empowers the organization to achieve competitive business advantage. The focus is on creating a culture of Inclusion and mitigating bias.
As a Talent Development leader, her forte lies in designing and developing a Business Context based Talent Development Strategy to strengthen the organizational Culture and Capability, showcasing a clear business impact.
The third dimension to the role includes the entire spectrum of Employee Experience & engagement where the focus is to deploy effective strategies for improving performance and productivity.
Tara Grammy is an actress, writer, and producer with a uniquely global perspective. Bornin Iran, raised mostly in Toronto, with some time in Germany, and now living in Los Angeles, she has experienced life as an immigrant in many different forms. Since choosing to speak out against the authoritarian regime currently in power in Iran, Tara has not been able to return to her beloved homeland. She has used her artistic voice to create various projects related to the Iranian diaspora— her mission is to help the rest of the world become familiar with Iranian culture and to help Iranian immigrants feel seen. From her award-winning one-woman show Mahmoud, starring in the cult-classic romantic comedy A Simple Wedding, hosting the extremely popular Persia’s Got Talent, and her plethora of viral sketches on Youtube and Instagram, Tara has devoted her career to her love for her culture.
Recently, Tara has turned her attention to the protests in Iran and amplifying the voices of the voiceless within the country. She has dedicated her platform to bringing attention to the burgeoning woman-led revolution, educating and encouraging others to use their platforms to raise awareness for the human rights atrocities happening in Iran and the world. Tara is an engaging speaker whose talent lies in getting to the hearts of listeners on matters related to human rights, compassion, and the power we hold as members of a free society. She aims to wake people up to the incredible resources they have at the palm of their hands that can make a great impact in the world and to see the social responsibilities we have as one human race to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. She believes that compassion is the overlooked superpower of all human beings and that in an individualist society such as this one, we need to be reminded of the importance of exercising it often.
Dr. Cindy Pace is Vice President, Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at MetLife. In this role, Dr. Pace leads the global D&I strategy for an enterprise wide employee base of ~47,000 in more than 40 countries. Aligned to the company’s business imperative, Dr. Pace drives and promotes DEI as critical success factors to fuel innovation, cross-cultural collaboration and business success. Dr. Pace is also a leadership scholar practitioner who frequently provides thought leadership at global conferences and academic institutions where she presents on global diversity, inclusive leadership, purpose and women’s leadership. Her insights have been featured in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Fortune Magazine and the book Women’s Leadership Journeys: Stories, Research, and Novel Perspectives.
An innovative thought leader and strategic business partner, Donnebra has spent over seventeen years with Ceridian cultivating leaders who are consciously unbiased and intentionally inclusive.
Donnebra earned a bachelor’s degree in Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in Transformative Leadership from Bethune Cookman University. As a lifelong learner, she also earned certifications in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Cornell University and the University of South Florida. Donnebra is currently a doctoral student in Strategic Leadership at Carolina University.
Sharing her passion for reading, Donnebra established Leaders are Readers, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving literacy in underserved communities in the Tampa Bay area.
Carlos is a business-minded, nationally recognized leader who understands the demands companies face in balancing the need to drive industry-leading financial and operational performance while working to create and foster best-in-class teams and a winning inclusive culture that allows diverse perspectives to thrive and play a critical role in maximizing results. In his role as VP of DE&I, Carlos collaborates with and supports leaders across Constellation Brands, Inc. to accelerate the adoption and execution of its evolved DE&I strategy in alignment with the company’s vision and strategic priorities. Carlos joined Constellation Brands from McDonald’s where, as Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, he led a cross-functional team responsible for the creation and development of the company’s global DE&I strategy. He also developed the strategy and governance structure for the company’s employee resource groups, and provided support to McDonald’s corporate employees, franchisees, suppliers, customers, and communities across the globe. Prior to his tenure at McDonald’s, Carlos served as Head of Diversity Recruitment and Diverse Stakeholder Engagement at Groupon.
Carlos is active in the DE&I community and serves on several industry-leading organizations, including the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. A native Spanish speaker, Carlos is originally from Puerto Rico and currently resides in the Greater Chicagoland area.
Justin Nelson is the Co-Founder & President of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community and the largest LGBT economic advocacy and business development organization in the world. NGLCC is the exclusive private sector certifying body for LGBT-owned businesses. In addition to over 50 LGBT affiliate chambers in the United States representing America’s 1.4 million LGBT business owners, NGLCC leads economic development opportunities for over a dozen international affiliates.
Justin is the recipient of the 2016 Excellence Award by the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce and the 2017 Disability:IN Global Disability Leadership Award for his work in building and leading cross-segment partnerships. He has also been named to the Global LGBT Power 100 by the UK’s Guardian Newspaper, Top 20 Leaders We Admire by SmartCEO Magazine, and twice to The OUT 100, to name a few. Justin resides in Washington, DC and holds a B.A. from the University of Wyoming.
Sanjyot P. Dunung is CEO and founder of Atma Global, a developer of learning content and solutions for the corporate, education, and government markets. The firm integrates an understanding of business and social-sciences methodologies to derive perspectives on the global forces shaping business, government, and society.
Recognized on Fast Company’s prestigious Most Innovative Companies list, her firm developed an award-winning ‘Netflix-style’ digital service, Atma Insights, featuring proprietary, engaging, and essential learning videos on culture, country, business, and global topics for professionals, educators, and students.
Leveraging her intuitive and seasoned in-depth knowledge as a social scientist with a practitioner-academic mindset, Sanjyot is renowned for her expertise in the multifaceted intersection of business, global affairs, culture, technology, and education, with a focus on the impact of cultures on organizations, individuals, and societies.
She is a serial entrepreneur and global business executive with expertise in managing businesses through economic cycles and transformational change. A business evangelist and catalyst for growth, Sanjyot has multidisciplinary skills in strategic planning, business development, raising venture and private capital, proprietary product development (SaaS B2C and B2B), channel partner strategy, and leading global teams.
She is deeply committed to empowering small businesses through education and advocacy. Currently, Sanjyot serves as a board member for the National Small Business Association, the Truman Center for National Policy, and the American Leadership Project. In these roles, she is passionate about supporting small businesses, driving impactful policy changes, and advocating for pragmatic global leadership. Previously, Sanjyot was a member of the Board of Directors of UNICEF USA.
She has authored seventeen international business books and textbooks including a young adult novel, Maddie & Sayara, that explores the divergent paths of young girls around the world. Sanjyot has appeared on a range of global media and speaks at conferences addressing international business, global cultures, and entrepreneurship. She works to promote equality of opportunity by working closely with global not-for-profits, serving on global boards, and mentoring entrepreneurs.
Sanjyot has received several awards including the including the 2024 Stevie Women in Business Award for Best Female Entrepreneur – Business Services, 2021 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award and the 2021 AmChamRepresent Business Transformation Award: Women in Business.
She received a BA, Northwestern University and an MBA, Thunderbird School of Global Management, where she received the Distinguished Alumni Award, serves on the Advisory Board, and is a Professor of Practice.