Conference Sessions & Speakers

MORNING KEYNOTE
Robert Glazer, Founder & Chairman of the Board, Acceleration Partners & Founder Elevate Leadership

Robert Glazer is the founder and chairman of the board of Acceleration Partners and the Founder of Elevate Leadership. He also cofounded and chaired BrandCycle, which was acquired by Stack Commerce/TPG in 2021. A serial entrepreneur and award-winning executive, Robert is passionate about helping leaders and organizations elevate their capacity and meet their potential.

Under his leadership, Acceleration Partners garnered three consecutive Inc 500 Awards and over 30 awards for its company culture. Robert himself was twice named to Glassdoor’s list of Top CEOs for Small and Medium Companies in the U.S., ranking #2. Today, Robert and his team at Elevate Leadership share strategies, tactics and tools to help growing companies build better leaders and stronger cultures.

Robert shares his insights through Friday Forward, a weekly inspirational newsletter reaching over two hundred thousand readers in more than one hundred countries. He is also the #1 Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestselling author of eight books, including Elevate, The Compass Within, Elevate Your Team, and Friday Forward. Additionally, Robert hosts the Elevate Podcast, a top 1 percent show on business, performance, and leadership with over five million downloads globally.

His work has been featured in outlets such as Harvard Business Review, The Today Show, Business Insider, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, and Entrepreneur. Robert speaks to audiences around the world on topics of leadership, culture, and personal and professional development and has also spoken on the TEDx stage.

Outside work, Robert enjoys skiing, cycling, reading, traveling, spending quality time with his family, and overseeing home renovation projects.

LUNCH KEYNOTE – Daily Double or Double Trouble? Ethical Decisions in HR
Matt Trottier, Apex Oil; John Marino, McMahon Berger; Allie Rapini, The Dover Companies; and Amy Hamilton, City of Richmond Heights

Every HR professional eventually finds themselves facing a moment when the law, policy, business priorities, and human emotions do not perfectly align. From deciding how to use AI responsibly in hiring and performance management to balancing confidentiality during sensitive workplace investigations, HR leaders are often called upon to make decisions that have no easy answers.

Join a panel of experienced HR executives, employment counsel, and people leaders for an interactive Jeopardy-style ethics challenge that brings real-world workplace dilemmas to life. Participants will work through challenging scenarios, test their HR instincts, and hear diverse perspectives from experts who have navigated these issues in their own organizations.

Designed to be engaging, practical, and thought-provoking, this session moves beyond textbook answers to explore how ethical decision-making influences trust, culture, risk, and leadership credibility. Attendees will leave with practical frameworks, fresh perspectives, and greater confidence in addressing the gray areas that define modern HR.

Because in HR, the toughest questions rarely come with a policy manual—and sometimes the best answer is, "It depends."

Participants will:

Advocates or Allies? Navigating HR’s Most Complex Leadership Moments
Reginald Farrar, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Founder & CEO, FARRAR Unlimited

HR professionals are often called in when tensions are high, emotions are real, and the stakes couldn’t be greater. The leader is frustrated. The team member feels unheard or treated unfairly. A difficult decision looms. In those moments, HR is expected to have the answers, serving simultaneously as coach, investigator, mediator, strategist, confidant, and sometimes even the final voice of reason.

But how are we perceived in the process?

Are we advocates for employees? Allies to leadership? Can we be both? And what happens to trust, credibility, and organizational culture when others believe we’ve chosen a side?

In this thought provoking and interactive session, we’ll unpack the delicate balance HR professionals navigate every day when managing leader-team member dynamics. Through real world scenarios and candid discussion, participants will explore how their approach influences outcomes, shapes perceptions, and impacts the health of the organization as a whole. You’ll leave with practical strategies to strengthen your effectiveness, maintain trust, and confidently navigate the gray areas that define today’s HR leadership.

Because the question isn’t simply whose side HR is on…it’s how we lead when everyone is looking to us for answers.

Learning Objectives:

Reggie Farrar is a native of St. Louis who received his B.A. in Industrial Relations from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his M.A. in Human Resource Development and Management from Webster University. He also received his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resource Certification Institute and his certification as a Senior Certified Professional from the Society of Human Resource Management. Reggie received his Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from Virtualocity, LLC.

Reggie is the Founder and CEO of Farrar Unlimited HR Consulting Firm. Previously, Reggie served as the Director of Human Resources & Inclusivity at Barnes-Jewish College, Goldfarb School of Nursing. Prior to joining Goldfarb, he was the Director of Human Resources at Memorial Hospital, which he joined in February 2019. Prior to joining Memorial, he was a Sr. HR Business Partner with Southwest Airlines. In addition, Reggie’s more than 39 year career includes time spent with Express Scripts, BJC Behavioral Health, US Bank, AG Edwards, and Edison Brothers Stores as well.

Reggie currently serves as the Co-President of the Society of Multicultural Professionals in Human Resources (SMPHR) and previously served as President of the Greater St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of African-Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR) and the Vice President of Programs and Professional Development for the Dallas Chapter, as well as the Midwest Region Vice President of NAAAHR. Reggie also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Reggie believes Human Resources is a critical component to every organization and should be a strategic partner in helping an organization meets its goals and objectives. In addition, Human Resources should be a driving force behind moving the organization and its most important resource, PEOPLE, to the next level.

Compensation Showdown: Navigating Pay Decisions in the Spotlight
Joe Rice, Managing Director, Compensation Consulting, CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services, Inc.

This interactive session helps HR professionals navigate today's toughest compensation decisions, from pay negotiations and counter offers to compression, internal equity, and pay transparency. Through real-world scenarios and audience discussion, attendees will learn practical frameworks for evaluating pay requests, making consistent compensation decisions, and communicating those decisions with confidence, fairness, and credibility.

Learning Objectives:

 
Joe Rice is a Managing Director at CBIZ Compensation Consulting and leads the firm’s broad-based pay practice. He partners with HR and finance leaders to bring structure, discipline, and market alignment to compensation decisions.

Joe advises executive teams on pay benchmarking, salary structure design, incentive alignment, and governance practices. His work helps organizations improve internal equity, strengthen manager confidence in pay decisions, and align compensation programs with financial and strategic objectives.

He is known for translating complex market data into practical frameworks leaders can defend and implement. Rather than treating compensation as an annual event, Joe helps organizations build sustainable systems that support performance, retention, and long-term growth.

In addition to his client work, Joe is a member of SHRM STL, serves as Board President of the Compensation and Benefits Network of Greater St. Louis (CBN), and has previously served as board president of St. Louis BWorks, a nonprofit focused on youth development through hands-on learning.

The Force Multiplier: How AI Agents Help HR Business Partners Scale Their Impact
Craig Starbuck, PhD, CEO & Founder, OrgAcuity

The math has never worked in HR’s favor. The average organization has one HR Business Partner for every 400 employees. HRBP’s hold the insight the business needs most, but they don’t have the hours to act on it everywhere it matters.

For decades, the answer was more headcount or more dashboards. Neither one is coming. There’s a third option: AI agents that extend the HRBP instead of replacing them. The organizations that figure it out first will run with a fraction of the team and a multiple or reach. Everyone else will spend the next five years watching leaner competitors move faster on the same budget.

Dr. Starbuck has spent his career on both sides of this problem, first as a people analytics leader inside Robinhood, MasterCard, Roku, Chime, and Scottrade, and now as the found of an organizational intelligence company built on that experience. He’ll walk through what it actually looks like to embed data-driven insight into the flow of work: agents that surface disengaged workforce segments before they show up in a survey, coach managers through challenges and change in real time, and learn from which interventions actually move the needle to continuously refine change management strategy.

This is not a talk about replacing HR with AI. It’s a talk about what becomes possible when a lean HR team gets the reach of a much larger one. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for where AI belongs in the HR operating model, where it doesn’t, and how to start the conversation with their own leadership.

Learning Objectives:

Craig Starbuck, PhD, is CEO and Co-Founder of OrgAcuity, President of Society for People Analytics, and author of The Fundamentals of People Analytics. He spent over a decade as a people analytics practitioner at Robinhood, Mastercard, Roku, Chime, and Scottrade before founding OrgAcuity to close the gap he experiences firsthand between what HR knows and what HR has the capacity to act on.

From Surviving to Thriving: HR Strategies to Help Employees Succeed in a High-Stress World
Linda Hoffey, Wellness Speaker & Mindfulness Educator; Corporate Calm Wellness

When employees thrive, organizations thrive. HR professionals are working daily to foster workplace cultures that support resilience, encourage healthy work habits, and help employees navigate the demands of today's high-stress world. Led by Corporate Calm Wellness, this engaging and interactive session, participants will explore practical tools, real-world examples, and evidence-based strategies to help employees perform at their best without sacrificing their wellbeing. Participants will uncover new ideas to reduce burnout, strengthen engagement, and improve productivity, retention, morale, and organizational success, building a culture where both people and business can thrive.

After attending this session, participants will be able to:

 
Linda Hoffey is the founder of Corporate Calm Wellness, where she helps organizations create healthier, happier workplaces through practical, engaging wellness programs that support both employees and business success. With more than 20 years of experience in corporate sales, marketing, and training—including leadership roles with HBO and iHeartMedia—Linda understands firsthand the demands, pressures, and pace of today's workplace.

After experiencing the life-changing benefits of yoga, mindfulness, and intentional wellbeing in her own life, Linda became a Registered Yoga Teacher and founded Corporate Calm Wellness with a mission to help organizations move beyond simply managing stress to building resilient workplace cultures where people can truly thrive. Her programs combine evidence-based wellness strategies with real-world business experience, making them both practical and immediately applicable for today's workforce.

Linda partners with businesses, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, schools, and professional associations to deliver interactive presentations, workshops, and wellness experiences on topics including workplace resilience, burnout prevention, digital wellness, mindfulness, gratitude, stress management, and healthy workplace habits. Rather than relying on a traditional lecture format, Linda creates highly interactive sessions that tap into the collective knowledge and experience of the audience. Participants leave not only with practical, evidence-based strategies, but also with new ideas and insights shared by their peers.

Believing that employee wellbeing is not just a personal responsibility but a strategic business advantage, Linda helps HR professionals and organizational leaders create environments that strengthen engagement, improve retention, support psychological wellbeing, and foster healthier workplace cultures. Whether leading a conference keynote, facilitating an interactive workshop, or guiding a mindfulness experience, Linda's goal is to inspire meaningful change that helps both people and organizations flourish.

When she's not speaking or teaching, Linda enjoys spending time with family, volunteering in her community, kayaking quiet rivers and lakes, hiking scenic trails, and continuing to explore new ways to help people live and work with greater purpose, balance, and joy.

ROI & DEI Return on Investment, Return on Inclusion – The Case Held. The Commitment Didn’t.
Pat Coleman, Founder & CEO, Pat Coleman LLC

A candid, data-grounded conversation about what happened to DEI, what the business case actually says, and how HR and organizational leaders at every level can rebuild the commitment to DEI by focusing on belonging, regardless of what it’s called.

Learning Objectives:

 
When organizations face their most critical moments, rapid growth, complex transitions, or the urgent need to build stronger leadership foundations, they call Pat Coleman.

With more than 25 years of C-suite leadership experience, Pat brings a rare combination of strategic vision and hands-on execution that produces lasting, measurable results. She steps into organizations not as an outside advisor, as an embedded executive partner, accountable, decisive, and relentlessly focused on moving work forward with discipline and clarity.

Pat is the founder of Pat Coleman LLC, providing fractional executive advisory services to CEOs and leadership teams navigating growth, complexity, and operational challenges. Her work centers on stabilizing organizations, aligning leadership, and building the people and performance infrastructure necessary for sustainable success without the cost of a full-time C-suite hire.

Becoming Change Resilient: Navigating Change with Confidence & Intention
Ryan McCrea, Founder & Principal Consultant, Luci Leadership Consulting

Change is constant, but our ability to navigate it effectively can determine whether we simply survive disruption or emerge stronger because of it. This interactive session helps participants better understand their personal reactions to change, recognize the strengths and challenges of different change styles, and build practical resilience strategies they can immediately apply in both their professional and personal lives.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

 
Ryan McCrea is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Luci Leadership Consulting, LLC, where he helps organizations build stronger leaders, healthier cultures, and high-performing teams. With more than 20 years of experience across learning, leadership development, talent management, and organizational development, Ryan brings a practical, science-based approach to helping people and organizations perform at their best.

Throughout his career, Ryan has worked at the intersection of people, performance, and organizational strategy. His experience spans leadership development, talent management, organizational effectiveness, career development, mentoring, internal mobility, performance management, and culture transformation. He is particularly passionate about translating research and evidence into practical strategies that leaders and organizations can actually use.

Ryan most recently served as Head of Learning and Leadership Development at Ameren, where he led enterprise learning and leadership strategy for more than 9,000 employees. During his tenure, he helped strengthen the organization's leadership pipeline, expand manager development, modernize learning systems, and build scalable approaches to leadership and talent development.

Previously, Ryan served as Vice President of Talent Development at Commerce Bank, where he led enterprise-wide strategies focused on leadership capability, professional development, mentoring, and employee growth. Earlier in his career, he held leadership and talent development roles with Atlassian, Caleres, Monsanto, and the Humane Society of Missouri, giving him a broad perspective across technology, financial services, retail, scientific and research environments, utilities, and the nonprofit sector.

Ryan is also the author of Quick Bites of Insight, a collection of practical leadership lessons designed to help managers and professionals grow in the flow of work. The book reflects his belief that meaningful development does not always require a classroom, a lengthy program, or a complicated framework. Sometimes, the right insight at the right moment can change how someone leads.

An active contributor to the leadership and organizational development community, Ryan currently serves as President of the Saint Louis Organization Development Network (STL-ODN). In that role, he works to connect professionals, expand access to development opportunities, and advance the practice of organizational development across the St. Louis region.

Ryan is certified in Situational Leadership®, The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety™, DiSC®, and MBTI®, and is a certified Social and Emotional Intelligence Coach. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Southern Indiana and a Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Ryan lives in St. Louis with his wife, Susan, and their two cats, Zooey and Coco. Outside of work, he enjoys music, movies, fashion, pop culture, and art, and is always up for a great conversation about any of them.

 
Breaking Down Silos: HR as the Connector for Cross-Functional Collaboration
Trezette Dixon, Greater St. Louis, Inc. & Jacquelin Meaders Booth, Ed.D., Career Development Strategist, Washington University School of Continuing & Professional Studies

Successful organizations don't thrive because individual departments perform well—they succeed when departments work well together. Yet communication gaps, competing priorities, unclear roles, and organizational silos can prevent teams from achieving their full potential.

In this engaging and interactive session, participants will explore HR's role as a connector and catalyst for stronger cross-functional collaboration. Through Jeopardy-inspired challenges, real-world workplace scenarios, and collaborative activities, participants will identify the organizational and human factors that create silos, diagnose common collaboration breakdowns, and explore practical strategies for building communication, trust, accountability, and shared goals across departments.

Participants will leave with practical tools they can immediately apply to strengthen cross-functional relationships, improve collaboration, and create a workplace culture where teams work with one another—not simply alongside one another.

Learning Objectives:

Dr. Jacquelin Meaders Booth is a higher education leader, career development strategist, and workforce development professional with more than 25 years of experience building partnerships, developing talent, and creating collaborative solutions across organizational and professional environments. Her work focuses on helping individuals and organizations strengthen the connections between people, teams, and the evolving world of work.

Dr. Meaders Booth currently serves as a Career Development Strategist at Washington University in St. Louis, where she collaborates across academic, administrative, employer, and community partnerships to develop career and professional development initiatives for adult learners. Her work requires bringing diverse stakeholders together around shared goals, navigating competing priorities, and creating opportunities for meaningful collaboration.

Previously, she served as District Director of Career Development & Student Success at St. Louis Community College, providing leadership for career development and student success initiatives across the institution. Throughout her career, she has led and facilitated initiatives involving cross-functional collaboration, leadership development, professional communication, employer engagement, workforce partnerships, and career readiness.

Dr. Meaders Booth brings a practical, people-centered perspective to workplace collaboration and believes that strong organizations are built not simply through individual expertise, but through the relationships, communication, trust, and shared accountability that connect people and teams. She holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Maryville University, along with an M.S. and B.S. from Mississippi State University.

Let’s Play Nice: Why the Toughest Leaders Are Actually the Softest
Jessica Bryant, Owner, Bryant & Co. Leadership Lab

In today's rapidly evolving workplace, the most successful leaders aren't just those who can strategize and execute—they're the ones who can genuinely connect with their people. Let’s explore how empathetic leadership has become the secret weapon for organizations seeking to thrive in an era where employee expectations have fundamentally shifted.

This reveals the powerful correlation between empathetic leadership practices and measurable business outcomes. Attendees will discover how leading with empathy isn't just about being "nice"—it's a strategic approach that directly impacts their bottom line.

Learning Objectives

Today, her talks will both teach and empower leaders to engage in strategic empathy to transform their work and their lives. Jessica is a highly sought after speaker, coach, and consultant, and has helped large organizations empower their leaders not only to lead empathetically, but also how to do it well.

Beyond the Review: Leading Intentional Conversations that Drive Performance
Rhonda Travers, Founder & President, Travers Training & Consulting

In today's evolving workplace, employee engagement, retention, and performance are shaped by far more than an annual review. Yet many managers still approach performance management as a once-a-year event rather than an ongoing leadership responsibility. HR professionals have a unique opportunity to influence culture by empowering leaders with the skills and confidence to create meaningful conversations that drive performance throughout the year.

This interactive session equips HR professionals with practical tools for employee stay conversations, effective feedback, and intentional conversations they can immediately implement with leaders to elevate performance management within their organization.

Learning Objectives:

 
Rhonda Travers is a leadership development expert, international speaker, and Founder of Travers Training & Consulting, where she works with organizations to strengthen engagement, retention, and communication. As a former audit leader with 30 years of corporate experience, Rhonda brings a unique blend of expertise when delivering proven strategies that empower leaders, and ignite teams, and drive business results. 

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Rhonda completed the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), as well as Master Practitioner and Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) certifications. 

Community involvement is also a core part of Rhonda’s leadership philosophy. She has spent over two decades in volunteer leadership roles and currently serves on the boards of the National Speakers Association – St. Louis Chapter and the American Club Association – Chesterfield.

Rhonda is also #1 International Best-Selling contributing author of "Tenacity: The Deconstructing G.R.I.T. Collection" and “Lead Lift and Leave a Legacy: Shining a Light on the Remarkable Journeys of Women Leaders and Their Mentors”.

Rhonda's mission is simple: transform organizations and empower individuals to lead with confidence, communicate with clarity, and create lasting impact.

Name That Root Cause: What Performance Failures Tell Us About Design Flaws
Rebecca Ellis, Strategic Advisor, Mann Partners, Inc.

Most of what arrives on HR’s desk as a people problem is not one. The manager who won’t collaborate, the team that keeps missing deadlines, the leader everyone calls difficult — more often than not, these are symptoms of how the organization is built rather than who is in it. Coaching, training and performance plans applied to structural problems produce short-lived improvement and long-term frustration, and HR absorbs the blame when the pattern returns. This session gives you a fast diagnostic for separating a behavior problem from a design problem, and the language to raise the design issue with the business leaders who own it. You will run real symptoms through a five-lens diagnostic in small groups, pressure-test each other’s calls, and leave with the one-page tool and the questions to ask in your next leadership meeting.

Learning Objectives:

Rebecca Ellis is a Strategic Advisor at Mann Partners, specializing in operating model and organization design, transformation, and change. She partners with leadership teams to align strategy, structure, capabilities, and ways of working to improve performance and accelerate execution. Prior to joining Mann Partners, Rebecca was a Principal at AlignOrg Solutions, where she led complex organization design and operating model engagements for Fortune 500 companies, private equity portfolio companies, and mission-driven organizations. Earlier in her career, she held internal roles at Allegion, Ameren, Edward Jones, and the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Rebecca holds a PhD in Organization Development and brings a distinctive perspective on how organizational systems, change, and human behavior come together to drive sustainable performance.

Leading Without Walls: Trust, Culture & the Future of Remote Work
Kirk Davis, JD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, SVP HR & Employment General Counsel, Congruity HR PEO

As organizations pull in opposite directions — mandating a return to the office on one side, offering unlimited remote flexibility on the other — HR leaders are often left managing the fallout without a clear framework for the decision. This session reframes that debate: the real question isn't where people work, but whether leaders build the trust, structure, and connection needed for any work arrangement to succeed. Drawing on current workforce research and contrasting case studies of a return-to-office mandate that backfired against a trust-based flexibility program that strengthened retention, participants will examine the specific management challenges distributed teams create and leave with concrete, adoptable tools — including manager practices for building connection at a distance and two ready-to-adapt workplace policies covering flexible work and digital wellbeing.

Learning Objectives:

As Senior Vice President of HR Client Services and Employment General Counsel at Congruity HR, Kirk Davis brings a unique blend of legal expertise and strategic human resources leadership to the HR space. With extensive experience in employment law and HR management, Kirk is responsible for overseeing the delivery of comprehensive HR solutions while providing critical legal oversight on employment-related matters for Congruity’s diverse client base.

Kirk’s leadership ensures that clients navigate the complexities of the modern workplace with confidence. By bridging the gap between HR operations and legal compliance, he helps organizations mitigate risk, implement best practices and foster high-performing cultures.

Prior to joining Congruity HR, Kirk held prominent leadership positions at Vensure Employer Solutions and Tandem HR. His deep background in HR services is complemented by a strong legal academic foundation, having served as an adjunct professor at institutions such as Maryville University and Webster University. This combination of hands-on industry experience and a commitment to professional education makes him a highly sought-after advisor for business owners and HR professionals alike.

Kirk is passionate about empowering employers with the tools and legal insights necessary to build scalable, compliant and engaged workforces. His collaborative approach and dedication to client success are central to Congruity HR’s mission of delivering world-class service and innovative employer solutions.

 
The Right Talent, Right Now: How to Build & Retain an Allstar Team
Jamal Cornelious, CEO, Mission Defined, LLC

Building the right team is essential for business leaders and it is also one of the hardest things to do. In this session, attendees will learn how to identify the important players their team should have, understand the role that each person plays, and learn how individualized development can improve team dynamics to build a high-performance environment.

Learning Objectives: 

 
Jamal Cornelious is the CEO & Executive Coach for Mission Defined, LLC. As the lead facilitator and coach, Jamal helps individuals and teams navigate periods of growth and transition. Jamal's nearly 20-year career includes Executive Coaching, Team Workshop Facilitation and leading Partnership Development and Growth Marketing (GTM) teams to deliver sustainable revenue growth while nurturing an internal talent pipeline. Jamal has also held leadership roles in the nonprofit, Technology, and Financial Services sectors. Jamal is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and holds a B.S. in Marketing and an M.S. in Public Service Management from DePaul University in Chicago.