Lauren Leulu

Consultant

Lauren Leulu is the Founder / CEO of Lauren Leulu Consulting LLC. With a decade of experience in the small business government contracting (GovCon) sector, she has honed her skills in branding, graphic design, and proposal graphic development. Her combined portfolio, academic background, and experience uniquely position her to translate the specific needs of GovCon businesses into clear and consistent brands. She has a proven track record of leading company rebrands, website redesigns, and marketing material refreshes, ensuring a cohesive brand identity. Lauren’s proficiency in business development (BD) research allows her to analyze procurement data and translate it into actionable marketing strategies. Her expertise spans pre-RFP preparation to final submission, with a successful history of securing multi-billion dollar GWACs like GSA 8(a) STARS III. Lauren holds a bachelors degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Studies of Law in Government Procurement at The George Washington University School of Law.

Roxie Marquez

Founder, Red Queen Creative

Roxie, also called Roxanne, has been designing anything you can look at for twenty years. Passionate about art, creation, design, science, music, and cats, she has branched through varying levels of design and experience in weddings and special events, floral and interior design, fashion and clothing design, and graphic design for print and for web. Roxie has served on several committees and advisory groups including the SMPS Pacific Regional Conference Marketing and Communications Committee, SMPS Sacramento Board of Directors, and the Proposal Industry Experts Bakers Dozen. She is currently supporting marketing initiatives for BKF Engineers with offices across California and in Portland.

Brittany Dykes

Customer Success Expert

For the past 8 years, I've been diving deep into the fascinating realm of customer success and experience, driven by my love for combining empathy with fresh ideas. I've had the opportunity to experiment and try new CS/CX processes and help design memorable customer journeys, whether it's in the world of SaaS or traditional services. From the get-go, my mission has been to figure out what it truly means to make every interaction a seamless experience for the user – from the initial customer implementation phase to long standing customer relationships.

Arlo West

Founder & Graphic Designer

Arlo West (they/them/theirs), a notable graphic designer, EDI consultant, and director of Trans Pride Manchester, brings a unique perspective to workplace inclusion. Featured in Ellie Middleton's "Unmasked," Arlo openly discussed their choice against an official autism diagnosis due to the stigma around being trans, managing mental health issues, and being autistic. Their journey, marked by coming out as trans in 2020 and a subsequent autism diagnosis, fuels their commitment to inclusive workplaces. Arlo, along with partner Rosie, developed the "Queering the Ad Space" course, educating employers on LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse inclusion. An advocate for dismantling societal barriers, Arlo embodies commitment to workplace equity through their lived experience. They will talk about why embracing your queer/trans identity or neurodivergence helps you within your business. You can’t be what you can’t see. By owning your identity pulls your dream clients towards you and you know that they just get you. And you don’t want to have people who don’t share your same values and ethics, so filtering them out is always good (even if they have money!)

Suzanne Paternak

Federal Proposal Expert

Suzanne is the Director of the Energy Sustainability & Infrastructure proposal team at Guidehouse covering commercial, state and local governments as well as federal agencies. Suzanne has 20+ years of proposal and business development experience working with federal as well as state and local government agencies and commercial clients. In her previous roles, Suzanne has worked for a health care consulting firm, a certified public accounting firm, as well as a health information technology firm. At Guidehouse she manages a global team of proposal managers and proposal coordinators to support high value priority pursuits. Suzanne is also a co-facilitator of several in-house proposal related trainings. Suzanne has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Spanish and Sociology, a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling as well as a Master’s degree in Health Care Management. Suzanne has several certificates such as Certified Scrum Master, AWS Business Professional, AWS Solutions for Partners, IDEO Design Thinking and is also an APMP-CF for proposal management.

Wendy Sears

Federal Proposal Expert

Wendy is the Director of the Defense & Security proposal team at Guidehouse, and has 25 years of experience in all levels of proposal management, editing, coordination, and production. This experience includes Proposal Director and Proposal Manager at large and small businesses and a 9-year stint as a Shipley Associates Proposal Consultant. She has supported Federal and Defense proposals from virtually every government Department, including who knows how many Agencies, across the Defense, the Intelligence Community, and Civil arenas. She regularly teaches proposal process through formal classes, informal team training, and one-on-one mentoring. She manages a team of proposal managers, coordinators, graphic artists, and desktop publishers involved in major priority must-win proposals worth billions of dollars in revenue each year for the Defense & Security practice at Guidehouse. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

Jennifer Oswalt

Federal Proposal Expert

Jennifer is the Director of the Financial Services proposal team at Guidehouse, and has 20 years of experience working in the proposal space. Her team manages proposals for both public sector and commercial clients, as well as client-facing sales efforts. Jennifer spent the first 11 years of her career working on proposals and leading proposal teams in the financial services industry, first at AllianceBernstein, a global asset manager, and later at Aurora Investment Management, a small fund of hedge funds. At AllianceBerstein, she led a global team of proposal writers that responded to all proposals at the firm for institutional, retail, and private clients. At Aurora, Jennifer stood up the proposal function including drafting policies and procedures, defining best practices, implementing a content management system and process, and responding to all proposals. Jennifer is a graduate of New York University, where she received a degree in politics.

Tracy Argandona

Federal Proposal Expert

Tracy Argandona serves as the Executive Director for Guidehouse Proposal Development Center (PDC). She oversees all of Guidehouse’s proposal services for the 17,000-employee company globally. Tracy has 25 years of proposal, marketing and business development experience and has worked on the client service side for large Federal government programs. She has worked for a small woman-owned environmental company, mid-sized and Fortune 500 architecture/engineering/construction firms, and large professional services firms. Over the past 15 years, she has built and led marketing teams across North America aligned with industry best practices (i.e., Shipley and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals). In 2023 she introduced monthly webinars on proposal topics that attracted between 600-1,000 employees for each session. She has a Bachelors degree from Georgetown University.

Dean Shu

CEO, Arphie

Dean Shu is the CEO and co-founder of Arphie AI, a platform that uses both business data and AI to build thoughtful, accurate RFP answers. Arphie’s philosophy centers around product-first AI technology, using AI as a force multiplier — not as a replacement — for human ingenuity. Dean started Arphie after personally experiencing the difficulty of responding to RFPs as the GM of a software business unit at Scale AI, an AI leader in Silicon Valley working with companies like Open AI, Microsoft, and the US Department of Defense. Prior to Scale AI, he worked with B2B software businesses at Insight Partners, and started his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Dean is a graduate of Harvard University.

Jeremy Brim

Winning Work Expert

Jeremy Brim is an award-winning business growth expert and board advisor. Jeremy brings together groups of specialists to work with boards, business owners and leaders to plan and deliver sustainable growth through analysis and interventions across the sales cycle. Jeremy Brim brings 20 years of experience as an account lead. capture and bid management professional across both the public and private sectors. Leading successful work winning functions spanning professional services, outsourcing and construction - Jeremy has secured an enviable collection of high-profile projects, programmes and frameworks with blue chip clients around the globe. “I have learned from the best – working with a range of incredible business leaders of high growth global organisations, their cutting edge bid teams, and their entrepreneurial sales and capture teams to develop winning propositions.” Early on his career Jeremy developed a specialism in UK and European public sector tendering, in both central and local government, which is still called upon today. The robust compliance driven nature of public sector proposals provided a great grounding to expand his experience into the private sector, securing large scale frameworks and programmes with global corporate clients. For more than 15 years he has led business development, capture and tendering training programmes for Directors, Partners, Associates and Graduate schemes. In addition to his large corporate roles he has continued to deliver significant ROI for SME business owners, entrepreneurs and investors as a board member, coach, advisor and Non-Exec.

Travis Dobler

PlannedWin

After marketing internships and studying Advertising, Travis started his career in staffing and recruiting. Growing a new division with some of the largest starts in office history he eventually left the full suit, clean shaven firm for Citrix software sales. He rose through the ranks of inside sales, field sales and channel sales. In 2020 he began training sales people, owning entire onboarding programs and implementing new processes and methodologies. Accounts he has supported span the fortune 500 nationally. Some of his favorite topics are value selling, social selling, prospecting, meddpicc, communication and discovery. He has trained thousands around the world and is now focused on growing PlannedWin, an RFP response platform.

Chris Bassila

Proposal Expert

With over 20 years of experience, Chris combines deep expertise in aerospace and defense with a robust background in international business strategy, regulated procurement markets, and B2B/B2G bids and proposals. His career also spans significant roles in software engineering, technology solutions, R&D, and product management. A self-motivated, resourceful, and results-oriented professional, Chris has a proven track record of delivering substantial outcomes. His success in securing multiple $100M defense contracts underscores his dedication to providing exceptional customer value and driving business growth. ($2.1B worth of business won for clients. Over 200+ proposals ) Chris holds an MBA from HEC Montreal and a Mechanical Engineering degree from McGill University. He is also certified in Public Sector Procurement, holds a Yellow Belt in Six Sigma, and is a certified Project Management Professional. Committed to lifelong learning, Chris has pursued additional training in Competitive Intelligence (Foundations of Market & Competitive Intelligence) and completed Shipley training. As the founder of Hovester Advisory Group, Chris leads a niche consulting agency focused on Bid Desk tranformation. We also advise large corporations on bid responses ensuring they navigate complex markets with strategic precision. Some of our clients include Bombardier, Atkins Realis, Aecon, Pomerleau and STM.

Jill Wood

Freelancing Expert

Jillian S. Wood is a seasoned B2B marketer with over 13 years of experience in B2B writing and more than a decade in content and marcomms for B2B SaaS solutions. As the owner and operator of JSW Content & Brand Strategy, Jillian provides content strategy, SEO, fractional communications leadership, and training and mentoring for B2B SaaS companies. Jillian has a diverse portfolio, having created a wide range of marketing materials including blogs, ebooks, case studies, email nurtures, videos, interactive content, website messaging, and landing pages. Her work focuses on developing creative ways to engage customers and meet business objectives. In addition to her content creation skills, Jillian excels in brand strategy and has held leadership roles such as Director of Content Marketing at Coconut Software and Senior Content Strategist at Loopio. Her experience extends across various companies where she has demonstrated a strong work ethic, creativity, and a commitment to high-quality content. Jillian holds an Honours BA in Communications, English, and Business from Wilfrid Laurier University and a UBC Award of Achievement in Digital Analytics from the University of British Columbia.

Amanda Haven

Proposal Expert

Amanda is the founder and chief executive officer of Illuminate Marketing Collective, a full-service proposal-focused consulting firm. She is also the chief content creator for Illuminate Learning Lab, an educational resource for proposal management professionals offering guides, templates, and more. She is an experienced professional services marketer who is passionate about sharing best practices on leadership, marketing, proposals, and business development. Before launching her firm, she led a national team of talented marketing professionals at a globally recognized consulting and engineering firm. When not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors, advocating for mental health awareness, and volunteering with non-profit organizations to promote youth leadership.

Jen Cerciello

Manager - Proposals

I manage a team of 8. We write proposals for a global company, part of the larger Pearson org. I am fully remote, located in Philly metro.

Uniqueka Walcott

Proposal Expert

Uniqueka Walcott is a distinguished proposal manager and communications strategist with a decade of experience driving $1 billion in government contract wins within the A/E/C industries. Known for her strategic vision and exceptional ability to build trust, Uniqueka has a track record of achieving over 50% win rates by collaborating with senior executives and leaders across small, mid-sized, and large businesses. Currently, Uniqueka oversees the capture-to-win roadmap at AECOM, enhancing win rates and cost competitiveness for bids of $50M+ for platinum and gold-level clients. She also mentors other proposal writers, emphasizing the use of AI in proposal development. Previously, as Marketing Manager at Environmental Science Associates, Uniqueka dissolved silos and enhanced conference execution strategies, expanding the company's portfolio and securing new clients. At Moffatt & Nichol, she managed proposals securing over $20M in awards and initiated the company’s first Marketing Internship Program. Uniqueka's career began in marketing roles at Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson and Brudis & Associates, where she developed innovative marketing strategies, including a virtual reality approach to consumer engagement and lifecycle marketing programs. In addition to her professional achievements, Uniqueka is passionate about mentorship, speaking, and moderating on topics such as AI, personal branding, thought leadership, culture, and the future of work. She has been featured in numerous publications and holds certifications in CPSM, digital marketing, and AI integration.

John Tyreman

Proposal Expert

For the first 7 years of my career, I led the research team at Hinge Marketing where I sold and delivered on research services for accounting, consulting, and AEC firms, including developing and presenting hundreds of proposals. Then, I went on to serve as the marketing director for Silverback Strategies, a digital marketing agency, where I worked with the sales team to sharpen our ideal client profile, develop new service offerings, generate leads, and develop and present proposals. Today, I run my own business offering podcast marketing services to professional services firms. I also co-host a podcast called Breaking BizDev with Mark Wainwright where we explore various BD topics, many of which have to do with proposals.

Eileen Kent

Proposal Expert

Eileen Kent, Federal Sales Guide, has been in the federal contracting world teaching federal sales, propoal writing and GSA Schedule consulting to over 10k people traveling the country between 2003-2012 and led a roofing company team to capture $65M in 18 months during the ARRA years of 2009-2012. Since then she has performed her Custom Three-Step program building over 350 federal sales action plans for individual companies selling to the feds. She looks forward to discussing the key ingredients to the Proposal Win Theme.

Mark Wainwright

Pricing Expert

Mark is the founder and principal of Wainwright Insight, a sales consultancy to professional services firms. Leveraging his 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Mark offers Fractional Sales Management to firms who sell their expertise. He bills himself as "a part-time sales manager to part-time salespeople" like architects, advisors, engineers, analysts, and other consultants who are skilled at their craft but often lack the organization and sales acumen that firms and individuals need to win new work and grow their practice.

Steven Alvarez

Recovering Artist Turned AEC Marketer

I'm Steven Alvarez, a marketing specialist at Stantec working with the North Central Marketing Team (Ohio). My background in the arts (fine art photography and printmaking; non-profit arts administration, sales, and marketing) helps inform my work by marrying concise language with impactful imagery. Since then I've transitioned into a masochist, I mean AEC Marketer! :-D

Julie Lavergne

Generalist Expert

I call myself a Generalist; started as an Engineer, turned HR Executive turned Consultant. I spent 16 years in an organization being the best "sous chef" to the sales team and proposal writers. I now work for myself where I'm the chef, sous chef and bottle washer.

Alexander Cohen

GovPro.ai

Alexander led an acquisitions support contract within DOI for five years, and then wrote proposals for government contractors, helping them win over $150M in awards. Now he’s helping contractors write better proposals using AI.

Frank Lazaro

Proposal Expert

An author, inventor, and speaker that focuses on technology and innovation. In addition to his professional achievements, Frank is a published author of ""AEC Marketer's Guide to Artificial Intelligence"" and ""Let Me Be Frank with You,” reflecting his eagerness to share knowledge and his influence. His books exemplify his understanding and passion for blending creativity with advanced technology. Frank's unrivaled passion for technology, innovation, and growth-centric solutions makes him an invaluable contributor, continually inspiring and guiding industry professionals with his insights and strategic foresight. Frank's inventive flair is evident in his US patent portfolio for business processes and product designs, marking him as a distinguished innovator and results-oriented executive. When it comes to AI, Frank has keynoted several conferences, +60 workshops and webinars and numerous panels and have taught 1,000’s professionals on the actual power of using Generative AI in their everyday workflows, including proposals and marketing content.

Beth Fiset

Global Proposal Manager

Beth Fiset got her big break in proposals five years ago at a national accounting firm. She began connecting with other proposal professionals and learning as much as she could from her peers. After working in the accounting industry for approximately four years, she realized it was time for something new. In 2023, after a six month job search, she landed a proposal manager role at a tech startup. Outside of her career, she is a mom of two and lives in Southwest Missouri. Connect with her on LinkedIn if you're interested in discussing proposal management, remote work, or parenting. // Stephen Lu: I used to be a shy introvert. I lacked the confidence to speak up, ask questions, or even network with others. But since creating LinkedIn content in 2017, my self-confidence has soared, allowing me to get the career opportunities I want! Now, I want to help as many people as possible get out of their comfort zone, overcome their shyness, and build confidence, so that they will have opportunities come to them!

Stephen Lu

Product Manager / Tech Expert

I used to be a shy introvert who hated socializing and networking. I was an engineer and preferred working alone. But in 2016, after being rejected from a leadership program, I joined the Professional Asian American Network. I started to find my voice and gain confidence in public speaking. Then in 2018, I started a #52WeekChallenge to post videos every single week on LinkedIn. These weekly videos have significantly improved my confidence, my delivery, and my public speaking. I worked to fix my weaknesses and continuously improved week after week. In 2021, I started another #52WeekChallenge to host a LinkedIn Live every week! Let me know if you're interested in being a guest! I am also a Program Manager at Applied Materials, working in the Dielectric Disposition Products business unit. I am leading several New Product Introductions and working cross-functionally with systems, hardware, and process engineers to demonstrate new capabilities for our customers. Previously, I was in the Obsolescence Management Office, where I led strategic initiatives across the entire company to make our products resilient to obsolescence challenges. I earned my PMP certification in July 2022. I am also a career coach and public speaker. I say YES to every opportunity I get to share my story and motivate others to be successful in their career!

Shanel Evans

Marketing Expert

Shanel Evans is the founder of Socially Savvy and co-founder of FyreSavvy. From managing $3B Project Launches to launching her own successful company via social media, she shows organizations how to show up in front of their dream clients. Through her 100K V.I.B.E. Methodology, she helps her clients captivate their online audience with strategic creative development. Shanel is a SWaM certified business in the Commonwealth of Virginia and works with clients using proven social selling, online marketing and client attraction strategies. She helps organizations increase profits with implementation and collaboration ideas. Community is a driving force for Shanel. Shanel is the Team Administrator for an award winning youth track & field non-profit co-founded with her husband, Monte. She is also a Board Member for the Donna M Saunders Foundation for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Joann Braxton

Govcon Expert

A seasoned veteran in federal contracting and small business advocacy, this dynamic professional has 37 years of federal government experience, notably with the US Small Business Administration. Their expertise spans small business certifications, federal contracting training, strategic planning, and business development. Managed several million-dollar contracts to include the Emerging Leaders Program, established the All-Small Mentor-Protégé Program, and managed 8(a) portfolios, substantially boosting the success of small businesses nationwide. Now, as the CEO of The Braxton Group LLC, they continue to champion the cause of small businesses, offering specialized consulting services to help business owners navigate the complexities of federal contracting, empowering owners to utilize certifications, mentor-protégé arrangements, and joint ventures to win contracts. Contact Information LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joann-braxton/ Website - https://www.jbraxtongroup.com/ Email - [email protected] YouTube - CertifyMe8a

Rachel Charlton

Founder

🎯 Rachel Charlton, founder of Sticky Communications, brings 11 years of cross-functional experience in the AEC industry from developing strategic marketing processes for team efficiency, training, storyboarding, and creating content (visual and copy), to managing teams and workload, and leading multiple marketing plans. 🪄 Her superpower is helping her clients unlock the power of storytelling in their BD/Capture process(es) to bridge the gap between technical jargon and human connection to increase their win rates. 🦄 Rachel is a marketing unicorn with both a creative and strategic eye (yes, the actually do exist). 📚 She is a big believer in only using the power of story for good—for herself and for her clients’ business. Rachel is passionate about showing her clients how to unlock the power of storytelling; it gives life to facts and data, and makes the final product memorable, compelling, personal, relatable, and distinctive. ✨ Rachel loves fueling her creativity with crafting 🧶, baking challenges 🧁, and DIY home decor + reno projects 🛠️ for their 1945 Portland 🏡. During the epic PNW summers, she and her husband enjoy ⛵️, paddle boarding 🏄🏼‍♀️, and finding places to grab a craft beer 🍻 with their feisty miniature schnauzers, Bentley, Dash, and Magnus.

Robin Davis

Healthcare Proposal Expert

Robin's first proposal job was building the entire proposal function for her company from scratch. This was a blessing and a curse. While she had the freedom to build it right from the start, she had mountains to climb when it came to gaining support for her mission from senior leadership. Despite that she started at the company as administrative assistance, she was successful at gaining the influence she needed at the highest levels of the company to build a highly-respected proposal team of ten. When she left that company and started Metre, a sales and proposal development focused exclusively on in the healthcare industry, she got calls from those leaders as they moved on to other companies to help them build their proposal teams. Metre has helped hundreds of healthcare companies secure more than $20 billion in revenue since 2009. Robin is an APMP Fellow, a highly-rated speaker, and was built for having a ball.

Pooja Arshanapally

Proposal Expert

Pooja Arshanapally is the owner of The Content Repurposer where she helps authors, thought leaders, content creators position themselves as an expertise by repurposing their previous content into different mediums.

Mehak Saeed

Proposal Expert

I'm currently manager of team of technical writers who own the RFx part in the company. Me and my team submit upto 2 proposals per week and on peak season, this number goes upto 4 proposals per week. I have mostly worked on the proposals submitted for SaaS based applications belonging to the IT world. The proposals we respond to are mostly about functional and non functional requirements of the software product or security questionnaires that the organizations are supposed to get filled on an annual basis. Moreover, this primarily includes private organizations from all over the world including NA, APAC, EU, and Middle East. I work very closely with sales to get these proposals completed from our end and submitted to the customer. In order to achieve this, getting the product knowledge has helped me and my team stand out and rely less on the SMEs.

Dr. Nelva Lee

Inclusion Expert

Dr. Nelva Lee is the Founder and CEO of MiTio Inc. a Medical and Court Interpreting and Translating Training Institute. MiTio Inc. trains and employs Interpreters and Translators directly to healthcare/legal organizations in need of its services. Dr. Lee was a Subject Matter Expert in the creation of the CMI exam for the NBCMI and was respectively its first Chair.

Eline Millenaar de Guzman

Marketing expert

Eline Millenaar de Guzman is a marketer and multimedia storyteller with a passion for non-profits, social enterprises, and projects that tackles opportunity gaps. As a product marketer at EdTech company GoGuardian, she is known for being a “strategic Swiss Army knife” who translates big ideas into actionable steps, and (thanks to her Dutch roots) doesn’t beat around the bush. She lives in Irvine, California with her husband and two young kids.

Crain Cutler

Artist

Crain is a working artist, Master Barber, Master Cosmetologist, art historian, and owner of Trust Studio, Co., a hair salon, design firm, and working art studio. Crain is dedicated to elevating historically marginalized communities in everything they do and enjoys working with small businesses to ensure that the work they do is accessible, inclusive, and exciting.

Jennifer Judelsohn

Creativity Expert

Jennifer Judelsohn, LCSW, MSW, JD, is a psychotherapist, an artist, an educator, and a long-time proposal spouse. She has made presentations at conferences across the United States as well as internationally, including at APMP-NCA, other professional associations, and educational meetings. She has developed and presented creative, interactive artist-in-residence programs for cancer center patients and caregivers, elementary and middle school students and summer campers, and at a week-long institute for participants of all ages. She has worked with numerous nonprofit organizations (including sitting on the boards) and has taught students from ages 3 to 90+. She often incorporates creative modalities into her work with clients, students, workshop participants, and conference attendees.

Nora Foux

Proposal Expert

Nora Foux is a highly experienced Senior RFP Strategist with a proven track record in proposal management, project management, and creative problem-solving. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nora brings over a decade of expertise to the field, making significant contributions to companies like Sodexo, Microsoft, and AssetWorks LLC. Currently serving as a Senior RFP Strategist at Sodexo, Nora leverages her extensive knowledge in writing and submitting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Tenders, preparing sales presentations, and maintaining content libraries. She is adept at translating complex technical jargon into clear, compelling narratives that win business.

Kimberly Spencer-Baltzley

Proposal Expert

Kimberly Spencer is an accomplished Senior Strategic Proposal Manager with over a decade of experience in both the private and public sectors. Based in Sacramento, California, Kimberly specializes in healthcare, education, and civil infrastructure proposals. She is APMP certified and holds a Capture Management Foundation Certification, demonstrating her expertise in leading complex, multi-language, and multi-entity proposal responses. Currently working as a Strategic Proposal Consultant, Kimberly collaborates with public, private, and non-profit entities to create compliant and competitive RFP responses and secure grant funding. Her clients include notable organizations such as the IRS, CA Franchise Tax Board, Health & Human Services, and VSP Vision Care. She excels in long-term strategic planning, proposal response strategy development, and building proposal processes and content libraries.

Katy Caldwell

Keynote Speaker

Tenacious professional with over a decade of experience driving place-based and national social change. Recognized as a natural leader, fierce advocate, and razor-sharp negotiator with a demonstrated commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice. A restorative, trauma-informed communicator and public speaker with bold ideas and quick laughter.

Bruce Smith

Inclusion Educator

Dr. Bruce Smith is a seasoned diversity, equity, and inclusion educator and consultant. Bruce currently works at a public agency where he is developing the agency's very first DEIA strategy. Before joining this public agency, Bruce worked at a global AEC firm and in the non-profit sector to more equitably engage communities and develop workplace cultures that reflect actions that value belonging and inclusion. Prior to focusing on consulting with non-profits and in the corporate space, Bruce worked in K-12 and higher education for more than two decades as a teacher, professor, administrator, and coach. Bruce has worked with students, staff, faculty, and parents to develop strategies for success in the classroom and on the field of play. As a higher education administrator, Bruce focused his work on student life, athletics, and equity and justice. He did this work at both small private liberal arts colleges and flagship state institutions, in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Oregon. Bruce specialized in managing comprehensive student support; mentoring and supervising staff; creating connections between curriculum and co-curriculum; and developing equity and justice institutional strategies. As a professor and teacher, Bruce's work focuses on African American life and culture; the sociology of education; sport studies; and American studies. Having taught college courses at University of California, Berkeley; University of Arizona; and Colorado State University, Bruce possesses expertise in developing engaging, student-centered, identity conscious pedagogy.

Dr. Gina Guillaume-Joseph

Technology Leader

Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Author with a demonstrated history of working across multiple industries. Professor of Systems Engineering advising doctoral candidates within the higher education industry. Strong technical professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University.

Liz Kepner

Proposal Expert

A PMP and APMP-certified proposal professional with over 20 years of professional writing/editing and proposal/project management experience. Skilled in managing technical and proposal document development for U.S. Government contractors. Award-winning leader of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with an emphasis on servant leadership. 2021 APMP 40 Under 40 winner.