Speakers

Kate is the executive vice president of human resources and labor relations at United Airlines, where she is responsible for the transformation of the company’s culture by leading a global team of over 800 professionals. Kate oversees talent acquisition, development, retention, fostering high-performing teams that prioritize customer satisfaction in all of United’s operations and collaboration with labor partners, with a focus on enhancing the employee experience.

Previously, Kate served as United’s senior vice president of customer service delivery and chief customer officer, where she played a pivotal role in unifying the customer journey from booking to arrival. Joining the airline in 1998, Kate has a history of leadership in various capacities, including serving as vice president for the office of the CEO, where she worked alongside former CEO Oscar Munoz to align and advance strategic initiatives across the company. Kate has also held roles leading the corporate real estate organization and in procurement.

In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Kate serves as a board member for State Farm Insurance, is an advisory board member of P33 Chicago and serves as a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow. Her academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul University in Chicago and a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

Pat Wadors grew up as the youngest of 8 siblings. Diagnosed with dyslexia while in college but has leaned on her neurodiversity as a strength. She is a mother to 3 millennials, grandmother x2, and wife of 30 years. Introvert by nature, Pat is an advocate for results over talk and works feverishly to embrace the quieter voices. A driver for writing this book is her personal purpose, “I need to leave the world better than I found it, to be kind, to give more than I get, to make a difference.”

Known for transformational and strategic HR leadership, Pat believes that organizations thrive when they have a blend of people with differing backgrounds and ways of thinking, and who feel they belong as a contributor to the company’s success. As a LinkedIn Learning instructor, Pat is known for her course on “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging” which was recognized in 2021 as a top 10 Global course on LinkedIn.

Pat recently joined Intuitive as their chief human resource officer in October 2024. She has held various HR leadership and chief human resource officer positions in the technology sector, including roles at UKG, Procore Technologies, ServiceNow, LinkedIn; Plantronics, Inc.; and Yahoo! She has served on the boards of several prominent technology companies, such as Accolade, Inc., UKG, Second Harvest Food Bank, and El Camino Hospital. Currently, she holds a board position at Moloco.

A multiple-time recipient of the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology award, Pat is renowned for her transformative and strategic HR leadership. She is a sought-after speaker on diversity and inclusion topics. Pat earned a BS in business management and human resource management from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Stephanie Fehr is chief people officer for UnitedHealthcare and leads the people strategy for the company’s 90,000 domestic and global employees. She has also led employee relations and the employee call center and portal for all of UnitedHealth Group. Stephanie oversees a team of practitioners focused on culture, employee experience, talent management, career development and organizational design. She champions growth through experiences and leads the organization on adapting to new and more flexible ways of working.

Before joining UnitedHealthcare in 2017, Stephanie spent 17 years with Apple Inc., in human resources and talent leadership roles in the company’s engineering, operations, leadership development and retail divisions. She led the design, development and implementation of Apple’s leadership training program (AMP). As a key member of Apple’s retail executive team, Stephanie was instrumental in leading the development of the Apple retail stores’ talent strategy.

Stephanie is passionate about leadership and helping people develop fulfilling careers, supporting women and creating diversity in leadership, and cultivating the next generation of leaders.

Stephanie earned her master’s in human resource development from the University of St. Thomas and received a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College.

Her board commitments include serving as the co-chair of the St. Olaf College board of regents, she is also an executive council member for the Minnesota Historical Society, and serves on the Emmanuel Lutheran Church Council, in Naples, FL.

Bindu Garapaty is a passionate advocate for the human spirit, dedicating her career to helping people discover the intersection of happiness, human behavior and leadership. With a doctorate in clinical psychology and an entrepreneurial spirit, she brings the richness of those experiences into her role Chief People Officer at BetterHelp.

With over 25 years in leadership development, diversity and inclusion, education and women’s health, her career has spanned the healthcare, academic, biotech, tech, food tech and mental health industries, giving her a unique ability to connect patterns across disciplines and offer meaningful insights into culture and leadership.

Dr. Garapaty finds joy in building meaningful connections, giving back to her community and creating new experiences. She credits much of her inspiration to her two children, both student-athletes – one in Division I college athletics and one in high school.

Heather is a futuristic and innovative leader, who is recognized for her passion to “lead with people” resulting in organizational results to provide best service levels to customers. Heather has served as a strategic leader working side by side with Presidents & CEO’s in the Financial Services and BPO industries for over 20+ years serving Human Capital Management.

Heather is currently serving at the United States Senate Federal Credit Union leading People & Culture, Training/Learning & Development, DEI, Talent Recruitment & Retention, and Total Rewards. During her tenure, the Credit Union won USA Jobs & Washington Post’s Best Workplaces Awards in 2024 & 2025, special recognition awards for Inclusion/Belonging, Monster’s Remote Work Award, and 8+ Culture Badges with Energage. Heather was featured in a podcast with Chris Hoyt, CareerXroads for Transforming Cultures and was in an IHeart Radio Podcast with Jen Richer related to rising in challenges during COVID-19.

In her former roles, Heather travelled nationally and internationally with several HR teams around the globe serving over 7,000+ employees in the Contact Center world. Heather has her MBA in HR Management with 4.0 GPA from Capella University and was awarded Summa Cum Laude and Presidential Award . In 2025, Heather earned the CUES Certified Chief Executive (CCE) with three certificates from Wharton’s School of Business, Darden’s School of Business and Cornell University.

Heather is powerhouse in the Executive arena to support leadership in the areas of: Culture, engagement, inclusion/belonging, talent recruitment, negotiations, employee relations, retention, teambuilding, Executive leadership training, and human capital strategy. She is a humble and servant leader that cares about employees and giving back to the local communities served. Heather is a humble and servant leader and serves as a mentor for young professional leaders and has served as a educational training supporting high school, college, and alumni students in their professional development.

Ken Moses has been leading Cascade’s HR function since 2017.  A forward-thinking and performance-driven global strategi an hands-on Human Resources Executive. Proven trusted advisor, team builder, and results oriented leader. Driven to align the function to the business and achieve results and exceed expectations to ensure Cascade’s long-term and sustained success. Prior to Cascade, Ken was the CHRO for Penhall Co and prior to that, he spent 10 years as Sr Dir, Global HR for Quest Software which was acquired by Dell, for which he led the People integration efforts. Ken earned a Master’s of Science in Organizational Psychology from Cal State University at Long Beach.

Angela is the Chief Human Resources Officer for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the preeminent source for nonprofit professionals committed to the advancement of the common good. She previously served as the Senior Vice President, Talent & CHRO for Harvard Business Publishing, home of the Harvard Business Review.

Angela brings 30 years of both generalist and specialist Human Resources experience, having worked across consumer product goods, professional services, and high-tech as well as nonprofits. In addition to having served on the Alumni Board of Directors for Cornell University, she is a member of CNBC’s Workforce Executive Council, a body of CHROs dedicated to advancing the practice of HR; is a Strategic Board Advisor for several early-stage startups supporting the future of work; and serves as an advocate for the AAPI community for several nonprofits. Frequently found on the HR speaking circuit, her thought leadership has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.

Isabelle Leclerc has over 25 years of experience in strategic leadership in the fields of human resources, governance, communication, and ESG. She is EVP, Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer at RCL – Reitmans Canada Limited since August 2024. RCL’s Vision is to empower Canadians to live confidently with the Mission to create collections of uncompromising style and quality for all. With close to 400 stores from coast to coast to coast, we offer an unparalleled customer experience and on-trend designs imagined right here at home. Isabelle is also the Chair of the human resources and governance committee at the Old Brewery Mission. Her executive experience spans various sectors and business models, including senior HR roles in the telecom, manufacturing and the agriculture industries, where she led transformation and collaboration initiatives aiming at improving organizational culture, performance, profitability, and sustainability. Isabelle is a Certified Corporate Director, holds an an MBA, the titles of CHRP as well as the ISB-II certification specialized in ESG.

Kristi Nickele leads Talent Acquisition and Executive Talent Management at Northwestern Mutual, where she focuses on building strong, future-ready teams and leaders across the organization. Her work sits at the intersection of business strategy and people—helping leaders figure out not just who they need, but how to find, grow, and keep them. She partners closely with senior executives to translate big-picture goals into practical hiring and development plans. Whether it’s building pipelines for critical roles or improving how the organization hires and evaluates talent, she’s known for pushing for higher standards and better outcomes—faster, smarter, and with a clearer eye on what actually drives performance.

A big part of her role is focused on leadership talent. She leads executive hiring, supports succession planning, and works with leaders to assess both internal and external candidates. She brings a strong point of view on the market, what great leadership looks like today, and how to build a bench that’s ready for what’s next—not just what’s worked in the past. She also spends a lot of time working across HR and the business to simplify and strengthen how talent decisions get made—cutting through complexity and building approaches that scale as the organization grows.

Originally from Chicago, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Classics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Marquette University. She now lives in Naples, Florida.

Melissa Ninegar is Senior Director of People & Culture at Once Upon a Farm, PBC, a mission-driven natural food company that completed its IPO in February 2026 at a $724M valuation. Over 15 years in San Diego, she has built People functions from scratch inside scaling brands across live entertainment, outdoor consumer goods, craft beverage, and natural CPG, with roles at Live Nation and House of Blues, OtterBox and LifeProof, Modern Times Beer, and JuneShine Brands before landing at Once Upon a Farm. Across every one, the work has been the same: build the infrastructure, scale the culture, and make it hold. At Once Upon a Farm, she tripled headcount in a fully remote environment while sustaining a 92.2% retention rate and driving employee engagement more than 22 points above the CPG industry benchmark. A working mother and active LinkedIn voice on workplace equity, people leadership, and leadership integrity, her focus is on what it takes to build culture that outlasts growth inside purpose-led brands.