Virtual LeaderCon 2022 - Speakers

As a sought-after author, speaker, consultant, and trainer, Mary helps clients develop the strategies, skills and sensibilities needed for success in the 21st century. Her expertise lies in helping clients create dynamic and productive workplaces that foster professional and personal excellence and growth.

Mary is a frequent expert contributor for television, radio and print publications where she provides practical leadership and career advice. In addition to her role as a Forbes.com contributor, her work and advice have appeared in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, Money Magazine, Southwest Airlines Magazine, Monster, and the BBC.

In 2010, Mary was named as one of Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business and was a Smart CEO Brava Award recipient in 2017.

Her expertise is in scripting experiences that help boost morale, engagement, and retention for the long term. First, to entertain as a comedy writer in Hollywood on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Malcolm in the Middle, next to educate for companies like DreamWorks Animation and McKinsey, and then to transform as an Organizational Psychologist and Head of Talent Development for successful silicon valley companies like Zendesk, Credit Karma, and Flexport.

These lessons led her to develop a proprietary method she leverages to help chiefs of staff, business, HR, and marketing leaders understand why the change they want isn’t being embraced, and what to do instead.

She earned a Master's Degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Creative Writing for the Media from Northwestern University.

Most of all, Lindsey is fueled by a strong desire to teach and help others succeed. Find out more at gatheringeffect.com.

A pioneer in the innovative application of visual thinking to the field of leadership, Todd was one of eight global finalists for the 2021 Thinkers50 "Distinguished Achievement Award" in Leadership, and is ranked #37 on the Thinkers360 list of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers in the field of Management and #13 in “Design Thinking.

Marlene is a recognized expert on the Linked In / Lynda global learning platform, producing educational videos on Anger Management, and Having Difficult Conversations.

She is the author of three commercially published books: Stop Workplace Drama (Wiley 2011), No-Drama Leadership (Bibliomotion 2015), and Stop Drama in Your Healthcare Practice (Greenbranch 2018).

Her newest book to be released in 2022 is From Conflict to Courage: How to Stop Avoiding and Start Leading.

As a seasoned professional speaker, Marlene’s transformational message of personal responsibility, and alignment is making its way around the globe at leadership academy’s corporate retreats, association conferences, and customized webinars.

Marlene has a degree in communications from Drury University, and a master’s degree in HR Development at Webster University.  She is an advanced practitioner in Narrative coaching.

Alongside her team, she is also testing out ideas internally with Udemates to bring best practices to the companies for which Udemy partners.

Prior to Udemy, she launched Daimler Partners, a boutique advisory and coaching company that worked with founders and leaders to help them design and scale their culture. She leveraged the experience she had as an executive who faced multiple leadership viewpoints throughout her career. Daimler led HR for a fast-growing venture-funded startup. She also created and built Learning & Organizational Development functions for Adobe, Twitter and WeWork.

Daimler is a speaker, panelist, and contributor to Harvard Business Review (HBR) and Forbes. One of the first coaches certified by the International Coach Federation (“ICF”), she graduated from the Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School with a M.S. in Organizational Development.

Dr Julia brings tremendous expertise and decades of applied experience serving leaders at the highest levels of power, including The White House, top leadership at global companies, and Special Forces.

Having worked with leaders who’ve endured some of the highest-stakes, highest-stress situations on the planet, Dr. Julia will show you what it takes to unlock new dimensions of your emotional power as you face defining challenges in your own life.

Chris a top 30 organizational culture Global Guru, an Inc. Magazine Top Leadership Speaker and a featured presenter at South by Southwest. He’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, SmartBrief, People, CNN, Fox31, NBC, and Fast Company.

Chris’ Culture Leadership Charge and Good Comes First video episodes can be found on YouTube.

Mark is also CEO and Founder of YouTern, a career-focused community that helps college students, recent graduates, and young professionals find their first or next internship or job within the right culture for them.

In addition to the best-selling Good Comes First, Mark co-authored A World Gone Social. Followers also find Mark's advice in Entrepreneur, Inc., Forbes, and many other publications. An in-demand speaker, Mark was named one of Inc. Magazines' Top 100 Leadership Speakers.

He has published broadly in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Inc, and academic journals. He is an Innosight Fellow, has been nominated for the Thinkers 50 Innovation Award, and works with leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, Citi, ING, Philips, Solvay and others.

Susannah Harmon Furr is an entrepreneur, designer, art historian, and contrarian. Her clothing line was inspired by the intricate embroidery Dutch women painstakingly rendered on their plain uniforms—details often invisible to all but the wearer—and its significance in their daily lives. She recently started a biointensive garden as part of a larger "hope accelerator" in Normandy. She and Nathan are the parents of four children.

She is the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work With Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict. She has written hundreds of articles for Harvard Business Review, where she is a contributing editor. Her writing has been collected in numerous books including ones on feedback, emotional intelligence, and managing others.

For the past three years, Amy has co-hosted HBR’s popular Women at Work podcast, which examines the struggles and successes of women in the workplace.

Amy has delivered keynotes and workshops at hundreds of companies and conferences. Plus, she is frequently sought out by media outlets for her perspective on workplace dynamics, conflict, and difficult conversations. Her advice has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Marketplace, and The Austin American-Statesman, as well as on WNYC, BBC, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

She has taught at Brown University and Penn and is a graduate of both Brown and Yale University.

Typical client concerns prior to working with Guy are forging a team from a group of individuals, moving a team past the conflict stage of team development, developing other leaders, expanding personal influence within the organization, communicating more effectively, and developing buy-in for new programs and processes.

As a consultant, trainer, and coach, Guy has worked with large and small clients, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals from Boston to Brisbane and from Ottawa to Orlando. His past clients include: Sun Chemical Co., Ivy Tech Community College, The Good Samaritan Society, Redbox, Purdue University, Delta Career Education, The American Farm Bureau Association, Butler University, Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, Panda Express, and many others.

Guy is the co-author of From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership, Sell Naked on the Phone, and The Behavior Bucks System. He has been a contributing author, content developer and editor on other books and training materials including: Presenting With Style; Leadership @ Work, Leadership Brief and To The Point, and Leadership: It’s an Inside Job.

Guy’s blog, The Recovering Engineer Blog, is about learning to get out of your own way and learning to take a close look at your thoughts, feelings, responses and reactions to find better and more effective ways to build and maintain both personal and professional relationships.

He also hosts the Talk Like a Leader Podcast, a weekly podcast exploring the mindset, skillset, and habit set of leadership communication.

When she's not writing in one of her favorite get-away locations conducive to deep thought and creativity, she's supporting orchestration of Pivots, decision-making, and judgment calls for business leaders and their teams around the world. Her favorite role is as Emily’s Mom.

Lori's books are part of the "Orchestrating Extraordinary Momentum” (The Pivot) Series. Lori and her books guide leaders in generating a ripple of positive influence throughout their organizations, to strengthen alignment and catalyze momentum.

"Personal success grows for the leader who can adjust quickly when the facts change. Business success is no different—yet involves many people. It's about small shifts made, as needed, and at any level. It requires every person to know how their role fits the strategy and to feel safe to speak up and take action."

In 2013, he was named Global Dean of the Year and in 2017, he was named the world's number one management thinker by Thinkers50. He has published 12 previous books including When More Is Not Better and Playing to Win (with A. G. Lafley), which won the award for Best Book of 2012-13 by Thinkers50. Martin is a trusted strategy adviser to the CEOs of many global companies. A Canadian from Wallenstein, Ontario, he holds a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

She draws upon practical business know-how, life's experiences and years of consulting to major national and international organizations that have ranged from global pharmaceuticals to the US Armed Forces, from health care associations to religious institutions. Her programs are content rich, interactive, provocative and playful—even downright hilarious.

In 2021, Global Gurus International, a British-based provider of resources for leadership, communication and sales training, also ranked her third as one of the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals following a global survey of 22,000 business professionals.

Her newest book, Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge and Reclaim What Matters has been generating great response and interest.  You can find it on Amazon in paper, digital and audio formats.

His work has appeared in Fortune, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Quartz, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the coauthor of Committed Teams. He received his BA from George Washington University and PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.

He also teaches in the School of Professional Studies at New York University and is an educator at Duke University Corporate Education. His work has been featured on NPR and in Time, Businessweek, U.S. News and World Report, Fortune, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, the Economist, and the Financial Times. He is the coauthor of the bestseller The Art of Woo and Committed Teams. He received his MBA from the Wharton School and his PHD from the University of Chicago.

Reddington developed his innovative Disciplined Listening Method by combining the persuasive, perceptive methods of certified forensic interviewers with current research, theories and expectations from the business world. His new book reveals the shortcomings of traditional listening techniques, illustrates the need for a more strategic approach and outlines the seven core behaviors of disciplined listening. The Disciplined Listening Method also describes the seven phases of potentially contentious conversations so leaders can truly understand what their audience experiences during important interactions.

Reddington founded InQuasive, Inc. to help leaders and their teams improve their results by activating the truth in all of their business interactions. InQuasive, Inc. integrates current business communication research and best practices with non-confrontational interview and interrogation techniques to provide customized training and advisory services in the areas of sales, negotiations, leadership communication, conflict resolution, customer service, candidate interviewing and public speaking.

Reddington leads programs on the application of strategic, ethical persuasion techniques in the areas of leadership communication, sales, negotiation, conflict resolution, customer service, candidate interviews and family conversations. He has led more than 1,500 programs and educated over 15 thousand participants from companies, government agencies and executive groups around the world.

Additionally, Reddington has spoken about the international applications of the Disciplined Listening Method as part of a speaker series at The School of Business Administration at the University of San Diego. He has also spoken at The Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Extension and Cornell. Reddington is often cited as an expert resource in the media, including places like Fast Company, Forbes and Real Leaders.

Reddington received his bachelor's degree in business administration and management from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as additional education on negotiation and leadership from Harvard University. He currently lives in Waxhaw, N.C. 

Working with executives and scholars globally, she received the Web of Science Highly Cited Research Award (2019, 2020 and 2021) for being among the 1 percent most-cited researchers in her field and received the Decade Award (2021) from the Academy of Management Review for the most cited paper in the past 10 years. Her work has been published in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Harvard Business Review, Organization Science, and Management Science.

She has taught at the University of Delaware, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania–Wharton while helping senior leaders and middle managers all over the world address issues of interpersonal dynamics, team performance, organizational change, and innovation.

Wendy lives in Philadelphia with her husband, three children, and the family dog.

She has also provided comprehensive training programs to business leaders across the continent in highly regarded corporations encompassing industries such as technology, finance, manufacturing, advertising, education, healthcare, government, and foodservice. Her engaging, results-based approach has been synthesized here for the first time in a user-focused, self-coaching model that will motivate and inspire readers to apply the power of emotional intelligence to their own leadership and organizations. Carolyn lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Carlos credits growing up as the middle child of 11 for his passionate interest helping groups work better together. He holds an MSOD from American University and an MFA in Theatre from Florida State University.

Carlos honed his expertise in collaboration at the highest organizational levels. For 17 years he was an internal consultant at Mars, Inc., and was directly involved with brands like M&M's, Snickers, Uncle Ben's Rice and Wrigley's Gum. There he won the company's prestigious Global Make the Difference Award for his work on the Mars Framework for High Performance Collaboration.

Before Mars, Carlos was at IBM as an executive coach and consultant to the top 35 global IBM leaders. Through DDI in 1993 Carlos' other clients included AT&T, Pfizer, General Motors and Lockheed Martin.

Besides speaking, writing, podcasting and blogging, Carlos is Managing Principal of Corporate Collaboration Resources, LLC, an organization and group effectiveness consulting firm. His speaker credits include at the North American Organization Development Network, The Conference Board, the Organization Design Forum, the Midwest Technology Leadership Forum, some of which are on his YouTube channel with his Lessons From Mars Vlog or on his website, carlosvdapena.com.