Addressing Unconscious Bias Speakers

KEYNOTE: TREVOR S. MITCHELL MBA, FASAE, CAE, CDP, CEO & Executive Director, American Mensa

Trevor is a charismatic and motivated certified association executive who has a proven ability to quickly analyze key business drivers and develop strategies for implementation. An energetic leader with high integrity, delivering a solid track record for leading successful high-performing teams to achieve desired outcomes such as increased member value and revenue/income generation through innovations. As the Executive Director/CEO, of American Mensa, Ltd. and the Mensa Foundation, Trevor works with both boards in developing strategies which support the mission of American Mensa and the Foundation, developing and implementing the strategic goals and objectives, and enabling the boards to fulfill its governance function effectively. Throughout his career, Trevor has been active in the association management profession and in industry events. Trevor is currently the Chair of the ASAE D&I Advisory Committee and the Chair-Elect of the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE).

JUDITH HARRISON, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Weber Shandwick

Judith Harrison leads global diversity, equity and inclusion at Weber Shandwick. She drives programs designed to build a diverse workforce operating in a culture of inclusion and belonging to create impactful, innovative communications solutions for clients.
Judith’s background includes human resources experience and communications positions and programs at Burson-Marsteller, Ernst & Young, CBS, Media General, Random House, and the Italian Trade Commission.
Since joining Weber Shandwick in 2006, Judith has guided the firm to recognition as a champion of diversity and inclusion, with honors including an unparalleled four PRWeek/PR Council Diversity Distinction in PR Awards and numerous others.
Her open forums for employees in North America and beyond, Time to Connect, bring people together for transparent conversations about sensitive cultural issues, including racism, anti-Semitism and violence. Its value as a roadmap for the evolving nature of the employer/employee relationship was recognized by Harvard Business Review.
Judith is past president of the PRSA Foundation and two-term president of New York Women in Communications. She is the only individual to hold both positions simultaneously.
While leading the PRSA Foundation, Judith conceived and drove creation of Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership, a groundbreaking book of interviews with 40+ BIPOC and LGBTQ corporate, agency and academic PR leaders, designed to provide inspiration to aspiring professionals and guidance to employers on ways to better maintain inclusive environments in which people from all backgrounds can thrive.
Judith has been honored with the 2011 New York Women’s Agenda STAR Award, the 2019 ColorComm Circle Award, the 2019 PR Council/PRWeek Diversity Champion Award and the 2021 New York Women in Communications Matrix Award and was named as one of PRWeek’s Women of Distinction in 2022, as well as one of Savoy’s Top Influential Women in Corporate America in 2012, 2014 and 2019.

MAURA REGAN, President, Licensing International

Maura Regan joined Licensing International in December 2016 and assumed the role of President in July 2018, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in the global brand licensing and media industries. Licensing International is the premier association for the global brand licensing industry, and Maura is responsible for leading the organization in fostering the expansion of licensing around the world and creating greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community at large.

As the former Head of Global Consumer Products at Sesame Workshop, the home of Sesame Street, Maura drove the non-profit organization’s strategic commercial initiatives with a focus on delivering significant unrestricted revenue to support its overarching philanthropic goals. Prior to Sesame Workshop, where she enjoyed an exhilarating 17-year tenure, Maura held executive positions with MTV Networks, Scholastic Entertainment, and The Jim Henson Company.

VANESSA SANDOVAL, Senior Director of Human Resources, Hearst Magazines

Leveraging her degrees in sociolinguistics and education, Vanessa incorporates her passion for equity and inclusion with her ever present curiosity for understanding and advising the complex nature of businesses and their teams. By gaining an understanding of the values and diverse viewpoints of teams (and their people), Vanessa has been able to help explain and provide insight into the behaviors and attitudes that present themselves in the workplace. Although she has worked in both the private and non-profit sectors across multiple industries, what she finds remains consistent is the need for leaders to be equipped with the tools to help unlock their own genius while also sponsoring the continued success of their evolving team composition and expectations. With over 15 years of teaching and coaching leaders through conflict resolution, advising on improving peer to peer dynamics, and general executive and leadership development, Vanessa brings a different perspective to the world of HR. She has led HR teams that work to support and advance organizations’ strategic intent, positively promote their employer brand, and ultimately help create a great place to work.

Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Business from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She sits on Tannenbaum’s Workplace Advisory Council, a non-profit promoting Interreligious understanding, she has been an Executive Coach and member of Chief, an Executive Women’s Leadership group, and has also been a mentor for ADColor, an organization celebrating and advocating diversity in the creative and technology industries as well as NFTE: the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, an international nonprofit organization providing entrepreneurship training and educational programs across the US. She lives in Brooklyn and in her spare time, runs marathons and cycles to stay active. She will never say no to a glass of vino.

As Senior Director of Human Resources at Hearst Magazines, Vanessa oversees Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives, provides talent management, organizational design and core HR knowledge to senior leaders as a strategic business and talent partner.