Is Authenticity in the Workplace Always a Good Thing?

As CEO and Founder of QVF Partners, Rita partners with organizations and individuals who want to transform ordinary work environments into high-performing, profitable cultures. She shares her expertise and resources to help create workplaces where enlightened leaders can leverage the strengths and diversity of their people as a competitive advantage. During her 25 year career at Southwest Airlines, Rita served in several roles including customer service, sales, marketing, public relations, and HR. In her last position she was director of the Southwest Airlines University for People. She was responsible for the design, development, and implementation of leadership and personal development programs for over 32,000 employees. She also established a career development services team, responsible for helping employees develop a career path. Rita has served on several advisory committees and boards and was a member of the ASTD Board of Directors, serving as chairwoman of the ASTD Board in 2005. She is often quoted in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Corporate Meetings and Incentives, and The Wall Street Journal on topics of recruiting and training practices. Rita is the co-author of the new book, Destination Profit: Creating People-Profit Opportunities in Your Organization. As an international speaker and consultant, she has presented to and worked with groups in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Japan on topics including organizational culture, people strategies, leadership, innovation, customer service, and branding. When asked what business she is in, the answer is simply "the people business."

Elaine Biech, president of ebb associates inc, a strategic implementation, leadership development, and experiential learning consulting firm, has been in the field for 30 years helping organizations work through large-scale change. She has presented at dozens of national and international conferences and has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Management Update, Investors Business Daily, and Fortune Magazine. She is the author and editor of over 50 books, including the ASTD Handbook for Workplace Learning Professionals, ASTD Leadership Handbook, 10 Steps to Successful Training, The Ultimate Trainer, Thriving Through Change, The Business of Consulting, 2nd ed., and Training for Dummies. A long time volunteer for ASTD, she has served on ASTD's National Board of Directors, was the recipient of the 1992 ASTD Torch Award, the 2004 ASTD Volunteer Staff Partnership Award, and the 2006 Gordon Bliss Memorial Award. Elaine was instrumental in compiling the CPLP study guides and has designed five ASTD Certificate Programs. In addition to her work with ATD, she has served on the Independent Consultants Association's (ICA) Advisory Committee and on the Instructional Systems Association (ISA) board of directors.

Tonya Wilson is the president and founder of AFC Consulting Group. She is a business leader, entrepreneur, consultant, author, organizational psychologist, and coach with expertise in organizational effectiveness and development, change management, and DE&I. She connects people to strategy. She has worked in manufacturing, aerospace, telecom, government markets, fintech, and healthcare. She has been in leadership at McKesson, Change Healthcare, Meggitt, and AT&T. She is a DEI SME/facilitator, Consultant, DEI thought leader, OD SME, and Change Management facilitator for ATD.

Tonya has worked with leaders to drive alignment between business and people strategies, led supplier diversity re-vamp initiatives, and been in leadership and oversight for BRGs. In addition to being published on sustaining DEI, she is also a co-host for the ATD DEI Discussion Series. Tonya coaches leaders on DEI strategy, change management, Communications IQ™, strategic action planning, leadership development, team/leader integration, organizational design, and organizational health. Her mission statement is "setting you up to win."