SPEAKERS

Danielle is Senior Vice President at AFSA and has been with the association since 2003. She oversees all aspects of AFSA’s extensive state government affairs activities and is counsel to the association. She works with her federal counterpart on various law committee efforts, and serves as the lead liaison to AFSA’s Women’s Leadership Council and Women’s Forum.

Before joining AFSA, Danielle led government affairs for a large U.S. credit card company where she oversaw their state and federal lobbying efforts, their political action committee, and their new law compliance program. Prior to that, she worked for DC law firms Venable and O’Connor & Hannan, advising major U.S. financial institutions on privacy, credit reporting, political law, and many other issues.

She earned her J.D. cum laude from American University in DC, where she worked all three year as Dean’s Fellow for Professor Jamie Raskin. She earned a BA in Politics & Government from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

She lives near Minneapolis with her husband, two daughters, and their dog, Gary. In her free time she co-hosts a pop-culture podcast.

Dee Baker Amos is a speaker, consultant, and executive coach who helps organizations and people soar.  As an executive with a 20+ year career in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, and Community Engagement, Dee brings a unique perspective gained from working with six CEOs in industries and brands that touch millions of people.  She inspires and engages audiences with thought-provoking messages and quotes known as Deeisms™️.  She is passionate about connecting with people using her authentic approach that makes you think, laugh, and take notes.  Sharing her lived wisdom, Dee will empower you to think differently as a leader, contributor, and human.

Cliff Banks brings 30 years of experience working in the automotive retail industry with the last 20 spent covering it as a journalist and analyst.

He is the founder of The Banks Report, a newsletter focused on investment and trends in the automotive retail space. He also is the founder of AUTOVATE, an annual summit bringing automotive technology investors and executives together to highlight investment opportunities and future trends in vehicle transportation. 

As an editor of two automotive-related media companies — WardsAuto’s auto retail publications and the Digital Dealer magazine and conferences, he built a vast network of relationships including investors, CEOs, and dealership employees. His analysis and insights identify trends before they become trends and helps him often predict acquisitions and deals before they happen. As one CEO once said, “Cliff writes about the news before it becomes news.”

Cliff is available for media commentary and insight for print, radio, and TV; he has been a keynote speaker and panel moderator at numerous industry conferences and provides consulting services to investors and analysts who interested in learning more about the automotive retail business.

Linda is a business executive with strong experience in all areas of human resources management. Especially skilled at building productive and engaging work environments,
developing high impact teams and designing organizations for growth. She is passionate about creating and transforming into action HR strategies aligned with business needs; leveraging strengths and anticipating the future, to better position organizations to reach their aspirations.

Linda has a multi-industry and global view and experience having worked in the Technology, Healthcare, Retail and Financial Services industries, for organizations like Uber Technologies, GE and Roche, prior to joining Capital One. She has held multiple responsibilities in and out of HR
including Software Development Program Management, Leadership Development, Total Rewards, Human Resources Consulting, Recruiting and Talent management, in multi-country and global roles.

Linda is very passionate about technology. As part of her learning journey, she recently completed an executive program on Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy from MIT. Linda holds a BA in Business administration from Tec de Monterrey and an Executive
MBA from IPADE Business School. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Linda deeply enjoys music, she plays several musical instruments, Piano being her favorite. She is committed to driving diversity and inclusion through each of her roles in life and really loves thinking and discussing about the future, with an eye on how we might lead the charge towards elevating our collective experiences and building a better, more sustainable future for all.

Linda is a business executive with strong experience in all areas of human resources
management. Especially skilled at building productive and engaging work environments,
developing high impact teams and designing organizations for growth. She is passionate about
creating and transforming into action HR strategies aligned with business needs; leveraging
strengths and anticipating the future, to better position organizations to reach their aspirations.
Linda has a multi-industry and global view and experience having worked in the Technology,
Healthcare, Retail and Financial Services industries, for organizations like Uber Technologies, GE
and Roche, prior to joining Capital One. She has held multiple responsibilities in and out of HR
including Software Development Program Management, Leadership Development, Total
Rewards, Human Resources Consulting, Recruiting and Talent management, in multi-country
and global roles.
Linda is very passionate about technology. As part of her learning journey, she recently
completed an executive program on Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy
from MIT. Linda holds a BA in Business administration from Tec de Monterrey and an Executive
MBA from IPADE Business School. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Linda deeply enjoys music, she plays several musical instruments, Piano being her favorite. She
is committed to driving diversity and inclusion through each of her roles in life and really loves
thinking and discussing about the future, with an eye on how we might lead the charge towards
elevating our collective experiences and building a better, more sustainable future for all.

Inna Bodeck is a Vice President- Senior Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group, based in New York, she is responsible for the ratings of the companies in the automotive captive sector as well as companies engaged in commercial aircraft leasing.

Prior to this role, Inna was an Assistant Vice President in the High Yield Corporate Finance Group. She was responsible for the coverage of high yield automotive suppliers and aftermarket players as well as manufacturing companies. In earlier roles with Moody’s, she has also covered North American investment grade and high yield consumer packaged goods companies. Prior to Moody’s, Inna worked at J.P. Morgan and UBS Investment Bank in various investment banking roles where she structured and executed debt financing transactions for corporate companies as well as alternative asset managers.

She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Emory University and a Bachelor in Finance from the Southern Illinois University.

Amber Clayton oversees the Society for Human Resource Management’s Knowledge Center, which fielded over 66,000 questions from members over the course of 2020.  She has participated in over 100 media interviews in the past year related to COVID and other trending topics, including interviews with CNBC, FOX, CNN, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.  Amber co-hosts a podcast called Honest HR, where she uncovers and explores uncomfortable, complicated and sometimes wonderful truths of the workplace.  She is SHRM-certified with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore. She has been in various HR roles for over 20 years, in the retail and healthcare industry, before joining SHRM in 2011.  

Kevin Cullum is President and Chief Executive Officer for Nissan Motor Acceptance Company LLC (NMAC), and a sitting member of the Executive Management Committee for Nissan Americas.

Kevin joined Nissan in 2006 as Senior Manager – Light Commercial Vehicle Lending, NMAC.  Since joining Nissan, his responsibilities have been expanded to include the roles of Director of Commercial Credit, Director of Remarketing and President of Nissan Canada Finance and Nissan Canada Extended Services. In these roles, Kevin successfully led key efforts to successfully expand NMAC and NCF’s portfolio to historic levels and profitability. Kevin’s work has encompassed a wide range of mission-critical activities including leading the Americas Cross-Functional Team responsible for revenue growth, integrating the Mitsubishi brand in Canada and launching commercial lending.

Prior to joining Nissan, Kevin spent 17 years at Ford Credit in expanding roles of responsibility located in six states and across five regions.  Kevin’s career includes 19 different job assignments over 32 years all in automotive sales finance.   

Kevin holds a BSBA and MBA both from the University of Central Missouri.

Raised in Silicon Valley, Quin is a lifelong “car guy” who has spent his career solving transportation problems with technology. He has dedicated his career to using technology to create safe, equitable, convenient, clean transportation for all.

Autotech Ventures is a transportation-focused venture capital firm that bridges between startups and corporations. The firm’s two funds, with over $400 million in assets under management, have invested in dozens of mobility start-ups such as Lyft, Outdoorsy, Volta Charging, Spothero, and Frontier Car Group.

Quin has served as a Board Director, Board Observer, or Advisory Board member at numerous mobility startups, including Lyft, Peloton Technology, Deepscale, Connected Signals, and Frontier Car Group. As a venture capitalist, Quin is most energized by enabling the success of mobility entrepreneurs by advising them on business development, recruitment and fundraising. The 20+ mobility start-ups that Quin has been involved with since 2007 have grown to over $20B in valuation.

In 2007-2012, Quin was a founding team member of Better Place, an audacious startup hatched via the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program to eliminate global oil dependence by deploying electric vehicle recharging infrastructure across nations. Beginning in 2005, Quin was a management consultant at Strategic Management Solutions, primarily serving Fortune 500 automaker and consumer electronic clients.

Quin is a frequent speaker on mobility tech at leading conferences including the North American International Auto Show, ITS America, South By Southwest, and Collision Conference. He is also a guest lecturer on mobility venture capital at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.

Quin has been featured in the BBC, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Wired, Fortune and MIT Technology Review.

Tania Goodfried is the Manager for Diversity & Inclusion at Hyundai Capital America (HCA). She provides visionary leadership and direction in developing, implementing, and managing strategic initiatives to support HCA’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.  Tania collaborates and influences the work of Diversity and Inclusion by guiding and advising business leaders and teams and delivering on inclusion efforts.

Outside of the office, Tania enjoys hiking, watching movies, and going to Disneyland.

Lucinda T. Grapenthin, PhD, is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice, providing therapy and counseling services for children and families. Her 20+ years’ experience spring from a doctoral degree from Indiana State University in Clinical Child Psychology, as well as her work as a nationally-certified school psychologist and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor.

Dr. Grapenthin is also an Assistant Professor at Brenau University, also serving as Clinic Director for the Brenau Center for Counseling and Psychological Services and Director of the Brenau University Play Therapy Training Institute.

She presents at academic conferences and professional institutions on topics related to mental health disorders, such as trauma and attachment, as well as play therapy and parenting.

Karen Ideno is group vice president of indirect procurement for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) and environmental, social, and governance investing at Toyota Financial Services (TFS). In this role, Ideno oversees the office of procurement operations, systems, and strategy ensuring both organizations have the goods and services necessary for the companies to operate, sourcing from a diverse range of suppliers. Overseeing TFS’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing function, Ideno makes certain the company’s related initiatives are recognized and understood by the investment community.

Prior to her current position, Ideno was responsible for the company’s private label financial solutions, Toyota Financial Services’ largest-ever new business initiative. She directed all Mazda Financial Services sales and marketing activities, including sales support, product development, market planning, branding, remarketing, business analytics, and voluntary protection product strategy. Additionally, she established the operations of Bass Pro Shops Financial Services to provide consumer and dealer financing for boats and all-terrain vehicles.

Earlier in her career at Toyota, Ideno served as TFS group vice president of product, pricing, incentive planning, marketing and brand, remarketing, and business analytics. She was responsible for strategic initiatives including the establishment of the TFS brand, high-profile product introductions, the launch of consumer and dealer digital retailing solutions, the creation of the company’s corporate social responsibility department, and the assembly of a robust business analytics team.

Ideno is on the National Board of Governors of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The California State Senate recognized Ideno’ s role in developing Toyota Financial Services’ corporate social responsibility strategy, particularly in “Making Life Easier” for underserved youth. She is on the Board of the National Asian Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship. Ideno is executive sponsor of the North American Advisory Council for Women Influencing & Impacting Toyota (WIIT) and has served as executive sponsor of Toyota Asian American Society in Alliance (TAASiA). She was recognized as one of the 100 Leading Women by Automotive News and honored by the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce for her leadership in advancing diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

Ideno earned her Master of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Pepperdine University, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Virnitia Hendricks is the Chief Diversity Officer and Head of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office at Santander US. Before joining Santander, Dr. Hendricks was an executive coach and consultant working with Fortune 500 senior executives to transform corporate culture through leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her background is primarily in financial services, where she previously held roles as a Corporate VP of Strategy for New York Life and VP of Operations for Travelers Property Casualty. Dr. Hendricks is an Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC) certified professional coach and holds a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix, a Masters of Business Administration in Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies, both from the University of Hartford.

Dr. Hendricks currently serves on several community boards, including Tampa Bay’s Wheels of Success, the PASCO County Economic Development Council as Chairperson of the Strategic Planning Task Force, and the Santander Consumer Foundation as Director of the Economic Mobility Pillar. She has recently been recognized with a number of awards, including DEI Executive of the Year Large Market: Leaders of Distinction (2022) by HRO Today. As well as being the featured guest speaker on The Impostor Syndrome Files, a weekly podcast hosted by popular TEDx Talk Speaker and Executive Coach Kim Meninger.

Dr. Hendricks’ life mission is “to be a blessing to the lives of many, one person at a time.” This mindset is evident in how she shapes corporate culture and facilitates human connection. By being a spiritually driven innovator, she inspires people to be their authentic selves, and helps transform organizations to put human connection at the core of everything they do.

Throughout history, data and how it is used has shaped history. But how that data has been collected, shared, studied, and actualized in strategy and tactics has evolved to a point where data streams for businesses can be overwhelming. Hear from a data thought leader from a Fortune 100 global leader in Data Analytics on how his experiences and processes can help evolve your operations in a highly competitive marketplace.

David Knight is the Consumer Card, Vehicle Underwriting & Fulfillment, and Risk Detection Executive. His team is responsible for the underwriting, funding and booking process for auto & recreational vehicle loans, underwriting of Consumer Credit Cards, and conducting Home Equity and Consumer Card risk detection activities. The business partners with dealers, credit risk, sales and line of business teammates as needed to support our client’s needs.

Prior to joining Underwriting and Fulfillment David was in the Global Technology & Operations Enterprise Process Oversight (EPO) organization and had responsibility for Service Member Relief Act (SCRA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA) engagement across the enterprise.
David joined Bank of America in April 2011 and led the National Mortgage Outreach team servicing foreclosure prevention events in the top 50 hardest hit national housing markets. Over his 10 years with the company, David has been in a leadership roles in Specialty Servicing where he was responsible for client contact and had responsibility for GSE (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) relationships and Retail Fraud Credit Card Contact Centers where he was responsible for ensuring risk and fraud tools, strategies and technology designed to mitigate fraud were operating as designed. David also served as a Performance Executive for Retail Claims focused on day to day operational effectiveness.
Prior to joining Bank of America, David spent five years at Wells Fargo where he progressed from a Vice President in Operational Risk, to a Senior Vice President in charge of all retention portfolios – mortgage repayment plans, special forbearances and modifications. He also held leadership roles in collections and liquidation.
David graduated from the University Of Virginia Darden School Of Business. He is an active member of the Black Executive Leadership Council, BLAC Talent Roundtable, the Military Mentorship program and Women in Technology. Outside of work David partners with The Red Cross and hosts Better Money Habits conversations with at risk youth via The Relatives.
David currently resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two children.

Dr. Justin Laborde is a Senior Director at Kantar, where for more than 14 years he has consulted with clients in a wide variety of industries to understand the business implications of trends identified by the U.S. MONITOR, the foremost study of U.S. consumer lifestyles, values, and attitudes.  He has worked with clients in industries including travel, financial services, retail, CPG, media, automotive, restaurants and hospitality, public relations, and advertising. 

Prior to joining Kantar Justin was a communications consultant at Energetics, Inc., a government contractor in Washington, D.C., and has served in strategic communications and media relations roles at financial services and strategic management companies in Charlotte, NC and Nashville, TN.

Justin holds an M.S. in Integrated Marketing and Management Communication and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication with a focus on marketing research methodology and statistics from Florida State University. 

A frequent presenter at conferences, seminar, workshops and client engagements throughout North America, Justin and his family reside near Raleigh, N.C.

Kantar is a specialist sales and marketing consultancy designed to ‘switch on growth’ for brand owners and retailers. With its combined creative and analytical heritage, Kantar is unique in combining retail, sales, ecommerce and marketing expertise, a deep understanding of how consumers think, live, behave and buy and world-leading proprietary data. Unlike other consultancies it is able both to develop strategies, execute against them right up to shelf-edge, and embed capabilities within client organisations.

Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi reveals what makes football organizations tick at the championship level. Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.

In Gridiron Genius Michael Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win–and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again.

In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other minds won’t even contemplate. How do you know when to trade a player? How do you create a positive atmosphere when everyone is out to maximize his own paycheck? And why is the tight end like the knight on a chessboard?

To some, game planning consists only of designing an attack for the next opponent. But Lombardi explains how the smartest leaders script everything: from an afternoon’s special-teams practice to a season’s playoff run to a decade-long organizational blueprint. Readers will delight in the Lombardi tour of an NFL weekend. First stop: Belichick’s Saturday night staff meeting, where he announces how the game will go the next day. Spoiler alert: He always nails it.

From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday.

MICHAEL LOMBARDI was most recently an internal consultant for Bill Belichick in the New England Patriots’ front office, after thirty years working for the San Francisco 49ers, the Oakland Raiders, and the Cleveland Browns (where he was general manager for two years). He has his own podcast, The GM SCHUFFLE on the Cadence Podcast Network.

Loren Love is the Lead Underwriter for the Wells Fargo Preferred Capital team, focused on prospect analysis, modeling of complex deal structures, and managing the underwriting team that works with the existing client base.  Loren is a 24+ year industry veteran having joined Wells Fargo in December 1998 including four years in Risk Management working with Wells Fargo’s auto finance operations.  He worked in public accounting for five years before joining Wells Fargo. Loren is a graduate of Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri, with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He holds a certificate as a certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Iowa.  Loren enjoys spending time with his family as well as biking, running, and golfing.

Geoff McLellan is Vice President of Risk for Ford Motor Credit Company. He heads Ford Credit’s team of professionals for consumer, commercial, dealer, operational and residual risk globally. He also oversees enterprise risk management. 

McLellan joined Ford Credit more than 30 years ago in Ford Credit Canada and, since then, has held leadership positions across the United States and Canada in sales, operations, staff and risk. His past roles include Vice President of U.S. Sales Operations, serving over 3,000 Ford and Lincoln dealers across the United States, and Director of Ford Credit’s Nashville Business Center.

McLellan has been engaged in people development throughout his career, including chairing the Ford Credit Talent Development Committee for North America from 2018-2021 and the Global Talent Development Committee since 2021. He also is a certified mental health first aider and mentors, coaches and advocates for employees across the enterprise.

Satyan Merchant leads the Automotive Line of Business, overseeing the formation and execution of TransUnion’s market strategy and business development initiatives. His business unit serves the entire automotive ecosystem, including OEMs, finance companies and banks, auto dealers, disruptors, and platforms. Satyan also leads TransUnion’s First Party Collections line of business across Financial Services. Satyan has been with TransUnion for 7 years, previously leading the strategy and product development function for the Mortgage line of business. Satyan received his bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jérémie Papin is senior vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and chairperson, Nissan Americas, a role he was appointed to in April 2021. Papin oversees operations and
performance for the Nissan and INFINITI brands across all of North and South America.

Most recently, Papin was vice chairperson for North America, where he oversaw Sales and Marketing; Regional Planning, Administration and Finance; Manufacturing and Purchasing;
and Research and Development within the region. Prior to that, he was senior vice president, Administration & Finance, North America, leading the corporate finance and administrative functions.

Before joining Nissan in North America in 2018, Papin was Alliance global director, Finance, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and vice president, Corporate Strategy & Business
Development, Groupe Renault. He has held a variety of leadership roles in finance, corporate planning, corporate strategy and business development for the Alliance and
Renault.

Papin joined the Alliance in 2009 after more than a decade as a financial analyst specializing in the European automotive sector at Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers and Nomura. Papin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and a master’s degree in capital markets and corporate finance (French DESS) from the University of Paris Nanterre. He has also completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Mary Leigh Phillips is the Chief Executive Officer of Bridgecrest and SilverRock. Bridgecrest is a leading digital financial services provider headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Through its related dealership group, DriveTime, Bridgecrest provides over $2 billion in auto loan financing annually and has financed over $25 billion in vehicle purchases. Bridgecrest also provides servicing for auto loans originated and held by others and, in total, serves 1,000,000+ active customers in the U.S. across a $16+ billion serviced portfolio. Through its subsidiary, SilverRock, Bridgecrest also sells ancillary products, including vehicle service contracts and guaranteed auto protection, and provides first- and third-party claims administration.

Mary Leigh joined the DriveTime family of companies as Chief Financial Officer in August 2018. DriveTime is one of the largest privately owned used car dealership groups in the country, with over 135 stores and 15 reconditioning centers in 27 states. In her role as CFO, Mary Leigh managed the financial organization including finance, accounting, capital markets, treasury, tax, risk analytics and lending.

Before joining DriveTime, Mary Leigh had more than 10 years of banking and capital markets experience with the third largest U.S. bank, Wells Fargo. Mary Leigh served as a Director for Asset-Backed Finance with Wells Fargo Securities, where she specialized in executing lending facilities and capital markets transactions for consumer finance companies.

Mary Leigh attended the University of Virginia, where she obtained a BS in Commerce, with concentrations in Finance and Management, and a minor in Economics. She currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband and two young daughters.

He started in the automotive business in 1971, working summers in his father’s dealership. He is a third-generation dealer. The company was originally founded by his grandfather in 1919 selling and servicing Chevrolets. Today, the Pohanka Automotive Group sells fifteen makes of vehicles at their locations in Maryland, Virginia, Texas and Delaware. Pohanka is 2022 vice chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and represents the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area franchised new-car dealers on the board of directors. He previously served on the NADA board from 2001 to 2009.

Kristin Ritsema is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs at Santander US. She has 20+ years experience leading program management, business operations, communications and DEI/HR initiatives.  At Santander, Kristin currently leads programs with a keen focus on community, customers and employees, emphasizing a mindset of inclusion and learning.  Kristin’s academic credentials include a Bachelors degree in journalism and public relations which grounded her with a core understanding and awareness that words matter, and is a candidate for a Masters in Organizational Leadership at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Her passion for inclusion began at a very young age and continues both in her personal and professional life.  Kristin lives with her husband and five children in the Dallas Forth Worth area.

Shunda Robinson, Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, is charged with executing and implementing world-class initiatives that promote GM Financial and its employees’ success.
She serves as an advisor and partner to executive leadership and as a progressive voice on sustainable diversity & inclusion strategies.
With over 25 years of HR experience, Shunda has been instrumental in helping major corporations shape their talent development strategies.
Shunda was recognized by DiversityMBA Magazine as a “Top 100 under 50” Executive for 2019 and also recognized by Diversity Global as a “2019 Diversity Champion”. She was recently awarded the Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer Award by the Council for Inclusion in Financial Services and the Leaders in Diversity Award by the Dallas Business Journal.
Sought out for advisory boards/committees that shape the direction of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practices, Shunda’s goal is to position GM Financial as a global leader in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Neil has twenty-three years of international hotel experience. His career in hotel operations started during high school and then transitioned into recruitment in 2011. He has 12 years of recruitment experience, building teams across Europe and Northern America. Neil is well-versed in operational and recruitment challenges and is responsible for hiring over ten thousand new team members annually. Over his 11-year tenure with Hilton, he has led recruitment for operations and commercial teams, implemented new technologies, and developed new employee branding and social media strategies to drive candidate engagement.

John frequently writes about the securities markets, along with tax, trade and monetary policy issues that impact those markets for a variety of publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and RealClearMarkets.  Tamny is the author of six books. His latest is The Money Confusion (All Seasons Press). Others are When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason (Post Hill Press), which was released in 2021, Popular Economics (Regnery, 2015), a primer on economics, Who Needs the Fed? (Encounter Books, 2016) about the central bank’s onrushing economic irrelevance, The End of Work (Regnery, 2018), which discusses the exciting evolution of jobs that don’t feel at all like work, along with 2019’s They’re Both Wrong: A Policy Guide for America’s Frustrated Independent Thinkers (AIER).

Tamny received his BA in political science at the University of Texas at Austin, and his MBA at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Eric has extensive policy and political experience at the White House, the State Department, and in the United States Congress.  At the White House in 2019-2020, Ueland served as the Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and then Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs for President Trump, driving his policies and nominees through Congress and into agencies and departments. He handled multiple portfolios in both roles, including policy formulation and execution across departments and agencies, leading negotiations on key legislation, and serving as part of the President’s senior leadership team handling politics, policy, personnel, process, and press.

While at the Department of State in 2020-2021 and 2018-2019, Ueland served as the senior official (acting undersecretary) for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights; as the senior adviser and acting principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of International Organization Affairs; and as Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources, responsible for handling all U.S. foreign assistance spending for the U.S. government. In these roles, he formulated and implemented various administration policies in the international arena, working directly with foreign leaders and international organizations, U.S. embassies and missions, and State Department, USAID, and Department of Defense leaders and employees.

Ueland handled many Congressional staff roles from 1989-2007 and 2013-2017, including chief of staff for both the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Assistant Majority Leader, and as staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, and the Senate Rules Committee. Working with Senators, members of the House, and stakeholders, Ueland drove successful action on legislative initiatives, as well as ensuring successful confirmations of Presidential judicial and executive branch nominees.

Ueland currently is a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the independent U.S. government organization responsible for assessing and confronting threats to religious freedom around the globe. In addition, he serves on the Board of Advisors of the Center for Constitutional Liberty at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and is the President of Ueland Consulting LLC, which provides advisory services to businesses and organizations facing domestic or international challenges. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, and graduated cum laude with honors from the University of San Francisco.

Chandra Vasser is vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer, Nissan Americas. She was appointed to this position in November 2021. In this role, Vasser is responsible for leading efforts to develop a culture where all employees can be productive, respected and feel safe in their work environments. Vasser drives Nissan’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, while developing partnerships and plans to share the company’s DEI commitment with employees, customers and the community.

Vasser is also President of the Nissan Foundation, which annually awards grants to nonprofit organizations in support of innovative programming that breaks down societal barriers and builds inclusive communities.

Vasser began her career with Nissan in 2004 and has since served in a wide range of leadership roles. Most recently, she was director of Finance, overseeing activities in the marketing & sales, aftersales, sales audit and cost of quality areas. Prior to that, Vasser served in multiple director of finance roles, leading activities for NMAC, remarketing and purchasing. She was also director of purchasing, services & support and administration which included leadership of supplier diversity.

A certified public accountant, Vasser holds a bachelor of business administration in accounting from Tennessee State University and a master’s in business administration from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Charlie Vogelheim brings over 35 years of automotive experience his presentations
including roles as the host of Motor Trend Audio, the executive editor at Kelley Blue Book
and as a VP at J.D. Power and Associates.
Charlie’s career has involved many aspects of the automotive industry. He spends his time
evaluating new and interesting vehicles and helping consumers receive and understand car
information. He has developed keen and humorous observations and insight to this ever-
changing business and the cars we love, own and remember.

Charlie has hosted the weekly radio show “The Flying Car and the podcast “Motor Trend
Audio”. Each week he shared a variety of car related conversations and interviews with car
owners, characters and celebrities. At J.D. Power, Charlie produced the International Automotive Roundtable, the premier forum for industry leaders and executives to share and discuss market forces affecting the automotive industry.

During Charlie’s 20 years at Kelley Blue Book, he served as a key member of its editorial
team. He was responsible for Kelley Blue Book’s extensive database which produced the
fabled Blue Book and eventually the website: www.kbb.com.

Charlie earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Gonzaga University in Spokane,
Washington. His education included one year abroad studying the formation of the Common
Market/European Union.

Sarah House is a managing director and senior economist for Wells Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Bank. Based in Charlotte, N.C., she covers the U.S. macro economy, including the labor market, inflation trends, and monetary policy. Sarah
frequently speaks about the economy to the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, CNBC and National Public Radio. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2010, Sarah worked as a research associate for the Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond. Sarah earned a B.A. in economics from Tulane University in New Orleans and M.Sc. in local economic development from the London School of Economics. She has coauthored two books, Economic and Business Forecasting (2014) and Economic Modeling in the Post Great Recession Era (2017), both published by Wiley.

Sarah currently serves on the board for the Charlotte Economics Club, the local chapter of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE), and was president of the organization from 2020-2021. She is a member of NABE and has previously served as chair for the association’s healthcare industry committee.

Celia is a Senior Vice President and has been with the association since 2006. She leads AFSA’s federal government affairs department, which promotes AFSA’s mission of expanding and protecting access to consumer credit with policymakers on Capitol Hill, the administration, and federal regulators. In addition, she oversees AFSA’s legal efforts. Her expertise covers a wide range of regulatory, legislative, and legal issues associated with consumer credit and she is a frequent speaker on those topics. She serves as the liaison to AFSA’s Law Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.

Before joining AFSA, Celia worked in the Development Office at the Pontifical North American College. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from The Catholic University of America.

Marc Womack is the Head of Operations at Santander Consumer (SC) and is responsible for aligning scope, priorities and approach across SC operating units and key functions including Business Continuity Management, Facilities, and the Business Control Officer (BCO) community.

Marc currently serves as an Executive Committee Member of American Financial Services Association (AFSA).

With experience across multiple product/service segments including auto, credit card, personal loan, commercial lending and insurance, Marc has more than 30 years of consumer and commercial banking expertise.

Most recently, Marc was President and CEO for TD Auto Finance. In this role, he was responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of TD’s indirect retail and commercial auto finance businesses. Marc also served as Chief Operating Officer where he led the Commercial Lending, Retail Operations and Field Distribution for the U.S. auto organization. Additionally, he was Head of U.S. Product for TD Auto Finance and Chief of Staff to TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank’s President & CEO.
Prior to joining TD, Marc spent 11 years at GE Capital in a number of Finance and Strategy related roles, as well as several senior executive roles at JP Morgan Chase, Capital One, Hyundai Capital America, and HSBC.

A native of Michigan, Marc earned a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Administration from Michigan State University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Marc and his wife Jennifer, live in Prosper, TX.

Sanjiv Yajnik is President, Financial Services of Capital One, which includes overseeing the company’s Auto Finance business and United Income wealth management business. He is also President and a member of the Board of Directors of Capital One National Association (CONA), one of Capital One’s two banking entities.

In Sanjiv’s time as President, Capital One’s Auto Finance business has turned around to become one of the largest auto lenders in the nation. Sanjiv’s passions are starting and growing businesses, and as a leader in digital innovation, he himself holds three issued patents and has multiple patents pending on digital products.

Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the Collin County Business Alliance (CCBA) and is the Chairman of the nationally acclaimed Dallas Symphony Association. 

In addition to his local community outreach and involvement, Sanjiv is on the Board serving as treasurer of NAF, a national network of education, business and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college, career and future ready. Finally, Sanjiv is on the Board of Directors for CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate and investment company.