Gearing Up 2023 Speaker Information
Paul Tesluk is a national expert in leadership development, team design and effectiveness, and organizational change. He is an accomplished scholar who has been widely published in the most selective journals in his field, and he has served on the editorial boards of many leading academic journals in management. Before Bentley, Paul was dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, where he also served as chair of the school’s Organization and Human Resources Department and founded and served as academic director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. Previously, Paul served as chair of the Department of Management and Organization at the University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business, Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Maryland, and assistant professor in the Psychology department at Tulane University. Paul holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations from Cornell University.
Dr. Carey Yazeed is a Behavioral Scientist who specializes in work cultures and trauma. She is the founder of iThink Change, a behavioral research agency and the author of several books including, Shut’em Down: Black Women, Racism, & Corporate America, and Everyday Struggle: How Toxic Workspaces Impact Black Women (both Amazon Best Sellers in the category of business conflict), and Unbreak My Soul: How Black Women Can Begin to Heal From Workplace Trauma. CORE Magazine listed her as one of the Most Influential Blacks of 2022 and her work has been cited in Forbes, Glamour, and Social Work Today and seen on CBS News. A native of South Louisiana, Dr. Yazeed is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, and holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Research from Louisiana State University.
Dominique Wilburn serves as the Assist Director of Programs for the Center for Women and Business and Executive Education at Bentley University. In her role, Dominique is responsible for the successful delivery of Bentley's corporate education offerings and the overall logistical arrangements for Executive Education and CWB training programs. She oversees the development and implementation processes required to effectively deliver a wide variety of custom corporate programs, provides input on program development, and manages critical relationships with corporate partners. Dominique also managed social media for the CWB.
Prior to Bentley, Dominique worked for a nonprofit study abroad provider where she developed and oversaw the implementation of a global diversity training program which educated international staff, faculty, and homestay families on matters of diversity, inclusion, discrimination, and mental health. She has a background in digital marketing and haS worked in politics. She has been mentioned in a number of publications, including the New York Times and the Better Business Bureau's Magazine's spotlight on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dominique earned her BA in Liberal Arts from Drew University where she majored in Political Science. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program with a concentration in Leadership at Bentley University.
Nathalie is a Vice President within the Internal Communications team. Her primary focus is partnering with global Human Resource teams on their strategic communications efforts for the global workforce. She recently transitioned from a previous role where she was developing communications initiatives that support the Internal Mobility programs, redeployment efforts, operations reporting and processes to optimize the employee experience within Talent Marketplace. Before that role, she was an Assistant Vice President within State Street Global Markets (SSGM) Technology, Project Management Office (GMT PMO). She led strategic communications, constructed analytics reporting and operations for the team. She represented the GMT PMO on the State Street PMO Council to universalize project management resources and access to training for the global workforce and served on the SSGM Diversity Council initiating diversity and inclusion strategies for SSGM. Joining State Street in 2009, she has previously worked in Global Operations - Risk Excellence, Corporate Finance and Global Procurement Services.
Ms. Gauthier is an active inclusion and diversity leader at State Street and in the community. Nathalie is Co-Chair for the Professional Women’s Network - Mass at State Street and recently selected as the Regional Co-Chair for the Americas Professional Women’s Networks, where she is leading strategy for the employee network in professional development, community engagement, cultural enhancements and driving the voice of the member to be heard in Massachusetts and around the globe. She is also a member of the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Council with her leadership role of workstream #10 (Reflection and Civic Engagement) of the 10 Action Steps in Addressing Racism and Inequality, a corporate-wide, global effort developing cultural change by diving deeply into our processes to better impact diversity, equity and inclusion for all State Street employees and our respective communities. With her continued efforts championing diversity, equity, belongingness and inclusion, she was the first ever State Street sponsored 2020 Rising Star Award recipient from the Women’s Bond Club (WBC), and now a member. Alongside professional development and executive coaching from the WBC, she also attended the McKinsey Management Accelerator Academy, and completed from both programs in 2021.
Dr. Mateo Cruz is an award-winning teacher-scholar at Bentley University. His primary research focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), social justice, and change in groups & organizations. His research has been published in top management and psychology outlets including, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and Research in Organizational Change and Development and presented to academic and executive audiences in the US, Europe, and South Africa.
As a scholar-practitioner, Mateo’s work is guided by one central goal: To design and deliver evidence-based interventions that advance change leaders at the intersection of identities. He holds 20+ years of experience as an executive coach and organization development & change (ODC) consultant & trainer specializing in inclusive leadership, group & team dynamics, and organizational change. Recent clients include: athenahealth, Beacon Pointe Advisors, Deloitte, Fidelity Investments, Harvard School of Engineering, HubSpot, John Hancock Financial, Northrop Grumman, NuMat Technologies, Strand Therapeutics, and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Mateo views his academic work as an extension of his passion for teaching and training, leadership development, and community advocacy. He is a proud member of Bentley University’s Racial Justice Task Force and serves as a faculty advisor to The Gloria Cordes Larson Center for Women and Business. In 2022, he was selected as Bentley’s inaugural Social Justice Faculty Fellow.
Mateo holds a Ph.D. in social/organizational psychology from Columbia University; an M.A. in organizational psychology from Columbia University; and a B.A. in social work/psychology from the University of Portland.
Abby Wen Wu is the founder of Soma Institute and a consultant, somatic educator, and practitioner. Her organization shares tools for incorporating Body Intelligence for well-being, innovation, and decision-making in the age of AI. She consults with organizations on how to apply full-system intelligence and works with individuals through the body-as-brain approach.
Abby started out her career in corporate finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She has a decade of experience leading organizational design and culture transformation projects for Fortune 500 organizations in the healthcare, financial services, and technology sectors. She previously worked at Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting practice and at a YCombinator startup. She also consulted for the American Psychiatric Association, Center for Workplace Mental Health, specializing in leader well-being, racism and trauma, and millennial mental health.
Abby’s fire and passion are in facilitating transformation and change for organizations, teams, and individuals. She is a first-generation Chinese American and actively supports AAPI initiatives on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and mental health. Abby is an active Vipassana meditator and a conscious movement enthusiast. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her family and loving Labradoodle.
Dr. Sultan is the Gibbons Research Professor of Finance and Founding Director, The Hughey Center for Financial Services/Trading Room at Bentley University. He teaches Fixed Income and International Financial Management at the undergraduate and graduate programs at Bentley. Dr. Sultan has published articles in prestigious journals, including The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis; The European Journal of Finance; Journal of International Money and Finance; the Journal of Financial Engineering; the Journal of Financial Research; the Journal of Business Finance and Accounting; Journal of Applied Financial Economics; and Journal of Futures Market. He received the 1999 Bentley University Scholar of the Year award. He consults with banks and portfolio management firms and offers executive seminars on various topics including behavioral finance, foreign exchange trading and risk management, and international corporate finance. He is an advisor to RTM Alternatives, a startup CTA, specializing in trading commodity futures and options. He also sits on the board of a New York-based asset management firm.
Laura Jackson Young is an Associate Professor of Economics at Bentley University. She is the founder and co-advisor of WEB: Women in Economics at Bentley. WEB is a network of faculty, current students, and alumni with an interest in supporting women in the discipline of economics and expanding professional opportunities in the field. The mission is to reach out to women both within and not yet in the program at Bentley, with the hopes of advancing diversity of thought, background, and experiences in the field of Economics.
Laura frequently serves as a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, after holding research fellowships at both the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and Kansas City. She regularly collaborates with leading researchers on questions related to macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, and business cycle dynamics. Her work has been published in top-ranked, international economics journals.
At Bentley, Laura teaches introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in the Economics-Finance, Business Economics, and Quantitative Economics programs. She is co-advisor to Bentley’s Fed Challenge team, an undergraduate collegiate competition for students interested in monetary policy.
Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from Bentley University and a Master’s and PhD in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She now resides in Westford, MA with her husband and son.
Experienced University Assistant Professor with a demonstrated history of 10+ years of working in the higher education industry in the fields of intercultural communication, soft skills, social entrepreneurship.
Assistant Dean for Deanship of Innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship.
ICQ Global Associate Partner, Cultural Intelligence Coach, Global DISC licensed practitioner, and offers focused training in the field of cognitive diversity, visionary leadership, soft skills and intercultural communication.
Public Speaker, Consultant and Program Designer in the fields: Human Capacity building, life skills and global leadership.
Research interests range from politics and foreign policy to globalization, multiculturalism, innovation & internationalization of education and entrepreneurship.
Committed to progressive social change, progressive policy making, good governance, women empowerment, gender equality, and cultural awareness.
Empowering Youth, Entrepreneurs & Leaders through growth mindset, mindset shift and global leadership.
Women Accelerators Mentors
Kathleen Ralls, Ph.D., is an award-winning educator, sports coach, and Fulbright Scholar. Her doctoral research focusing on gender equity, sports, and voice empowerment led her to create KR LLC, a female empowerment and leadership training organization where she acts as executive director. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a MAT in secondary education and teaching from American University, and a Ph.D. in leadership and education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Kathleen began her career as a sportswriter before finding a passion for teaching and coaching. She recently published her first book: Take Her Word for It: Sports Cultivates World-Class Leaders. A lifelong learner, she has visited over twenty countries and researched on four continents. Kathleen is an avid athlete who has completed more marathons than pull-ups.
Ilhiana is an Executive & Leadership Transformation Coach, a DEI Consultant, a Hispanic advocate, a Bestselling Author, and an international motivational speaker. Ilhiana has over 20yrs of global executive experience in top Fortune 500 companies in Mexico and US headquarters, leading and coaching professionals and businesses to success. As the founder of BeLIVE Coaching & Consulting, Ilhiana is a certified expert in leadership and DEI best practices that help build resilient, collaborative, and high-performing leaders and cultures. She’s been recognized by the NY Journal as a 2021 top 10 Inspiring Women to Watch, by ALPFA as a 2021 Latina to Watch, and obtained a 2022 Women in Business Stevie Gold Award. In addition to coaching, Ilhiana is co-President of United Latinas, a women’s empowerment and leadership development enterprise, and serves on different Boards supporting initiatives that center on the empowerment of women and the Hispanic Community. Ilhiana graduated with honors as a Chemical Engineer in Mexico City. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two kids.
Susu is the Founder and CEO of Tomo360, a Lowell-based marketing agency focusing on digital marketing. Their clientele includes businesses, nonprofits, higher ed, and government agencies. She and her team have developed many websites and created marketing strategies to meet their clients’ needs.
Susu's unique combination of marketing, business, and technical experience provides a well-rounded advantage for her clients. See her career profile on LinkedIn. Before starting Tomo360 in 2012, Susu worked for various companies, from high-tech industries, healthcare, biotech, and higher education to startup companies. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Lowell, a speaker, and an instructor for the Center of Women Enterprise.
In 2010, Susu co-founded Women Accelerators, a nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts that helps early-stage women develop their careers with educational, mentoring, and leadership training programs. She was a founding member and Executive Board Director of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce. She is also a Board Member of OutBIO, Girls Inc. Lowell Chapter, and the Lowell Cemetery.
Rita (She/Her/s) is a Managing Consultant at Peak Advisory Consulting. She is an innovative and data-driven HR Transformation Leader offering over 10 years of experience spearheading the design and delivery of impactful programs and experiences that help individuals, teams, and organizations realize their fullest potential. A history of drastically enhancing struggling programs by thoroughly assessing and identifying problem areas, gaining consensus, and motivating teams to execute strategy in a logical and efficient manner. Exceptional interpersonal skills, known to quickly build and deepen relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, partners, and vendor teams.
Dr. Cidhinnia M. Torres Campos has over 20 years of experience as a strategist, researcher, evaluator, facilitator, and collaborator. Her work supports organizations focused on equity, justice, and creating new futures. She works closely with stakeholders to bring insights to light by challenging traditional thinking and ways of operating. Cidhinnia has conducted training nationally and internationally on theories and principles of community and educational research and assessment, strategic program development, and evaluation strategies and implementation. She has presented and published globally in academic and applied forums. Cidhinnia completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, and holds master’s and doctorate degrees in Ecological/Community Psychology from Michigan State University. She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on a NIMH-funded research grant, under Dr. Jean Phinney, at California State University, Los Angeles. She is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® from the Project Management Institute. She also completed the Education Policy Fellowship through the Institute for Educational Leadership. Awards received include the Change Award for Innovation and Leadership, the Phenomenal and Remarkable Women Award, the Women in Philanthropy Award for Volunteerism, and the Leading Women Award. Cidhinnia is passionate about spending time with family and friends, reading, and CrossFit/weightlifting.
