Jason R. Thompson is the author of Diversity and Inclusion Matters: Tactics and Tools to Inspire Equity and Game-Changing Performance. Jason has been building and managing DE&I programs for more than 25 years. He has built DEI programs from the ground up in over four industries. From creating the DE&I program for sport organizations like the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to innovative tech companies like Techstars, he has enabled the companies he has been a part of to achieve on DE&I.

Lela Lee is a cartoonist, writer and actress whose experiences as a woman of color and as a child of immigrants in America intersect to create an identity that is layered by race, gender, culture, and traditions old and new. Her work often investigates where a collective culture creates contradictions with the new generation who want to individuate but still belong. Her weekly comic strip "Angry Little Girls" has become the umbrella name the highly successful "Angry Little Girls" book series which has been published and translated into multiple languages sold all over the US and abroad.

As the CEO of TEDCO—Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies—Troy leads the organization’s mission to support economic development through the cultivation of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. He brings to bear more than 25 years of experience in investment management, higher education, telecommunications, information/communication technology, and management consulting in this leadership role.

A labor economist and expert on workforce development systems, Laura has written about ways to build stronger labor market systems and worked extensively with labor, business, and community leaders in building them. She has written about low-wage jobs and organizing strategies to improve jobs, care work, inequality and labor market reform. She has co-authored every edition The State of Working Wisconsin and many other reports on the Wisconsin economy and racial inequality in it.

All registrations include continental breakfast and lunch along with access to a morning and afternoon plenary session and your choice of concurrent breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics. The day will also feature ample opportunities to network with other business, government, nonprofit, and community leaders from across the eight-county Madison region.