Dr. Paulette J. Evans, BSEE, MBA, SSBB, CPHQ, PMP, CKF was born in Georgetown, SC, a small coastal town where both of her parents grew up; after they both graduated from college, her Father worked as an electrician for 33 years and her Mother taught Math for 36 years. Combining what she learned from both of them, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, minoring in Mathematical Sciences, from Clemson University in 2001. Paulette also earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Stetson University in 2008, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She recently obtained her Doctor of Education degree, specializing in Performance Improvement Leadership, from Capella University; she was on the President’s List throughout her work for maintaining a 4.00 GPA and graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Paulette currently lives in Raleigh, NC and identifies as a process improvement/project management expert who utilizes proven methodologies to effectively and efficiently solve problems at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Because this ability comes naturally to her, she recently launched Evans Efficiency Experts, a consulting firm focused on helping people convert chaos to calm before they burn out. Prior to founding her business, Paulette served as the Vice President – Enterprise Portfolio Management Office at Cardinal Innovations Healthcare in Charlotte, NC. She was responsible for overseeing the enterprise-wide portfolio of projects, and managing a dedicated team of professionals to ensure all components of projects and deliverables met desired metrics and outcomes.
Before transitioning to Cardinal Innovations, Paulette served as the Senior Business & Quality Improvement Leader for the Revenue Cycle department at UNC Health. She was tasked with partnering with leaders and front-line staff to improve their processes, identifying ways to enhance project team performance, and serving as a key champion of the organization’s strategic priorities. Prior to relocating to Raleigh, Paulette was a Senior Project Manager at Cone Health where she led and managed the development, implementation, and coordination of projects for Reinventing Care, a collaborative process that combined architectural and health care experts from across the country to inform the design, construction, and renovation of Cone Health’s hospitals. In the last 9 years, she has obtained certifications in Kaizen Facilitation, Project Management, and Healthcare Quality.

Before transitioning to the healthcare industry, Paulette held a variety of leadership positions at General Electric where she honed and cultivated her project and operations management skills and earned a Six Sigma Black Belt certification. As an Electrical Project Manager, she managed 430 projects totaling $13.4MM for the sales team in the North Florida district, and helped the team reach $58MM for the 2006 budget year.
One of Paulette’s most memorable life experiences occurred in 2001. While an electrical engineering student at Clemson University, she led a project requiring a team to research, design, and install a water purification system at a clinic in Hluvukani, an underdeveloped village in South Africa, just outside Johannesburg. The establishment had not had clean water in over five years, so this project was literally a matter of life or death and she traveled approximately 8,500 miles to share her blood, sweat, and tears with a group of people who were less fortunate that she was. To this day, Paulette looks back on this experience as the sole reason why she loves volunteering and traveling.

Paulette was recently featured as one of 25 Coaches and Masterminds to KNOW and Support and one of seven CEOs of Black Women-Owned Businesses to KNOW on the KNOW Women Global Platform; she also won the 2019-2020 Junior League of Raleigh Foundation Award for her outstanding performance as an Active member in an in-League placement. In 2017, Paulette was recognized as one of 40 Leaders Under 40 by the Triad Business Journal, and she was featured in the Clemson World Magazine as a “Tiger on the Move.” She also has a passion for empowering women to be strong, self-reliant, and successful in all of their endeavors, so Paulette spends any free time she has volunteering for organizations that have this same focus; she currently serves as President-Elect of the Junior League of Raleigh and President of the NC Triangle Chapter of Ellevate Network. During any remaining free time, Paulette loves traveling internationally, creating new recipes in the kitchen, relaxing at the spa, and spending time with her husband of 18 years, John Jamal Evans, PhD.
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulettejevans/
https://www.facebook.com/paulettejevans/
https://www.instagram.com/paulettejevans/

Dr. Mira Brancu is the founder and CEO of Towerscope, an award-winning social impact consulting firm that helps executives and their teams to lead well today and better navigate tomorrow. To this work, she brings 20+ years of experience in healthcare, research, and education, including a leadership career at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and a faculty appointment at Duke University.

Mira is the author of Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics and writes about women in leadership for Psychology Today. She was awarded the Early Career Woman Psychologist in Management Award in 2020 from the Society of Psychologists in Leadership; the 2022 Hero Award by A Lotta Love for her research groups contribution to demonstrating the impact of this non-profit’s work on homeless shelter outcomes; and identified as one of the Top 50 Influential Women in the Triangle this year in North Carolina. Her company received the 2021 Corporate Philanthropy Award from the Triangle Business Journal.

Tabitha Concepcion is Vice President, Wealth Advisor for Truist Wealth. Holding the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Tabitha serves as a trusted advisor to build and implement tailored financial plans. Her strengths of business development and gift of putting herself in other’s shoes complements her ability of simplifying obstacles into actionable steps for long term security.

Tabitha holds a Masters in Counseling and a Masters of Business Administration. Tabitha’s community involvement includes: Durham Arts Council, T.H.R.I.V.E. Women Helping Women, and W.E. Rise. Her hobbies include raising dairy goats and travel photography. Tabitha’s mantra is best said by Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks… You will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived.”

Michelle Davis, CPA, Candidate for CFP® Certification

After reinventing herself and starting career #3, Michelle is following her passion to empower people with their money by providing financial and tax planning services with Trillium Square Advisors. Michelle’s previous careers were in hospitality and accounting, including nearly 10 years serving North Carolinians as a Revenue Field Auditor with the NC Department of Revenue.

Starting with learning how to diffuse upset customers while working in hospitality, Michelle has spent years honing her communication skills while not avoiding the issue. She is now looking forward to sharing this experience with you, so you can face difficult conversations with the goals of talking about the issues and preserving your relationships.

Jenn is Activate Good’s Marketing Manager. She is currently developing the 2023 Marketing Strategy to include key messaging, brand clarity, digital marketing tools, and website overhaul. Jenn brings 19 years of Non-profit leadership and a passion for fostering community empowerment. She obtained her Bachelors of Social Work from Appalachian State University and her Certificate of Essentials of Business for Non-Profit Organizations from Wake Forest University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of H.O.S.T. (Housing Options for Students Today) and supports her family’s business, Cataleya Jewelry Studio.

I am the author of the book “You Are Us: How to Build Bridges in a Polarized World.” The 13 stories in the book are from the perspective of 13 people who are radically different but are also unified by having done the work of inner reckoning with their trauma, pain, and socialized identity. Through the vulnerable illumination of each story, we learn how inner work translates into liberated leadership that serves the community, workplace, and ultimately societal transformation. We are also invited into a self-inquiry process, as an opportunity to illuminate our own unconscious patterns in the contexts of societal identities, and to catalyze our generative leadership potential in an increasingly polarized world.

In addition, I am the founder of Let’s See Labs, a think tank that is the leading advocate for the radical notion that polarity is a creative engine in organizations. We recognize that our differences in identity are highly compatible, and can be a source of connection rather than conflict. Our generative methodology uses storytelling, authentic relating, and inductive growth work to create teams who have been liberated to use polarities as a strategy to unleash unrivaled creative advantages.

Dr. Atoya Hodges has over Twenty-five years of progressive leadership, educational, operational,
spiritual, and holistic service experience. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Accounting and
Business Management from Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, NC. Her passion for service to others
and passion for business, mental health and helping educate others drove Atoya to return to higher
education to earn her Master’s in Health Service Administration, Master of Education with
concentration in counseling, and MBA from Strayer University. She holds a PHD in Hypnotherapy
from UCE. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral degree in Counseling at Bible Christian College and
Seminary will graduate in 2023. She is currently an entrepreneur, speaker, author, business, life,
mental health, personal development strategist and educator. Atoya has several certifications in the
mental health and holistic practices. Atoya enjoys supporting mental health developmental services,
educational programs, consumer outreach, improving self-awareness, self-esteem, self-worth and
help people heal. Atoya has been in the greater Triangle area consulting new business startups,
enhancing her brand and network amongst fellow entrepreneurs across the education, non-profit,
mental health, health, beauty, wellness and healing industries while maintaining her commitments
to volunteerism efforts in the community. Atoya currently volunteers teaching GED, Budgeting,
financial literacy, business development and bookkeeping classes. In addition, to teaching classes,
Atoya also writes and develops curriculum for NCDOT workforce development program, various
educational and mental health curriculums that are currently in in public schools. She also helped
the FBI create a program with sex and human trafficking victims and family with reunification
therapy. Atoya is a member of the Lumbee Tribe located in Robeson County, NC. She continues her
love for her tribal community and culture by attending Pow Wows, supporting local efforts with local
Urban Indian Organizations. She is the founder of the O/X Society, Atoya Hodges LLC, and Truth
Reigns Ministries. This mother of two sons keeps her hands and mind diligently active with
upcoming projects, wellness initiatives and breaking barriers for women of color in business around
the world.

Trillium Square Advisors is founded and managed by Sukesh Pai, CFA. With over 20 years of broad industry experience, Sukesh brings fresh perspective from different disciplines such as engineering and design to the financial advisory service. Having started his career in the technology industry, he understands the needs and aspirations of engineers, scientists and software developers. He implements evidence-based strategies and systematizes the investment process to mitigate the impact of behavioral biases in decision making.

He is very active in the local business community. He has been on the board of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), Triangle chapter for the last several years and has been the President during the year 2022. He also mentors and teaches for the TiE Young Entrpreneurs (Tye) program hosted by TiE Carolinas for high school students to foster entrepreneurship.

Prior to founding Trillium Square Advisors, he served at QMS Capital Management LP and Morgan Stanley & Co. He is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst ® designation and has an MBA from Duke University where he was a Fuqua Scholar.

Erica Rooney is a relatable & impactful Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach & Consultant, host of the Podcast, From Now to Next, and a Chief People Officer.

With 10 years of experience in HR leading organizations in gender equality crusades, & coaching Executive Women, Erica has created a framework that empowers women to get seen, get heard, and get promoted by breaking free from the sticky floors that hold us back from busting through the glass ceiling.

As a top Culture Expert, Erica invigorates and educates organizations through change, driving a positive experience for employees, and guiding executives through the process of change to lead to massive success.

She is on a mission to help women get seen, get heard, and GET PROMOTED empowering women to break free from the sticky floors to bust through the glass ceiling.

Kathy Weaver is an experienced global Human Resources leader, certified trainer, and professional coach. She offers coaching and training solutions as well as consulting services.

As an experienced executive and Chief Human Resources Officer, she offers a powerful combination of executive leadership experience combined with a personal passion for helping organizations and individuals perform at their best. Kathy primarily supports clients in the areas of leadership, communications, team effectiveness, and career navigation.

After graduating from the University of NC at Greensboro, Mike spent 12 years in the apparel industry in areas such as manufacturing logistics and supply planning, before joining a rapidly growing Fortune 300 company here in NC. There he held a variety of management positions in supply chain, innovation, and new product development for 19 years. In 2019, he started D4 Concepts, a coaching and consulting company, with his lifelong friend and now business partner. Together, they help organizations create better ideas and better teams.