Meet Your Keynoters: Who’s Who of the 2022 NextGen Government Training Virtual Summit
From career coaches and authors to government thought leaders (including the nation’s youngest mayor!), we are thrilled to introduce to you your keynote speakers for the September 21, 2022 NextGen Virtual Training Summit: Supporting and Developing Government Supervisors (Registration is free!).
Without further ado…
Sept. 21, 2022, Keynote Speakers:
Kiran Ahuja, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
After more than two decades in public service and executive nonprofit work, she was nominated by President Joe Biden for her current role before being confirmed by the United States Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Director Ahuja is the first South Asian American and first Asian American woman to lead OPM.
In her role, Director Ahuja leads OPM in its work to recruit, retain, and honor the American workforce that’s landing rovers on Mars, fighting climate change and cancer, and building the country back better.
Previously, Director Ahuja served as OPM Chief of Staff from 2015 to 2017. In this role, she worked on policies and initiatives that reached over 2.1 million workers at every federal agency and department. While Chief of Staff, Director Ahuja led inter-agency efforts to engage federal workers, attract skilled talent into government, and expand opportunities in federal service to every American. She also worked to strengthen OPM’s internal operations as an agency and provide stable leadership at a challenging time.
Her deep commitment to OPM’s mission, track record of bringing people together to solve tough problems, and expertise in human capital issues led to her appointment in November 2020 to then-President-Elect Biden’s Agency Review Team as Team Lead for OPM.
Director Ahuja knows how important investing in America’s workforce is because of her years of experience in the federal government in both career and appointed positions. She started her career first as an attorney at the Department of Justice and later spent six years as President Barack Obama’s Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
In addition to her federal service, Director Ahuja spent years as a leader in the non-profit sector. She previously served as the founding Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and most recently as Philanthropy Northwest’s CEO. Director Ahuja is a graduate of Spelman College and the University of Georgia School of Law.
Stephen Krempl, CEO, Krempl Communications International
Stephen Krempl is CEO of Krempl Communications International, corporate communications coach, international keynote speaker, global trainer, and bestselling author. He has worked with thousands of leaders in over 30+ countries. He is an expert on how leaders can stand out and get noticed in their corporations, even in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. He is the creator of the Global Executive Mindset (GEM) and Winning in the Work World (W3) programs.
He delivers his Global Executive Mindset (GEM) programs online, virtually, and in person. These interventions focus on developing high potential and future leaders, especially minorities, to get noticed by senior management in their organizations. He is now spreading this GEM and 5% message to universities, enabling students to understand what is expected of them and through an online curriculum called Winning in the Work World. For more information, go to www.winningintheworkworld.com and www.kremplcommunications.com.
Mary Abbajay, Author, Speaker, Podcast Host, The Cubicle Confidential
Mary Abbajay, author of the best-selling Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss, is the president of Careerstone Group, LLC, a full-service organizational and leadership development consultancy that delivers leading-edge talent and organizational development solutions to business and government.
As a sought-after author, speaker, consultant, and trainer, Mary helps clients develop the strategies, skills and sensibilities needed for success in the 21st century. Her expertise lies in helping clients create dynamic and productive workplaces that foster professional and personal excellence and growth. In short, she is committed to creating workplaces where both the organization and the individual can flourish.
Mary Abbajay brings over 20 years of leadership experience, a master’s degree in Organizational Management, and post-graduate certificates from Georgetown University and the Coaches Training Institute. In addition to being an entrepreneur and consultant, Mary has served as adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s School of Management and has taught at both Montgomery College and the Georgetown University Center for Professional Development.
Mary is a frequent expert contributor for television, radio and print publications where she provides practical leadership and career advice. In addition to her role as a Forbes.com contributor, her work and advice have appeared in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, Money, Southwest Airlines Magazine, Monster, and the BBC.
Melanie Ho, Author, Beyond Leaning In: Gender Equity & What Organizations Are Up Against
Melanie the founder of Strategic Imagination, a firm dedicated to drawing on the power of the imaginative arts to drive transformational change.
She believes that today’s wicked problems won’t be solved unless we find new ways of getting past trapped mindsets—and that the tools of fiction, theatre, and the visual arts can help pave the way.
Across the past 20+ years, Melanie has delivered over a thousand presentations to a wide range of audience sizes and types. Her experience includes facilitating retreats for chief executives; addressing 1000+-person audiences; and appearing on NPR, CBS, and NBC. She has presented to campus leadership teams at dozens of universities including Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, NYU, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Rutgers, Case Western, Auburn, Penn State, and more.
Tara Dawson McGuinness, Author, Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology
Tara Dawson McGuinness works at the intersection of policy creation, implementation, and citizen and community voices. She has worked at New America since leaving the Obama administration, where she oversaw the federal teams working alongside city, non-profit, and philanthropic leaders in Detroit, Baltimore, and Flint, and many other communities. McGuinness researches how networks, technology, management and data practices can be used to tackle inequity and solve other challenges. She tweets at @taradmcguinness.
In 2013, McGuinness was tapped by President Obama to run the organizing and communications effort to sign up millions of Americans for healthcare. Her innovative use of data and new media platforms was critical to providing 15 million people with insurance in the first six months of open enrolment. She also served as a senior adviser in the White House Office of Management and Budget where she oversaw the federal government’s initiatives to support cities and towns. While at the White House she directed the White House Task Force on Community Solutions, a team of Cabinet members working to improve how agencies worked together, using data in new ways to tackle entrenched poverty and deliver results in communities across the country.
