Elisa van Dam, Susan MacKenty Brady and Lynn Perry Wooten

Elisa van Dam is the vice president for Allyship & Inclusion at the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. Drawing on her expertise in gender equity and women’s leadership, Elisa creates innovative programming that develops the mindset and skills of leaders at all stages of life so they can foster gender parity and cultures of inclusion. Elisa is a co-author of The Inclusive Leader’s Playbook: The Work of the Inclusive Leader with Susan MacKenty Brady. She is a co-author of several publications, including The Importance of Belonging in the Workplace (February 2022) and The Importance of Authenticity in the Workplace (July 2021).

Susan MacKenty Brady is a global leader committed to fostering a future of respect and human connection through genuine, human-centered leadership. As the founding CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership and the Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Chair for Women and Leadership, she aids organizations in developing high-performing cultures driven by respect. She is the lead co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller "Arrive & Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership," along with four other books, and her insights have appeared in ABC’s "Good Morning America," Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Inc. Magazine and others. Her upcoming book is set to be published by Harvard Business School Press in 2026.

Lynn Perry Wooten is a seasoned academic and an expert on organizational development and transformation, became the ninth president of Simmons University on July 1, 2020. She is the first African American to lead the university. Specializing in crisis leadership, diversity and inclusion and positive leadership — organizational behavior that reveals and nurtures the highest level of human potential — Dr. Wooten is an innovative leader and prolific author and presenter whose research has informed her work in the classroom and as an administrator.