2025 Step Up KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Morning KEYNOTE: Amira Barger,
Executive Vice President | Head of DEI Advisory | Health Communications | Edelman
Beyond Nice: Advancing Health Equity with Nerve & Disruption
Join us for an electrifying keynote session with Amira Barger, the award-winning Executive Vice President at Edelman and a leading voice in DEI and strategic communications. Amira will delve into the powerful theme of her upcoming book, "The Price of Nice," set to be released in October 2025.
In her talk, Amira will challenge us to rethink the concept of "nice" and how it can obscure power dynamics, perpetuate inequities, and hinder transformative change. She will introduce the concept of nerve—the courage to confront discomfort, speak truth to power, and disrupt the status quo. Amira will empower us to recognize and dismantle systemic barriers, emphasizing that we all have a role to play in creating a more equitable world.
Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a thought leader who combines deep expertise with a passion for social justice. Amira's insights will not only inspire you but also equip you with the tools to drive meaningful change in your own spheres of influence.
Get ready to be moved, motivated, and mobilized by Amira Barger's powerful message!
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Amira Barger is an award-winning Executive Vice President at Edelman, the world's largest global communications firm, offering top-tier reputation management and communications counsel globally. Recently honored as Woman of the Year by Women Health Care Executives and listed among 50/50 Women on Boards' Top 50 Women to Watch for 2024-2025, Amira is a recognized thought leader with over 20 years of experience in strategic communications.
Her expertise spans pharma/healthcare communications, corporate branding, social media, media relations, team management, sustainability, and DEI. Amira has worked with notable clients like CVS Health, Pfizer, Genentech, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Permanente, Nike and FEMA. She is a data-informed, organizational architect who leverages design thinking to advance DEI and solve complex challenges.
Amira is also a professor at California State University East Bay and lectures at UCSF. She leverages design thinking to advance DEI and solve complex challenges. Before joining Edelman, she was Senior Vice President at Ogilvy, supporting equity-centered practices for diverse clients. Her nonprofit work includes roles at the Public Health Institute and Feeding America.
Amira is a contributor to MSNBC, Fast Company, and more. She is also the author of "The Price of Nice: Why Comfort Keeps Us Stuck—And 4 Tactics for Real Change," set to be released in October 2025. She writes extensively on topics like Black women in the workplace, Black motherhood, and steps toward Black liberation.
In her spare time, Amira and her family are avid travelers, collecting stamps in their National Park Service Passport Cancellation Book with a goal to visit all 417 national parks in the U.S. She lives in Benicia, CA, with her life partner of over 20 years, Jonathan, their daughter Audrey, and their two beloved dogs, Bucky and Potato.
Actively involved in professional organizations and community service, Amira serves on several boards and contributes thought leadership through various platforms.
Discover more about her work here: www.clippings.me/users/amirabarger
Afternoon KEYNOTE: Grant Harris, Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) Neurodiversity Champion | Organizational Culture Specialist
Neurodiversity in the Workplace:
Redesigning Systems for Inclusion From the Boardroom to the Mailroom
Get Ready to Transform Your Workplace with Grant Harris!
What if neurodivergence wasn’t a barrier to overcome but a blueprint for moving 'From Compliance to Community'™ by redesigning how we work, collaborate, and lead?
In this perspective-shifting presentation, neurodiversity champion and organizational culture specialist Grant Harris, MBA, CDE®, invites audiences to explore neurodiversity in the workplace not merely as a condition to accommodate, but as a unique way of thinking and being that transforms the outdated systems that shape organizations along with the human and financial capital within them.
Through compelling metaphors, vivid storytelling, and accessible diagnostics, this session reframes “normal” as a limited lens for opportunity and neurodivergence as a catalyst for innovation.
Through a unique three 'S' model, attendees will learn to:
1. Reframe 'typical' (Self)
2. Listen beoynd Labels (Sonder)
3. Redesign Reality (Systems)
Listeners will gain a renewed understanding of leadership, inclusion, and perspective in solving systemic organizational challenges by harnessing the value of neurodiversity in the workplace, from the boardroom to the mailroom.
Whether you're neurodivergent, neurotypical, or somewhere in between, this experience offers a fresh and actionable framework for building teams, cultures, and systems that actually work for...everyone.
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Grant Harris is the founder and president of GTH Consulting, LLC, SWaM, MBE, DOBE, a minority and disability-owned management consulting firm offering customized organizational development, human capital, and cultural transformation services to public and private clients. Grant is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®), 3X published autistic author, organizational culture specialist, keynote speaker, and corporate board member. His work helps institutions move from ‘Compliance to Community’™ by harnessing the business value of neurodiversity in the workplace, from the boardroom to the mailroom.
His experience spans the federal government, K12 and higher education, global corporations, and small nonprofits, reflecting his comprehensive and adaptable approach to various organizational needs. Mr. Harris is a planner, strategist, facilitator, and skilled communicator, focusing on the intent and impact of inclusive principles in workplace practices. His ability to guide organizations through small and large organizational transitions has made him a sought-after consultant for strategic planning and implementation of short- to long-range financial and human capital goals.
Grant's passion for diversity and inclusion is more than professional; it's personal. As an autistic person, he recognizes the power of inclusion and the importance of equipping organizations with the tools to overcome obstacles to achieving inclusive excellence. Embracing a #WeNotMe philosophy, his journey is a testament to the unifying force of neurodiversity, enriching lives and creating a stronger bottom line for businesses.
Grant holds a BA in Psychology from the Virginia Military Institute, an MBA in Organizational Psychology & Development from the American Intercontinental University, and a Post Master’s Certificate in Educational Leadership & Administration from George Washington University. He is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) by the Institute of Diversity Certification, Diversity Management certified by the Management and Strategy Institute, and Pixel 360 Leadership Assessment certified by Pixel Leadership Group.
Learn more about Grant and his work here:
https://linktr.ee/GTH_Consulting