Tinisha Agramonte, the Architect of the First Generation Professionals Initiative, a first of its kind Federal government diversity and inclusion program, is a highly regarded Civil Rights and Diversity Champion whose personal and professional mission is to advance equitable opportunities for all. She has 25 years of experience in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), diversity, civil rights, and human relations arenas as a civil servant, consultant, university instructor, and trainer/facilitator. Throughout her 23-year federal career, Agramonte held leadership positions with various Federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Veterans Affairs, Army, and Air Force, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. As a principal advisor, she provided executive leadership, strategic direction and guidance, leading agencies through transformation efforts, strategically embedding and integrating innovative and forward thinking EEO, civil rights, and diversity programs into day-to-day agency operations. She led and implemented policies and programs that impacted workforces up to 300,000 employees and were recognized as best practices in the federal government. Agramonte was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2013 and served in SES capacities for seven years before resigning in 2020 to accept a position as the Chief Diversity Officer for Motorola Solutions, Inc. Early in her life, Agramonte was identified as an at-risk youth. With the help of mentors and educators who saw potential in her, she was able to overcome significant challenges. Because of their guidance, she realized the potential they saw in her and was encouraged to reach unimaginable heights. For this reason, and as a First Generation Professional, Tinisha is compelled to “pay it forward” by ensuring ALL people have the access, opportunities, encouragement and support needed to realize their fullest potential.Agramonte was an adjunct instructor for Chapman University, teaching senior-level Diversity Management courses. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from California State University, Hayward and her Master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Jason Barrett is the Senior Vice President of Renewable Energy Sales at GAF Energy, with direct responsibility for residential and commercial markets. He also served as the Vice President of Structured Finance and Investments originating and deploying tax equity in solar rooftop transactions. In 2020, Jason and his team received the Los Angeles Business Council’s Renewable Energy Award for creating innovative financial tools for solar rooftop development. Jason leads a sales team that is currently reshaping the roofing industry with the award-winning Timberline Solar product that protects like a roof, installs like a roof, and produces clean energy, from the world’s first nailable solar shingle. Jason has an extensive background in structured finance and asset management with prior positions at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Fannie Mae, and Morgan Stanley. He has a BBA in Finance / International Business from Howard University, where he was an ITT Hartford Scholar. Jason has an MBA from Cornell University, and received the Robert Toigo Fellowship, later becoming an award recipient in 2007. Jason is a Board Member of the USATF Foundation, which provides opportunities to youth and elite athletes in track and field. He is also a Board Member of Renewables Forward, which focuses on increasing diversity in the renewable and clean energy industry.
With over 25 years’ experience in sales, business development, and marketing for the Channel, Lori has developed as a passionate, results-oriented executive. Over the years, she’s honed several specialties that include recruitment, development, and management for the Channel, the strategizing and execution of business development, and her ability to craft strategic partnerships and alliances. Her commitment and contribution to her work lead to her being named as a CRN Channel Chief for the past 5 years and the coveted spot of Power 100 list in 2009, 2014 - 2021. She has received recognition by CRN Magazine as a Top Woman in the Channel each year from 2009-2021. In 2011 Lori was awarded with the title of 2011 Women Worth Watching, and in June of 2014, Lori Cornmesser was the proud recipient of the Diversity First Leadership Award. Lori has been honored with Top 50 Women in Technology Award in 2019 -2021. Lori continues to be honored for her work in Diversity Equity and Inclusion receiving the Leadership Excellence Award in 2021 as well as Inclusince Leadership Award from the Diversity Council and the Racial Justice Champion by Diversity First Organization. While she is dedicated to her career and no doubt works extremely hard in order to contribute greatly to the growth and success of her company, as well as the growth and success of herself within her field, Lori Cornmesser served as a the President of the Silicon Valley branch of the larger umbrella organization, the California Diversity Council and was recently named President of the Board for the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative (WGLI), As Lori Cornmesser is of African American and German descent, she relates to issues of diversity and understands the importance of not only celebrating diversity, but also in spreading an understanding of diverse backgrounds and cultivating diverse work environments. As a highly influential and established woman in the business world, Lori Cornmesser sought to make a positive impact on diversity within the corporate world. From the eyes of a business, she worked to, “employ the market,” in order to serve them in the best possible manner. That is to say, companies need to select individuals with the utmost levels of expertise and keep them working within their company. To do this, companies must draw from an applicant pool from a gender-equal standpoint as well as from a standpoint of offering equal opportunities for people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. To use her own words, Lori Cornmesser stated that businesses must, “acknowledge and leverage similarities and differences.” Lori Cornmesser is highly attuned to the changing climate of the business world and the success of businesses on a global platform. In order to keep up with the rapidly growing business world, leaders in their industry can no longer sustain a pool of employees all of the same make and mold. Acknowledging and welcoming diversity is the key to business growth and success in this time. Lori Cornmesser accurately describes the possibility that a diverse company holds in saying, “From this dynamic diversity come the next great idea, the breakthrough innovation, the community cohesiveness, and the commitment that can make us extraordinary rather than merely ordinary.” Lori is married and a loving mother of two children. Lori holds a MBA from Columbus University.
Damon Hart is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance, a diversified global insurer and the sixth-largest global property and casualty insurer employing over 45,000 people worldwide. Liberty’s global legal team operates in 19 countries and includes all traditional insurance regulatory and corporate law practices, an insurance defense organization, Public Affairs team and Global Compliance & Ethics organization. The team’s executive responsibilities include legal counsel and strategic advice to the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, President and the senior management team of Liberty Mutual. During his career at Liberty Mutual, which began in 2014, Mr. Hart has served as Chief Employment, Compensation and Benefits Counsel and in 2019 was promoted to Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation & Coverage. He oversaw various regulatory investigations, provided enterprise-wide coverage advice and opinions, managed electronic discovery services in support of litigation and all third-party subpoenas for the company. In 2020, he was named Deputy Chief Legal Officer and focused on a transition process towards his appointment to the Chief Legal Officer role on January 1, 2022. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Mr. Hart was a partner at three national law firms – Littler Mendelson, Ogletree Deakins and Holland & Knight. While in private practice, he focused on litigation and employment matters. In addition to his litigation work, he has also provided business advice on contracts, benefits and real estate development matters. Mr. Hart is a passionate advocate in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across Liberty Mutual, the legal community and society. He is currently a member of the boards of The Home for Little Wanderers and New England Legal Foundation and is a founding member of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. He is also actively involved in his community as a youth sports coach and mentor. Mr. Hart received his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School and a B.A. from College of the Holy Cross, studying Political Science.
Vernon Irvin serves as Co-CEO and Chief Revenue Officer at Everbridge, the global leader in Critical Event Management (CEM), with the mission of keeping people safe and organizations running faster. He leads the global go-to-market and services organization responsible for driving the company’s enterprise transition with its market-leading CEM product suite, as well as global adoption for Everbridge’s countrywide Population Alerting solutions. Over 6,000 global customers rely on Everbridge to keep their people safe and organizations running in anticipation of, or amid, critical events. CEM helps organizations, such as Goldman Sachs, Lowe’s, Dow and Walgreens identify and assess the severity of events; determine their relevance to an organization’s people, assets, and supply chains; automate action to mitigate threats and track progress; and analyze performance to improve future response. Everbridge’s solution leverages tens of thousands of continually updated risk data elements -- all curated through a “single pane of glass” visualization, combined with machine learning and automation. With industry-leading redundancy, scalability, and uptime, the Everbridge platform reaches over 2 billion people in more than 200 countries and territories. Vernon brings over 30 years of enterprise and SaaS sales leadership experience across direct and channel organizations serving both public and private sectors at multi-billion-dollar scale. He has led enterprise sales organizations covering 60 countries, leveraging indirect channels, partners, and alliances to grow deal flow and book orders. Prior to Everbridge, Vernon served as EVP and President at Lumen, where he was responsible for leading a $3.5 billion business operation with more than 2,000 employees. He was charged with successfully growing profitable revenue through a deep portfolio of partner relationships, communication solutions, security, hosting, cloud computing, managed services, and SaaS-based solutions. Before Lumen, Vernon held executive roles at Charter Communications and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. He served as EVP and GM at VeriSign, as well as having worked abroad for British Telecommunications as President, Content Hosting and Media Services. In addition, he serves as a board member on Tessco Technologies, Inc., (TESS), Mile High United Way in Colorado, Colorado Technology Association, and Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll). He has also served as a Board member of the Wireless Association industry group (formerly the Cellular Telephone Industry Association).
As TDECU’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Isaac leads a team of nearly 900 employees who provide financial solutions and education to more than 350,000 member-owners. In addition to his pivotal role in driving growth and strategy for Houston’s largest credit union at over $4 billion in assets, Johnson is personally invested in the credit union’s Purpose of helping people navigate their financial journeys. Leading up to his appointment as President and CEO in 2021, Johnson held the position of SVP, Chief Administrative, Legal and Diversity Officer. Johnson’s impressive resume prior to joining TDECU includes leadership roles at USAA, Wells Fargo, and Trustmark National Bank. A Brigadier General for the US Army Reserves 351st Civil Affairs Command, Johnson is a decorated leader earning the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Merit Cheonsu Medal from the President of the Republic of Korea’s Order of National Security. The third generation to serve his country in the U.S. Army, Johnson enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1986 before being commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduating from the ARMY ROTC program and earning a Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi State University in 1992. He went on to receive a Master of Business Administration from Jackson State University, a Juris Doctorate from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and a Master of Strategic Studies at U.S. Army War College. Additional accomplishments include the completion of executive programs at Cornell University and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Jen Mahone-Rightler leads Epsilon’s D&I efforts by championing, developing and executing programs that enhance a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging within the company. She is responsible for implementing sustainable programs to help shape the organization’s training, hiring practices, leadership development and broader corporate social responsibility efforts. Jen is also focused on integrating and aligning the company’s commitment to D&I with the clients and communities Epsilon serves. Jen brings more than 20 years of experience across diversity & inclusion, talent integration, recruiting, employee engagement and leadership development to Epsilon. Prior to joining Epsilon, Jen led Diversity & Inclusion efforts for Boeing South Carolina where she developed and executed an integrated D&I strategy for 60,000 employees and oversaw 9 business resource groups. Jen is a visiting facilitator in partnership with the University of South Carolina and a facilitator for Cornell University’s eCornell Certificate Program. She is also a principal partner and consultant with Elements2Inclusion, a boutique firm that provides diversity and inclusion services. Jen has held board positions with the Illinois Diversity Council (President) and with the Kenosha Community Foundation as the scholarship chairwoman for the MaryLou & Arthur F. Mahone CEO Youth Scholars Award. Jen currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband Kirk.