Kelli Valade

CEO & President of TDN2K

“Where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation.” Aristotle’s wisdom has guided Kelli Valade’s career since the tender age of 16, when she landed her first restaurant job as a hostess. It was there Kelli found the same hospitality, the same love of great food and the same connection around the table she’d experienced her entire childhood, cooking and eating Italian food around her grandmother’s kitchen table in New York. Kelli discovered early where her passion for life intersected with work. She was hooked; and she’s built a career living out that passion, working her way up through Operations, then Human Resources, where she led HR, Recruiting and Compensation for national chains like TGI Friday’s and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina. Kelli joined TDn2K as President and CEO in early 2019. Prior to TDn2K Kelli spent over 20 years at Brinker International in various roles including leading Human Resources then serving as Chief Operating Officer for Chili’s Grill & Bar. As the first female President in the brand’s history, she was responsible for 80,000 + ChiliHeads, more than 1,600 restaurants in 31 countries and two territories.

Rebecca Warren

Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Cracker Barrel

Rebecca is the Sr. Director of Talent Acquisition at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, and has been in and around the talent acquisition space for 15+ years at a variety of organizations in both full-time and consulting roles. She is passionate about people – identifying, attracting, onboarding and retaining great talent through planning and strategy, competency development, employment branding, social media, mentoring/coaching/training, relationship building/management, employee engagement, and analytics. Her top 5 CliftonStrengths are Activator, Strategic, Futuristic, Connectedness, and Includer. She also is the President of the Arizona Recruiters Networking Community.

Stephen Howard

Leadership Expert

Stephen Howard is a leadership expert, ESPN & FOX Sports college basketball analyst, former NBA player and collegiate All-American.

Having spent all of his adult life participating, watching, and studying leadership at the highest possible level, Stephen founded the Leadership Syndicate, an organization dedicated to igniting leaders, empowering individuals, and enriching communities. He has a master’s in Organizational Leadership and speaks to adults and youth around the globe about channeling their inner leader, setting their minds on success, the lessons that come with overcoming adversity, and the importance of intentionality as they venture out to set and achieve goals.

Emily Knight

CEO of  the Texas Restaurant Association

Emily Knight holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Walden University; an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Newbury College; a Master of Science in Management from Troy University in Alabama; a B.S. in Hospitality Administration from Boston University, where she was a Trustee Scholar and an A.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Newbury College where she was a Presidential Scholar and captain of the women’s basketball team.

Dr. Knight is a member of several boards, including the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), where she serves as the chair of the governance committee and is a member of the executive committee and strategic plan task force. Knight lives in Southlake, Texas with her husband and their 13-year-old twin daughters.

Kevin Impelman

Vice President, Consulting and R&D at Hollweg Assessment Partners

Dr. Kevin Impelman is Vice President, Consulting and Research & Development of Hollweg Assessment Partners. Kevin brings extensive talent management experience advising both large, multinational clients and regional clients that span across several industries including retail, hospitality, professional services, healthcare, and financial services. Kevin partners with clients to provide customized solutions to meet their leadership and talent needs while providing thought leadership and developing innovative services and products.

Kevin previously served as Executive Consultant Leader for IBM’s Talent Management division and he started his career at Batrus Hollweg International (BHI) where he worked alongside his current HAP colleagues. Kevin received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of North Texas and his B.A. in Psychology from Southern Methodist University.

Deb Hallmark

Senior Director, Talent Acquisition at CEC Entertainment

With over 20 years in Talent Acquisition, Deb has served in roles ranging from Managing Partner/Executive Search Recruiter of her own firm; to most recently Sr. Director of Talent Acquisition for CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza.  Often noted for her forward-thinking and solution-oriented strategies, Deb has proven time and time again her ability to build high-performing teams while creating a culture of collaboration and excellence. Deb currently reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer and works with Operational Executives to identify and implement HCM strategies to drive operational success. She is a proud active member of both Talent Acquisition and Human Resource associations including the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), Dallas HR, Association of Talent Acquisitions Professionals (ATAP) and DFWTRN.

Alex Cone

Director of Talent Acquisition at Jason’s Deli

Having recently earned a master’s degree in Human Resources and Employment Relations with a specialization in Staffing and Training from Penn State, he was promoted to the Director of Talent Acquisition for the entire Jason’s Deli organization. In this role, he is directly responsible for attracting and hiring top talent into the company. This includes direct responsibilities for manager hiring, support for our individual stores with regards to hourly hiring, overseeing the internal succession planning process for our manager development, and serving as a consultant for our franchise community. He has a passion for the hospitality industry, and he takes pride in attracting people to Jason’s Deli who have passion and potential for growth.
When not at work, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 dogs. He is an avid sports fan (Go Heels!) and likes to play tennis, cook, and travel. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Hospitality Department at Virginia Tech and an active sponsor with the Texas Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

Brian Medina

Recruitment Advertising & Talent Acquisition Strategist at Self Opportunity, Inc.

Brian Medina has 18 years’ experience in Recruitment Advertising & Talent Acquisition strategy for the Restaurant Industry.  He is key in driving candidate flow and improving the candidate experience for his clients. He uses traditional recruitment advertising sources and innovative sources including social recruiting, text to apply, job search engines and AI for finding candidates. He has spoken at the TRA Marketplace/TalentNet Live, Hardee’s/IHOP/Golden Corral/Fazoli’s/ Franchise conferences,  and the Self Opportunty Meeting of the Minds restaurant recruiting conference in Dallas, led numerous training workshops for clients like Jason’s Deli, Red Lobster, and Raising Cane’s.  He is currently on the board of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association and Texas Restaurant Associations Education Foundation.

James Winfrey

Vice President of Client Operations at Work4Labs

James Winfrey is responsible for the day to day operations in the US. He brings over 16 years of Human Capital Experience specializing in analytics, talent management and social/mobile recruiting. James manages the US team who is ultimately responsible for our customers and partners daily interactions. Prior to joining Work4, James spent nine years with both Monster and Indeed working in the enterprise and staffing industries. He studied business at Texas State University where he received an advanced degree in Strategic Business Management and Marketing.

Natalie Diehm

Director, Talent Acquisition at Shake Shack

Natalie Diehm is the Director of Talent Acquisition at Shake Shack. In her first two years, she has delivered on key performance indicators to ensure a best in class hiring manager and candidate experience. She leads innovation and process enhancements to meet company growth that have completely changed the way leaders think about recruiting. Natalie also added structure and a professional team around her to support Restaurant Operations and the Home Office to hire top talent and exceed the company’s recruiting goals.

The fast growth of Shake Shack fuels her hyper-focused team of recruiters to serve as strategic partners in moving the business forward. Prior to Shack, Natalie served as a recruiter for 10 years at The Cheesecake Factory. As a talent expert, she also served as a Skills and Competency Assessment Facilitator responsible for data integration and formal evaluation of management skills and knowledge to determine future leaders of the company. She was born and raised in Hawaii and a cum laude graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Nancy Haller

Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition at Top Golf

Nancy joined Topgolf in 2011 just as the company had opened its 4th venue in the United States. Since then, Topgolf has grown nationally from 4 to 55 venues and counting! Nancy currently leads a team of Recruiters who support hiring large management teams at new and existing Topgolf venues nationwide. She has unique perspective on the systems and processes that support recruiting top talent during periods of accelerated growth and expansion.

Cheryl Early

Director of Talent Acquisition at Top Golf

Cheryl joined Topgolf in November 2017 where she leads the recruiting and onboarding functions alongside an incredible team of high performing Associates. She has over 15 years of recruiting experience across industries such as hospitality, telecom, financial services and retail healthcare and she has managed recruiting efforts across 41 countries while leading teams in the US, London, Dubai and Poland. Cheryl leads with a customer-first and servant approach, and has a passion for ensuring a stellar candidate experience. In her spare time, Cheryl enjoys traveling, hiking, and cooking for family and friends. She is a Pit Bull lover and rescuer, a dual citizenship holder (US and Germany) and lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for 4 years.

Katie Lamb

Human Resources Manager at Williston Holdings

A native Houstonian, Katie Lamb joined WHC as the Human Resources Manager in July 2018. As Human Resources Manager, she is over Recruiting, Employee Relations, Benefits and Payroll. Katie has over 12 years’ experience in all HR functions.

She enjoys teaching and mentoring and uses this passion to help her colleagues succeed and achieve their goals. Katie holds a Bachelor in Business Administration with a Minor in Marketing, SPHR certification and enjoys getting creative to improve work life for those around her.

When she’s not working, Katie coaches All-Star Cheerleading, travels with her husband, Matt, and supports her children, Mason and Charlotte in their sporting events. 

Meagan Johnson

Executive Director at the Muscular Dystrophy Association

Ready, Set, “Action” – Taking Action in the Community Within Your Workplace

In this session you will see the importance of integrating your business into the local community, and how it will build trust, your brand and company culture.

Alicia Voltmer

Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Alicia is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She represents employers in all areas of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, restrictive covenants, leaves of absence, employment, separation, and arbitration agreements, employer policies, active shooter/emergency action plans, unfair labor practices, and workplace safety. Alicia is also a two-time academic and athletic All-American swimmer.

Jamie Griffin

Restaurant Chain Consultant & Executive at Good Workforce

Jamie Griffin is the Founder & Principal of Good Workforce. He has nearly 20 years of experience in restaurants working in multiple facets of a high-growth restaurant chains.  Jamie and his consulting firm specialize in helping organizations improve, scale and grow their businesses through better strategy, people, systems and processes.