FRIDAY, JULY 19TH AGENDA
Location: University of Kansas Edwards Campus | BEST Conference Center | 12604 Quivira Road, Overland Park, KS 66213
Parking is free and open. You can park in any unrestricted space.
8:15 a.m. | Check-In, Networking and Coffee
9:00 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | How Your Company's Brand Impacts Talent Attraction and Acquisition with Josh Brewster, Chief Marketing Officer @ Trozzolo
Your company's brand is an incredibly important, yet often ignored, factor when attracting and acquiring top talent in the tech industry. We will explore how your brand reputation, values, and culture influence candidates' perceptions and decisions. Through case studies and best practices, you will gain insights into building a strong employer brand that resonates with tech professionals and sets your company apart as an employer of choice.
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Breakout Sessions
- Immigration As A Recruitment and Retention Tool with Liz Chatham, Partner @ Stinson LLP and Kimberly (Kim) Pikul, Senior Immigration & Employment Counsel @ Garmin
- Explore how tech companies can leverage immigration strategies as powerful tools for recruitment and retention. We'll discuss the key components of creating effective immigration policies at your company, including best practices for navigating the complex landscape of visa sponsorship. We will also delve into strategies for recruiting talent from local colleges and universities, as well as visa sponsorship such as the H-1B visas. Discover how to harness the potential of immigration to attract and retain top talent in the competitive tech industry.
- Building a Tech Reliant HR Practice and Honing in on L&D with Nancy Fox, Chief People Officer @ Arbor Investments
- The tech hiring process is now incredibly tech reliant, and the use of proper technologies throughout the hiring, onboarding, and training processes are critical to not only get the right employees, but make it as efficient as possible. Additionally, learning and development (L&D) strategy plays a critical role in aligning with and driving business strategy within the tech industry. We will discuss how to use the right tech throughout your HR practice as well as L&D, and translate them into actionable initiatives that support organizational goals.
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Common Pitfalls and Bias in Tech Hiring Practices And How To Overcome Them with Irvin Bishop, Jr., Executive Vice President & CIO @ Black & Veatch (fmr.) and Matt Sharples, Co-Founder & CEO @ TriCom Technical Services.
Delve into the complexities of the tech hiring process and strategies to navigate its challenges, with a focus on overcoming bias. From the use of AI and best ways to source top talent to conducting effective interviews and managing the entire process, we will explore best practices and innovative approaches to attract and retain skilled professionals in the tech industry. Attendees will receive actionable tips to enhance their hiring processes and build high-performing teams in a competitive tech landscape while attempting to mitigate bias.
12:00 p.m. | Lunch Available
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
- Career Pathways For Youth and Non-Traditional Tech Workforces with Sharmelle Winsett, VP of Development & Strategic Partnerships @ WeCode KC and Shamika Hogan, Executive Director @ i.c. stars
- Explore career pathways for youth and non-traditional tech workforces, examining strategies to attract, train, and retain diverse talent in the tech industry. We will discuss innovative approaches to address the skills gap and create inclusive environments that support the development of young professionals and individuals from non-traditional backgrounds. Through case studies and practical insights, attendees will gain valuable perspectives on building diverse and sustainable tech workforces that drive innovation and success in today's dynamic industry.
- Revamping Your Tech Talent: Transitioning Your Workforce From Legacy Systems To New Systems with Neelima Parasker, Founder/President/CEO @ SnapIT Solutions and John Felton, Chief Technology Officer @ UMB Bank
- Looking for the best ways to transition your tech workforce efficiently and effectively from legacy systems to new systems? This session will tackle this challenge from two angels - one focusing on the training aspects, providing strategies and best practices for upskilling employees to adapt to new technology, and another sharing real-world experiences of implementing the transition. From overcoming resistance to change to ensuring a smooth migration process, this session will offer practical advice and lessons learned to help you successfully navigate this critical transition on your organization.
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Scoring Big: Kansas City Current's Playbook for Brand and Community Engagement with Dani Welniak, Vice President of Communications @ KC Current
2:00 p.m. | Conclusion
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Irvin Bishop, Jr. is the former EVP and Chief Information Officer at Black & Veatch. Irvin is a seasoned leader with a unique blend of IT and marketing expertise, coupled with strong thought leadership and people management skills. He has a proven track record of successfully delivering major digital programs for renowned global events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympics, and Super Bowl, among others, across various regions for the world's leading beverage company. Irvin is a strategic thinker who values fun in the workplace, believing that work should be enjoyable. His specialties include digital transformation, strategy, innovation, integrated marketing, and global IT leadership, among others. Irvin excels in building C-level relationships, driving organizational change, and aligning business and technology to achieve operational excellence.
Josh Brewster is the Chief Marketing Officer at Trozzolo, a Kansas City-based communications firm. Trozzolo’s specialties include comprehensive research, strategic planning, branding, advertising, public relations, digital strategy, crisis communications, and creative design, among others. Trozzolo's success is a testament to its hard working team, fantastic clients, and the impactful work they do together.
Liz Chatham is a Partner at Stinson’s Phoenix office where she provides tailored corporate immigration programs with temporary and permanent immigration options, as well as immigration compliance programs, including I-9 audits and training for HR personnel. Liz understands the dynamic hiring environment in which her clients operate. She works with clients to obtain temporary work visas (H-1B, L-1, O, P, TN, E-1, E-2, and R visas) and permanent residence options (EB-1, Outstanding Researcher, Extraordinary Ability, Multinational Manager, National Interest waivers, PERM labor certifications, and EB-5 Immigrant Investor), in addition to counseling on individual consular processing and naturalization.
John Felton is EVP, Chief Technology Officer at UMB Bank. In his role, John leads a team of 200 associates. He also partners with the Chief Information Security Officer to drive and implement IT security strategies to identify, protect, respond, and recover from cybersecurity threats. In addition, he defines current and future systems across many infrastructures and disciplines. He also ensures compliance with corporate policy, technology policy, regulatory guidance and sees that regulations are being supported and implemented. John has more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry. He graduated from Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in architecture and earned his MBA from Rockhurst University.
Nancy Fox is the Chief People Officer at Arbor Investments. With a blend of traditional HR expertise and new competencies in marketing, digital tools, technology, and data analytics, Nancy drives organizational performance through disruption and innovation. Her high energy and ability to align teams to common goals are evident in her leadership, and she is known for providing creative and innovative solutions that add real value and support business needs. With a background in Fortune 50 companies and a passion for making a difference, Nancy is a dynamic leader who accelerates operations and growth in mid-size private organizations. She excels in building relationships, storytelling, and achieving human capital results that drive lasting strategic change.
Neelima Parasker is the Founder, President and CEO of SnapIT Solutions® LLC, an innovative technology company providing IT services, software product development solutions and training. Through SnapIT, Ms. Parasker has developed a proprietary business model, SPRNT®, which encompasses the company’s four primary lines of business: SnapIT Solves, SnapIT Pods, SnapIT Resources/Placements, and SnapIT Trainings. Together, these four lines work to train, hone develop and deploy individuals into IT careers, especially from underrepresented and underserved communities.
Neelima was appointed by Gov Laura Kelly as the Regent for Kansas Board of Regents in July 2023 for a 4 year term. She is also an executive board member of the KansasWorks State Workforce Board since 2019, which recommends to the Governor Laura Kelly and state agencies ways to align workforce development with the state’s economic development needs. Neelima is a Board Member of KansasWorks State Workforce Board since 2019, and serves on the Community Development Advisory Council at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City since 2020 and was appointed on the Board for Overland Park Chamber in Jan 2021.
Kimberly (Kim) Pikul is Senior Counsel - Immigration and Employment with Garmin. In her immigration role, she focuses on all aspects of Garmin's immigration program from policy to individual filings to advising on employment verification compliance. Kim co-chairs the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) In-House Counsel Interest Group and has presented on various immigration topics from an introduction to employment-based non-immigrant visas to the impact of equal pay and transparency laws on the PERM process. Prior to working in employment-based immigration law beginning in 2011, she worked in humanitarian-based immigration law representing asylum seekers and others in the US and with refugees in Thailand and those seeking refugee status to the US in Russia.
Matt Sharples is co-founder and CEO of TriCom Technical Services, a staffing and recruiting firm with an emphasis on IT careers. With locations in Kansas City and Minneapolis/St. Paul, TriCom works nationwide to connect businesses with top IT talent and job seekers with the opportunities they need to thrive. TriCom has successfully engaged over 4,000 IT professionals of all levels and skill sets with over 250 diverse companies and employs over 150 IT Consultants, winning the nation's only "Best of Staffing" designation year after year. In addition to running TriCom, Matt is also a member of the advisory board for i.c. Stars, KansasCityCIO, and TwinCitiesCIO.
Dani Welniak is the Vice President of Communications for the Kansas City Current of the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). She joined the team in July of 2022. Prior to that, she spent six years as the Sports Director at KCTV5 (CBS) in Kansas City, hosting the Locker Room Show on KSMO-TV and won an Emmy Award for her work in 2022. Welniak started her news career in Dodge City, KS covering high school sports for Catch It Kansas. After two years, she moved up to Wichita’s main station, KWCH 12, before moving to Kansas City in 2016 to join KCTV5, where she became the Sports Director in 2017. She was also the sideline analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network from 2016 through 2019. She made history in 2019 as a color analyst for the Cure Bowl when she became part of the first all-female radio crew to call a Division I college
football bowl game.
Welniak is a retired wide receiver for the Dallas Diamonds professional football team. During her time on the team, she was the 2007 Rookie of the Year, a 2008 Women’s Super Bowl champion, a three-time All-Pro member and a member of the gold medal-winning USA national team in 2010. Welniak graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2011 with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism.
Dani and her husband, Brad, have a 3-year-old daughter, Cameron. They love to travel, spend time with family, play sports, workout and compete in extreme obstacle course races.
Sharmelle Winsett is the Vice President of Development and Strategic Partnerships for WeCodeKC. Her responsibilities include fundraising, strategic planning, and partnerships, amongst others. Sharmelle is a results-oriented leader with 25+ years of corporate, entrepreneurial, and nonprofit experience. Previously, she served as the Director of Workforce at KC Scholars. Sharmelle has led strategic planning and business development for youth and adult serving workforce populations, placing underrepresented participants in high-demand jobs.
In her early career as a sales executive, she launched major therapeutic medications, cosmetic brands, and curriculum aimed to remedy the unmet needs of the African American consumer market. Sharmelle has a deep passion for creating equitable spaces that empower people and communities to thrive. Helping serve marginalized communities and building a diverse pipeline of future leaders is the mission of her life's work. Sharmelle earned a BA in Communications from the University of Missouri - Columbia and is a 2025 Candidate for an Executive MBA at Rockhurst University.
