Katy is a learner, teacher, problem solver, hustler, networker, and entrepreneur.

She started her career teaching Geometry in South East Washington D.C. as a Teach for America Corps Member. After seeing the inequities in education, she became passionate about teaching students and adults real world skills necessary for the workforce. She worked at Pearson and then General Assembly running massive educational programs.

While at GA, she partnered with Fortune 500 companies, including Booz Allen, Bloomberg, Capital One, The Department of Defense, and Disney, to up-skill and re-skill their teams. After realizing that GA was only solving one piece of the talent puzzle, she sought to learn more about recruiting.

She then spent 2 years learning the ins and outs of recruiting at an executive search firm. Seeing a need to help companies in a 360 fashion, Katy founded Higher People.

While still an all-star recruiter, she also believes you have to find ways to motivate, re-skill, and retain your top talent.

When she’s not helping companies, she’s rock climbing, hiking with her dogs Johnny Cash & Bleu, re-exploring LA, listening to live music, and working on her "adulting skills."

Sarah Englade is the Owner & Founder of Monarch Talent Solutions, a boutique recruitment firm that specializes in senior-level and mid-executive-level direct-hire roles in accounting, finance, and human resources throughout Houston, TX. Sarah serves as an executive recruiter within the firm, partnering with local companies to grow their teams. She also offers candidates career resources, including resume, cover letter, and interview support, job market trend updates, local continuing education opportunities, and more.

Before launching Monarch Talent Solutions in 2020, Sarah gained nearly a decade of recruiting and leadership experience at two global recruiting firms. In her roles, she was regularly recognized as a top producer, successfully placing over 2,800 candidates between 2012 and 2020 and generating millions in revenue. Now, Sarah is focused on humanizing the recruiting process, driven by her firm's core values.

Sarah's commitment to the Houston community extends beyond her professional endeavors. She volunteers at Dress for Success Houston, is an active member of the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC), and was a nominee for the Houston Business Journal's 40 Under 40 from 2022 to 2024. Various media outlets have recognized her contributions, including Shoutout HTX, Voyage Houston, GoSolo, CanvasRebel Magazine, Houston Made, and LFN Network's Breaking The Silence Talk Show.

Outside of her professional life, Sarah finds joy in spending time with her husband and their two dogs and cat. She is an avid reader, a passionate traveler, and a dedicated fitness enthusiast. Her love for her community is evident in her active support for various Houston initiatives.

Cecilia Ng has spent a bulk of her tech career with companies like Facebook and Robinhood, however prior to this spent time abroad working in talent with companies like Moody's, Whirlpool and Robert Half. She is currently a Talent Partner with MVP Ventures, a firm specializing in co-investing with focus on early stage (Seed - A) and deep tech (AI, Hardware, Robotics). She partners primarily with Founders on their founding team hiring, collaborating on building hiring strategies, workflows and nascent infrastructure.

Katie Finn is currently a Director of Talent Acquisition at Dow Jones, overseeing strategic hiring across nine business units. Prior to her role at Dow Jones, Katie spent over 10 years at the Walt Disney Company supporting ABC News. She managed talent acquisition during significant scaling initiatives including the launch of the streaming network ABC NEWS Live. Katie also has experience at a high-growth telecom startup, sourcing specialized talent in the US and EMEA and spent time at a staffing agency focused within financial services.

Is Gina Peckman the real-life superhero of executive recruitment? Well, more than a quarter-century of fulfilling engagements has honed those senses to dizzying levels. Instinctively, she appreciates that the intangibles are what make a particular candidate not simply qualified but just right. Known in her field as the powerhouse founder of Dynamo Recruiting, perhaps Gina’s true superpowers are her knack for evolution, reinvention, and striving to uphold the principles of the industry she helped build.

Throughout the past decade, she's maintained this powerful vision, working with a "who's who" list of Pacific Northwest clients that includes top start ups-as well as Fortune 500 enterprises-all of whom have benefited greatly from her expertise in the talent acquisition and management arena. Having completed hundreds of executive placements to date, along with numerous mid-management and technical search, Gina knows exactly how to showcase an employer's job opening, product offering and cultural aspect to attract and close deals with top performers from around the globe.

Gina is the standard-bearer for PS Partners and all that it embodies: sustained experience, uncompromising integrity, and a personal connection and steadfast commitment to clients and candidates. As leader of the only company to bear her name, Gina champions its values and mission to create rewarding connections.

Rocki Howard, founder of Diversiology.IO and host of the Grown Woman Life podcast, is a renowned diversity and talent acquisition strategist. A 2022 and 2023 SIA Diversity Influencer and Global Power 150 Woman in Staffing, she's an advisory board member for WedgeHR and Informed Decisions, and a Forbes HR Council member. Featured on various outlets such as ABC News, various podcasts, and talent platforms, she's a vocal advocate for DEIB, speaking at major events. As a black, Christian wife and mom over 40, she's dedicated to fostering engaged, inclusive work cultures and believes you change the world, one story, one conversation, one action at a time.

• Jill is the director for Early Talent Programs at Insperity. Jill holds multiple industry certifications—certified personnel consultant, certified temporary staffing specialist, SPHR and SHRM-SCP. She has also earned her Masters of Science in Human Resource Management from Tarleton State University-Stephenville.

With over 15 years in talent acquisition, Carrie Beeks has thrived in startups, fast-paced sales organizations, and Fortune 500 companies, primarily within professional services. Specializing in senior and executive recruitment, she has adeptly built recruitment infrastructure and spearheaded retention and employee experience initiatives. Her genuine passion lies in understanding people's stories, forging meaningful relationships, and guiding individuals to achieve their career aspirations. Throughout her career, Carrie has continually demonstrated a commitment to both the individuals she works with and the organizations she serves.