2022 South Florida Women in Leadership Symposium
March 09, 2022
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM (ET)
Theme
Paragon of Womanhood: Restoration, Reintegration & Reemergence
Sponsored By
The Women in Leadership Symposium is designed to bring together a diverse mix of successful c-suite/VP level women leaders in medium-large sized companies who, through the discussion of topics relevant to today’s issues, educate, inspire and encourage women to reflect on their own goals and status as they strive to move higher in their organizations. The goal of this event is to be the premier resource for women to be able to network, mentor and participate in professional development programs geared toward helping them rise in their careers. We are also recognizing our Woman of the Year Awardee. The Woman of the Year Award is a prestigious honor that recognizes extraordinary women who have made a significant impact. Women who have demonstrated professional excellence and consistent leadership as a role model and mentor for other women, whose achievements contribute greatly to community and national advancement.
Panelists
Charlot
Pascale Charlot is President of Miami Dade College, Kendall Campus. She is responsible for the student services, academic quality, operational effectiveness, and staff development of the Kendall Campus which is the profit center for one of the largest higher education institutions in the nation. Over the last 20 years, Pascale has led strategic, tactical and operational efforts at Miami Dade College, New York University School of Law, and Rutgers Law School-Newark that drive student success. An Aspen Institute Fellow, Pascale is regarded for innovative leadership that yields transformative results for students, institutions and communities through a lens of equity. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Baptist Hospital and the National Council for Community & Education Partnerships (NCCEP). Pascale has a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan School of Law and BA from Duke University.
Huang
Mendizabal
Adriana Mendizabal is Group President Latin America in Stanley Black & Decker. Adriana is a C Suite Executive with President, General Manager, and Chief Marketing experience in top Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble, Jonson & Johnson, Kodak, Visa, Pepsi, and multilevel companies like Herbalife. Most recently Adriana was Global Chief marketing & Innovation Officer and President for Nature’s Sunshine Products, a leader in natural health and nutrition based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Adriana has led transformative work for many of the global leading brands keeping brand vitality relevant and driving growth as consumers, go-to markets, and business dynamics undergo profound change. She has global experience in North America, Latin America, China, and Asia Pacific and her Marketing teams have been global benchmarks in several occasions. Adriana was also Independent Director for the Board of the Bank of New York Mellon subsidiary from 2008 to 2015. Adriana has a BA and Honors Diploma in Business and Marketing from Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, México. She was named one of Mexico’s top 10 more Powerful Businesswomen in 2007 and 2008.
Vargas
Margie Vargas is a Human Resources thought leader with over 25 years of experience in empowering people to achieve aspirational career goals and transform organizational culture. Margie is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Memorial Healthcare System, a public, nonprofit hospital system nationally recognized for providing outstanding patient- and family-centered care. Mrs. Vargas first joined Memorial in 1996 as an HR generalist. Following a short tenure at HIP Health Plan of Florida, she returned to Memorial and was quickly promoted to Director of Human Resources at Memorial Hospital Pembroke in 2004. After serving as the system’s Administrative Director, Employee Relations and Vice President and Interim Chief Human Resources Officer, she was promoted to Senior Vice President and CHRO in 2015. Margie has lead various transformational human resources initiatives that have thoughtfully infused MHS’s “People First” strategy. She lead the System’s development and implementation of the Human Resources Strategic Plan with the goal to retain HR focused on the evolving needs of the system’s workforce, and how to meet them – while still attracting, developing and retaining top talent – and to fully support Memorial as it navigates continuing changes and challenges in healthcare. Margie’s leadership through-out the COVID-19 pandemic has assisted MHS in implementing a broad array of HR initiatives to support employees as they care for patients, families, and their community. She also championed the introduction of MHS’s inaugural Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Ms. Vargas has dedicated her life to ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to thrive and work for an organization that is committed to an inclusive, diverse environment. She serves on various boards, has spoken at several engagements, but what continues to inspire her is the professional accomplishments of MHS staff who continue to garner MHS as Modern Healthcare’s “Best Places to Work.” Margie is originally from Newark, NJ and is the proud mom of four daughters and a fur mom of two rumbustious dogs. She graduated from Barry University with a master’s degree in administration.
White
Buffy is responsible for the B2B client-facing side of the business representing all of Cross Country Healthcare. With more than 25 years of experience in the staffing industry, Buffy brings a broad range of strategic and tactical knowledge in customer development, strategic sourcing, process engineering, business process improvement, change management and dynamic team building. Her deep expertise in designing, developing and managing high performance, highgrowth organizations serves her well in providing strategic direction across multiple brands. Prior to joining Cross Country Healthcare, Buffy held leadership positions at Pontoon, Adecco and SFN Group.
Moderator
Rousseau
Dr. Charlene Rousseau (Char) is an Industrial/Organizational Psychology practitioner with over 15 years’ experience in serving her clients with applying practical solutions to business opportunities. Her passion for strategic talent management, development, and learning initiatives have contributed to the growth and development of over 16,000 professionals. As ChenMed leads the way in transforming healthcare for seniors, they’re committed to hiring and developing the very best and brightest, and providing team members every opportunity to succeed and advance in their careers. That said, in her role as Director of ChenMedU, Char is responsible for standing up and leading ChenMed’s corporate university providing a best-in-class, focused, engaging, and interactive learning experience designed to help leaders master ChenMed’s core model, choose a path, and build their future and career at ChenMed. With ChenMed’s hypergrowth business strategy, ChenMedU contributes to the Clinical and Profit & Loss Leadership-Profit Chain aligning Talent Management and Development strategies and providing expertise, advice, and coaching in the areas of: talent identification and succession planning; individual, team and leadership development; facilitation and execution of training programs; as well as needs analysis, diagnosis, and the execution of learning interventions. Char was also the CEO, Co-Founder, and Co-Host of InvestHuman podcast dedicated to reviving the heart of organizations by reigniting the appreciation for the human element of work. The show focused on talent development and talent management strategies to solve workplace problems unique to today and the future of work. Episodes are accessible for free download via www.InvestHuman.co as well as via Apple Podcasts and Google Play! Char continues to serve the development of future leaders in the field of Talent Management, Organizational Development, and Learning and Development as an Associate Professor of Graduate Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Baker College Online. She also serves on the board of advisors for the program with helping to shape the vision and strategy to align with the American Psychological Association, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology standards for graduate programs in the field and practice application for successful student outcomes. Char also serves on the board of advisors in a similar capacity for Keiser University. Char earned her PhD in I/O Psychology from Capella University and her research interest areas are Adult Learning, Distance and Online Education, Performance Management, Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, and Work Life Integration. She has clocked over 30,000 hours in curriculum and training programs design and has over 15 years’ experience in training, facilitation, speaking, psychometrics, coaching, and L&OD; consulting in multiple industries including Corporate Settings, Healthcare, Automotive, Sales, Finance, Insurance, Government/Military, University Education, and Call Centers to list a few. In 2016, Char was honored with the National Diversity Council’s Glass Ceiling Award for women who have overcome barriers to climb to the top, achieving personal success while also making it possible for others to more easily follow in their footsteps. She’s also a contributor to the eLearning Guild annual best practices Tips eBook, Training Industry Online Magazine, Rutgers’s Business Review, and is an avid blogger on LinkedIn, writing and publishing articles on topics related to the field.
Awardee
Kelly
Rachael Kelly is currently the Chief People & Culture Officer for Smokey Bones, The WingX, and The BurgerX. In her role, Rachael is responsible for end-to-end human capital management, facilitating an employee-engaged culture, and serving as a trusted member of the executive team who guides the organization to achieve its strategic goals. Rachael possesses extensive experience in the operational and human resources fields, having worked executive roles in global public franchised organizations, award winning start-up concepts, and now in the private equity space. Beginning her career as an hourly employee, now an award-winning executive, Rachael brings a unique vision, pragmatic approach, and personal drive to achieve. This unique vision and approach have served well in her time at Smokey Bones where during the pandemic, with the team experiencing extreme compensation and environmental pressures, launching multiple virtual brands, and executing a bootstrap recovery of the business while maintaining liquidity, under her leadership, Smokey Bones rebuilt culture inside out founded on the concept of humancentric leadership, has certified as a Great Place To Work for two consecutive years, expanded benefits, mentoring, and career path access to all frontline employees, and perseveres with industry leading staffing, employee retention and brand performance. In addition, Rachael has founded HiveStrong, a practice with a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting survivors navigate through the journey of recovery from toxic relationships, narcissistic, domestic, sexual, and psychological abuse. Rachael spends her time between Smokey Bones based in Plantation, FL, and Dallas, TX where she raises her two young special needs boys ages 5 and 8.
Award Nomination
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