WOMEN GENERAL 
How to Stress Wisely
Presented by Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe - Expert on Resiliency and Workplace Wellness .jpg)
Described as one of the most sought-after, engaging, thought-provoking, and truly transformative international speakers and scholars in her field, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning education and psychology instructor. She specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, wellness in the workplace, and optimal performance, both at home and work. Hanley-Dafoe’s keynotes offer accessible and practical strategies, grounded in global research, that help foster resiliency and wellness within ourselves and others.
Hanley-Dafoe’s work is inspired by personal experience. She learned resiliency from the ground up as someone who has experienced significant obstacles throughout her life. This, combined with more than 18 years of university teaching and research experience, makes Hanley-Dafoe’s work both accessible and relatable while providing realistic and sustainable strategies for understanding and practicing resiliency and wellness.
Hanley-Dafoe is the author of the award-winning and bestselling book, Calm Within the Storm, which outlines a powerful and achievable path to everyday resiliency. She joined a group of highly esteemed authors from around the globe when her book won a 2022 Silver Nautilus Award.
Unlocking the GC Potential – Envisioning Your Personal Brand
Presented by Nina Boone.jpg)
Partnering & Delivering Results for Clients
Nina Boone is a Senior Client Partner for Korn Ferry. Ms. Boone joined the North America Advisory team in March 2020. She currently serves as the Commercial Leader for the North American Organizational Strategy Practice. Prior to taking on her current role, Ms. Boone was the North America Leader for the DEI practice, where she served as the key architect developing growth strategies integrating D&I into all that Korn Ferry offers. She continues to be a DEI practitioner serving clients in their DEI evolution. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, she was the US D&I Board Chair and the US M&A Sales Leader at Aon, where she blended her commercial sales expertise with her commitment to diversity, initiating key partnerships with diverse and women owned Private Equity and Venture Capital organizations. She also brought innovative ways of using capital to the under served independent sponsor market, allowing entry level and diverse sponsors to compete in the marketplace.
Expertise
Ms. Boone has over 30 years in the healthcare and insurance industry. Nina has led large corporate strategy development in the innovative use of insurance capital in private equity transactions, intellectual property and tax. She has been an innovator in her approach to product expansion and new product launch, creating collaborative team play and success. In addition, Ms. Boone’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has been evident as Chair of the US Diversity and Inclusion Board for Aon. While in this position she worked directly with the Chief General Counsel and North America CEO to set US goals for women and racially diverse talent in multiple levels of the organization and led the strategic plan for execution. Inside the Greater New York Region, she led the transformation of the Executive Team, introduced team based mentoring programs; developed a women’s mentoring program across internal P&Ls; launched and served as one of the catalysts that created a model internship program, transforming the diverse makeup of the entry level and senior level talent pipeline.
Academic & Professional Background
Academic and Professional Background Leadership Forum Fellow Class of 2016-2017. An elite women’s executive program that included Executive Education components of International Business At Harvard Business School and Global Executive Leadership at INSEAD. Ms. Boone was named as one of the 2018 Women to Watch by Business Insurance, the 2019 Diversity Champion by the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation and a June 2019 Elite Executive by Business Insurance America. She has been featured and quoted in multiple publications and is a sought-after speaker on the topic of diversity and inclusion.
Intentional Inclusion - The General Counsel As EDI Strategy Leader
Presented by Charlene Theodore
A diversity consultant, change management strategist and engaging speaker, Charlene helps shift perspectives and change the way leaders and employees think about the modern workplace.
Charlene Theodore is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. Committed to concrete action in advancing the Firm’s core mission to accelerate diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility, Charlene oversees McCarthy Tétrault’s award-winning Inclusion Now program. Charlene sits on the Firm’s Inclusion Now Council, an action-oriented governance model that leads the implementation of our EDI programs. Charlene also supports the firm’s clients with strategic advice on innovative and impactful solutions to realizing equity in the workplace.
Charlene has a unique understanding of the interconnection between the legal profession and EDI, and how to achieve tangible results. As the first Black president of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and 10th woman to hold Office, Charlene designed and implemented a series of initiatives for law firms and Corporate Canada to reimagine workplaces building productive, profitable, healthy, diverse and inclusive work environments.
Charlene’s achievements in workplace equity and inclusion are informed by her experience as a former employment and labour lawyer. She appeared before administrative tribunals and various levels of court, including Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal. She also represented the interests of Canadians of African descent before federal and provincial legislative committees, as well as United Nations human rights treaty bodies. Her employment and labour practice was centred on advising management and boards on all aspects of governance and workplace operations including government relations, labour negotiations, pensions, and benefits.
Charlene is a member and former Director of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), Canada’s largest national association of Black lawyers and judges. She is a recipient of a 2017 Lexpert Zenith Award honouring her for work in advancing the interests of women in the legal profession and society. In 2020, Charlene was named one of Canada’s 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.
Charlene is also a member of the Top 40 Advisory Board, a body that reflects the diversity and leadership excellence in Canadian business, and identifies outstanding young business leaders for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award.