TaRita Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Talent and Diversity at The Right Place Inc. She collaborates with workforce development organizations, employers, and investors to lead strategies to ensure West Michigan attracts, develops, and retains diverse talent. Since its founding in 1985, The Right Place has assisted thousands of Greater Grand Rapids companies to invest more than $6.1 billion and 50,000 new jobs throughout the region. The Right Place's ultimate goal is to help the people of the Greater Grand Rapids region reach their full potential within the community by driving business growth and attraction to create more opportunities for all in the region.

Robert Mohr was born and raised in Flint and has lived in Michigan all his life. The first person in his family to earn a college degree, Mohr earned a bachelor’s in web development and a master’s in information technology from Baker College. He has worked in higher ed for over two decades as a programmer and instructor. He joined WGU in 2019 as a program mentor for the cloud computing program and began his current position as a course instructor for CompTIA A+ certification in 2023. Mohr holds several top industry certifications and is passionate about helping students achieve their academic goals.

Robert Upton, Jr. is a Strategic Partnerships Manager (SPM) for WGU’s Central Region, which includes Michigan. Upton brings a strong track record of working with higher education where he led student recruitment and strategic partnerships. Upton is responsible for developing and sustaining relationships between the university and Michigan employers, K-12 school districts, community colleges, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities to provide pathways to flexible and affordable higher education options for students across the state. He has developed expertise in healthcare, nursing, education, and business. He worked for Indiana Wesleyan University and Grand Canyon University prior to joining WGU. Upton resides in Grand Rapids with his wife, Sandra.

John Rumery has been involved in the West Michigan tech community for over 15 years, including managing SoftwareGR and, most recently, as the campus director of Grand Circus Grand Rapids (coding boot camp). Rumery is the Industry Council Lead - IT for West Michigan Tech Talent (WMTT). WMTT is a collaboration of technology employers, educators, workforce development, and economic development organizations working together to meet West Michigan’s current and future technology talent needs. He and his wife have three children and an old cat, and are long-time residents of Northeast Grand Rapids.

Carlos Cubia is responsible for developing and engaging Corewell Health in systemwide transformational diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability strategies. As a visionary and innovative leader, Carlos is known for thinking differently about what is possible. He applies his extensive experience to creating an inclusive, diverse, safe, and equitable community and enabling Corewell Health to achieve its vision of a future where health is simple, affordable, equitable and exceptional.

He is passionate about caring for the whole person with respect and dignity and building a world where health and well-being are within reach for all. At Corewell Health, Cubia is developing and championing strategies to create a culture in which DE&I and health equity are both at the center of everything we do.

He previously served as Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). In this role, he led the development and implementation of an enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion strategy for 400,000 employees in 17 countries. His prior leadership roles include Vice President of Sales and Account Management at Aetna, Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer at Covidien, and Vice President at Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Throughout his career, Cubia has been intentional about driving the diversity agenda. He has earned several honors for his work, and was recognized by Black Enterprise as a Top Corporate Diversity Executive in 2018. Cubia earned his bachelor’s degree in social science and criminal justice from Michigan State University.

Jamon Alexander joined WMCAT in 2015 and now leads the organization’s work to provide access to opportunities as president and CEO. Before assuming the president and CEO role at WMCAT, he served as the center’s director of workforce and spent six years growing the nationally recognized Adult Career Training Program. In that role, he helped build income security with families through holistic support, leadership development, and career training for adults experiencing under- and unemployment. He is a passionate nonprofit professional who has led fundraising and volunteer efforts at the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Spectrum Health Foundation, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Heart of West Michigan United Way. Alexander is a community advocate and activist and serves on the KConnect Board of Trustees as Chair, the Grand Rapids Housing Commission, and the Trinity Health Grand Rapids Board of Trustees. He is also a founder of BL²END and continues to serve on the Advisory Board. He is an alumnus of the REAL (Racial Equity in Action Leadership) cohort with the National Equity Project and a former Kent County Essential Needs Task Force. He has served as a core team member of Invest Health, a national initiative that addresses the social determinants of health. In 2014, he was given the Community Advocate Award by Grand Rapids Young Professionals, and he was named one of Grand Rapids’ 40 Under 40 by the Grand Rapids Business Journal in 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Alexander earned his bachelor’s degree in public and nonprofit administration from Grand Valley State University, which named him Young Alumni of the Year in 2012.

Cindy Brown leads employer development for the Career Center at Grand Valley State University, connecting with university and community partners to establish relationships for career opportunities. In addition, she partners with faculty, staff, and employers on student-focused initiatives. Before her time at GVSU, she served as the Vice President of Talent Initiatives at The Right Place, Inc., where she collaborated with other talent-related organizations to address regional talent pipeline challenges. Brown worked jointly as Executive Director for Hello West Michigan and Vice President of Talent Initiatives for The Right Place, Inc. for many years before stepping into her role for The Right Place full-time. Under her leadership, Hello West Michigan's membership, programming, and regional awareness grew exponentially, helping establish West Michigan as a destination for top talent. In previous roles, she served as Project Manager for the West Michigan Internship Initiative and had a lengthy career at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. She has over 20 years of leadership experience in employee development, talent acquisition, training, and facilitation. She excels at attracting talent, generating awareness, and connecting individuals to resources. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Aquinas College.

Keli Christopher, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of STEM Greenhouse, committed to growing STEM proficiency in vulnerable children while cultivating education and career success. She is also the president and lead teacher for Mind Boggle, a math and science education company. Dr. Christopher was educated in Grand Rapids Public Schools and graduated from Ottawa Hills High School. Her family and school community were very influential in her academic success. In high school, she played volleyball, was active in student organizations, was a volunteer dance teacher for 4H, and worked at a local electrical engineering company after school. As valedictorian of her high-school class, Dr. Christopher received a full scholarship to attend North Carolina A&T State University, a Historically Black University. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in agricultural & biosystems engineering, Dr. Christopher spent her summers in research programs at Cornell University and Virginia Tech. After graduating summa cum laude from North Carolina A&T, she pursued both master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Illinois and the third black woman in the world to receive a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering. During this time, she married Benjamin Amponsah, an immigrant from Ghana. Dr. Christopher has worked as an engineer for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in San Bernardino, Calif. She has also worked as the Mathematics Curriculum Specialist for the Grand Rapids Area Pre-College Engineering Program (GRAPCEP). She is a Geology and Environmental Science Instructor for the University of Phoenix. Dr. Christopher is very happy to have a son in kindergarten at the Potters House and a two-year-old daughter she cares for while working from home.

With a bachelor’s degree in public accounting, a master’s in economics and international business administration and over 25 years of work experience in Mexico, Spain and the United States, Guillermo's knowledge, and experience in the field of business has helped him find success as President & CEO of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

The Hispanic Chamber focuses on economic development, specifically for the local Latinx community, and operates with the mission to develop and grow Latinx professionals and businesses. After seven years in his role, Guillermo has grown membership numbers, event turnout, and overall organization of the Chamber. 

In 2018 he launched a long-term vision initiative called Transformando West Michigan that focuses on economic development for Latinx businesses. In 2019, he launched another initiative that focuses on workforce and talent development that aims to create a pipeline developing and connecting Latinx college students with area employers. 

In 2024, he is getting ready to launch a third initiative that will focus on creating solid accounting and financial structures within Latinx businesses that allow for growth and access to capital. With Guillermo at the helm of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the organization has grown from two full-time staff (including himself and his assistant) to nine staff. Under Guillermo’s leadership, the WMHCC has increased its budget from $200K in 2017 to $2.3M in 2024.

Charles Elwood is a trailblazer in Artificial Intelligence with a unique heritage of being half-Thai American. As an award-winning AI artist recently showcased at Art Prize, a TEDx speaker, and a Microsoft AI MVP—one of the rarest distinctions in the United States—he stands out not only as a leader but also as a beacon of representation in STEM. With a career spanning top-tier companies like General Electric, Johnson Controls, and Delphi Automotive, Elwood brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the systemic challenges that BIPOC individuals face in STEM fields. From educational inequities to limited access to professional networks, heleverages their platform to advocate for greater inclusivity and resource accessibility. Elwood is pioneering AI to democratize access to knowledge and resources that were unimaginable just a few years ago. One notable project involves custom neural voice technology to help individuals who have lost their voice to throat cancer regain their original voice, showcasing the profound impact AI can have on improving lives. Through his work, he is committed to breaking down barriers and creating pathways for future generations of BIPOC individuals in STEM, exemplifying how technology can be both innovative and inclusive.