
ABOUT US
OUR ADVISORY BOARD

Julie Paris
Wellness Program Specialist
Akamai Technologies
I've always been interested in networking and constantly searching for a better place for people in my profession to share ideas and best practices and have always had a passion for health and wellness. Over the years developing a comprehensive wellness program at Akamai from scratch to engage our colleagues in programs that align with the 5 Pillars of Akamai wellness, I'd love to share what I've learned and learn from others.

Ryan Bond
Chief People Officer
Thrive Restaurant Group
Ryan is a people optimist. He believes that people want to do work that matters, with other people, in a healthy and fulfilling way -- and that organizations are uniquely positioned to help create that type of experience. He’s a student of human relationships, learning, change and design. Ryan is the Chief People Officer at Thrive Restaurant Group, where he gets to love people every day.

Gabriela McManus
SVP of People Operations
Drizly
I believe in creating inclusive environments where a diverse group of people can and want to do their best work, in large part by helping others accomplish their goals. Culture is strategy, and I firmly believe that we can change the level of engagement across our entire community by creating purpose-driven work environments.

Mike Ariale
Sr. Manager, People Operations
EverQuote
I've seen the evolution of People Operations having worked for several years in career counseling followed by talent acquisition and now in people operations. I enjoy seeing how a high-impact culture can truly drive a business forward like at EverQuote. Our small and mighty team does so much more not only with recruiting and engaging but empowers and develops employees across the organization.

Dom Merritt
VP, People
Buildout, Inc.
Dom Merritt currently serves as the Vice President of People at Buildout, Inc., a software company used by commercial real estate companies to power their marketing and brokerage operations. He is responsible for leading people initiatives across all offices, including talent management, employee engagement, compensation and benefits, and organizational development. Dom also serves as a Senior Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago, where he teaches Human Resource and Business Communication courses.

Elizabeth Meagher
VP, People Development & HR
SHIFT
As the Head of People, for the past 10 years I have specialized in going into start-up and early stage high-growth organizations with three goals: building a culture of feedback and development where every employee has an individualized career and growth plan, helping to bring together the right leadership team for strategic direction, and having the team in place that can execute the product and investment goals.
I am a people function leader passionate about changing the way the business approaches working with us! I've neer seen myself who stays in their 'swim lane' and because of that, I've always been curious about how the business as a whole, thrives. The value that our function can bring to people business leaders can be game changing in the ways that it can streamline the employee lifecyle, really see the needs, and apply programs, processes and even fierce conversations more effectively.