Fireside Chat Program: The Future of Work and the American Electorate
The program for the evening will include a panel of executives from name-brand companies - Gallup, Walmart, Molson Coors, and Univision discussing their consumers and the Future of Work and the American Electorate. With the political environment percolating into our workplaces and personal relationships, companies are finding themselves increasingly drawn into discussions about political issues—with some consumers demanding that companies take a public stand. Join our inaugural fireside chat featuring executives from iconic American companies in which we examine polling data on the current mood of the American public and consumers -- what motivates them, what influences them and what matters to them most.
You’ll hear:
- Issues that are top of mind for the American workforce.
- Trends employers are experiencing among their customer base.
- Insights into how top brands choose whether and how to align themselves on social issues.
NOTE: This program will be "bookended" by a networking reception before and after the panel, all located in the same space at Hamilton Live. Also, please note the event has limited seating and will require an RSVP, so look for an email regarding special events in early March.
Jessica Herrera-Flanigan
Jessica Herrera-Flanigan is Executive Vice President of Government and Corporate Affairs for Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America. In this role, she spearheads the Company’s government relations efforts, corporate social responsibility, social impact and empowerment initiatives including Univision Contigo as well as cross-platform diversity and community efforts. Herrera-Flanigan oversees the Univision Washington, D.C. office, which focuses on developing strategies to address the key public policy issues that impact the Company and the U.S. Hispanic community. She leads a first-class team that works to enhance Univision’s presence among policymakers and influencers, as well as extend the Company’s communications with key stakeholders, such as business and trade associations, consumer groups, think tanks and partners.
Before joining Univision, Herrera-Flanigan served as a partner at Monument Policy Group, where she led the firm’s technology, media and crisis communications practices, as well as advised on such issues as national security, privacy, immigration, and sports. Previously, Herrera-Flanigan served as the Staff Director and General Counsel for the House Committee on Homeland Security, where she was the first Latina to lead a major Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has held various other government service positions, including serving as senior counsel in the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney working on fraud and public corruption cases in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. She started her career as a communications and energy lawyer in private practice.
Herrera-Flanigan has deep ties to the Hispanic community, having served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of D.C. and regional vice president for the Hispanic National Bar Association. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and currently serves on the National Association of Broadcasters Television Board and the U.S. Center for Safe Sport Board of Directors. A sought-after speaker and recognized with multiple industry accolades, Herrera-Flanigan was named to Cablefax Magazine’s 2018 Top Women in Cable and Media, honored as Multichannel News’ Wonder Woman, named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States three times by Hispanic Business Magazine, received the President’s Award from the Hispanic Lobbyists Association in 2015, and has been featured in The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list multiple times.
Herrera-Flanigan received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Yale University.
Michelle Nettles
As Chief People & Diversity Officer, Michelle sets the strategy for leadership, diversity and talent development at all levels within Molson Coors with a workforce of 18,000 employees across the globe. Her leadership enables the business to be a stronger, more effective competitor with enhanced commercial capabilities to fuel growth and win in the marketplace.
Michelle was appointed to the Molson Coors Executive Leadership Team as part of the 2016 acquisition of MillerCoors, where she served as Chief of Human Resources. At MillerCoors, Michelle was responsible for building and sustaining organizational and leadership capability while ensuring the company retained, developed and attracted top talent to deliver strong business results. She also served as senior director of diversity and integrated talent management, leading the strategy for diversity and inclusion, as well as talent resourcing and management for the company.
Prior to MillerCoors, Michelle served as the executive director for Quest Milwaukee, a youth education program at Marquette University.
Michelle is not new to the beer business. Prior to joining Quest, she worked for Miller Brewing Company in a number of capacities. She served cross-functional partners on HR strategic projects and supported the legal department as assistant general counsel for areas including sales and distribution, labor and employment and finance. She has led projects with multi-million dollar implications, including the implementation of Miller’s salaried employee benefits program.
Michelle received a Juris Doctorate from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science in economics from Florida A&M University.
Michelle is the board chair for Milwaukee Collegiate Academy and serves on the boards of Thurgood Marshall College Fund in Washington, DC. and United Way Denver. She previously served on the boards of Pearls for Teen Girls, YMCA- Greater Chicago, IFF, St. Mary’s-Columbia Hospital and State Fair Board of Wisconsin. Michelle is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Executive Leadership Council, Christ the King Church in Milwaukee and several professional organizations.
Kevin Harper
Kevin Harper is a Senior Retail Executive who recently retired from Walmart after more than 37 years of successful experience in Human Resources, Store Operations, Technology Implementation and International Acquisition Integration. Before retiring, Kevin spent more than 13 years in Human Resources where the last position he held was that of Senior Vice President People Strategy and Operations. Delivering quality customer focused results through agile, innovative and people led initiatives around the globe is what inspires Kevin. In retirement, Kevin is enjoying spending his time with family and traveling with his wife Marsha.
Mohamed Younis
As editor in chief, Mohamed leads the Gallup News team. For the past 10 years, Mohamed has led some of Gallup's largest global and regional studies on social, political and economic issues. His research at Gallup has focused on geopolitics and the shifting global order, U.S. foreign policy, state stability, youth employment challenges, and relations between Muslim communities and Western societies.
Mohamed provides briefings to world leaders and institutions on Gallup's research and provides expert insights to television, radio and print media worldwide. Since 2012, Mohamed has led Gallup's initiatives on situational intelligence and open-source monitoring. He leads a team of strategic advisers who monitor and consult on real-time geopolitical shifts around the world. Mohamed is a member of the Virginia State Bar, has studied and worked in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and is fluent in Arabic.
Ed O'Keefe
Ed O'Keefe is the CBS News political correspondent based in Washington and reporting for all CBS News
broadcasts and platforms. He joined the network as an on-air contributor in 2017 and full-time in April
2018 after nearly 13 years of covering congressional and presidential politics for The Washington Post.
In his short time at CBS, he has covered the 2018 midterm elections, the confirmation hearing for
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the 35-day government shutdown, and the political scandals
embroiling Virginia's top three elected officials.
While at The Post, O'Keefe covered or contributed reporting on the presidential campaigns of Jeb Bush,
Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, as well as
dozens of key House and Senate races. On Capitol Hill, he has reported extensively on debates over gun
control, immigration policy, health-care reform and federal spending. He covered the "fiscal cliff"
showdown of late 2012; the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch; and dozens of
contentious congressional hearings, including former FBI Director James Comey's dramatic testimony.
Previously, O'Keefe covered federal agencies, federal employees and a range of policy issues, from the
repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to the decline of the U.S. Postal Service, the 2013
government shutdown, and cases of questionable government spending. He also briefly covered the war
in Iraq.
O'Keefe is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He is a graduate of American
University and was born and raised in Delmar, N.Y.