Be an Advocate for Diversity & Inclusion 

Galahad Dong is currently the Director, HR Systems and Total Rewards for Simpson Strong-Tie, a global manufacturing company focused on creating structural products that help people build safer and stronger homes and buildings. Whether it’s working with senior executives, individual contributors, or on cross-functional teams, Galahad provides practical HCM solutions in a resource constrained world to drive business results.  Galahad has experience in designing, implementing, and administering broad based, cash, and equity incentive plans, as well as health and welfare and retirement plans.  Beyond Total Rewards, he has led and global implementations of HRIS (Workday), timekeeping (UKG Dimensions), and learning (Cornerstone OnDemand) solutions. His team currently provides all HCM analytics to the organization and when he’s not busy designing the next compensation plan or building a business requirements document for a future system enhancement, you can usually find him buried in a spreadsheet trying to find a HCM trend and analysis with the sole intent of using HR data to help push the business forward.  Galahad holds the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP), and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) designations through WorldatWork and is a member of NASPP, GEO, WorldatWork, NACD, and SHRM.

Niya Dragova is the cofounder of Candor, a company specializing in inclusive financial planning, like broad base 10b5-1 plans. She's a passionate speaker on compensation and equal financial access for all employees, with a weekly newsletter that has ~ 100,000 readers. Her opinions have been featured in The New York Times, The Information, Fortune, and others. Prior to Candor, Niya built and headed the quantitative strategy and competitive intelligence functions at a top 10 bank. She started her career in compliance, overseeing training  and regulatory reporting for a large public issuer across multiple disciplines including securities, lending, deposits, consumer protection and labor regulations.

Candor works with issuers on broad base 10b5-1 implementations, with an emphasis on helping employees from diverse backgrounds embrace long term responsible financial planning. Candor's goal is to help employees use their success to reinvest in their communities and become champions for others following in their footsteps.

Dana is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently works as the Senior Manager of Compensation for the Corporate Offices of Designer Brands Inc. Her team manages the compensation programs for their business segments in the United States. This includes base compensation, short-term and long-term incentive plans. Dana has worked in the field of compensation for over 22 years, primarily in the retail industry.

Dana majored in human resources and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. She is a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and has also earned her Equity Compensation Associate (ECA) designation.

Carolina Koch, CPA, CMA, is a Senior Manager in the Corporate Accounting department at Procter & Gamble. She has over 20 years of experience in the accounting and finance field with a focus on equity and share-based accounting. She manages the accounting and forecasting of over $300M in annual share-based compensation and serves as consultant on accounting matters to the Legal, Treasury and HR/Executive Compensation departments. She has received numerous awards at P&G, including the 2017 CEO award for her leadership on the implementation of the automated share-based compensation project. Carolina is a frequent trainer at P&G and over the last few years has delivered trainings in topics such as Proxy Reporting, Money Flow and Finance for Non-Finance Managers.

Carolina has an undergraduate and an MBA from Xavier University. She is a member of NASPP, IMA, Alpha Sigma Nu Society, SEC professionals and other non-profit organizations. She enjoys mentoring other professionals in the field and volunteering.

Adam Marmon is a Senior Team Manager in the Stock Plan Services group. He joined the Schwab team in 2010. He is experienced in client management, financial reporting, product consulting, personnel management, project planning and development, risk management, and compliance.

Adam is responsible for overseeing the delivery of new product implementation and consulting and the client service of the Financial Reporting team on behalf of Stock Plan Services clients.

Adam has a bachelor's degree in finance from Miami University. He is also a Certified Equity Professional (CEP).

Patricia is the Compensation Manager at Kerry. She has over 25 years’ experience in compensation and leadership in the insurance, healthcare and telecommunications industries. She has an MBA from University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and coursework from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Center for Professional and Executive Development as well as executive education from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business. She is also a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

Elena Thomas is the COO for Plan Management Corp., a full-service equity plan and securities administration software and services provider. Elena leads the operations and product development of PMC's leading equity management platform, OptionTrax. In this capacity, she works closely with both public and private company clients to ensure delivery of best practice plan administration software and services. She is also the spearhead of the OptionTrax Gender Equity in Equity Compensation study and Equity Inclusion Initiative. Areas of expertise include best practice performance award administration, financial reporting, and workplace equality. She currently serves as a Board Member of the Philadelphia chapter of NASPP and is a Certified Equity Professional. Elena is passionate about helping clients to leverage equity compensation and technology in order to attract talent, drive performance, and as a tool to promote workplace equality.

Elena was previously a Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, focusing on financial technology and access to capital for micro, small and medium enterprises worldwide. In addition to the U.S., she has worked extensively across Latin America and Europe. Prior to pursuing her M.B.A at the University of North Carolina, Elena worked with CGI-AMS, Inc. as a Project Manager and client relationship lead for software design and development projects.

As Head of Inclusion Transformation, Kai ensures that the delivery of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions’ products and services are effective in meeting the needs of diverse clients and communities. In this role, he collaborates with colleagues and partners to enhance employee well-being, foster financial inclusion and address the unique challenges confronting diverse populations.

Kai began his career as an executive in Global Wealth & Investment Management and most recently served as Enterprise Relationships Director. In this role, he was responsible for delivering innovative thought leadership, actionable ideas and relevant solutions to clients as an effective means in attracting, retaining, and motivating employees in an increasingly competitive business environment. 

He also served as the National Director of Institutional Client Relationships where he was responsible for coordinating the service and acquisition functions of the institutional and national client segment with over $200 billion in assets and four million accounts under management.

Kai is a leading industry professional with over 25 years of experience in retirement and financial services. Prior to joining Bank of America, he held a variety of positions with market leading financial services firms where he focused on helping corporate executives meet their fiduciary obligations, and empowered their employees to achieve financial wellness.

Kai holds a B.S. in mathematics from Gordon College and maintains certification in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He maintains the FINRA Series 7, 66 and 24 registrations and is an acting member of the American Economic Association, the Society of Human Resources and the Florida Council on Aging. Kai is also member of the firm’s Black Executive Leadership Council, co-executive sponsor for the Jacksonville Inter-Generational Employee Network and a member of the Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions Operating Committee.

Christine Zwerling is the Head of Stock Administration at Asana. She began working in the equity compensation industry in 1995 and has worked as a consultant and as an in-house stock plan professional. She has extensive knowledge of the rules, regulations, and accounting standards that drive so many stock plan processes. Christine earned her CEP designation in 2000 and was honored with the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) Individual Achievement award in 2007. Christine also serves as treasurer on the executive committee of the San Francisco NASPP chapter. She is also a frequent speaker for various industry events, including NASPP chapter meetings, NASPP’s national conference, the NCEO Employee Ownership Conference, and Global Equity Organization (GEO) meetings.