2025 NOW Conference Presenters

Dr. Lorneka Joseph

A native of The Bahamas, Dr. Lorneka is a pharmacist, speaker, and coach helping professionals merge wellness with work. She’s been hired by Citi Bank, The Florida Bar Association, Orange County Government, and Arkansas State University, delivering workshops on resilience, productivity, and mental health.

Founder of Brightly Awake, Dr. Lorneka empowers individuals to embrace holistic success. She believes success isn’t about doing more—it’s about working well. No stranger to media, she’s been featured in Forbes magazine and Comcast. She enjoys time...

Dvorit Mausner

Dvorit Mausner, founder of Good Question Coach, helps individuals, pairs, and groups of all kinds master relationship skills to align and thrive at work and home. Her background includes 20 years of leadership across sectors, industries, and organization types, advising entrepreneurs, businesses, initiatives, and communities. Dvorit studied behavioral neuroscience, social justice, and business at the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton. Her accredited coach training is in Organization and Relationship Systems CoachingTM...

Emilie Mitchell

Emilie Mitchell (she/her) is the Violence Prevention and Education Program Coordinator at the Center for Support and Intervention. At CSI, Emilie oversees Bears that Care, a student-led Active Bystander initiative, and directly supervises nine peer-educators who facilitate discussions on Social Identity and Microaggressions, Mental Health, Alcohol Intervention, and more for the campus community. She comes with over five years of violence prevention education experience. Emilie graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with her Bachelor's of Science in...

Finley Golightly

Finley Golightly (they/them) is the IT Support and Helpdesk Supervisor at UC Berkeley’s D-Lab and directly supervises the Undergraduate Technician (UTech) team. Finley received their BA in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley, and their experience as a student employee and first-gen college graduate shapes how they lead their students, prioritizing community and compassion. They are also passionate about leveraging data science and technology to solve real-world problems. Outside of work, Finley enjoys spending time with their cat, reading, and playing Dungeons and Dragons...

Jeanette Lindsay

Northdawn Coaching & Consulting, Founder

Jeanette Lindsay is the founder and owner of Northdawn Coaching & Consulting, LLC, where she supports individuals and organizations in all areas of development, career management, and organizational change. She brings over 15 years of experience from Stanford University, where she served as Director of Talent Management and Organization Development. In that role, she coached a wide range of Stanford staff as they navigated their careers, supported managers and leaders within leadership programs, and led various career...

Jeff Heiser

Jeff Heiser is a Senior Trainer and Strengths Coach for Workforce Development in the Division of Student Affairs at UC Davis. He holds an M.S. in non-profit management, is a Gallup-certified Strengths coach, an ACC with the ICF, and holds a Team Coaching certification. Jeff specializes in team coaching, facilitation, and creative brainstorming, helping teams enhance their impact and achieve results. Through team and leadership coaching, he is passionate about empowering individuals to discover and use their strengths for greater engagement and well-being at work and in life.

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Kelly Johnson

Kelly is a certified Somatic Coach and Sr. Human Resources professional with over 25 years of experience spanning consulting, government, and private industry. She has led initiatives in talent acquisition, HR management, workforce development, DEI, and community engagement and outreach, bringing a unique blend of strategic insight and human connection to every role she undertakes.

Currently, Kelly serves as the Executive Chair for the Alameda County Workforce Development Board (ACWDB) and is a valued member of the MESA Industry Advisory Board. She...

Kris McGuigan

Kris is no stranger to courageous disruption. Early in her career, a supervisor coined the term “professional courage” to describe her direct and fearless approach to problem-solving. As a trailblazing entrepreneur, award-winning speaker, and author, Kris has consistently embraced new challenges with breathtaking audacity.

At the same time, she has fought to live authentically, combining her expertise with a fierce passion for igniting “ah-ha” moments of clarity and courage in others. In 2015, she left a successful corporate career to found Professional Courage, a premier career...

Liesel Mendoza

Liesel is passionate about helping people find meaningful work and become purpose-driven leaders. After 30 years in IT solving business challenges, she founded The Mentoring Club to connect aspiring and seasoned leaders worldwide. She believes meaningful work leads to success and happiness—and that mentors play a vital role in this journey. With a bold vision to provide mentorship for anyone, anywhere, The Mentoring Club now spans six continents, 50+ countries, and a thriving community of 500+ mentors and mentees, all dedicated to changing the world, one leader at a time.

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Lisa Laughter

UC Davis, Senior Career Coach, ACC

Lisa Laughter is a Senior Career Coach at UC Davis in Human Resources, Learning & Organizational Development, a motivational speaker, and a professional life coach with over 25 years of experience in academic advising, higher education, and career development. She began her career at Washington State University before becoming the inaugural Career Coach at UC Davis and UC Davis Health.

Lisa is a seasoned professional dedicated to guiding individuals toward their career aspirations. She has led transformative initiatives such as Career Development Week, Career Design Lab, and...