Name: 2023 Diversity & Talent Summit
Start: 2023-04-26T07:30:00-04:00
End: 2023-04-26T16:00:00-04:00
Location: JW Marriott Grand Rapids

Create Great Inclusion: 2023 Diversity & Talent Summit

The annual Diversity & Talent Summit explores the latest DEI trends to enhance business success in an increasingly diverse and global community.

This is West Michigan’s premier summit for CEOs, C-Suite leaders, Chief Diversity Officers, DEI practitioners, and human resources professionals to build capacity and expertise.

Wednesday, April 26
J.W. Marriott Grand Rapids: International Ballroom
Morning Session: 7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Afternoon Session: 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Full Day Session: $275/Member $350/Non Member
Morning Session: $150/Member $250/Non Member

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, Assistant Professor, Michigan Medicine & Director of Adaptive Sports & Fitness, Division of Student Life, University of Michigan

Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Urology at Michigan Medicine, and the Interim Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) and Director of Adaptive Sports & Fitness within the Division of Student Life at the University of Michigan. He also serves as the Director of Adaptive Sports in the Michigan Center for Human Athletic Medicine & Performance and is the Spokesperson for Guardian Life in their Equal & Able Partnership.

“Dr. O” was born in Nigeria before immigrating to the US at a young age. He attended High School at Deerfield Academy and college at Stanford University where he also ran Track & Field, serving as captain his last two seasons and achieving Academic All American recognition.

He then earned his MD from the University of Michigan before matching into Orthopedic Surgery at Yale. At the beginning of his 3 rd year he experienced a spinal cord injury, paralyzing him from the chest down. After two surgeries and intense rehabilitation, he was blessed with some return of motor function, and navigates the world as a proud wheelchair user, managing the other long term sequelae of an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury.

He went on to earn a Master’s in Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship from The University of Notre Dame, and completed his Family Medicine Residency at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. He served on the St. Joseph County Board of Health, appointed by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and is on the board of the River City Challenged Athletes, a non-profit supporting the area adaptive sports teams. He was featured on Robin Robert’s Good Morning America Series “Thriver Thursday,” and has a catch phrase, “Disabusing DisabilityⓇ,” hoping to demonstrate that DISability doesn’t mean INability. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honors Society, received Michigan Medicine’s Distinguished Early Career Alumni Award in 2020, and was given the “A Teacher’s Teacher Award” by the Academy of Medical Educators.

Nationally, he serves as the Disability Issues representative on the Steering Committee for the Group on Diversity and Inclusion at the AAMC, and the National Medical Association’s Council on Medical Legislation. He speaks around the country on topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including, but not limited to the lack of black male physicians and creating a health system that is accessible and inclusive to both patients and providers with disabilities, and has been featured on CBS News, PBS News Hour, and MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He is leading efforts to create an adaptive sports program, providing access to physical fitness and recreational and competitive sports for all.

Ana Ramíres-Sáenz, Founder & CEO, La Fuente Consulting

Ana Ramirez-Sáenz, founder and CEO of La Fuente Consulting, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultancy, is on a mission to bridge cultures and simplify communication in the workplace, community, and personal spaces. By following the guiding principle of fostering an open, positive, and respectful culture where all are valued and able to contribute to their full potential, Ana guides her clients through cultural transformation processes that enable equitable and welcoming work environments.

Early in her corporate lending career, (MBA Finance), through engagement in discussions and committees that focused on increasing diversity, she soon found her passion for fostering equity/ inclusion in the workplace. Ana continued to be intimately involved advancing the DEI work within her profession until she left a thriving career to establish La Fuente Consulting in 2000.

Her over 20 years of practical, hands-on real-world experience has transformed her into a thought leader in the field diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As a management consultant, strategist, executive coach, and learning and development professional, her Listen, Learn and Lead approach makes Ana a sought-after partner and trusted advisor.

Highly experienced in formulating and implementing strategic, enterprise-wide DEI initiatives, Ana helps organizations navigate the complexities of engaging in a DEI journey. She helps them answer some of their most salient questions such as, how do we create an inclusive environment where all individuals are accepted and celebrated? How can my organization implement retention strategies for a diverse, talented workforce?

Ana is an engaging bilingual and bicultural facilitator who has delivered programs in English and Spanish for thousands of participants from the shop floor to the board room across North America for an array of industries including healthcare, financial and professional services, construction, manufacturing, retail, technology, and education.