Keisha B. Merritt
Leadership & Wellbeing Strategist | Author of WorkSick™ | Founder, KBM Executive Strategies
With more than 25 years of experience leading teams at Fortune 30 companies including Walmart, Samsung and Verizon, Keisha B. Merritt helps organizations build leadership capacity and design cultures where people and performance thrive.
Known as a strategic dot-connector, she bridges business goals with people-first leadership. Her proven frameworks address the hidden costs of relentless performance expectations while unlocking leaders’ potential. Merritt has led enterprise-wide initiatives impacting more than 900,000 employees globally—demonstrating that well-being and results are not competing priorities but the foundation of effective leadership.
Christy Valentine
Manager of Academic & Philanthropic Programs
Christy Valentine is a Northeast Arkansas native and graduate of Arkansas State University, earning a bachelor’s in marketing and an MBA.
She began her career in sales with Philip Morris USA before joining A-State’s College of Business in 2001. During 15 years on faculty, Valentine taught marketing and management, led fundraising initiatives, managed marketing and communications, and partnered with the provost to expand community college and degree center relationships.
In 2016, she became chief development officer for the Soulsville Foundation in Memphis, supporting youth arts programs at the Stax Music Academy and Stax Museum. Since 2021, she has worked at Hytrol Conveyor Co., managing academic partnerships and overseeing philanthropic investments.
She has two grown children, Madeleine and Jake.
Dr. Sheila Jacobs
Chancellor, Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus
Dr. Sheila Jacobs is the chancellor and chief academic officer of Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus. A former principal and longtime advocate for workforce education, she is dedicated to creating pathways that connect learning with meaningful careers.
Dr. Jacobs is a certified Enneagram teacher and coach, career coach program facilitator, and experienced grant writer and principal investigator. Her background in human resources and education leadership informs her people-centered approach to developing programs that empower both students and professionals to thrive.
Lori Brooks
Vice President of Customer Experience, ArcBest
Lori Brooks leads ArcBest’s marketing and customer experience teams, focusing on making it easier for customers to do business with the company and ensuring every interaction reflects ArcBest’s commitment to excellence.
She applies analytics and customer insights to guide strategies that enhance service, strengthen relationships and build loyalty. Brooks has helped cultivate a customer-focused culture across the organization, overseeing voice-of-the-customer programs and customer advisory boards, and leading teams responsible for advertising, brand awareness, communications and sustainability reporting.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a marketing minor from Missouri State University. Brooks also serves on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Arkansas and played a key role in passing Seizure Safe Schools legislation in 2023.
Dr. Teressa Brown
Senior Vice President & Provost, ACHE
Dr. Brown previously served as dean of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) School of Physical Therapy before advancing into senior leadership roles at the institution.
Before joining ACHE, she was program director at West Coast University in Los Angeles and a faculty member at Simmons University in Boston. Brown earned both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees from Simmons, where she also completed her Ph.D. in health professions education in 2015.
Her primary research interests include instructional methods and assessment practices in anatomy education, as well as predictors of student success in Doctor of Physical Therapy programs.
