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.
