meet the panel

Jamie Ousterout, CDE

VP, Client Success, The Diversity Movement

Jamie has spent more than a decade in creative, marketing, and digital companies. She has served clients across various industries, including healthcare, pharmaceutical, financial, technology, and non-profit. Jamie founded Stabilimenta in 2018 to help innovative and creative professional services organizations establish and optimize their processes to more effectively serve their clients and engage their employees.

While predominantly working in client service and project management roles, she always has had a keen focus on operations. She graduated from Cornell University in 2009 with a bachelor of arts in English and history.

Luanne Welch

President & CEO, Easterseals UCP North Carolina & Virginia

Luanne is President and CEO of Easterseals UCP North Carolina & Virginia, an industry leader supporting 40,200 children, adults & families living with disabilities, mental health & substance use challenges. With more than 35 years of non-profit experience, Luanne is a thought leader, change agent, and powerful voice within the national health and human services industry. She is recognized as a turnaround leader with an ability to reorganize financially challenged organizations and reposition them for sustained, healthy growth. Devoted to positive change, Luanne actively engages an employee Council around inclusion, diversity, equity, authenticity and learning.

Jose Rodriguez

Board Chair, NCACPA

After 26 years as a partner with KPMG and four decades in the financial services industry, Jose retired. He now sits on several boards within the finance and accounting industries.

Jose's experience in auditing has mostly been with large multi-national companies, mid-sized private, and publicly-held companies with a primary emphasis in the consumer markets (retail, restaurants, and distribution and manufacturing concerns) and oil and gas. He also has experience working on mergers & acquisitions, IFRS, and has participated in several IPOs and public company transitions. As the Partner in Charge and Executive Director of KPMG's Audit Committee Institute, Jose spends considerable time with boards and audit committees discussing governance and other relevant topics.

Vanessa Gibson

Director, Human Resources, Accel-KKR

Vanessa Gibson is the Director of Human Resources at Accel-KKR and Co-Chair of Accel-KKR’s DE&I council supporting the firm’s initiatives on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Vanessa has over ten years of experiencing working in Financial Services & FinTech industries overseeing all aspects of Human Resources. Vanessa’s areas of expertise include establishing human resource teams and infrastructures to effectively support business growth. Vanessa received a Master of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University, an MBA from Valdosta State University, and a B.S. in Psychology from Kennesaw State University.