2026 Midwest Staffing Conference - Speakers and Sessions

 

Desmond Clark has built a strong reputation as a former NFL player with the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Chicago Bears. Desmond has taken his leadership skills from on the field to off the field as a speaker, coach, author, and entrepreneur Desmond authored and published his first book, the  Principles of Winning: 5 Keys to Create a Standard of Excellence. 

 With "Standards over Feelings" as his mantra, Desmond's goal is to lead his audience through real-life personal and professional experiences to help shine a light on effective leadership, team, personal and professional development 

 Since retiring from football, Desmond has blazed an impressive path as a financial advisor, inspirational speaker, and Founder/President/CEO of Bear Down Logistics.

 As a Speaker, Desmond has spoken and consulted for companies, associations, and schools across the nation including Fortune 500 health care company Baxter, Chicago United, Southern Gas Company (Nicor Gas), Loan Depot, National General Insurance, Wyndham Destinations, Echo Global Logistics, Nationwide Insurance and the American Cancer Society (just to name a few). He has also appeared on ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, WGN, ESPN, and other network TV and radio stations as a thought leader, author, speaker, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and coach. 

 “After 12 years of being a professional athlete and transitioning into the business world under high-level tutelage, I developed the mindset and the skill set needed to elevate not only myself but also others to extraordinary success. I have the game plan to help you keep Winning the Day. Execute the details in excellence consistently over time. That’s the process of greatness.”

 

Opening Keynote - April 22, 2026  - No Space Between

In No Space Between, Desmond Clark delivers a powerful, real-life message about what it truly takes to turn dreams into outcomes. Inspired by his harrowing journey to Africa to rescue his son, Desmond challenges audiences to confront a defining question: Is there space between what you say you want—and what you’re willing to do to get it?

This keynote aligns seamlessly with the Dream. Dare. Do. theme by moving beyond motivation and into disciplined execution. Desmond shares how applying the Principles of Winning became the framework that guided every decision in a high-stakes, emotionally charged situation where quitting was not an option.

Through compelling storytelling and practical insight, No Space Between equips audiences to close the gap between intention and action. Participants will leave inspired and challenged to eliminate excuses, raise personal standards, and take ownership of the behaviors required to achieve meaningful results—in business, leadership, and life.

This is not a message about hype or hope alone. It’s about alignment. When there is no space between what you want and what you’re willing to do, dreams become decisions—and decisions produce results.

Click image to order book by Desmond Clark: 

www.beardown-logistics.com

www.dezclarkspeaks.com

Maureen O’Brien is a dynamic business leader, globally recognized keynote speaker, and bestselling author known for helping organizations build high-performing teams through trust, clarity, and human-centered leadership.

With more than 30 years of experience leading a multi-generational, service-based construction business, Maureen understands firsthand what it takes to attract talent, develop people, retain clients, and grow revenue in competitive, relationship-driven industries. She is the founder and CEO of O’Brien & Son, Inc., a company she has successfully led for over 38 years, and the founder and Managing Partner of the Global Women’s Leadership Forum®, where she partners with organizations to strengthen leadership at every level.

Maureen’s work sits at the intersection of leadership, sales, and resilience. Her expertise in Relationship Sales and Point of Light Leadership™ equipping staffing professionals to build stronger pipelines, deepen trust with clients and candidates, and lead confidently through uncertainty and change.

A Stage IV lymphoma survivor, Maureen brings a powerful, real-world perspective on resilience, decision-making under pressure, and what truly matters when the stakes are high. Her message resonates deeply with leaders and sales professionals navigating rapid change while still being expected to deliver results.

Maureen is the author of four bestselling books, the most recent, “26 Points of Light—Illuminating One Cancer Survivor’s Journey from Diagnosis to Remission.” All profits from the book go to cancer research and patient care. She is a recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, and she has been recognized as one of Illinois’ most powerful women. Audiences consistently describe her as insightful, grounded, and refreshingly real — a leader who speaks from experience, not theory.

Opening Keynote - April 23, 2026 - The Relationship Advantage: Leading, Selling, and Succeeding in a People-First World

In an industry built on people, relationships remain the most powerful competitive advantage, especially in times of uncertainty.

As staffing leaders and professionals navigate rapid change, emerging technology, and evolving expectations from both clients and candidates, one truth remains constant: trust, clarity, and connection drive results. In this session, Maureen O’Brien brings a powerful blend of real-world business leadership, sales insight, and personal resilience to explore what it truly means to lead and sell when everyone owns the outcome.

Drawing from decades of building and leading a successful business, and through her own experience navigating life-altering uncertainty, Maureen challenges audiences to rethink leadership, sales, and accountability through a people-first lens. With warmth, candor, humor, and practical wisdom, she shows how the strongest pipelines, partnerships, and teams are built not through transactions, but through intentional relationships.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

•       Strengthen trust and connection with clients, candidates, and internal teams—even amid uncertainty
•       Lead with greater clarity, confidence, and shared accountability from every seat
•       Apply relationship-driven strategies that elevate performance, retention, and results
•       Reframe change and disruption as opportunities to lead more humanly and more effectively

This is a call to lead boldly, sell with purpose, and build relationships that last--no matter what the future holds.

April 23, 2026 - Panelist, Sales Panel Discussion

Click image to order book by Maureen O'Brien: 26 Points of Light: Illuminating One Cancer Survivor's Journey From Diagnosis to Remission

All profits from the book go to cancer research and patient care.

www.globalwlf.com

Noah Yosif serves as Chief Economist at the American Staffing Association in Alexandria, VA. In this role, he oversees thought leadership supporting policy advocacy on behalf of the US temporary help services industry by highlighting the contributions of companies and their employees to the greater labor market. He also serves on the Economic Advisory Committee of the World Employment Confederation, a group of research professionals representing an alliance of global recruitment and employment industry trade groups. In this capacity, he advises business leaders and policymakers on emerging trends within global labor markets, as well as workforce development solutions which enable a more efficient, inclusive, and enduring labor force. Noah possesses over a decade of experience at the nexus between economic research and policy analysis. He previously served at the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions as an Economist in its Research Department, as well as the Independent Community Bankers of America as the organization’s first Director of Economic and Policy Research. He is a prolific speaker on labor market trends, and his commentary is often featured within major financial media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business, Kiplinger, as well as Schwab Markets. He holds an MPA from the University of Pennsylvania, in addition to an MA in Applied Economics as well as a BA in Economics from the George Washington University.

Closing Keynote - April 22, 2026  -   From Volume to Value: Staffing Strategy in a Frozen Labor Market

As the labor market transitions from the Great Resignation to the Great Stay, staffing companies need to embark upon a transition of their own – away from dependence on a high volume of orders, and towards providing high value to their customers.

To sell when most employers are cautious about hiring, and few workers are interested in changing jobs requires staffing companies to look beyond the surface and think hard about where they can specialize, differentiate, and become indispensable to a smaller set of customers.

In providing an overview of the current labor market and what to expect within the economy at-large, this presentation offers critical insights for staffing companies to identify defensible niches, reposition their services, and win business in a low churn environment. Ultimately, success in a frozen labor market will belong to staffing companies that shift from being order-takers to trusted workforce partners, delivering targeted expertise and measurable value when volume alone is no longer enough.

www.americanstaffing.net

Ziba Alizadeh is Vice President at Employbridge Professional Solutions. She brings over 20 years of experience in staffing and leadership with a focus on contract, contract-to-hire, and direct-hire solutions. She manages large, multi-million-dollar territories and has fostered long-term, exclusive partnerships with 95% of her clients. Ziba is currently leading and overseeing the strategic growth and expansion of EmployBridge’s Professional, Healthcare, and Contact Center Solutions across the nation. Her ability to navigate nuances in these large diverse markets has been instrumental in her success.

Ziba is an active member with various associations including Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) and American Staffing Association (ASA). Currently, she is a committee member for several councils. Alizadeh has been a featured speaker at prominent industry events, including the American Staffing Association’s Staffing World and the Ohio Staffing Association’s Annual Conference. In 2025, she was honored by Staffing Industry Analysts with inclusion in its prestigious 40 Under 40 list, which recognizes outstanding emerging leaders and innovators shaping the future of the staffing industry.

April 23, 2026 - Breakout Session 4 - Brave, NOT Perfect - The Recruiter’s Advantage in a Challenging Market

April 23, 2026 - Breakout Session 5 - Panelist, Sales Panel Discussion

April 23, 2026 - Breakout Session 6 - Reimagine Sales in Staffing – From Hiring to Closing the Deal

www.employbridge.com

Tori Begg is a senior AI leader specializing in adoption, enablement, strategy and the human side of artificial intelligence. As Senior Manager of AI Programs, she leads AI strategy and implementation across sales, marketing, and operations, helping organizations translate emerging AI capabilities into measurable business impact.

Tori focuses on how leaders redesign workflows, decision-making, and expectations as AI reshapes how work gets done. She is the co-founder of Mind & Machine DFW and a frequent speaker on AI leadership, organizational change, and practical AI adoption.

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 3 - Panelist, Recruiting Panel Discussion

April 23, 2026 - Breakout Session 5 - Beyond Hiring: Generative AI and the Future of Skills-Based Recruiting

In this session, participants will explore how generative AI is reshaping the recruiting landscape by automating job descriptions and enabling skills-based candidate matching.

The session draws on real-world experience to show how these trends can streamline workflows and build a more efficient talent pipeline, offering attendees a future-focused perspective

that is practical and easy to apply.

www.vdigitalservices.com

Brad Bialy has a deep passion for helping staffing and recruiting firms achieve their business objectives through strategic marketing concepts. For over a decade, Brad has developed a proven track record of motivating and educating staffing industry professionals at over 150 industry-specific conferences and webinars. His keen eye for strategy and delivery has resulted in multiple industry award-winning social media campaigns, making him a sought-after speaker and consultant. He is the host of Take the Stage and InSights, the staffing industry's leading podcasts with over 175,000 downloads.

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 2 - No One Wants to Talk to You. Here’s How to Get the Sale Anyway.

Let’s get real: No one needs a temp. And no one wants to be sold to.

Your prospects aren’t ghosting you because they’re rude—they’re overwhelmed, skeptical, and distracted. They’re avoiding sales conversations because they don’t believe you’ll offer value. So how do you sell when no one wants to talk?

In this session, we’ll show you how modern staffing firms are creating demand and accelerating deals—without cold-pitching or praying for referrals. You’ll learn how to turn passive prospects into active buyers using buyer enablement strategies: content, tools, and campaigns that build trust, reduce friction, and drive response—without the chase. It’s time to stop chasing. Start converting.

Key Takeaways:

• Reframe the sale: Why “no one needs a temp” is your invitation to reposition value.
• Demand generation vs. lead gen: What’s the difference—and how do you build both?
• Map the modern buyer’s journey: Learn what information, timing, and tools actually help buyers say yes.
• Don’t chase—guide: Create sales assets that drive self-service evaluation and faster decisions.
• The trust toolkit: What today’s skeptical buyers need to feel confident saying yes.

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 3 - Panelist, Recruiting Panel Discussion

www.haleymarketing.com

Karen Goldner is Managing Director of Established Business Program and Services at the Women’s Business Development Center. Karen leads the WBDC’s Established Business Services team and is responsible for the WBDC’s WBE certification program, which helps WBEs build capacity for sustainable growth and helps corporate partners identify strong suppliers.

For 20 years, Karen has worked with, in, and for a range of small businesses. In addition to consulting, her experience includes managing early-stage, lending to small businesses, and operating small manufacturing companies.

Karen holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska and an M.P.A. from Indiana University. In addition, Karen is a certified Community Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council.

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 2 - Panelist, Leadership Panel Discussion

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 3 - WBE Certification: What’s it Worth and How Do I Do It?

Through its programs, services, and advocacy efforts, the WBDC has helped over 115,000 entrepreneurs gain economic self-sufficiency through business ownership and expansions and worked to change public policy nationally and locally over its 40-year history. Getting certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) can be a powerful tool for your business.

During this session, you’ll learn about use cases for WBE certification along with the requirements and general process. If you’ve been curious and/or confused about WBE certification, this program is for you!

www.wbdc.org

Therese Gopaul-Robinson works with organizations ready to move from stalled strategy to consistent execution-by helping leaders take ownership, make decisions, and lead forward.

With more than 20 years in healthcare leadership, Therese saw a pattern that quietly derailed performance across teams: capable leaders hesitating, avoiding tough conversations, and waiting for clarity instead of creating it. The result was stalled momentum, frustrated teams, and strategies that never fully took hold. Through her Security Stacking™ approach, Therese helps leaders move from overthinking to execution—building credibility through action, strengthening decision-making, and creating cultures where progress actually happens, not just plans.

Her work helps organizations strengthen Leadership ownership and decisionmaking, Strategy-to-execution alignment, Performance acceleration across teams, Culture shifts that support accountability and follow-through, and Security Stacking™ as a practical leadership framework. 

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 1 - Making It Work: Tactical Strategies to Lead More Effectively

In staffing, leaders are often pulled into the work because the pace is fast, the stakes are high, and everyone is juggling competing priorities. Even seasoned managers find themselves navigating challenges that go far beyond technical expertise: 

This tactical leadership workshop gives attendees the clarity, structure, and confidence to shift from managing tasks to intentionally shaping how their teams operate. Grounded in the Effective Teams Framework and real-world staffing scenarios, this is a "roll-up-your-sleeves" session that blends strategy and practical tools-without the fluff.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 3 - Communication With Impact: Mastering Message Framing

Effective communication is at the core of high performance in the staffing industry. Whether working with candidates, clients, coworkers, or cross-functional teams, the way messages are framed directly impacts trust, collaboration, and follow-through. This interactive workshop equips staffing professionals with practical, evidence-based communication tools to strengthen teamwork, reduce preventable conflict, and improve dayto-day execution across roles. Staffing moves fast-and miscommunication is expensive. This session focuses on clear, respectful, and efficient communication that supports stronger relationships and reduces rework. Participants will practice navigating difficult conversations, building partnerships across functions, and communicating in ways that drive action-not confusion. The skills taught are directly applicable to owners, branch leaders, recruiters, sales teams, coordinators, and emerging leaders. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Recognize how message framing influences trust, urgency, and followthrough with clients, candidates, and colleagues  
• Explain the difference between positive and negative framing-and how each impacts decision-making under pressure   
• Practice at least two messageframing techniques to reduce resistance and increase clarity in challenging conversations
• Strengthen teamwork by framing messages in ways that align goals and reduce conflict between sales, recruiting, and operations
• Apply communication strategies that save time, prevent rework, and protect the candidate and client experience 

ADDITIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMING AVAILABLE  

Making It Work: Clarifying Roles, Strengthening Teams, and Driving Execution

Making It Work is a leadership workshop designed to help organizations address the real issues that slow teams down—unclear roles, inconsistent accountability, and execution gaps that stall productivity. Building on the concepts shared in Therese Gopaul-Robinson’s breakout session, the workshop helps leaders and their teams establish clear expectations, strengthen how work gets done, and create practical team frameworks that support follow-through and results. Organizations use Making It Work to align leaders and team members around how decisions are made, how responsibilities are owned, and how work actually moves forward. Learn more about bringing Making It Work to your organization at www.theresegr.com

Megan McCann is the CEO and founder of McCann Partners, a premier IT staffing, recruiting, and technology services firm known for going beyond talent placement to deliver thoughtful, innovation-driven workforce solutions. Under her leadership, McCann Partners was named a Top Staffing Firm in the 2025 Top 100 World Staffing Awards, with two team members also recognized as Top Recruiters.

Outside McCann Partners, Megan co-founded ARA, a national organization that champions women in technology and leadership. She is also a founding partner of the Chicago Executive Women’s Networking Group and an active member of both the Chicago Innovation Board of Directors and the Women’s Mentoring Co-Op. As an IT staffing industry leader, Megan serves on the TechServe Alliance Board of Directors as Vice President/President-Elect and volunteers extensively with the American Staffing Association, driving initiatives that expand opportunities for technology talent in Chicago and beyond.

Megan’s leadership and advocacy have earned her numerous accolades. She has been a Chicago Business Journal Bizwomen Headliner in Technology, named one of the Chicago Business Journal’s Women of Influence, and recognized as a three-time finalist for the Midwest Women in Tech Awards. Recently, she was named to the SIA 2025 Global Power 150 Women in Staffing List, received RPOA’s Talent Acquisition 2025 Influential Woman Award, and was named a Top Staffing Leader in the 2025 World Staffing Awards.

Across all her endeavors, Megan is guided by a singular mission: to connect with, amplify, and champion initiatives that create lasting, positive impact.

www.mccannpartners.com

Cory McNeley is Managing Director at UHY Consulting. He has 22 years of industry experience with focus on technology, process optimization and materials management. Accomplishments include:

·         Managing implementations of over 20 ERP systems for fortune 200 and 500 organizations with experience with SAP, JD Edwards, Sage, Acumatica, NetSuite, Epicor, and Dynamics

·         Design, development and implementation of inventory management system for  international retail organization

·         Development of predictive technology using machine learning for forecasting margin improvement  opportunities for fortune 50 retail organization

·         Design, development and implementation of proprietary point of sale system for fortune 100 international retailer

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 1 - Unlocking the Potential of AI with Prompt Engineering

Artificial Intelligence is no longer experimental, it is operational. This session provides a practical introduction to AI, focusing on how professionals can immediately apply generative AI

through effective prompt engineering. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of AI’s evolution, current capabilities, and rapid adoption, followed by a structured framework for creating

high-quality prompts.

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 2 - From Tools to Talent: Advanced AI Strategies for High-Impact Staffing Organizations

As AI adoption accelerates, competitive advantage no longer comes from using AI tools, but from designing AI-driven workflows. This advanced session explores how staffing organizations

can move beyond basic prompting to deploy role-based AI assistants, data-aware automation, and decision-support systems that scale human expertise. Attendees will learn how to

integrate AI with internal data, maintain governance and compliance, and apply advanced prompt architectures to recruiting, sales, and operations. The session emphasizes responsible

AI adoption, human-in-the-loop design, and AI orchestration.

www.uhy-us.com

Richard Rosner, known nationwide as "The Staffing Shark" is a high-energy force in the staffing and recruiting world, known for his RAW & REAL approach. Whether on stage, in a boardroom or behind the microphone, Richard is dedicated to empowering staffing professionals to sharpen their skills, grow their business and dominate their markets! He doesn't teach theory; he lives it as he grew a staffing firm to double-digit growth, adding 38 new clients in just 12 months.

Founder of Staffing TV and host of the Staffing Shark Podcast, where he shares real-world strategies on how staffing firms can use video, branding, AI and conference presence to drive measurable growth. He has interviewed over 300 guests ranging from staffing leaders, authors, AI experts and etc.

Richard also spearheaded 826 placements in the past five years with multiple staffing firms and was honored the past three years as one of the most Valuable Contributors with American Staffing Association!

Staffing Shark on LinkedIn

Mark Winter is an expert at driving sales performance, keeping focus on customers, and keeping things simple. For 20+ years, Mark has held every sales role out there- from Branch Manager to Vice President of Sales and Enablement for a $2.5B publicly traded staffing company. During that time, he has spent countless hours figuring out what works and of course, what doesn't. This enables Mark to sniff out things that are blocking performance, remove the barrier, and get people to act. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds master certifications from some of the top sales training organizations in the world. Whether its strategic planning, sales process development, sales training, customer acquisition & engagement, sales team performance, or system and tool adoption, Mark can help get your team on track.​

April 22, 2026 - Breakout Session 1 - Stop Trying So Hard to Sell and Start Helping People Buy: How Staffing Buyers Really Buy Now (and What Your Sales Team Must Do Differently)

Selling staffing services isn’t harder because salespeople forgot how to sell — it’s harder because buyers don’t buy the way they used to. In this session, we’ll walk through how staffing buying decisions have evolved over time — from handshake deals and local relationships to buying committees, procurement, MSPs, and increasingly centralized decision-making.

More importantly, we’ll talk about what this shift means for how your sales team shows up. I’ll break down the different buying environments you’re selling into, how to recognize the signs of each, and what sales behaviors actually work in each scenario. You’ll leave with practical guidance you can apply immediately — whether you’re an individual contributor trying to move a stuck deal forward or a sales leader figuring out why yesterday’s playbook isn’t producing today’s results.

What You’ll Walk Away With

• A clear framework for understanding how your customers are buying today
• How to adjust your sales approach based on the buyer in front of you
• Insight into where staffing sales is heading — and how to get ahead of it

April 23, 2026 - Panelist, Sales Panel Discussion

www.winsourcegroup.com

Stef Ziev is a former TV executive turned sought-after executive coach, keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and the author of the bestselling book, The Choice Is Yours: A Simple Approach to Live and Lead with More Joy, Ease, and Purpose. With nearly two decades of experience, Stef has trained and coached thousands of C-Suite executives, visionary leaders, and entrepreneurs, supporting them to transform obstacles into opportunities, elevate their impact, grow through change, and communicate with compassion. She empowers clients to navigate transitions and take intentional action using her signature TURN TechniqueTM.  Stef has been incredibly fortunate to work with a wide range of clients from powerhouse organizations like The New York Times, Google, American Express, Sol de Janeiro, Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN, and the Philadelphia Eagles, to founders building multi-million-dollar, mission-driven businesses, and creatives bringing once unimaginable projects to fruition. A trusted voice in media, Stef has been featured on NBC’s Today show in the recurring segment Coach Me If You Can, ABC’s Good Morning America, On with Mario Lopez on iHeartRadio, and SiriusXM, bringing her expertise to millions.

Before coaching, Stef spent over 15 years as an award-winning senior executive in the entertainment industry. As a Vice President at The Oxygen Network, she developed and oversaw original movies and TV series, many of which received awards, including an Emmy nomination. Stef studied psychology at the master’s level at The University of Santa Monica and holds a coaching certification (CLC) from Coach For Life, an Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP). She is also a certified coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF). Stef is on a mission to change the world for the better, one TURN at a time.

April 23, 2026 - Breakout Session 6 - Choose to Change Your Story: Transform What Drains You to What Drives You

In today’s fast-paced world and work environments that are often dominated by urgency, overload, and uncertainty, even the most seasoned leaders can fall into reactive and unconscious patterns, defaulting to overwhelm, disconnection, or outdated beliefs that no longer serve them or their teams. This interactive workshop offers a practical and energizing reset. It helps executives, managers, and teams identify the hidden stories that drive burnout or stagnation, and replace them with intentional choices that reignite clarity, connection, and confidence. Through proven tools and experiential learning, participants learn how to shift from autopilot to agency and lead with renewed focus, alignment, and purpose.

Participants will learn how to:

• Identify the hidden stories driving stress, burnout, and disconnection
• Reframe challenges that exhaust you into choices that empower you
• Strengthen emotional intelligence and resilience under pressure
• Cultivate a culture of collaboration, proactivity, and intention

Participants will leave with:

• A new narrative that aligns with their values and vision
• Immediate, actionable strategies to increase effectiveness, energy, and morale
• A shared language to improve leadership, communication, and cohesion

Click image to order book by Stef Ziev: The Choice is Yours: A Simple Approach to Live and Lead With More Joy, Ease and Purpose

Post-session coaching, accountability structures, and follow-up support are available to reinforce momentum and implementation. www.stefziev.com