Montreece Smith, SVP of People @ Per Scholas
Montreece Smith is Senior Vice President, People. She brings 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, and Diversity & Inclusion, Montreece is a forward-thinking problem solver with a proven ability to execute best-in-class strategies to drive business results in a fast-paced environment. In her role, Montreece serves as a key member of our executive team and is responsible for driving our people strategy through our planned growth and expansion while preserving our philanthropic and entrepreneurial culture.
Though Montreece joined Per Scholas in early 2019, she has been a part of the Per Scholas community since early 2015 – as a Volunteer, then as Chair of the Dallas Advisory Board, and ultimately serving as part of our national Board of Directors. Montreece has been recognized as a Black Achiever in Industry (BAI) by the Harlem YMCA. In addition, she was a featured speaker for numerous fine organizations, including Anita Borg Institute, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and the University of Southern California’s Center for Effective Organizations.
She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Western Governors University. Montreece lives in Dallas; she is a wife and proud mother of three adult children.
Haven Cockerham, President and CEO @ Cockerham and Associates
Haven Cockerham founded Cockerham & Associates in Chicago in 2005 to provide strategic consulting and technology services related to Human Capital and Diversity & Inclusion. The Cockerham & Associates web-based Diversity & Inclusion solutions enable organizations to develop, aggregate and report the impact of their diversity and employee resource group strategies.
Previously, Haven was the Chief Human Resources Officer for R.R. Donnelley where he played a key role in the transformation of the company’s operating model and culture. He led the transformation of the human resources function and the establishment of a diversity and inclusion platform. Additional corporate leadership roles include Chief Human Resources Officer for DTE Energy in Detroit and senior executive human resources roles at General Motors.
Haven held key corporate assignments in manufacturing, labor relations, executive compensation, organization development, and succession planning. As an entrepreneur, he owned and operated a Chevrolet Dealership in South Carolina. He holds an MBA from Michigan State’s Executive MBA Program.
Emma Browning, Managing Director @ Paradox Consulting
Emma Browning is a management consultant with expertise in the areas of organization development and talent strategy. She is passionate about creating productive organizations and enabling innovation. Her past clients include a number of Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies as well as large nonprofit organizations.
Sample clients include Microsoft, Cisco Systems, the National Football League (NFL), Georgia Institute of Technology, Caterpillar BCP, and Duke University.
As the leader of a Certified B Corporation, she values community and the role of business in supporting sustainable and equitable growth. Ms. Browning has a BA from Wake Forest University, MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and Compensation Management Specialist (CMS) certification from IFEBP.
Dhiraj Gupta, HR Executive / Talent Management Leader @
ATMC Education Group
Dhiraj Gupta, brings more than 19 years of Global HR/ Talent Management, DE&I strategy and business operations experience. He has ability to leverage strategic areas of operations such as People, Work and Financial acumen leading to shared achievements. His experience includes working with various Fortune 500 clients within Financial, Technology, Healthcare and Insurance verticals in various regions such as North America, EMEA and APAC.
He comes with a vast experience of driving results in startup environment, dealing with ambiguity, to turnaround an underperforming business unit, having strategic agility, lead a cross-disciplinary strategic initiatives team.
Previous experience with MetLife and American Express, he played a key role in Digital Transformation and HCM (Human Capital Management) helping organizations achieve goals of Talent Acquisition, People Strategy and Operational Excellence by leveraging innovative ways and latest technology. He holds a Bachelors in Technology (Computer Systems) from University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.