Career GPS

Deborah Kurtz is a seasoned professional with a strong background in talent acquisition and human resources. As the Vice President of HireMinds, a leading recruiting firm, she excels in helping organizations build effective, agile, and skilled workforces. With her expertise in guiding career development and employee education, Deborah advocates for empowering individuals to take charge of their learning journey. Her focus on self-driven growth aligns with the changing landscape of the employer-employee relationship, recognizing the value of flexibility and diverse skill sets. Deborah's forward-thinking approach has earned her a reputation as a trusted advisor in navigating the dynamic world of modern work.

Meg is a client-focused leader with over 20 years of learning and development experience. Prior to Lever Talent, she served as a strategic talent advisor across retail, technology, food service, wellness, and healthcare. Meg leverages her enthusiasm and drive to help clients win by reaching their strategic destinies. She is an executive coach and "talent concierge," helping leaders find and leverage their true potential.

Jeff Cassidy is a seasoned Global CFO with 15+ years of successful business partnering in diverse industries such as EdTech, Crypto, Travel, Biotech, and financial services. He has navigated through various business structures, including Public, Venture backed, PE backed, and Family-owned businesses.

Currently serving as the CFO for Flatiron School under Carrick Capital, Jeff previously spent eight years at EF Education First, steadily climbing up the ranks until becoming the CFO of the company. Before EF, he held finance and strategy positions at notable public companies like GE, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Panera Bread.

In the early stages of his career, Jeff embraced entrepreneurship, co-founding CampusLIVE, later acquired as Dailybreak, a social engagement platform that raised over $10M from venture capital firms like Highland Capital Partners and Charles River Ventures. His accomplishments earned him recognition as one of BusinessWeek's "Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25" and an "Emerging Entrepreneur" honored by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and the Office of Business Development.

Outside the business realm, Jeff remains an avid hockey player, cyclist, and aspiring triathlete. He resides near Boston with his wife and two daughters, cherishing time spent with extended family and friends.

Dr. Liz Wilke is a principal economist at Gusto, where she researches the state of work and business in the modern economy. She has extensive experience in both the technology and government sectors, having directed research programs and public spending that support companies and workers across the globe. Previously, she worked at LinkedIn as the tech policy and future of work researcher, where she led the public policy team's engagement with the rest of the business on AI fairness policy and initiatives.

Before joining LinkedIn, Liz served as the director of economic analysis at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, where she led country-level economic analyses across diverse teams to design and execute investments and governance reforms programs for equitable growth in middle- and low-income countries. Throughout her career, she has built synergies among work streams and increased cross-pollination of best practices and ideas. Liz holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil from the Pardee RAND Graduate School of Public Policy and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bledi Taska is a prominent labor economist and a leading authority on the future of work. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at Lightcast, he oversees the development and delivery of cutting-edge labor market data and analytics that help businesses, governments, and individuals navigate the rapidly evolving world of work.

At Lightcast he leads a team of world-class economists and data scientists who leverage state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze real-time labor market data. His team delivers actionable insights on the most pressing issues facing the global workforce, such as the impact of AI and automation, the future of work and education, reskilling and upskilling strategies, and workforce planning.

He has also been a trusted advisor to various international organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, the World Economic Forum, and UNESCO on topics related to skills development, education reform, and labor market policies. He is frequently invited to speak at global conferences and events on the trends and challenges facing the future of work. Bledi's work at Lightcast has received global media attention from outlets such as the Economist, the Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Bledi holds a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Athens, Greece. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in top-tier academic journals, such as the American Economic Review, Research Policy, and Labour Economics.

Carol Meyers is General Partner at Glasswing Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on AI and frontier technologies. Carol is a highly accomplished sales and marketing executive with extensive experience in technology sectors, including cybersecurity, SaaS applications, consumer technology, and automation. She has played key roles in several successful IPOs, leading companies to significant revenue growth and successful acquisitions. Meyers is known for her ability to craft winning growth strategies, attract top talent, and build strong brands and corporate cultures. Her expertise spans from selling annual subscription services to individuals and small businesses to marketing multimillion-dollar technology products to global enterprises. She serves on the board of directors and advisory boards for several high-growth companies, including Zipwhip and Emarsys, and has been recognized as a prominent speaker at various conferences and quoted in influential books on marketing strategy and product roadmaps.

William Tincup is the President & Editor-at-Large of RecruitingDaily. At the intersection of HR and technology, he's a writer, speaker, advisor, consultant, investor, storyteller & teacher. He's been writing about HR and Recruiting related issues for longer than he cares to disclose. William serves on the Board of Advisors / Board of Directors for 20+ HR technology startups. William is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a BA in Art History. He also earned an MA in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

Vivek Mehta is a visionary leader and innovator in the field of AI-powered employee engagement software. As the CEO of Weeve, a groundbreaking company focused on eliminating workforce burnout in hospitals, Vivek is on a mission to build strong employee-leader relationships at scale. With a background in engineering and a passion for leveraging technology to drive positive change, Vivek's work is transforming the way organizations approach employee retention and well-being.

With a deep understanding of the power of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), Vivek is at the forefront of exploring how Web3 technologies can revolutionize the future of work. His expertise lies in utilizing AI and machine learning to optimize processes, facilitate data-driven decision-making, and enhance the overall employee experience.

Through Weeve, Vivek is empowering hospitals to create more meaningful connections with their staff, foster a culture of collaboration and support, and drive lasting improvements in employee satisfaction. As an influential thought leader in the space, Vivek continues to pave the way for the intersection of technology and human-centric approaches to transform the modern workplace.

Dr. Emily Harburg is the CEO and co-founder of PairUp, a B2B SaaS platform that connects and supports staff across organizations through a research-backed pairing algorithm. With a background in industry, startups, and academia, she has worked at companies like Walt Disney Imagineering, Facebook (Meta), and EF Education First. Emily is also actively involved in social impact initiatives, co-founding organizations like Brave Initiatives and Youth Lead the Change. Her academic research focuses on the intersection of technology and social behavior, exploring the role of technology in building self-efficacy and confidence. Emily holds a B.A. in Social Anthropology and Psychology from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Technology and Social Behavior from Northwestern University. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities, photography, sports, and engaging in Thoughtlucks.

Meghan Keaney Anderson is a writer and marketing executive with twenty years of experience at the intersection of brand, product marketing and demand generation. She currently runs Marketing for Jasper, an AI platform that helps companies create on-brand AI content anywhere. Prior to Jasper, Meghan was in executive marketing roles at HubSpot and The Wanderlust Group. She helped HubSpot grow from a start-up to a publicly traded global company over the course of 10 years. Outside of work, Meghan serves on the board of directors of FamilyAid, an organization working to prevent homelessness for thousands of families in Boston. She's been known to be bribed for marketing consulting in exchange for a donation to their important work.