Tables and Tickets
You don't want to miss out on this luncheon and panel discussion that brings together our community to celebrate and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Power of Inclusion provides a platform for individuals from various backgrounds to share their experiences and insights, fostering a sense of unity and understanding among our community members in Northwest Arkansas.
Sunshine School & Development Center and Reckitt are hosting 2024 Power of Inclusion
Feb. 7th, 11am-1pm, at Embassy Suites Rogers.
Anne Shelley is a longtime resident of Northwest Arkansas and an active community member. Shelley has deep roots in community organizing and advocacy. Her work has included statewide LGBTQ organizing for the Women's Project, whose mission was to fight racism, sexism, and homophobia and as executive director at the NWA Center for Sexual Assault serving adult survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones.
Shelley is an experienced diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner, who has facilitated trainings and DEI conversations for over 20 years. She was executive director for Just Communities of Arkansas whose mission was to fight bias, bigotry and racism through education and awareness and most recently served as Senior Trainer, Facilitator, and Consultant for the IDEALS Institute at the University of Arkansas.
IDEALS was a diversity, equity, and inclusion training, consultancy and research institute dedicated to creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and communities. Through the Institute, Shelley and her colleagues worked with numerous nonprofits to support them in adapting more inclusive and equitable practices. The Chancellor shuddered the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on campus in 2023 and Shelley now serves as the Assistant Director of Talent and Leadership Development for Human Resources at the University of Arkansas.
Shelley is the Co-founder, along with Dr. Elecia Smith, of Inclusive Edge Consulting, a new boutique agency that provides organizational effectiveness services for non-profit organizations and businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
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As part of her work with IDEALS Institute, Shelley worked with Sunshine School leadership as part of a six-month training, assessment and consultation partnership to support the School in better aligning its DEI values with its every-day practices. Additionally, she was an active member of the victims with disabilities collaborative in her time serving as executive director of the NWA Center for Sexual Assault.
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Anne Shelley has served on numerous boards and advisory councils in the region, including her past service as Chair of the Governance Committee for Circle of Life's board of directors and her current service as Secretary of the Board of the NWA Center for Sexual Assault. She enjoys biking the NWA Razorback Greenway is the proud parent of Eva Mae and wife to Bridget Gibson.
Mark currently serves as Reckitt's National Sales Director of Health and Wellness, leading the associates responsible for sales of OTC and Personal Care products in Walmart. From 2018-2020, Mark led the Lysol U.S. Trade Marketing team, which is responsible for planning and strategy of Reckitt's largest global brand.
Mark has been with Reckitt for 12 years. He has held various roles in sales and trade marketing across the Mass, Drug, and Club Channels. Prior to joining Reckitt, Mark worked for Nestle USA, supporting the grocery channel and military commissaries as a Sales and Merchandising Representative.
Mark obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh.
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Mark and his wife, Erika, have been blessed with two daughters, Zuzu (8) and Liesl (6). Liesl has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Epilepsy. Both Mark and Erika have been advocates for her across her learning and developmental journey, finding the right care and support for their daughter. Praise God, Liesl has been seizure free for almost one year now! She continues her therapies across speech, occupational, and physical disciplines weekly with her fantastic therapists and board certified behavior analysts. She continues to make amazing progress and growth, while exploring the world and bringing joy to all those she meets. Liesl gives the best hugs!
Mark has a passion for youth sports. He has served as a coach for NFL FLAG football. He is also proud to be involved in the Little League Sparta Challenger Division, an adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges, which had a successful inaugural season in Spring 2023. Across several relocations, Mark has been actively involved in the local church and community groups at both SOCO Church (Bentonville, AR) and Liquid Church (Parsippany, NJ).
Russell Shaffer is Executive Vice President, Strategy & Programs, for Disability:IN where he has responsibility for the development and implementation of the organization's strategic plan along with the measurement and reporting of its key performance indicators. In addition, Russell and his team lead signature Disability:IN programs including Accessibility, Disability Equality Index, Learning & Workforce Development, NextGen Leadership, and Supplier Diversity. He joined Disability:IN in October 2022 from Walmart Inc. where he most recently was Senior Director - Global Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (CDEI) with responsibility for reporting and analytics; global employee engagement measurement and strategy; benchmarking; branding and messaging strategy; and budget forecasting and management.
In a previous role as Senior Manager - Constituent Relations, Russell managed Walmart's corporate strategy and stakeholder outreach for the people with disabilities and aging constituencies. His career also includes roles in advertising, corporate communications, marketing, print journalism and public relations with organizations such as May Department Stores, The Timken Company, The Canton Repository, and The Ohio Optometric Association.
Russell currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in Louisville, Kentucky, and his board service includes prior terms with Sources for Community Independent Living in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). His AFB service included a two-year term as Chair of the Board, and in 2015 he received the AFB Stephen Garff Marriott award in recognition of his professional achievement and service as a person who is blind or low vision. While at Walmart he served two terms as Chair of the company's inABLE Associate Resource Group, and in 2018 he traveled to China as a private-sector disability employment expert as part of a U.S. State Department delegation. Disability:IN honored Russell as the 2019 recipient of the annual John D. Kemp Leadership Award in recognition of his commitment to advancing disability inclusion inside Corporate America.
He is an honors graduate of Malone University in Canton, Ohio, and holds dual bachelor of arts degrees in business administration and communication arts. Russell resides in Rogers, Arkansas with his wife, Jessica, and their children, Sophia and Brady. His perspectives on disability advocacy and inclusion are informed by his experiences with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic, degenerative eye disease that was diagnosed when Russell was 10 years old and led to his legal blindness by his late 20s.