2018 Speakers

Aaron Levy, CEO Raise the Bar

Aaron is the Founder and CEO of Raise The Bar, a firm focused on helping companies address the problem of millennial turnover. He has educated, coached, and consulted over 5,000 business leaders, helping them to define goals, create action plans, and achieve sustained success. Aaron is on a mission to transform the manager role – by empowering each manager with the tools, skills, and training to be leaders of people who unlock the potential of their team.

Jim Vaselopulos, Rafti Advisors, Inc. 

Jim Vaselopulos is a C-level executive with a proven record as a rainmaker and new business development expert. With a reputation for principled leadership, strategic vision, and effective execution, Jim has built successful new enterprises and turned around underperforming organizations.  As the founder of Rafti Advisors, Inc., Jim helps early stage companies get off on the right foot, growth stage companies push through plateaus and mature companies with strategic shifts and complex challenges. Jim is a sought after executive coach focusing on leadership, business development, effective communications and professional development. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, sales, professionalism, networking and innovation. 

Michele McDermott, Senior Vice President HR, Assurance

As the top Human Resources professional at Assurance, Michele is responsible for developing, managing and administering all human resource-related
strategies, programs, policies and procedures. Leveraging more than 25 years of experience, she develops Assurance’s current and future leaders, recruits
top insurance talent and enables business scalability while maintaining a “Best Place to Work” culture. She’s a key driver for minimizing risk and maximizing the health of Assurance’s employee-base. Michele has driven over 95% employee participation in Assurance’s wellness program since its inception.

Anna Yankelev, UIC

Anna Yankelev is a second year dual-master’s degree student in Public Health and Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Anna's primary interests are centered on building power for health equity by working with local organizations and health departments to promote structural level reforms (including social, economic, and political policies) that enable everyone to have the opportunity for good health.