Professor of Strategic Leadership & Leader Development, College of Leadership & Ethics, U.S. Naval War College
Mental Health Professional
President and CEO, Regency Centers
Partner and Chief Commercial Strategy Officer, Transaction Banking, Goldman Sachs
Retired Partner, Goldman Sachs
North Florida Market President, Florida Blue
Philanthropist, Retired Chairman and CEO, CSX
Executive Coach, HR Consultant, & DEI Leader
A native of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Dr. Olenda E. Johnson is Professor of Strategic Leadership and Leader Development at the U. S. Naval War College – a graduate-level institution for highly select military officers and federal civilians. A passionate teacher and educator, she shares her experiences and knowledge to instill in others the courage and confidence to lead in their unique circumstance. As a lead contributor in the College of Leadership & Ethics, she serves as course designer and lead facilitator for the Navy’s 2-Star Flag Officer and Senior Executive Service Leadership Course, which leads admirals, Marine generals, and senior government executives among others.
Olenda earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Pittsburgh, and both a B.S. and MBA from Florida A&M University. Her awards and decorations include receiving the Army Commander’s Medal for Public Service, as well as being honored as a Daughter of Greatness at the Muhammad Ali Center. She has been awarded the Board of Governors Teacher of Excellence for her teaching in North Carolina, and her research has been honored by the Academy of Management and the Group and Organizational Management Journal. Mostly, Olenda finds the greatest joy in serving others – whether professionally, within her faith community, or among family and friends.
With more than 25 years of private practice as a psychotherapist and life coach. Jamie has cultivated a diverse, intergenerational clientele and has treated hundreds of clients with clinical anxiety and depression, behavioral disorders, health-related issues, as well as clients in crisis. She takes a multidisciplinary approach to treatment and routinely collaborates with a variety of specialists to create teams that can treat the whole person — including the mental and the physical. She utilizes a range of approaches to treat patients, including talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, movement, and humor.
Jamie is an esteemed authority in the area of women’s health. She has written various articles, leads workshops, and is a regular public speaker. Jamie resides in NYC with her husband and they have two adult children. She is thrilled to be a part of the Generation W community.
Lisa has served as President and CEO of Regency Centers Corporation since January 1, 2020. In this role she oversees over 400 shopping centers and more than 54 million square feet of retail space. Prior to her current role, Lisa held various leadership positions within Regency Centers since 1996. She served as President and CFO from 2016 to 2019, Executive Vice President and CFO from 2013 to 2015, and Senior Vice President of capital markets from 2003 until 2013. Before working with Regency, Lisa worked with Accenture as a consultant and financial analyst for General Electric.
She serves as chair of the board of directors of the United Way of Northeast Florida and as chair of National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. She is also on the board of directors for the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Brooks Rehabilitation, as well as a member of the Urban Land Institute and Innovating Commerce Serving Communities.
Akila is the chief commercial and strategy officer of Transaction Banking (TxB) at Goldman Sachs – TxB is a first-of-its-kind cloud native and API-first digital cash management and payments platform for corporate and institutional clients. She was also named Partner in 2018.
Throughout her career she has advised on numerous complex acquisition financings, brought important Debt IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) to the market, and mitigated interest rate and foreign currency risk for some of the firm’s most important clients, with particular focus on hedging risk associated with mergers/acquisitions and debt issuance.
Akila serves on the Operating Board for Pursuit, a social impact organization dedicated to creating transformation through training of adults with the most need to get their first tech jobs and become the next generation of leaders in tech. She is a member emerita of the Board of Trustees for the Cap & Gown Club of Princeton University and the Princeton University Tigressions Graduate Board, and is a W.O.M.E.N. in America alumna.
Lisa Shalett is an accomplished senior executive, corporate advisor and independent board director, with a remarkable breadth of leadership and operational experience over her 25+ year career, including 13 years as a Goldman Sachs Partner. Well-known as a trusted connector and sought-after thought partner, Lisa advises companies of all stages on growth and innovation. Her expertise spans global risk and crisis management, capital markets, marketing, digital transformation, talent development, and governance. Her leadership experience includes managing Goldman’s brand during the financial crisis.
Lisa left Goldman Sachs in 2015 to bring her considerable skills into the tech startup ecosystem and into corporate boardrooms. In 2017, she founded Extraordinary Women on Boards, an influential peer-to-peer community of hundreds of women corporate directors focused on advancing board excellence, modernizing governance, and increasing board diversity. She is a frequent speaker and podcaster, coach and mentor, committed to diversity and leadership initiatives and to paying it forward.
Darnell Smith has served as the Market President of North Florida for Florida Blue for the past 10 years. As President, Smith is responsible for Florida Blue’s business market growth, as well as customer and community engagement across 36 North Florida counties covering cities from St. Augustine to Pensacola. Prior to being President, Darnell worked as Florida Blue’s group vice president for the Service Organization and Business Process Management Organization (BPMO) for 14 years.
He is on the Councils of United Way of Northeast Florida, First Coast YMCA, Sulzbacher Center, Communities in Schools of Florida and the Cathedral Arts Project. He is on the boards for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council of Tallahassee and JAXUSA Policy Council. Smith also served as the 2017 Chair of the JAX Chamber Board of Directors, and is an active member of Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Florida.
Michael Ward served as Chairman and CEO of CSX for 14 years. He retired in 2017, after 40 years in the rail business. While in this role, CSX continually achieved record safety performances while providing vital services to customers and posting strong financial results for shareholders. He also revamped the corporation’s philanthropy by shifting giving to the communities where CSX trains run. He ranked 26th in generating the best return for shareholders and the environment on the Harvard Business Review November 2016 ranking of The Best-Performing CEOs in the World. In 2009, he was named Railway Age’s Railroader of the Year.
Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. He has a private foundation, The Michael Ward and Jennifer Glock Foundation, where he has donated over $35M to various charitable causes, with focuses on increasing opportunities in education, preventing domestic violence, and supporting the military and the arts. He has been recognized with City Year’s “Lifetime of Idealism Award” for his giving and corporate citizenship. He serves on the boards for City Year, One Love, Edward Waters University, and Hubbard House.
Melinda is an Executive Coach and Leadership Advisor in talent management, change management, corporate culture, and HR processes. She began her career at Merill Lynch where she worked as Managing Director and was responsible for over $10B of complex project finance transactions. Subsequently, Melinda was selected by senior management to oversee Global Diversity Strategy, and later held similar roles at Goldman Sachs and American Express.
In 2008, Melinda joined Bloomberg to head its HR function. In 2013, she became Pearson’s first Chief Human Resources Officer, then went on to became the first CHRO of the Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). Throughout her career, Melinda has led talent initiatives with a passionate focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. She has joined leadership teams to optimize organizational design, culture and human resource priorities, while driving outcomes for employee engagement, productivity and profitability across different industries.
She previously served on the NYC Mayor’s Commission on Women and on advisory boards for several academic institutions. She is an active board member of Echoing Green, Auburn Seminary, ZanaAfrica, and Coqual. She serves as a mentor with W.O.M.E.N in America.
Monday – Friday
9am – 6pm
2320 3rd Street South, Suite 5
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
