Katherine Wolf
Author, Advocate and Co-Founder, Hope Heals
Katherine Wolf is an author, advocate, and co-founder of Hope Heals. Originally from the South, Katherine married her college sweetheart and moved to Los Angeles to pursue dreams in the entertainment industry. In 2008, as their six-month-old baby slept in the next room, Katherine suffered a catastrophic brainstem stroke without warning. Miraculously, she survived and has spent nearly two decades navigating a second-chance life with disabilities. She continues her recovery to this day and gave birth to her miracle baby, John, in 2015.
Through caregiving, storytelling, community building, and lived theology, Katherine is inviting others into a vision of hope, interdependence, and embodied resilience. She and her husband Jay live in Atlanta with their two sons. Connect with her online at hopeheals.com and @hopeheals.
Gerald C. Kane, Ph.D.
Author, Consultant and Terry College MIS Department Head
Gerald C. (Jerry) Kane holds the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Distinguished Chair in Business Administration and heads the Department of Management Information Systems at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. His research examines how organizations adapt to disruptive technology, and his work focuses on a single question: as AI takes on more of the analytical work, what does the leader’s job actually become?
Kane is a co-author of two MIT Press books, The Technology Fallacy and the Axiom Gold Medal–winning The Transformation Myth, and led the seven-year MIT Sloan Management Review-Deloitte research partnership on digital business, drawing on more than 300 C-suite interviews. He was named an AIS Fellow in 2025 and received the Davis-Dixon Impact Award from MIS Quarterly for the most significant paper of the past decade. His work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review and The Wall Street Journal.
Beyond the classroom, Kane advises executive teams and boards on AI strategy and organizational transformation through his consulting practice at profkane.com.
John Mattioli
Sr. Director of Strategic Reinvestment, Chick‑fil‑A
John is the Sr. Director of Strategic Reinvestment at Chick-fil-A, where he oversees capital investments for existing Chick-fil-A restaurants. He has more than 20 years of experience across multiple departments, including marketing, field operations, people, and restaurant development. He holds degrees in finance and marketing from the Terry College of Business and is a Class of 2007 graduate of the Institute for Leadership Advancement (Leonard Leadership Scholar).
Holly Ward, Denise Musselwhite and Karen Smith
Shore Consulting
Holly Ward, PhD
Founder & CEO / Senior Executive Coach
Holly Ward is the founder and CEO of Shore Coaching, an international coaching and consulting firm dedicated to transformative leadership and human-centered workplace cultures. Over the past 20 years, Holly has coached clients across higher education, finance, and professional services, guiding them as they leverage their unique strengths, dismantle professional barriers, and excel in their roles.
She holds a PhD from the University of Georgia, an Instructional Coaching Certification from the University of Kansas, and a certificate of Leadership Excellence in Leading Teams from the Harvard Professional Development Program. Holly has trained thousands of professionals worldwide, helping organizations move from ambitious goals to sustainable, human-centered cultures where people feel valued, heard, and equipped to lead. When not coaching or writing, she stays energized through Pilates, running, and travel.
Denise Musselwhite, PCC
Founder, Tech & Thrive / Senior Executive Coach
Denise Musselwhite, founder of Tech & Thrive and executive coach at Shore Coaching, is a former CIO and board chair with over two decades of experience across diverse sectors. An International Coaching Federation (ICF) PCC-certified coach holding a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management and a master’s in leadership, Denise leverages AI readiness credentials and a data-informed approach to help executives and teams navigate complex change. Her work champions human-centered leadership, operational effectiveness, and the empowerment of women and underrepresented professionals. Grounded in cultural competence and self-discovery, she helps teams strengthen dynamics and lead effectively. Outside of coaching, she enjoys travel, trying to stay fit, and quality time with her husband, three children and pets.
Karen Smith, PhD
Executive Coach
Karen Smith comes to coaching with 40 years of experience helping people in various stages of development. As a psychologist and coach, she has worked in medical, educational, and clinical settings, providing direct service to individuals, families and groups as well as teaching and supervising providers-in-training. Each of these experiences has broadened her perspective on the challenges and opportunities that arise in the workplace.
She earned her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Georgia, holds a certificate in motivational interviewing from the University of Wisconsin, and a certificate in team effectiveness from AIIR Consulting. She is co-author of The Sensory-Sensitive Child: Practical Solutions for Out-of-Bounds Behavior. When not working, Karen enjoys cooking a good meal, exploring new places, fly fishing, and getting lost in a book.