DisruptHR Austin

Melinda Stallings is the founder and CEO of The Positive Consultant®, a globally recognized organizational development consulting firm. With over 30 years of experience as an influential executive coach and leader, Melinda has shared her expertise as a keynote speaker at international conferences and virtual summits. Her impressive client list includes prestigious venues like Harvard, Carnegie Hall, NASDAQ, and New York’s World Trade Center. Melinda’s work encompasses various domains, including executive coaching, leadership development, corporate strategy, and organizational culture. She is also a renowned author and certified Human Resources mediator.

Passionate about empowering individuals to unleash their potential and drive positive change, Melinda leverages her extensive background in business administration, industrial organizational psychology, and positive psychology. Her “edutaining” sessions leave a lasting impact on participants, ensuring value long after the event has concluded.
Melinda’s commitment to making a difference extends beyond her professional endeavors, as she actively engages in volunteer work and has served on the boards of national and local charities, including SHRM, ATD, The Cancer Society, and United Way. Her mission in life is to have a positive influence on the world, one individual at a time.

Through Reanimation Design, Roger aims to make sure your business is found on the web and is cohesive wherever you are found. Reanimation Design helps your website go from embarrassing to exciting. Not only does he love learning his craft, but also making sure businesses get more traffic and leads that they can turn into more clients through a great-looking website.

Roger is a taco connoisseur and loves all thing’s food, web design, dad jokes and comics. When he is not reading or telling his wife the latest dad joke, he is spending time corralling his 2 boys who love running around the backyard.

A strategic problem solver with progressive experience in Training, Talent, and Leadership Development specializing in aligning learning objectives with organizational strategy. Through a consultative approach, I partner with executives and key stakeholders to understand near- and long-term business needs and create end-to-end learning solutions that improve individual and financial performance.

My enthusiasm is contagious! By leveraging my expertise in learning and development, I foster a culture of continuous improvement while equipping leaders and individual contributors with the skills and knowledge to succeed.

STRENGTHS & EXPERTISE
• Talent and Leadership Development • Coaching • Succession Planning • Strategic Planning
• Program and Instructional Design • Needs Analysis • Collaboration • Problem Solving • Event Planning
• Organization • Empathetic Leadership • Performance Management • Facilitation • Mentorship
• Executive & Large Group Presentations

Joseph Cope, The Empathy Guy, is a professional speaker from Austin who has built a reputation around redefining empathy as a fierce, practical leadership skill. This foundational belief has fueled his journey from award-winning educator to highly sought-after speaker, and it’s what keeps his work rooted in presence, curiosity, and courageous human connection. Whether he’s speaking from top stages, guiding leadership teams with deep intention, or helping individuals reconnect with their own voice, Joseph’s mission resonates: create space for people to choose growth, firstly for themselves, and then for others.

Senior Executive & Human Resources Strategist specializing in organizational design, culture transformation, and people-centered innovation. A leader of strategic HR that elevates performance, strengthens workforce readiness, and aligns people strategy with business growth. Shanon is currently the Senior People & Culture Manager at Lighthouse Global and VP of Workforce Readiness at Austin SHRM.

Shanon has also served as an Ambassador for Disrupt HR over the last 3 years. She is a servant leader focused on being a visionary coach who blends structure with empathy, driving growth through clarity, systems, and innovation. Shanon is a former Kilgore Rangerette (She recently performed at Cowboys Stadium!) and graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science. She enjoys cooking competition chili for charity and spending time at the ranch with her family.

Born and raised in Austin, Janelle is passionate about creating connections and helping others thrive in both business and community. With experience hosting engaging webinars and executing impactful events, we are excited to have her bring that energy to DisruptHR Austin through TicketSpice, helping power meaningful experiences with technical ease.

Outside of work, you’ll often find her on the River Place trail with her husband as they look forward to welcoming their first child, a baby boy, in February 2026.

Through ShortList Recruitment, Izzie drives creative digital marketing strategies that showcase top IT talent and connect leading brands with the people they need most. With a focus on content, events, and community building, she ensures ShortList stands out online and across the tech industry. From event marketing to video production, Izzie brings ideas to life that strengthen relationships with clients and candidates alike.

Izzie is passionate about creativity both in and out of work. When she’s not planning campaigns or building community connections, you’ll find her painting, exploring new recipes, or planning her next travel adventure with her partner.”

Dottie is a seasoned customer support executive with more than 25 years of experience transforming service operations for industry leaders including LegalZoom, Apple, and Dell. Throughout her career, she has led large-scale, global customer care organizations—spanning in-house teams and BPO partners—while consistently delivering strong financial performance, operational excellence, and measurable gains in client success metrics.

At the center of Dottie’s leadership philosophy is a simple belief: employee experience drives customer experience. By building the right culture and equipping teams with the tools, training, and clarity they need to thrive, she has helped organizations elevate customer satisfaction, strengthen loyalty, and create sustainable performance improvements.

Known for her strategic, people-first approach, Dottie has been integral to customer service strategy, complaint resolution, and specialized support solutions. She excels in global, cross-functional, and executive-level collaboration, and she’s passionate about developing partnerships and processes that drive end-to-end customer success—ultimately influencing multi-million-dollar revenue growth.

Staci Drilling is the Co-Founder of JumpStart People, where she partners with organizations to design cultures, develop leaders, and strengthen teams so people and businesses can thrive. She is a seasoned HR executive and former Chief People Officer, having led people strategy for organizations supporting nearly 18,000 employees across 1,000 QSR and casual dining locations.

Staci has held senior HR leadership roles with ISS Guckenheimer, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, and Goode Company Restaurants, and is known for bridging business strategy with human-centered leadership.