Ashraf has spent more than a decade with Monster in its staffing business unit. He brings a passion for solving staffing industry challenges with innovative technology. His team has helped many staffing firms develop a tech-and-touch strategy that enables their recruiting teams to connect with the right candidates at the right time.

Dearth has been with Insight Global since summer 2010. Starting out as an entry-level recruiter in Seattle, he has held multiple roles in sales and recruiting leadership throughout his career. In his current role as president he is responsible for all things candidate and consultant at Insight Global. This includes oversight of the recruiting, consultant engagement, and digital services organizations as well as the strategic oversight of the company’s global recruiting strategy, helping to account for more than 60,000 placements annually.

Essey is president and chief executive officer of the TemPositions Group of Cos., which operates in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California. He served five terms as president of the ASA-affiliated New York chapter. Essey was elected ASA chairman in 2004—exactly 30 years after his father, Dick, served in the same role—and has chaired the chapter relations, member education and certification, political action, and industry practices committees. He is a member of the ASA board of directors and currently chairs the legal and legislative committee and the public policy advocacy taskforce. Essey received his bachelor of arts degree from Trinity College and master of business administration degree from Harvard University.

Rogan first joined CoWorx in 2005 as a director, overseeing a relatively small market. By 2010, she was promoted to senior director, Southern New England; in 2016, she was promoted to vice president, East region, managing more than 30 locations. Throughout her career at CoWorx, Rogan continuously took on greater geographic areas and additional responsibilities, building the sales and operations team for the East region, and leading corporate initiatives focused on customer development, field sales, and operations. Her growing team generated increased revenue and profits each year and, in 2018, she was selected as a “40 Under 40” honoree by Staffing Industry Analysts—the annual list recognizes a rising group of leaders making their mark on the workforce solutions ecosystem as trailblazers and innovators. She was recognized as one of the “Global Power 150–Women in Staffing” in 2022 by the SIA and as one of the “Top 10 Staffing Leaders to Watch” in 2022 at the World Staffing Awards.

Irons is the chief executive officer of developUs, a Charlotte, NC-based employee development firm. With 20 years of training design and delivery experience, 10-plus years in leadership development roles, and a master’s degree in adult education, Irons has a long history of working with those in the learning and development field as well as audiences from a multitude of backgrounds and industries. Her leadership style and commitment to individual and organizational excellence have earned her multiple awards throughout her career. Today, her roots in human development have remained at the core of her business practice, and she operates under a guiding philosophy that to make an impact on a group, you must make an impact on the individuals that make up the group. From this foundation, her work in coaching, mentoring, and leadership emerged.

Matthews helps staffing companies develop and equip their emerging leaders for success. A board-certified executive coach and author of the best-selling book You’ve Got This! The Five Self-Coaching Keys You Need to Live Boldly and Accomplish Anything, his presentations create immediate personal transformation and reveal success insights learned as an Ironman triathlete, business executive, and professional development expert.

Schaffer has spent more than 30 years in sales, sales management, and executive management, dedicated to helping companies and their people grow. He has focused his efforts on building disciplined and highly successful sales organizations, consistently developing other sales leaders as well as long-lasting client relationships. He has an exceptional track record in driving rapid revenue and profit growth. At Butler Street, Schaffer supports the growth of the staffing industry through professional development in the three most critical areas to organizational success—leadership development, client acquisition and expansion strategy, and talent acquisition and retention strategy. Butler Street was recognized as a top training company by HR Tech Outlook magazine in 2019 through 2022, and is helping companies grow an average of four times market.

Stephen Dwyer is a leading authority on the legal and public policy aspects of staffing. He engages in and coordinates the association’s legal and public affairs activities and advises the staffing industry on labor and employment law and policy issues. He has testified before legislatures and regulatory bodies regarding, and written extensively and spoken widely on, the staffing industry. Before joining ASA, he was associated with the New York multinational law firm Chadbourne & Parke, as well as De Forest & Duer, a 100-year-old Wall Street firm. Dwyer is a member of the New York; New Jersey; Massachusetts; Virginia; and Washington, DC bar associations.

Malara advises on all staffing-related legislation and regulation, including the Affordable Care Act, immigration and Form I-9 compliance, paid sick leave, sales tax, and per diem issues. He also directs the association’s political activities through StaffingPAC, the political action committee of the American Staffing Association.

Sakata is an experienced labor and employment attorney with more than 11 years of experience litigating matters on behalf of individuals and employers. She advises American Staffing Association members on labor and employment law and policy issues, including equal employment opportunity, wage and hour, immigration/I-9, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and National Labor Relations Board issues.

Elliott is an attorney and c-suite adviser with more than 20 years of executive and legal experience in the workforce solutions and staffing industry. Her diverse experience in both the practice of law and executive management offers unique value-added legal solutions to her clients. Prior to launching Staffing GC, Elliott served for 15 years as general counsel at Elwood Staffing, one of the largest U.S. light industrial staffing and workforce solutions firms. With Elwood Staffing, Elliott served on the executive committee and partnered with the board of directors, officers, shareholders, and other crossfunctional team leaders to help grow and scale Elwood Staffing from a $160 million company to a nearly $1 billion enterprise with more than 250 service locations, 130,000 contingent employees assigned across more than 6,000 diverse client facilities, and 1,000 internal corporate employees. Elliott earned a bachelor of science degree in business from Purdue University and juris doctor degree from Valparaiso University School of Law.

Wahlquist is the association’s primary spokesman and is responsible for the overall direction and performance of the association. Before joining ASA in 1989 as vice president, administration and government affairs, he led and coordinated government affairs activities on behalf of the staffing industry in all 50 states; Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; and Canada. He speaks regularly before business groups on employment issues and trends and has been a featured lecturer in Europe, South America, South Africa, and Japan. He was recognized by Human Resources Outsourcing Today magazine as one of the “100 Superstars of HR Outsourcing” and by Recruiter magazine as one of the 100 most influential individuals in the staffing and recruiting industry. Wahlquist also serves on the board of directors for the World Employment Confederation and Jobs for America's Graduates.

Block is chief executive officer of Rotator Staffing Services Inc., headquartered in East Brunswick, NJ. He has more than 35 years of experience in the staffing industry, in which he has successfully marketed, serviced, and administered both staff augmentation and vendor partner relationships with many clients. Block has been recognized multiple times as one of the top 100 most influential people in the staffing industry by Staffing Industry Analysts and is a sought-after subject matter expert, speaker, and trainer at various conferences and seminars. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College and earned a master of business administration degree from Pace University.

Gutierrez is the chief operating officer of Summit Staffing and a co-founder of TalentCraft, an information technology and life sciences staffing firm. She quite literally grew up in the business, as Summit Staffing was founded by her mother Fiorella Auriemma in 1986, only a few months after Gutierrez was born. Now a second-generation family-owned and operated business, Summit Staffing supplies light industrial staffing services throughout the Midwest. She began her career at Summit Staffing working as an on-site recruiter within client facilities during summers off from DePaul University. In 2018, Gutierrez—along with her family and business partners—founded TalentCraft as an information technology staffing firm; they expanded the business into the life sciences sector in 2023. Following in their mother’s footsteps, the desire to grow, build, and learn within different verticals of the staffing industry has proven to be the largest and most rewarding challenge for the entire family. Today Gutierrez spends much of her time focused on Summit Staffing’s growth and culture and on creating cohesion in their operation.

Crum is the co-president of FrankCrum, a company that offers professional employer services to businesses of all sizes. As president she also leads FrankCrum Staffing, an enterprise that has served both hiring managers and job seekers for more than 40 years. She has a passion for inspiring and investing in people, both inside and outside of the business. Crum earned her law degree from Stetson University College of Law and serves as in-house counsel. She is a member of National Association of Professional Employer Organizations board of directors as well as a member of ASA and the Florida Association of Professional Employer Organizations. She has also served on the board of directors for the Homeless Empowerment Program since 2015, including as board chair from 2019 to 2021.

Holtzman founded Mitchell Martin as a technology staffing company in 1984, combining his desire to help people with his belief that technology was the future of business. Today, that notion still stands and has helped propel MMI in to one of the largest information technology staffing firms in the U.S. He is distinguished by his energy and creativity, guiding teams with a culture that encourages and supports continuous learning and innovation. With a passion for talent acquisition technology, he started Talent Tech Labs to research, validate, and accelerate new TA technologies by connecting early-stage companies with forward thinkers in the industry. Guided by Holtzman’s inspirational leadership, MMI continues to grow with a focus on technology and collaboration, harnessing the benefits of niche IT specializations to help clients and candidates succeed.

Convery is an experienced and proven sales leader with a strong background in the staffing, recruiting, and human resource technology space. She has a proven track record of using her deep expertise in building successful and strategic relationships to deliver exceptional client experiences alongside her team. Convery is passionate about nurturing and developing team members both inside and outside of the work environment. Through purposeful and compassionate mentorship, she’s guided other leaders to achieve promotions and recognition within their organizations. She leads with a positive collaborative spirit, is a master connector, and strongly believes in setting and achieving goals. Prior to joining ClearEdge as the senior vice president of sales and marketing, Convery spent nearly a decade at Monster. In her last role as director of the enterprise staffing division, she led an experienced team of strategic account managers. This team built meaningful and longlasting relationships that resulted in a consistent customer retention rate above 97%. Convery is currently in her second year serving on the ASA women in leadership interest group and is chair of the 2023 ASA women in leadership scholarship task force. She is an avid marathon runner and an Ironman triathlete.

Hurley is founder and CEO of GDH Consulting. At the age of 26, he launched GDH with the vision to build a national organization where people are empowered to advance their careers. GDH achieved national expansion with offices stretching from coast to coast and, in the process, has been ranked as one of the largest staffing firms by Staffing Industry Analysts. GDH has been recognized with the Best of Staffing Award from ClearlyRated for more than 10 years and recently made the “Best Staffing firms for Women” list. With his passion for empowering employee career growth, Hurley has been recognized twice by Glassdoor as a top-rated CEO in the industry.

Cooper is president, North America for Empresaria Group, named by Staffing Industry Analysts in 2022 as one of the fastest-growing staffing firms in the U.S. He has more than 27 years of experience in the staffing solutions industry providing support to clients across information technology, engineering, scientific, health care, and professional roles. Possessing extensive experience in leading teams in operations, recruiting, and sales, he is adept at delivering effective and innovative talent solutions to clients.

A lifetime Californian, Vince co-founded Motive Workforce Solutions (formerly Two Roads Professional Resources) in 1996. He develops and oversees programs that enable MWS temporary and permanent placement teams across North America to connect employers with highly skilled technology professionals. With more than 30 years of experience, he has provided strategic talent solutions to companies and developed and executed strategies to help grow business and improve employee retention. Vince created the vision and has developed an internal talent acquisition team for Motive that supports numerous emerging technologies. He invests time in continued learning and networking and is a member of the American Staffing Association and of the Digital Enterprise Society Career Development board. When out of the office, he is an active ultrarunner and Ironman triathlete. He has completed numerous runs of 100 miles or more and believes the best business decisions are made on the trails and out in nature.

Tom Kosnik is a certified organizational development adviser to the staffing industry and president of Visus Group. For more than 20 years, he has developed and facilitated peer growth strategy roundtables for presidents, owners, chief executive officers, and chief financial officers of staffing firms. Kosnik advises staffing firms in every sector of the staffing industry on topics such as business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, increasing gross margins, sales enhancements, compensation design, and other organizational development variables. From the sales side, Visus Group is certified with Miller Heiman and brings state-of-the-art sales methodologies, tools, and research to clients. Kosnik is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership and brings leadership development tools and enhancements to his clients.

With more than 12 years of experience in the staffing and employment industry, Williams has helped small to large organizations improve their operations and processes to provide a more personal experience to all stakeholders. She has a passion for helping others and believes that the staffing industry is a vehicle to make an impact on many lives. She volunteers on the ASA industrial section council, membership committee, and as chair of the ASA women in leadership interest group. Williams was recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a 2021 diversity, equity, and inclusion influencer.

Graham is the chief operating officer of Graham Personnel Services, a staffing and recruiting agency located in Greensboro, NC. Graham Personnel Services is one of the largest privately owned staffing firms in the Triad area and consistently has more than 1,400 temporary employees on assignment per week. The company provides temporary to direct hire, temporary, direct hire, payroll services, on-site services, and recruitment process outsourcing solutions for both light industrial and professional staffing needs. The light industrial division of Graham Personnel Services hires for all jobs within manufacturing, distribution, warehouse, and logistics. He loves everything that focuses around hiring, employee engagement, human resources, technology, staffing, and driving value for his customers and candidates. He is passionate about the staffing industry and has earned the TSC, CSP, and CPC certifications from ASA. He served as a board member for the Human Resource Management Association of Greensboro from 2007 to 2012 and became HRMAG’s youngest president in 2011. Presently, Graham serves on the ASA industrial section council, ASA North Carolina state network council, and is a board member of Staffing Connect East.

Harbarcuk joined TERRA in 2011 as the branch manager of TERRA’s Federal Way Branch. In less than two years she helped transform that branch into TERRA’s 2012 Branch of the Year. In early 2013, she was promoted to area manager and was responsible for the performance and growth of TERRA’s Tukwila and Tacoma branches. She was then promoted to director of strategic accounts where she was responsible for helping to develop, sell, and manage strategic accounts across TERRA’s footprint. In 2018, Harbarcuk was promoted once more to vice president of sales, and most recently was promoted to EVP, service delivery, ensuring operational and service delivery excellence across the entire company.

Modrak is a change leader, people developer, and strategic problem solver. She is currently the vice president of the operations center of excellence for Employbridge, the largest light industrial staffing company in the US, where she leads the learning programs, operations excellence, and strategic project management teams. She brings more than 25 years of staffing experience to her role, with a focus on learning and development, driving business vision, branch operations optimization, and digital transformation.

West is a highly accomplished staffing operations executive with nearly a decade of experience in risk management. Her strong focus on organizational efficiencies, collaborative communication, and delivering results with integrity have played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of multiple health care staffing organizations. Her true passion lies in nurturing professional growth within the individuals and teams she leads. A champion of DEI initiatives, she consistently seeks to encourage and empower women to find their voice, speak their truth, and thrive. Her unwavering commitment to leading with authenticity, candor, and kindness has created a foundation upon which she has consistently fostered high-performing teams that deliver exceptional results. She believes in the importance of the customer experience and that everyone around her is a potential customer.

Esco is a vascular surgeon focused on full-time locum tenens work and licensed in 15 states. For the past several years she has served as a consultative member on the LocumTenens.com customer advisory board and now serves as the company’s chief medical resource adviser. She earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Hampton University in Virginia. She completed the M.D./Ph. D. program (cell biology) at Wayne State University in Detroit. Her postgraduate training in general surgery was completed at the University of Massachusetts, in thoracic surgery at Keesler Air Force Base/Biloxi Veterans Affairs Hospital, and in vascular surgery at the Detroit Medical Center. Esco is a former major in the U.S. Air Force, having served four years.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell has worked as a physician assistant for more than five years in the urgent care sector. She completed her doctor of medical science degree in 2021 while simultaneously working full time through the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend who loves the outdoors, concerts, traveling, and living life to the very fullest.

Kuhn began working travel speech-language pathology assignments in 2010. Her travels spanned seven states and multiple levels of care, including skilled nursing facilities and acute care hospitals. She was one of the first influencer marketers in the travel therapy industry, via social media and her website thetravelingtraveler.com. Here she creates and curates online resources and inspiration for other aspiring traveling therapists. Kuhn also provides social media content, consulting, and strategy for other businesses through her digital marketing agency CreatorPro.