Workforce 2030: Adaptive Leadership for an Automated World (2025 BC)

Telesia enjoys designing high-impact educational experiences. She activated this passion in her roles as director of multicultural affairs at the University of South Carolina Aiken and as dean for campus life at Presbyterian College. She later transitioned to the association space at the National Association for Campus Activities, serving as director of education and research. She joined the HBA team in early 2021 and works to establish the educational content strategy for the association and to develop global learning initiatives.

Her own life-changing educational experiences ignited and cultivated her enthusiasm for education. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Paine College, a Master’s degrees in student personnel services and higher education business administration and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policies from the University of South Carolina.

Telesia resides in Columbia, SC and finds joy in reading, traveling and spending time with her husband and son. She is also an avid women’s basketball fan, never missing an opportunity to cheer on her Gamecocks at UofSC and any WNBA team with former Gamecocks.

Bob is Founder & Chair of The Next Practices Group, a “nextwork” of founder-driven consulting firms centered in marketing, communications and corporate affairs with a focus on healthcare.

He has played a key role in building two media firms that are ranked in the top 50 worldwide (GCI Health and Real Chemistry), he led the creation of the Fortune 500’s first global social media function at Dell and he has served as a global leader in communications at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now Sanofi) and Novartis, as well as Dell.

Bob is an author of five books, including the recently released Firm Beliefs; he is a lecturer for The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and he teaches on how to combat mis and disinformation for the US Government. He has served on the Defense Science Board (US Department of Defense) and was part of a working team that studied the global semiconductor industry in support of the recent CHIPS Act.

Sapna Rao is an accomplished Executive in Organization & Talent Development at GE HealthCare, where she plays a pivotal role within the People & Culture team. Based in Illinois, Sapna leads global initiatives that shape talent strategy, accelerate digital transformation, and foster inclusive leadership across the enterprise.

Her expertise spans strategic HR business partnership, talent management, leadership coaching, and change management. She is known for aligning talent development with business transformation goals, championing inclusion and belonging, and driving innovation in technical career development.

Sapna is one of the driving forces behind GE HealthCare’s AI adoption and capability building efforts. She has led initiatives such as building communities of practice to drive digital mindset and AI adoption across the organization. Her contributions include shaping enterprise-wide conversations on responsible AI, showcasing success stories, and enabling cross-functional collaboration to embed AI into workforce strategy.

Sapna’s leadership style blends operational rigor with human-centered empathy, enabling her to guide teams through complex change with clarity and purpose. Whether mentoring emerging talent or shaping enterprise transformation, Sapna inspires bold thinking and purposeful action.