Edna Diez(Moderator), Director Careers, Performance and Learning

Edna Diez is a HR Transformation leader who helps organizations and individuals increase their effectiveness.  Edna specializes in performance and career management, leadership development, coaching, diversity and inclusion, learning and employee engagement. Edna is currently Director for Careers, Performance and Learning at the World Bank Group. Prior to this role, she was Director of HR Policies and Programs at the Asian Development Bank, and as Division Chief at the Inter-American Development Bank where she led the design and delivery of HR reforms over a wide spectrum of functions. Edna previously worked as a management consultant at IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers leading HR transformation programs for large-scale global clients.

Ray Leki, Director, Transition Center U.S. Department of State

Ray S. Leki is the director of the United States Department of State Foreign Service Institute's Transition Center. The Center enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence and innovation in preparing diplomats, government employees and family members for assignments overseas and repatriation. Mr. Leki's work in government began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal, where he taught mathematics and science in an extremely remote village high school.

Mr. Leki’s work experience includes a series of international human resource development and management positions in government, private consulting, and academia. He has designed and conducted training programs on cross cultural effectiveness, security, crisis management, communication skills, diplomatic protocol, and program planning for the foreign affairs community and has consulted with international development organizations and NGOs. Mr. Leki is a leading figure in organizational resilience, a frequent speaker at conferences on preparing private and public sector employees for effectiveness overseas and is an active contributor to the fields of human resource development and intercultural training, as well as personal safety and security. Current interests include workforce resilience, crisis leadership, and trauma psychology. He is the author of Travel Wise: How to Be Safe, Savvy and Secure, and has been an adjunct professorial lecture at American University, where he has earned the School of International Service’s Adjunct Faculty of the Year award and named Interculturist in Residence.

Dr. Rochelle Benning Johnson, DProf, Senior Education and Training Advisor

Dr. Rochelle Johnson is a global leadership, well-being, and work-life expert, with over 25 years’ experience working in international settings. Rochelle works at Department of State's Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Resilience (CEFAR) at the Transition Center in Foreign Service Institute. At CEFAR, she provides training, instruction, and consultation to individuals, families, communities, and leaders on the proactive approaches of enhancing resilience. 

Rochelle’s mission is to help people live their best lives and tap their potential in the workplace. She has also dedicated her career to helping leaders and organizations create a healthy workplace culture by providing them strategies and innovations around improving communications, building individual and community resilience, work-life, and wellness initiatives to empower their employees to thrive so they can perform at their best in both their professional and personal lives. 

Prior to joining CEFAR, Rochelle was a senior consultant for Persuasion Point, a management consulting firm dedicated to teaching leaders and teams how to create and sustain healthy, inclusive, and profitable workplace cultures. Before joining Persuasion Point, Rochelle oversaw USAID's Staff Care Work-Life and Wellness program. Rochelle has lived and worked in five countries and has extensive experience working in various US States, Canada, Europe. and Latin America as well as with clients globally.