Maneuvering the Maze of ESSER Federal Funds

As organizations race to integrate AI into every corner of business, an equally urgent conversation is emerging: How do we ensure this adoption doesn’t widen existing equity gaps? AI is both a disruptive force and an opportunity engine, as recent data shows that AI adoption among HR professionals jumped to 72 percent in 2025, up…

In today’s fast-evolving digital marketplace, attention is scarce, and trust even more so. In an era of remote work, AI-driven marketing, and constant digital noise, storytelling has emerged as one of the most powerful tools to cut through the clutter. In fact, research shows that people who used storytelling techniques to remember information recalled seven…

The hospitality industry is under mounting pressure to modernize to meet guest expectations for seamless, tech-driven experiences and also develop leaders who can drive that transformation. According to Rackspace Technology, only 28% of travel and hospitality companies qualify as “AI leaders”— those aligning strategy, compliance, and training with real-world deployment. Another 28% remain in…

In this episode of Professional Quotient: Conversations that Build Equity, host Jason Winningham sits down with Andrea Kilburn, the HR EEO and Affirmative Action Compliance Manager at EssilorLuxottica. Andrea has built her career on problem-solving, advocacy, and the power of precise thinking. Andrea shares her unique path from mortgage underwriting to HR compliance, and…