Summit 2025 Speakers

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall are an Olympic power couple with a remarkable love story. Their journey of determination, love, and excellence has cemented them as one of the most iconic couples in sports today. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tara made history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Her celebration in the sand pit quickly became one of the Games’ most memorable moments as she sprinted to the stands to leap into Hunter’s arms. Weeks later, Hunter competed in the Paralympics, winning Gold in the 400m T62 and Bronze in the 4x100m Universal Relay, creating yet another viral moment in Paris. TARA DAVIS-WOODHALL (25) is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the long jump and has remained undefeated for the past two years. She is a two-time Olympian, ranked #1 in the world, and has claimed the titles of 2024 World Champion, 2023 and 2024 US National Champion. Known as “America’s Cowgirl,” Tara’s iconic cowboy hats, boots, and infectious personality have made her a fan favorite both on and off the field. She is also the assistant track coach at Kansas State. As a former NCAA Division 1 athlete at the University of Texas, Tara became a four-time All-American, shattered two NCAA records, and earned the title of double-record breaker in the same week. Outside of competition, Tara and Hunter enjoy life with their two dogs, Milo and Winnie, and their cat, Azula. Tara is a passionate advocate for mental health, sharing her experiences with depression and anxiety to raise awareness and support others.

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall are an Olympic power couple with a remarkable love story. Their journey of determination, love, and excellence has cemented them as one of the most iconic couples in sports today. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tara made history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Her celebration in the sand pit quickly became one of the Games’ most memorable moments as she sprinted to the stands to leap into Hunter’s arms. Weeks later, Hunter competed in the Paralympics, winning Gold in the 400m T62 and Bronze in the 4x100m Universal Relay, creating yet another viral moment in Paris. HUNTER WOODHALL (25) is a three-time Paralympian and 2024 Gold Medalist, redefining what it means to be an athlete and entrepreneur. Hunter has won 5x Paralympic Medals and holds the American record for the 100m and 400m (T62). Born with fibular hemimelia, Hunter had both legs amputated below the knees at 11 months old. Defying all odds, he became the first double amputee to earn an NCAA Division 1 scholarship, competing for the University of Arkansas and becoming a four-time All-American. Tara and Hunter’s inspiring story has been featured by top media outlets, including ESPN, Good Morning America, Forbes, New York Times, Ellen, Today.com, USA TODAY, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stones, Travel & Leisure, CNN, LA Times, Associated Press and NBC. They have partnered with numerous global brands, including Lululemon, Celsius, NordicTrack, DoorDash, Lancome, Sephora, Raising Canes, Netflix, SunnyD, UGG, and Takis. Outside of competition, Tara and Hunter enjoy life with their two dogs, Milo and Winnie, and their cat, Azula. Hunter’s entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive him as he builds and scales businesses that reflect his values and passions, such as apparel, social media and real estate.

Alicia Rainwater is a Certified Keynote Speaker at The Center for Generational Kinetics (CGK). Her speaking clients range from Bayer and Ebby Halliday Realtors to The Federation of State Medical Boards. Alicia is a Millennial who has a reputation as a leader in her own generation. She has extensive experience working firsthand to bridge generations in a variety of organizations from hospitals to global non-profits. Alicia has received a tremendous response to her engaging delivery that combines CGK’s latest research and how-to with her unique experience working with clients. She has spoken to thousands of people across the United States. Alicia’s personal experiences working with multiple generations as a non-profit leader, school counselor, and licensed medical social worker make her a powerful and inspiring speaker that effectively demonstrates how to solve generational challenges with employees and customers.

When companies want to increase workplace belonging, human connection, and hybrid team engagement, they call ADAM “SMILEY” POSWOLSKY. Smiley is an internationally renowned keynote speaker, workplace belonging expert, and bestselling author of three books that have been translated into multiple languages, including most recently, Friendship in the Age of Loneliness. Smiley shares industry-shaping insights and practical tools to attract and retain top talent across generations, create a culture of belonging, and engage hybrid teams, at world-class organizations like Apple, Google, Verizon, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Navy. Smiley’s TED talk has been viewed 2 million times, and he has delivered 600 keynotes in front of 250,000 people in 25 countries. Smiley’s work has been featured in 100 media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, the Wall St. Journal, Fast Company, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the World Economic Forum.

Amy Butler serves as the Vice President of People Operations at Awardco, where she leads the company’s human resources strategy with a people-first mindset and a deep understanding of what it takes to scale culture during rapid growth. With more than a decade of experience in HR and Total Rewards, Amy brings a unique blend of operational excellence, empathy, and innovation to the forefront of Awardco’s mission to transform how organizations recognize and engage their people. Before joining Awardco, Amy held leadership roles at several high-growth tech companies. She led the Global Benefits Team at Qualtrics, a leader in customer experience and experience management, and most recently served as Head of People Operations at Route, a company redefining the post-purchase experience. Across each role, Amy has built a reputation for developing strategic HR programs that drive business outcomes while fostering inclusive, connected workplaces. At Awardco, Amy plays a critical role in aligning recognition with organizational success, helping companies understand and leverage the powerful link between employee engagement and business performance. Amy earned her degree in Community Health and Administration from Utah Valley University and is passionate about creating better workplaces by putting people at the center of every initiative.

Sarah is a global lead on Awardco’s center of excellence team, advising organizations on managing and evolving their reward & recognition programs. As part of her work, Sarah designs and conducts research on the impact of recognition on employee behavior and subsequent organizational outcomes. Before joining Awardco, Sarah spent nine years at Qualtrics, leading EX solution design and delivery for some of their biggest global customers. As an organizational psychologist, Sarah understands the principles of successfully motivating people at work. As a business leader, she understands the challenges associated with putting these principles into practice. Her work attempts to bridge this gap through well-designed solutions that find a balance between science and practicality. Sarah has over 15 years of experience in organizational research, with employee insights roles at Tesco, Hay Group, and Kenexa. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Work and Organizational Behavior from Dublin City University and is completing her doctoral thesis in Evidence-Based HR at Birkbeck University, London. She is a member of the British Psychological Society.

Steve Sonnenberg is the CEO and co-founder of Awardco. From an early age Steve learned from watching his father’s career in employee recognition with companies like McDonald’s and the Chicago Bulls. In 2015 Steve founded Awardco to use innovative technology to solve the pitfalls of traditional employee recognition programs: burdensome processes, exorbitant markups, and limited redemption options. Steve’s vision has resonated deeply within an industry in desperate need of change. Awardco has continued to grow and disrupt the employee recognition industry with its ability to build culture, incentivize performance, and power modern engagement strategies.

Paige Bennett is the Director of Experience Marketing at Awardco and the visionary leader behind the Recognize Summit. Since joining Awardco in January 2022, Paige has reimagined the Summit experience year over year, elevating it from a boutique gathering into a pivotal industry event that drives meaningful conversations, deep client engagement, and measurable go-to-market results. Her strategic vision and relentless focus on experience design have turned the Summit into a key growth lever for the business, blending creativity, community, and commerce in powerful, memorable ways. With a career rooted in high-impact event execution and brand storytelling, Paige has partnered with global leaders like AWS, Google, SAP, and Esri to build immersive experiences that move markets and strengthen relationships. Her expertise lies in designing events that not only reflect the soul of a brand but also serve as catalysts for connection, education, and action—especially within the HR space. Through countless interactions with HR and people leaders across industries, Paige has developed a unique ability to craft experiences that speak directly to the challenges and aspirations of today’s workforce. As a people-first leader, Paige oversees a growing team of event marketers and drives cross-functional alignment to ensure that every event serves a strategic purpose. Her leadership style is rooted in empowerment, innovation, and data-driven creativity, and her fingerprints are on every stage of the event lifecycle—from initial concepting to onsite execution to post-event optimization. Under her direction, Awardco’s event strategy has evolved into one of the company’s most valuable revenue-generating channels. Paige is passionate about building environments where relationships flourish, ideas thrive, and individuals feel seen and celebrated. When she’s not planning the next unforgettable experience, you can find her reading, hiking Utah’s scenic trails, cheering for the Minnesota Vikings, painting, puzzling, or weightlifting. Her combination of strategic leadership, creative energy, and passion for people make her a driving force behind the experiences that define Awardco’s brand and impact.

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Founder & creator of I Hate it Here & Chief People Officer at Workweek. Writing the burn book for HR to build better workplace cultures.

Mike Bechtel is a managing director and the chief futurist with Deloitte Consulting LLP. Mike helps clients develop strategies to thrive in the face of discontinuity and disruption. His team researches the novel and exponential technologies most likely to impact the future of business, and builds relationships with the startups, incumbents, and academic institutions creating them. Prior to joining Deloitte, Bechtel led Ringleader Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2013. Before Ringleader, he served as CTO of Start Early, a national not-for-profit focused on early childhood education for at-risk youth. Bechtel began his career in technology R&D at a global professional services firm where his dozen US patents helped result in him being named that firm’s global innovation director. He currently serves as professor of corporate innovation at the University of Notre Dame.

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