Senior Manager, Corporate Hospitality Services, GuideWell

Damian Monticello is responsible for serving the foodservice needs of more than 15,000 employees throughout the GuideWell family of companies. Additionally, he is responsible for, The Conference Center at Florida Blue, audio-visual services, corporate travel, employee fitness centers and the GuideWell Athletic Complex; an onsite athletic court/field facility designed to engage employees and improve their overall health through participation in intramural sport leagues.

Damian is an accredited Foodservice Management Professional (FMP), a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), a Global Travel Professional (GTP) and the SHFM President. He holds a degree in Advertising from Northwood University.

Founder, Popcorn for the People

Dr. Steven Bier has been involved with philanthropy for over four decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, he performed fund raising for the Kidney Foundation and the National Assocation of Patients on Hemodialysis. Steven is the author of over a dozen medical articles and case reports and has created training programs for medical students and residents. In 2015, he purchased a local popcorn store and in 2016 transferred ownership to the nonprofit Let's Work for Good creating the socialenterprise Popcorn for the People dedicated to the creation of meaningful, sustainable employment for Autistic workers and workers with other developmental disabilities.

Benjamin Margolis, M.D. is board certified in neurology and psychiatry, having completed the combined residency program at Brown University. He specializes in the neuropsychiatric care for adults with I/DD in the New York Hudson Valley. Ben attended medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine after the postbaccalaureate premedical program at Columbia University, and holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He serves as a board member of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, as treasurer, and on the Special Olympics NY Advisory Commettee for their Strong Minds Program.

Direct Support Professional

Matthew Szlapka is an autistic adult in his early-middle 30s, who works for three agencies as a Direct Support Professional for developmental clients and their families. His experience is not only based on the job, but also on a personal level, based on past, present and future. Matt has a Master’s Degree from Mannhattanville College.

Food Service Director, LifeWorks Restaurant Group

Juli Varsanyi brings years of food and beverage experience and knowledge to the leadership team at Lifeworks Restaurant Group in Columbus, Ohio. With more than 20 years in the industry, her background spans from small independently owned restaurants to large food management companies producing over 10 million in annual revenues. Juli has been recognized throughout her career for her creative programs used to help grow revenue, developing her staff to advancement, and her ability to increase profits without sacrificing quality.

Juli has a teenage son who was diagnosed at age 8 with ADHD. She has been an integral part in his life as an advocate helping him and his teachers frame his challenges as differences, rather than deficits. Juli has cultured strategies and skills that provide the structure neurodiverse teens, as well as adults, need to succeed. She uses her knowledge and practices in the workplace to hire, train and retain neurodiverse employees. Juli continues her goal of training and educating her peers to shift their thinking to view neurodivergent candidates not as burdens, but as assets.