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Diane Ekstrand has over 26 years of experience in human resources, starting in 1993 at Aurora Health Care. Diane began as an HR Generalist and worked their way up to Vice President of Human Resources. In this role, they partnered with executive leaders and established hospitals to provide support and started up new lines of business. In 2010, they joined Banner Health as the VP of Human Resources, where they played a key role in transforming the organization into an integrated delivery system. Diane established the governance model, structure, and hired top talent. After working at Banner Health for six years, they moved to Northwestern Mutual as the Vice President of Human Resources. Diane was recruited into this newly created role to bring all HR Business Partners together and drive employee engagement. In their most recent position, they serve as the Chief Human Resources Officer at AbleLight, where they contribute to the mission of serving intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals across the United States.

Diane Ekstrand has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Diane also holds a Masters degree in Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. In addition to their degrees, Diane has obtained certifications in Strategy Planning & Positioning for the Future from the Kellogg School Center for Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University and Hogan Assessment from Hogan. Diane also holds the SPHR certification.