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As the Trade Commissioner responsible for the Automotive Industry within the Consulate General of Canada in Detroit, Anne Cascadden has responsibilities to promote Canadian supplier capabilities and investment value proposition in this industry within the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Anne has been with the Consulate for over 25 years. She began in the Tourism division before moving to Trade in 1993 and took over the automotive file in 2000. Ms. Cascadden was born in Windsor, Ontario. She holds diplomas in Communications and Tourism Marketing and a B.S. degree in Political Science.

Beth Davisson is the executive director of the Kentucky Chamber Foundation’s Workforce Center. She has served as the Immediate Past President of the Louisville Society for Human Resource Management and is the current Workforce Readiness Co-Chair for the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management.

Beth has spent the last 10+ years aligning talent to the strategic plans of business. She is a proven workforce strategist and consensus builder, with more than five years advocating for workforce needs in Kentucky and the nation’s capital. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Strategic Communications from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Business Administration from Sullivan University. Beth was honored as a “Top 40 under 40” and named a “Top 20 People to Know in Human Resources,” by Business First Louisville. She is a graduate of the 2017 Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellowship program, focused on “Winning the Talent of the Future,” as well as the Talent Pipeline Management Institute with the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Previous employers include Sullivan University, Greater Louisville Inc. and The Oliver Group.

Birgit has an unmatched and unique perspective of the issues facing North American cross-border supply chains. She began her career as a Canadian Customs inspector and later as an immigration regional manager along the US/Canada border, followed by 25 years with the trade policy team at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. Prior to joining Arent Fox, she served as the eyes and ears for Canada's largest business association.

Jeff has been with ADP for 21 years and currently leads ADP's Greater Kentucky Region, a team of twenty highly qualified, passionate sales professionals. His team provides human capital management services to organizations with between 50-999 employees in Kentucky, Southern Indiana, and Cincinnati, OH markets and generates new revenue in excess of $6 million annually.

Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke is leading the creation of an economic industry insights office at his company. He is tasked with leveraging data to expand Cox Automotive’s deep expertise in all aspects of the automotive industry. Smoke is skilled in translating data and trends into relevant, actionable insights. Last year, Inman News named Smoke one of “the 21 most interesting people in real estate”; he was the only economist to make the list.

Ann Wilson joined the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) on June 1, 2004, as the vice president of government affairs, based in the association’s Washington, D.C., office. Wilson works with the association’s Washington office staff in overseeing federal and state legislative and regulatory monitoring, reporting and advocacy.