Featured Speakers for HERd 2027
Tansley Stearns, emcee
Tansley Stearns, president & ceo of orsa credit union, embodies an unwavering spirit, where “impossible” is a foreign concept. She is a dynamic leader with over 26 years of transformative impact in the credit union industry. As orsa's ceo, she champions a culture where curiosity thrives, innovation is in the DNA, and strategy is an evolving art. Tansley drives sustainable financial performance by ensuring execution while fostering in-house solutions, encouraging experimentation, and investing in technologies that bridge the physical and digital worlds. In 2024, she was honored with induction into America’s Credit Union Museum’s Herstory Exhibit, recognizing her enduring contributions. Under her leadership, In the Cellar has raised over $3.2 million in three years to support mental health programs through Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Tansley’s legacy, spanning roles at the Filene Research Institute and FourLeaf Federal Credit Union (formerly Bethpage Federal Credit Union), is defined by her devotion to people, progress, and purpose, leaving every community she touches better than she found it.
Michelle "Mace" Curran
In early 2022, I left active duty to found Upside Down Dreams. I travel the country speaking to organizations on lessons of grit, perseverance, determination, and teamwork. Through keynotes, courses and workshops,
I empower individuals to shift how they view fear, overcome self-doubt, and build trust to create high performing teams.
I find this mission greatly rewarding and love being apart of those lightbulb moments when someone starts to believe, ‘I can do this.’
Over the last few years, I’ve shared my story from over a hundred stages and taken it to the page. My debut non-fiction book, The Flipside, became a USA Today top 20 bestseller and has been featured on CBS Mornings, The Next Big Idea Club, and in Fast Company.
During this time, I also wrote two children’s books, Upside Down Dreams & What’s Your Callsign? They’re picture books for kids with big dreams looking for a real-world heroine. I love inspiring others, both young and old, to chase their dreams and achieve their true potential.
Heidi Musser
Heidi J. Musser is an executive advisor, board director, and thought leader on artificial intelligence, adaptive leadership and organizational transformation. She has spent her career helping enterprises navigate complex change at the intersection of technology, culture, and human potential.
A former CIO and advocate for inclusion and innovation, she now works with global leaders to design systems that foster trust, agility, and value creation. In addition to her TEDTalk, “Everything Must Change. Including You”, she is co-author of the book, “Driving Sustainable Innovation: How to Do Well While Doing Good.” Heidi has been at the forefront of championing and mentoring women in leadership and technology throughout her career and speaks frequently on DEIB, LGBTQ in Tech, and women in STEM. In 2014, she was nominated to STEMconnector’s® list of 100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM.
Heidi is a regular speaker at international management forums, including the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna and the Management Summit in Lisbon, and continues to explore how leaders can elevate purpose and unleash human potential in the Age of AI. She fervently believes that people are more important than technology and that modern business demands modern ways of working.