
Keynote Speakers
Meet Your Keynote Speakers

Josef Azam
Josef Azam is a 38-year-old entrepreneur born in Montreal with a unique ethnicity having been born to an Israeli-Jewish mother and an Afghan-Muslim father. His family’s humble background has encouraged him to continuously reach for his goals. His philosophy has always been one of hard work and perseverance.
He co-founded Design Shopp, a Montreal-based marketing and web agency with employees around the globe. His ability to identify new business opportunities also led him to public speaking and a variety of diverse business investments such as restaurants and film production. Being an online marketing guru and enthusiast, he continuously shares his knowledge with various business network groups and company owners, offering seminars and group coaching sessions. His unique approach allowed him to break down industry barriers and generate over 1.5 billion dollars in sales for his clients.
He uses much of his personal experiences and struggles through school and business as a source of inspiration for his public speaking appearances. Josef has been on a mission to improve and inspire the lives of people who come from similar hardships around the world.
Josef Azam is currently the President of Cloverdale Multi-Ressources, a non-profit organization located on the West Island of Montreal, whose mission is to support lower-income families that have recently immigrated to Canada. He is also a board member of Yes Montreal (Youth Entrepreneurship Services), a non-profit community-driven organization that helps Quebecers find employment opportunities and develop their skills as entrepreneurs.
Josef has given over 50 leadership and keynote speeches in the past year to organizations across North America and Europe. He has spoken to over 10,000 underserved youth in communities and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, JA centers, and school boards. He will also continue speaking in prisons and juvenile detentions. Occasionally, Josef Azam also gives entrepreneurship and leadership workshops at a local college where he graduated from, John Abbott College.
He uses much of his personal experiences and struggles through school and business as a source of inspiration. Josef has been on a mission to improve and inspire the lives of people who come from similar hardships around the world.

Mo Cotton Kelly
“Mo,” as she is called by family, friends, and colleagues is the senior vice president for stakeholder engagement and chief of organizational operations (SVP-COO), with responsibility for driving operational and capital campaign strategy, overseeing key administrative functions, and guiding a culture of inclusivity for the UConn Foundation. Mo oversees the departments of alumni relations, marketing and communications, annual giving, stewardship, and board engagement.
Mo was recruited to join the UConn Alumni Association as the Executive Director and Assistant Vice President for alumni relations in 2014. Mo brought with her a national reputation for strong leadership built over two decades in higher education advancement. Mo is known for her ability to lead across departments while building collaborative relationships to enhance the experiences of staff, students, alumni, and friends.
Mo believes that mentorship and sponsorship of not only her staff and colleagues but also those from other institutions is incredibly important. She gives of her time and talent as much as she can and is currently an active member of the Case Board of Trustees. She has been on the faculty for the Case Minority Institute (MAI), Senior Alumni Relations Institute and was a member of the 2018 Case Summit planning committee.
Previously she was executive director of Bowling Green State University’s Alumni Association. Mo received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BGSU.
Mo has more than 26 years of experience with higher education institutions in the university advancement field where she has developed exemplary leadership, created strategic plans, cultivated organizational change, and is known nationally as a leader in the industry.

Sue Cunningham
Since 2015, Sue Cunningham has provided executive leadership for one of the largest education-related associations in the world serving over 3,200 members in 80 countries. Prior to CASE, she served as Vice-Principal for Advancement at The University of Melbourne and Director of Development at University of Oxford. She held advancement roles at Christ Church, Oxford and University of St Andrews. As a CASE volunteer, she received the CASE Europe Distinguished Service Award and a CASE Crystal Apple for Teaching Excellence.
Cunningham is a Trustee at University of San Diego, a member of Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia, United States of America) Board of Directors, a member of Washington Higher Education Secretariat Steering Committee, and is a member of the International Women’s Foundation.
She is an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Kishshana Palmer
Kishshana Palmer is an international speaker, trainer, and coach with a 20+ year background in fundraising, marketing, and talent management who helps leaders create high performing teams.
Kishshana is CEO of Kishshana&Co., an organizational development firm focused on helping everyday leaders live well and lead well. Her firm's work centers on equity and social justice and practical solutions for today’s organizations. She is the founder of The Rooted Collaborative—a global community focused on the growth and development of women leaders of color in the social sector. She's the host of the podcast "Let's Take This Offline", an adjunct professor at Baruch College, a Certified Fundraising Executive(CFRE), a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer(CCT), A Gallup Certified StrengthsCoach, a Q3LC Certified Coach and an AFP Master Trainer. When an organization wants to grow, find and retain people on their team, raise money, and more she is the fairy godmother they have on speed dial. Her work isn’t limited to organizations, she also coaches high performing leaders.
Kishshana is a NYC girl and mother of one wonderful teenage daughter. Kishshana is the epitome of your classic 90's Queens homegirl and quintessential corner office executive. She is your daily dose of Claire Huxtable with a side of Blanche Devereaux.
Corinne Green Endres
Corinne Green Endres is the Associate Director of Regional Alumni Programs at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). A passionate engagement strategist and continuing student of the profession, her approach to her work is rooted firmly in building vertical models of meaningful engagement, utilizing increasingly creative and personalized communications, investing in strong partnerships, and advocating for the critical role of data in developing transformational strategies.
During her time at RIT, Corinne has fostered the growth and efficient management of alumni communities across the United States, as well as crafted purposeful volunteer experiences for alumni at all philanthropic levels. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of unprecedented uncertainty in engagement strategy, Corinne both conceptualized and executed multiple innovative virtual programs focused on independent interpersonal alumni connections, as well as championed the importance of asynchronous engagement opportunities. For the past year, Corinne has been focused on supporting the successful close of RIT’s $1B blended campaign, Transforming RIT, through the planning and execution of a series of Presidential signature events across the United States.
Corinne avidly pursues both personal and professional development, which has led her to a growing role within CASE as a volunteer, including increasing responsibility as District II’s conference communications manager, and a District II Cabinet volunteer, co-chairing their marketing and communications committee. Corinne is also the recipient of the 2023 CASE District II Rising Star Award.
Previous to her time at RIT, Corinne worked for multiple small businesses in the areas of operations, marketing, business development, and process management, and earned her BA in English Literature from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2014. In her personal life, Corinne is an enthusiastic student of home cooking, and finds no greater joy than bringing people together around a table of good food and conversation. She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband, Thomas.