AME C-Suite Roundtable Summit 2026

Karen Martin, MA, RD, LD, FAND, FASPEN. Clinical Liaison/Dietitian at Amerita Specialty Infusion. She grew up with public speaking at church and civic events. Professionally, her first presentations were in the 80s as a dietetic intern. She is passionate about intestinal failure, dysautonomia, gastroparesis, SIBO, short bowel; Enteral Nutrition for optimal nutrition with various disease states.

Heléne Smuts is the founding partner of Credo Growth, a group of global people growth experts specializing in leadership and team and culture developments. With over 15 years of experience, she has worked with organizations across six continents, blending behavioral psychology, advanced coaching techniques and industrial psychology to develop high-performing teams and transformative leaders. Smuts is the author of "Ditch Mediocrity," a book that empowers leaders to enhance team performance. She is a TEDx speaker known for her thought-provoking talk on self-motivation and has spoken at esteemed events such as the Standard Bank Top Women Conference, Digital Divas Summit, the WiN Festival and Entrepreneurs Organization Global Chapters, where she shares her expertise on leadership, motivation and team dynamics. A two-time Chairperson Awards winner for Growth Consultancy Business Leader of the Year, Smuts is also a podcast guest, media contributor and member of Entrepreneurs Organization, where she has played a pivotal role in mentoring start-ups and fostering entrepreneurial growth.

Steve Spear is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, principal of HVE LLC, and a senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He is the author of the influential works "Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System," "The High Velocity Edge," and, most recently, "Wiring the Winning Organization." A recognized thought leader in continuous improvement and enterprise excellence, Spear has advised leaders across industry and government, including a U.S. treasury secretary, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary for health, a chief of naval operations, a chief of naval research, two U.S. Pacific Fleet commanders, the director of the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force and numerous corporate executives.

Colonel Athens is the former Director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership and the Academy’s first Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership. He is a retired Marine, having served in significant command and staff positions in all four Marine Aircraft Wings, as a Space Operations Officer with the U.S. Space Command, and as an instructor at the Marine Corps’ equivalent to the Navy’s Top Gun. Additionally, he was a White House Fellow and the Special Assistant to the NASA Administrator following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. He graduated, with distinction, from the Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies. Colonel Athens currently speaks around the country, addressing leaders in the military, law enforcement, business, health care, public education, and collegiate athletics.

Audrey McGuckin brings more than three decades of experience in leadership, talent, and organizational transformation. Before founding McGuckin Group, she served for over a decade as Chief Talent Officer at Jabil — working across a global enterprise through major leadership and succession transitions. Her work has reached Fortune 100 organizations across 52 countries, and she has collaborated with Harvard Business School on executive leadership programs. She developed the McGuckin Method® to help organizations identify the system conditions affecting leadership, alignment, accountability, and execution.