Dustin Talley is the founder and community lead of Direct Collective, a private peer network for client-side contingent workforce professionals. He has over 17 years of experience in contingent labor, and in 2022 co-founded Direct Collective alongside nine other program leaders to build a peer-to-peer educational and networking hub for the industry. He is a regular speaker at events like ProcureCon Contingent Staffing and a recognized voice in the direct sourcing space.

Dustin's work centers on a straightforward idea: contingent workforce leaders do their best work when they can openly share strategies and learn from each other without vendor influence in the room. Through Direct Collective and his venture Talent Simplified, he has built platforms that give program leaders direct access to honest peer exchange, relevant resources, and the connections that actually move their programs forward.