Business (Behavioral)

Tim Massa, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer for The Kroger Co., leads Human Resources, Labor Relations, Corporate Affairs, Associate Communications, Shared Services and Aviation. Tim joined Kroger in 2010 as Vice President of Talent Development and was appointed as Chief People Officer in 2015. Prior to joining Kroger, he served in several HR leadership positions at Procter & Gamble for over 21 years. Tim has an extensive global HR generalist background in leadership development, performance management, strategy development and employee communications and engagement. Tim earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Communications from The University of Dayton.

Tony Lee recently retired as vice president of content for the Society for Human Resource Management, where he oversaw all editorial functions and staff and focused on evolving SHRM's content strategy globally. Lee hosts two award-winning podcasts, All Things Work and People + Strategy, and is a recognized authority on recruitment trends.

Lee is a frequent conference speaker in the U.S. and internationally, and has appeared as a career guidance authority on a range of television and radio programs, such as those produced by NBC, ABC, CNN, FOX, NPR, CNBC, Huffington Post, WCBS and The Wall Street Journal, including “The Today Show” and “Good Morning America.”

Lee is co-author of “The Jobs Rated Almanac” (Barricade), and “Career Choice, Change and Challenge” (JIST Pub.), and has published more than 15 books through his career. He also is a columnist for a range of industry web sites, including RecruitingTrends, Jobboarders and Staffing Stream. He has written The Wall Street Journal's “Managing Your Career” column, and his articles have appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines globally. Lee also has served on the board of directors of the International Association of Employment Web Sites for many years.

Prior to joining SHRM, Lee was editor and publisher of CareerCast.com, an award-winning site he created for job hunters and the HR community. He also served as chief alliance officer of CareerCast’s parent company, Adicio Inc..Lee also is the founder and former publisher of The Wall Street Journal Online Vertical Network and all of the sites within that network, including CareerJournal.com, OpinionJournal.com, StartupJournal.com, RealEstateJournal.com, CollegeJournal.com and “Political Diary,” a paid email newsletter about politics. Under his leadership, those sites won a range of awards and accolades. Combined, the Network sites attracted an average of 2.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. Lee also was one of two finalists for the Newspaper Association of America’s annual Online Innovator Award. Prior to moving online, Lee was editor in chief of the National Business Employment Weekly and of Managing Your Career, both published by Dow Jones & Co. Lee started his career as Director of Publications for the Chicago Chapter of the American Diabetes Association.

Ms. Walters has more than 30 years’ combined experience in management, HR administration, employment law practice, and teaching.

She has presented at conferences across the country, been engaged as an expert witness, and testified before U.S. Congressional and state legislative committees on employment issues.

Her book, “From Hello to Goodbye: Proactive Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations” is in its 2nd edition and was one of the SHRMStore’s “Great 8” best-sellers for eight consecutive years.

Today, Ms. Walters works as an independent consultant doing business as FiveL Company, “Helping Leaders Limit their Liability by Learning the Law.”SM

Jason Sheffield is BRPs National Director of Compliance for the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative. He oversees the ongoing evolution of our firm's national compliance operations. Jason develops, designs and implements educational programming and compliance assuredness services by creating timely and relevant solutions designed for the benefit of our clients and colleagues, our industry partners, and the general benefits community. Jason has practiced employee benefits law and consulting for nearly two decades, representing individual, corporate, and tribal interests at the local, state, and federal levels. He has advised clients and provided representative services before administrative agencies such as the DOL, the IRS, CMS, OCR, several state-level treasury authorities, and others. He has experience with both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation matters, and extensive experience respecting health and welfare plan matters. Jason received his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University (magna cum laude) and his Juris Doctor from Western New England College School of Law. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.

Jason Sheffield is BRPs National Director of Compliance for the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative. He oversees the ongoing evolution of our firm's national compliance operations. Jason develops, designs and implements educational programming and compliance assuredness services by creating timely and relevant solutions designed for the benefit of our clients and colleagues, our industry partners, and the general benefits community. Jason has practiced employee benefits law and consulting for nearly two decades, representing individual, corporate, and tribal interests at the local, state, and federal levels. He has advised clients and provided representative services before administrative agencies such as the DOL, the IRS, CMS, OCR, several state-level treasury authorities, and others. He has experience with both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation matters, and extensive experience respecting health and welfare plan matters. Jason received his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University (magna cum laude) and his Juris Doctor from Western New England College School of Law. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.

Stephen Paskoff is president and CEO of ELI®, which helps organizations activate and align their values with core organizational behaviors to build respectful, welcoming and inclusive cultures, maximize results and reduce legal and operational risks.

Paskoff has been named the highest-ranking speaker at SHRM’s national conference. The EEOC recognized ELI’s impact and quoted Paskoff in its Harassment Study. He is a nationally recognized speaker, commentator and author on workplace issues.

Before founding ELI® in 1986, Paskoff was an EEOC trial attorney and partner in a management law firm. He authored Teaching Big Shots to Behave and Civility Rules!

Joseph (“Joe”) Beachboard is a nationally recognized employment lawyer who also closely tracks the most important developments at the U.S. Supreme Court impacting the business community. He has more than 30 years of experience representing management in a wide variety of employment and labor matters in perhaps the most challenging state in the nation for employers – California.  Mr. Beachboard speaks regularly before human resource and employer groups on cutting edge employment law topics.  He is a member of SHRM and has been an annual presenter at both the SHRM Annual Conference and the Employment Law and Compliance Conference for two decades.  Mr. Beachboard is frequently quoted in such leading publications as HR Magazine, National Law Journal, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, HR Executive and Workforce, and has been published in dozens of legal and business journals. Throughout his career in Los Angeles, Mr. Beachboard has represented dozens of studios and entertainment properties.  He cites his most interesting project as working with the cast and crew of the television show The Office, from its pilot through the final season.

Tiffany Brown serves as the Certification Specialist for SHRM Affiliate Operations and is responsible for working with SHRM local chapters and state councils to develop and implement SHRM Certification initiatives.  Before joining the SHRM Certification department, Tiffany worked with the SHRM Member Relations team as a Member Engagement Associate supporting numerous affiliates across multiple regions in their efforts to achieve their respective membership goals. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Maryland - College Park, SHRM-CP, and SHRM People Management Qualification (PMQ).

Robert A. Boonin is a member of the national law firm of Dykema Gossett and is based in its Ann Arbor office. Rob is an honors graduate from The University of Michigan Law School, holds a Masters in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, and a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.  Practicing law for nearly 40 years, Rob has litigated employment law matters before federal and state courts across the nation, handles all forms of union matters for employers, and regularly counsels clients on such issues as discrimination, FMLA compliance, and wage and hour law. 

Rob is a recognized leader in his field.  For instance, he is: on the Chambers USA list of top employment law attorneys; listed as a Best Lawyer in Employment Law; repeatedly recognized as one of Michigan’s “Super Lawyers”; a Fellow and a Past-President of the Litigation Counsel of America; a Past Chair of  the national Wage and Hour Defense Institute; a Past Chair of the Michigan Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; and a Fellow of the distinguished American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Rob also in an immediate past-chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee (which covers FLSA matters), and serves as an Editor of the most recognized authority on the FLSA, the Bloomberg BNA legal treatise – The Fair Labor Standards Act.