Business (Behavioral)

Clayton Lord (Clay, he/him) oversees strategy, planning, program delivery, and program evaluation for the SHRM Foundation, the 501(c)3 nonprofit arm of SHRM, which focuses on widening pathways to work and helping every worker and workplace thrive by empowering HR leaders to be forces for social good. He is a social impact executive who has spent his career driving systemic change in the world of work. Clay is also a writer, painter, and quilter, as well as a travel fanatic, and holds a B.A. in English and Psychology from Georgetown University. He lives with his husband and daughter in Maryland.

Elizabeth is currently the Manager, Foundation Programs overseeing SHRM Foundation’s strategic priority of Building Inclusive Workplaces. In that capacity, she oversees the Foundation’s initiatives around leveraging untapped talent including Veterans At Work, Employing Abilities and Getting Talent Back to Work. She joins the Foundation with extensive experience across the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors. She most recently served as the Deputy Executive Director for PFLAG National working to advance equality and anti-discrimination efforts. In that role, she also partnered with corporate diversity and HR professionals on partnerships to impact the workplace culture for the LGBTQ community. She lives in Alexandria with her spouse, two sons, and an oversized rescue dog.

Allison Chamberlayne is the Director of Operations for Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation connecting transitioning service members, veteran, military spouses, and caregivers with American businesses to create economic opportunity and a strong and diversified workforce. In her role, Allison focuses on day-to-day program operations, staff development, process improvement, and strengthening partnerships.

Allison is a military spouse who served alongside her husband, a retired Army Engineer, for over 25 years. She joined Hiring Our Heroes in January of 2018, as a part of the Corporate Fellowship Program. Over the past four and a half years, Allison has held several roles to include Operations Manager, Program Manager of Corporate Fellowship program in the National Capital Region and Deputy Director of the Military Spouse Fellowship Program.

Before her career at Hiring Our Heroes, Allison faced the same employment challenges as those she currently serves. She has held full time, part time and temporary positions in multiple fields to include Accounting, Logistics, Marketing, Finance and Education. This has made her a passionate advocate for military spouses in their pursuit of meaningful employment opportunities.

Allison has a bachelor’s degree in Urban Affairs from Virginia Tech and being a diehard Hokie consumes much of her and her family’s free time. She resides in McLean, VA with her husband, Ed (VT ’93, ‘02, ‘11 ) and son Eddie (VT ’24). Her daughter, Emma (UVA ’20) lives nearby and tolerates the VT fanaticism.

Thomas Bertels is a business transformation expert on a mission to make work more productive, valuable, meaningful, and impactful. He has three decades of experience helping companies from start-ups to Fortune 5 transform how work gets done. Thinkers360 has recognized Thomas as a Top 50 Thought Leader on the Future of Work and Design Thinking. 

Thomas has written several books and numerous articles. His latest book is the award-winning business fable ‘Fixing Work: Designing Jobs Employees Love’. He also hosts the Work Matters podcast, where he explores in conversations with thought leaders and executives what leaders can do to fix work. 

Christie Engler has been a Human Resources practitioner for 20 years with a focus on small businesses. 

Christie is dedicated to advancing the HR profession.  She has spoken at various HR conferences, and she writes a blog entitled ‘Living in the Gray’ designed to inspire HR professionals.  Christie contributed to the book, ‘People Fusion’, which was published in January 2023. 

Christie is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the Keller Graduate School of Management.  She holds the SPHR and SHRM-CP certifications. 

Christie lives in the Columbus, Ohio area with her husband and two daughters.  She is a fanatic of Ohio State football and Orangetheory Fitness.

Harvey Singh, CEO and founder of Instancy, has pioneered AI-Agent Learning and Learning Ecosystems over three decades. He developed innovative platforms and advised on using Generative AI in education. Harvey contributed to eLearning standards via the ADL initiative and IMS Global Learning Consortium, earning a 2001 nomination for eLearning Executive of the Year. He founded MindLever, introducing the first SCORM-based Learning Object Repository, and co-founded Empower Corporation, which created interactive applications for clients like Microsoft and Oracle. Harvey holds a Master's from Stanford in Computer Science and Education and started his career at Apple's ACOT project in 1991.

Dr. Amy Beacom is credited as the trailblazer who built the vertical broadly referred to as parental leave support. Amy conceived of and began developing the field of parental leave coaching and consulting in 2006. In 2014 she founded the Center for Parental Leave Leadership, the first full service consultancy in the US to focus exclusively on parental leave strategy, research, and training. Drawing on over 25 years in executive leadership development and coaching, Amy consults with organizations of all sizes to drive talent development, attraction, and retention while improving the employee experience.

Dr. Amy Beacom is credited as the trailblazer who built the vertical broadly referred to as parental leave support. Amy conceived of and began developing the field of parental leave coaching and consulting in 2006. In 2014 she founded the Center for Parental Leave Leadership, the first full service consultancy in the US to focus exclusively on parental leave strategy, research, and training. Drawing on over 25 years in executive leadership development and coaching, Amy consults with organizations of all sizes to drive talent development, attraction, and retention while improving the employee experience.

George J. Huntley – CEO, Diabetes Leadership Council

George is a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council (501c3) and currently serves as CEO of both the DLC and its affiliate, the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (501c4). He has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1983 and has 3 other family members also living with T1D. A passionate advocate for people with diabetes, George is a past National Chair of the Board of the American Diabetes Association and currently serves as Treasurer of Children With Diabetes.

A former CPA, George spent his business career as CFO of Theoris Group, Inc., United Pentek, Inc. and MicroProse Games, Inc.  In his corporate roles, he was the plan administrator of self-insured, employer-based health plans for more than 25 years. He learned firsthand the impact of chronic disease management on his company’s bottom line and the importance of strategic health plan design decisions to manage cost, reduce overall risk and improve health outcomes. George is also a highly rated and frequent speaker on the topic of health plan design and drug pricing.

Jennifer Currence is a Senior Partner of HR Soul consultancy firm in Tampa, Florida, where she delivers results through strategic HR solutions, customized training, and coaching programs for organizational and HR leaders. She is the creator of The SOTO Approach to Leadership and the content architect for the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) international People Manager Qualification (PMQ).

Jennifer is regularly published and featured in industry magazines, webinars, and podcasts, and is the author of three HR books on behavioral business competencies.

Jennifer was named one of the top 100 Influential HR professionals in Leadership and Development in 2023 and Tampa Bay’s HR Consultant of the Year in 2017.  She is a faculty member for SHRM and a former management professor at the University of Tampa.

Nichol Bradford is a futurist, investor, and technology executive
dedicated to amplifying human potential through the thoughtful
integration of AI. As SHRM's AI + HI Executive-in-Residence, she
shapes global strategies impacting 362 million workers through
340,000 HR professionals across 180 countries. She is the Co-Founder
of Niremia Collective, a venture fund investing in the future of human
potential.

With over two decades of experience in technology and human
development, Bradford specializes in strengthening mental, emotional,
and social health (MESH) to drive innovation. She reaches over
100,000 people annually through thought leadership and speaking
engagements, including TEDx talks. Her unique approach combines
psychology, neuroscience, and organizational change to guide
companies through human-centered AI adoption.

Bradford's impressive track record includes operating World of Warcraft
in China, co-founding TransformativeTech.org, and building the largest
global network for human potential technology spanning 450+ cities.
Through her $22.5M venture fund, she targets the $8.5 trillion human
potential market. Her mission is clear: creating a future where AI
enhances human capabilities while strengthening social cohesion and
well-being.