Business (Behavioral)

Susan Anderson, SHRM-SCP has dedicated her career to orchestrating profound shifts in HR practices through strategic integration of emergent technologies. An early adopter by nature, she has been at the forefront of the recent surge in GenerativeAI capabilities, spearheading experiments and adoption of novel strategies to enhance operations and redefine customer experiences.

As a thought leader and analyst, Susan speaks passionately about innovation and leading the future of work while balancing ethical and privacy concerns. Susan has spearheaded the development of proprietary HR Compliance custom GPTs at Mitratech for research, writing, and in delivery of Services to 1.5 Million+ customers.

Susan Anderson, SHRM-SCP has dedicated her career to orchestrating profound shifts in HR practices through strategic integration of emergent technologies. An early adopter by nature, she has been at the forefront of the recent surge in GenerativeAI capabilities, spearheading experiments and adoption of novel strategies to enhance operations and redefine customer experiences.

As a thought leader and analyst, Susan speaks passionately about innovation and leading the future of work while balancing ethical and privacy concerns. Susan has spearheaded the development of proprietary HR Compliance custom GPTs at Mitratech for research, writing, and in delivery of Services to 1.5 Million+ customers.

BRENDA MCCHRISTON, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP                                                                               

Brenda is CEO and Principal of Spectrum HR Solutions, a certified woman-owned minority human resource advisory practice in strategic HR management, diversity, leadership training, compliance, employee relations and compensation. Her vision for the company began in 2004. Since then, Spectrum has helped more than 175 companies and organizations nationwide save money, improve employee productivity, and achieve organization growth.

In the community, Brenda has a passion for mentoring the next generation to be successful in their life’s work. She has been an Advisory Council Member to the Passport-to-the Future Program at Howard County Public Schools; providing guidance on curriculum-based tools to meet labor force needs. Each year, this program grows larger with employer participation with the help of organizations such as the Howard County HR Society, an organization to which Brenda was a past president. In 2019, Brenda chaired the Howard County Human Resource Society’s Diversity Inclusion Committee and organized the County’s first ever Leader’s Symposium on Diversity Inclusion bringing top notch speakers and attracting C-suite attendees. The results of which inspired several organizations to develop and/or create diversity programs for their organizations. She was recently appointed by the County Executive to the County’s first Police Accountability Board - a federal initiative.

Continuing her work as advocate for youth and women’s issues, she was re-appointed to a second four-year term by the Governor to the Maryland Commission for women. As Commissioner, she is working to protect and promote women’s issues in education, safety, childcare, workforce development and health. Previously, she served on Howard County’s Personnel Board and the Mid-Maryland Workforce Investment Board (WIB). She has served as College Relations Director for the SHRM Maryland State Council and served as a board member to the Better Business Bureau of Maryland.     

Additionally, her leadership commitments continue graduating from Leadership Maryland, Class of 2015 and Leadership Howard County, Class of 2006. She is an alum of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program.

In 2013 and 2023, Brenda was twice selected as one of Maryland Daily Record’s Top 100 Women. In 2018, for her volunteer contributions she received the regional CEO Leadership award. In 2017, Brenda received the prestigious international award as Enterprising Women of the Year, recognizing her community contributions. In 2014, Spectrum HR Solutions was noted as one of Baltimore’s 100 Smart Run Companies – Innovative Leaders. Again, Spectrum HR Solutions received the distinguished honor twice as one of the region’s Top 100 MBE’s. In 2011, her company was recognized as one of SmartCEO’s Future 50 – Emerging Growth Companies and Brava! Women in Business Achievement Award.

As the top Human Resources executive, Brenda has frequently served as an advisor, consultant, and coach to CEOs, on organization development, culture inclusion and HR globalization. For 7 years she was Adjunct Professor at McDaniel College, in the Post-graduate Program in Human Resources Development. Completing her business undergraduate degree at Michigan State University, Ms. McChriston holds a master’s degree in business management/human resources from Central Michigan University and holds prestigious SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications in human resources.

Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM, is recognized internationally as the SME on the integration of Creative Problem Solving into Project Management. Since 2017, 85K+ people have participated in one of her in-person or virtual trainings, workshops, keynotes or facilitated sessions. Services include cognitive diversity training, executive leadership searches, coaching, team development, transformational goal setting, and developing a project management mindset. Teresa serves as Senior Advisor to the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of the Virgin Islands. International Deliverables, LLC is a NYS Women Business Enterprise (WBE).

Jyoti Mehra, Gilead's Executive Vice President of Human Resources, is responsible for leading people strategy and, together with the Gilead Leadership Team, building an inclusive and collaborative culture. In her role, she has responsibility for elevating team performance and developing a cohesive approach to attracting, developing and retaining employees.

Jyoti brings extensive experience in business partnership and organizational design to her current position. Prior to joining Gilead in 2017, Jyoti held senior leadership positions with Novartis Corp. in the United States, Europe and China, bringing a broad international perspective to her work.

Jyoti received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Delhi University and her master’s degree in international studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

She currently serves on the board of directors of Lam Research and California Conference for Women.

Janna has over 28 years of experience in Human Resources, including Recruiting, Benefits Administration, Compensation, Performance Management and HRIS. She has a 20+ year record of successful HCM implementations across multiple business sectors, including healthcare, public sector education, federal government contracting, cooperative utility, finance, hospitality, retail, and insurance.  In addition to leading multiple HCM implementations, she has helped multiple organizations optimize and enhance their initial implementations, as well as lead several phase two projects to implement multiple talent management modules for ongoing organizational and business process optimization and enhancement.

As Vice President of Advisory Services, Elaine Johnson works with clients to design and implement transformational HR strategies and solutions. She previously served as a Human Resources executive with national and international organizations in the transportation, telecommunications, financial services, and healthcare industries.  As a Corporate Development Principal, Johnson led strategic investment initiatives from deal qualification through post-acquisition integration. 

She has an MBA from the University of North Florida, a Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of South Florida, and is nationally accredited as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Senior Certified Professional through SHRM (SHRM-SCP). 

Andrea Goodkin is HUB’s People & Technology Consulting Practice Leader. With more than 30 years of combined in-house human resource leadership and consulting experience across diverse organizations, Andrea has a specialized talent for building and developing high-performing human capital programs, systems and teams. She applies her extensive experience in helping clients to build and implement cost-effective and cutting-edge workforce and technology strategies and solutions.

Before joining HUB, Andrea was head of Human Resources for the Northern California offices of Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s largest global law firms. She spent her early career at AtomFilms/AtomShockwave, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, and Federated Department Stores, where she led the development of multiple HR programs and teams.

Andrea graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington. She holds a Certificate from the Human Resource Executive Program at Stanford University, Graduate School of Business, a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resource Certification Institute and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Sherry Gaugler-Stewart is the Director of Family and Spiritual Recovery at The Retreat in Wayzata, MN. She has worked with The Retreat's Family Program since its inception in 2005. Sherry is a certified Spiritual Director, a certified Structured Family Recovery® Counselor, a Nationally Certified Family Recovery Coach, and has been an active participant in family recovery since 1999. In addition to her work at with families and children, she has led spiritual retreats and workshops internationally, and is a meditation teacher. She speaks on the topic of family recovery regionally and nationally, as well as contributes to blogs and publications.

Bernadette Jones is a trailblazing HR leader with over 20 years of experience crafting "Culture-First" solutions across diverse organizations. As Human Resource Committee Chair at Richmond Art Center and Professional Development Chair for SHRM Northern California, she champions intentional inclusion and culture-first practices. Bernadette's innovative "Respect in the Workplace Starts With Me®" workshop series addresses crucial compliance and cultural issues. With SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications, she brings deep HR expertise to her roles. Bernadette's leadership in Visionova's participation in SHRM's National HR Registered Apprenticeship Program demonstrates her commitment to nurturing HR talent and enhancing workplace environments. Her work connects over 27,000 HR professionals across 16 SHRM chapters in Northern California.