Communication

Dr. Tony Alessandra has a street-wise, college-smart perspective on business, having been raised in the housing projects of NYC to eventually earning his PhD in marketing from Georgia State University.

Tony is CEO of Assessments24x7.com, a company offering a variety of online assessments, including the widely-used DISC profile. He is the author of 31 books and over 100 audio/video programs and films.

Dr. Alessandra was inducted into the NSA Speakers Hall of Fame in 1985; inducted as one of the “Legends of the Speaking Profession in 2009;” and voted the #1 World’s Top Communication Guru in 2012.

Sharlyn Lauby is an author, writer, speaker and consultant. She has been named a Top HR Digital Influencer and is best-known for her work on HR Bartender, a friendly place to talk about workplace issues. HR Bartender has been recognized as one of the Top 5 Blogs read by HR professionals by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and best business blog by the Stevie Awards.

Publications such as Reuters, The New York Times, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and Mashable have sought out her expertise on topics related to human resources and the workplace. Sharlyn is the author of “Essential Meeting Blueprints for Managers,” and ”Manager Onboarding: 5 Steps for Setting New Leaders Up for Success,” which are available in the SHRM Store.

Her personal goal in life is to find the best cheeseburger on the planet.

As SHRM’s Director of Certification and Veteran Affairs Andrew Morton works with the military and veterans' organizations to develop workforce readiness pathways for veterans and military-families. As part of SHRM’s Speaker’s Bureau Andrew informs and empowers organizations in their inclusion-hiring efforts across many populations including Veterans, individuals with disabilities, and Returning Citizens as part of SHRM’s Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative.  He is the contributing author to Justin Constantine’s SHRM published book “From We Will to At Will- A Handbook for Veteran Hiring, Transitioning and Thriving in Today’s Workplace.” 

Andrew, a retired Infantry-Officer, served in several leadership roles during multiple overseas and combat tours (Iraq, Bosnia, Macedonia and Egypt) in his 21-year Army career. He also served as the Chief of Marketing and Advertising for the Army Reserve.   Prior to his arrival at SHRM in 2014 Andrew previously served as public relations director for a PR firm in Alexandria. 

Andrew is passionate about awareness and resources in support of mental health within our workforce and society at large and is currently completely his Masters in Mental Health Counseling at the College of William and Mary.       

 

Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

 

Dr. Jody Janati teaches in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. She has an Ed.D. degree in Organizational Leadership and her primary interest area pertains to interpersonal conflict resolution strategies. As an author and independent consultant, she offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective interpersonal communication skills. Follow Jodi on Twitter @jjanati.

Joe Urbanski believes an Undeniable Culture™ inspires its people to unleash their best selves, take home more wins and less stress to their families, and create incredible value for the company, its customers, and community. For more than two decades, he has worked with HR and training departments, consulting and coaching 750+ executives and leaders at 400+ global organizations, and facilitating 800+ kickass trainings, strategic retreats, and leadership programs for 480,000 people. Joe has a remarkable understanding of how to transform the workplace experience. Plus, you’ll have more fun and laughs than you’d expect.

 

Trainer and speaker Vincent Ivan Phipps literally puts the VIP in Communication VIP. Vincent is called the, “Attitude Amplifier!” due to his high energy, humor, interaction, and upbeat presentation style. His professional philosophy is, “If I can get you to laugh; I can get you to listen. If I can get you to listen, I can help you amplify!” 

Kevin W. Grossman is the Talent Board Vice-President responsible for all aspects of the Candidate Experience Awards program and other Talent Board activities for North America. He also produces and hosts a new learning show called Reach West Radio where each week he talks with his guests about their effectual stretch and the impact it makes in the worlds of work and life. Kevin co-founded and co-hosted the highly popular weekly TalentCulture #TChat Show with Meghan M. Biro for over five years. A certified Talent Acquisition Strategist (TAS) and Human Capital Strategist (HCS) by HCI, Kevin has over 17 years of domain expertise and familiarity with the HR and recruiting technology marketplace and remains a top social influencer in leadership, human resources, talent management and recruiting. He’s been a prolific "HR business" blogger and writer since 2004 and his first business book titled Tech Job Hunt Handbook was released in December 2012 from Apress. 

Stacey Hanke is author of the book; Influence Redefined…Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday®. She has trained and presented to thousands to rid business leaders of bad body language habits and to choose words wisely; Coca-Cola, FedEx, Kohl’s, United States Army, Navy and Air Force, McDonald’s and Nationwide.  Her team works with Directors up to the C-Suite.  In addition to her client list, she has been the Emcee for Tedx.  She has been a featured guest with; The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Thrive, SmartMoney magazine, The Economist and Business Week. 

 

Boundless energy. Quick wit. Powerful strategies. Timely topics. Motivational Keynote Speaker Neen James is a leadership expert focused on productivity and obsessed with helping leaders pay attention to what matters so they can get more done, so they can create more significant moments in life.  She is exactly the kind of speaker that engages. Educates. Entertains.  And DELIVERS – the real world solutions and results that apply in your organization, your home and your community. Neen also provides one-on-one consulting in a variety of leadership topics and loves serving SHRM audiences. Neen was also name as one of the 2017 Top 30 Global Guru Leadership speakers. Find out more at www.neenjames.com.

Ever meet one of those people born to be on a stage? That’s Jon – and that’s why he left a highly successful corporate vice president career to follow his purpose and passion to help others find their own.

Jon Petz an engagement expert, author & business magician. He’s delivered over 1,200 wildly successful programs for world leading brands, industry and association conventions, and organizations of all sizes over the past 15 years. Jon is also no stranger to the SHRM stage as he has been a keynoter at many state SHRM conferences as well as featured speaker at the national SHRM conference. Or, you may know him as the author of “Boring Meetings Suck” and “Significance . . . In Simple Moments.”  He’s a high energy and entertaining keynote speaker that will help HR practitioners undercover new ideas, unlearn and even re-learn to think . . . like a magician - where anything is possible.  Laugh Louder, Perform Better & Achieve More with the Jon Petz Experience.