Communication

Buddy Bush
Executive Director of Learning and Development
JB Training Solutions
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Buddy Bush is an inspirational facilitator and keynote speaker who is dedicated to enhancing the work of individual contributors and inspiring better team dynamics. With a diverse management background spanning corporate real-estate to work/life benefits, Buddy brings energy, enthusiasm and a real-world approach to each engagement. Buddy has collected stories from a wide range of clients including Harvard, PepsiCo, Digitas, Mintel, and PVH Corp.  She applies her passion for business through a blend of tactical insights and memorable levity—because if people are laughing, they are listening. 

Buddy holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she did not go vegan or wear tie-dye.  When she is not presenting, she is holding high plank on her yoga mat or sprinting around her neighborhood chasing her kids and puppy.

SESSIONS:
Lisa D. Murfield, SHRM-SCP
HR Manager
Hill Ward Henderson
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Lisa Murfield is on a mission to help leaders leverage the ROI of compassion. As the Human Resources Manager for Hill Ward Henderson law firm and Vice President of Murfield Coaching, Inc., she speaks, coaches and trains using cutting-edge ideas merged with proven best business practices. Lisa co-authored The ROI of Compassion and the forthcoming release of Leading with the Power of Compassion. She holds her MBA and is certified SHRM-SCP, SPHR, GPHR and served as the 2010 President of HR Tampa. Lisa also speaks on various media platforms at the local, state and national level.  

SESSIONS:
Dr. Loren O. Murfield
CEO
Murfield International, Inc.
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Dr. Loren Murfield is a disruptive thinker who serves as an Executive Coach, Author, Filmmaker, and Speaker. Working with entrepreneurs and organizational leaders, he stretches their thinking to sense and seize cutting-edge opportunities. Dr. Murfield has authored over 30 books, including Pivotal Thinking, Pivotal Leadership, and Pivotal Power. He has also penned eight plays, a screenplay and produced his first movie short in 2020. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Nebraska and taught 23 undergraduate and graduate courses in Leadership and Communication.

SESSIONS:
Mitsu Frazier
Vice President – Academic Operations
Western Governors University
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Mitsu Frazier serves as Vice President of Operations for the Business College at Western Governors University, the nation’s first and largest nonprofit, competency-based university. Since April of 2008, Mitsu has led all faculty and operational functions with a personal passion for improving the lives of others through individual connection and mentoring. Under her leadership, WGU’s Business College has supported 40,000+ graduates across undergraduate and graduate programs and has grown from 8,000 students to 42,000+ students. 

Before coming to WGU, Mitsu worked with one of the world’s largest banks, HBSC North America, as an executive leader of consumer and financial lending- a sector dedicated to supporting the financial stability and long-term financial planning for individuals across the country. 

Mitsu lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona but calls Montana home. She attended the University of Montana and Montana State University-Northern and earned her degree in Business Administration. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University.

SESSIONS:
Bruce D. Christopher
Psychologist, Speaker & Humorist
Bruce Christopher Seminars
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Psychologist and humorist, Bruce Christopher, is America's foremost "Enter---Trainer" today. He has earned this distinction because of his high-energy style and humorous presentation of his material. He is a licensed psychologist holding degrees in Professional Psychology and Interpersonal Communications. Bruce has Enter-Trained audiences internationally because of his humorous approach to today's hot topics which impact our personal and professional lives. He combines excellent content with loads of laughter and contagious comedy.  He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP), which is the speaking profession's highest merited international measure of professional platform competence.Psychologist and humorist, Bruce Christopher, is America's foremost "Enter---Trainer" today. He has earned this distinction because of his high-energy style and humorous presentation of his material. He is a licensed psychologist holding degrees in Professional Psychology and Interpersonal Communications. Bruce has Enter-Trained audiences internationally because of his humorous approach to today's hot topics which impact our personal and professional lives. He combines excellent content with loads of laughter and contagious comedy.  He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP), which is the speaking profession's highest merited international measure of professional platform competence.

SESSIONS:
Jim Reidy, Esq.
Shareholder
Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green PA
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Attorney James P. (“Jim”) Reidy is a management-side labor and employment lawyer. He is a partner in the New England based law firm, Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green, PA, where he is the Chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment group. His practice focuses on prevention, training and compliance but he also handles matters when claims arise.

He has more than 35 years of experience in the field and been a media resource on workplace law for media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Business Magazine, Bloomberg, NPR, The Associated Press, NPR Market Place, Buzz Feed, Law 360, Inc. Magazine, The HR Power Hour, HR Breakroom, SKI Magazine and HR Magazine as well as several local/regional publications.

In 2020 Jim was inducted as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. 

Chambers USA and New England Super Lawyers have ranked Jim in the Top Tier of management-side employment lawyers for each year of the last 15 years. Best Lawyers USA named Jim the 2022 Lawyer of the Year for Labor and Employment Law (Manchester, NH) and the NH Business Review named him one of the top 200 most influential business leaders in New Hampshire.

Jim has been a presenter regularly at SHRM’s Legal and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC as well as SHRM’s annual conferences.

SESSIONS:
Jason Nathaniel Sheffield
National Director of Compliance
Baldwin Risk Partners
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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.

SESSIONS:
Tricia Collins-Schmidt
Senior Director, Midwest Health & Benefits Region Leader
Willis Towers Watson
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With over 20 years of industry experience, Tricia is responsible for overall client satisfaction and delivery of Willis Towers Watson’s configurable benefit solutions to meet the unique needs of each organization. As a national leader, she advises our teams on how to deploy a holistic approach to health and benefits design and delivery using our deep market insights to develop cutting edge strategies and solutions that benefit both employers and employees.  As a dynamic speaker, Tricia has been a featured at the Conference Board, Retail Symposium, and the Argentum Senior Living Conference.

SESSIONS:
Chris Dyer
Personal Pronouns
He/Him/His
International Keynote Speaker/Consultant/Bestselling Author
PeopleG2/Accusouce
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Chris Dyer inspires audiences with a straightforward delivery, insightful candor, and engaging humor. His talks leave audiences permanently transformed, offering innovative perspectives on leadership to improve company culture, and empower organizations to create a people centric approach.

As a highly sought-after keynote speaker, consultant, and advisor he brings a unique perspective from his expertise in building, leading, and exiting successful organizations. Through his research from two best-selling books, he is always engaged with leading companies to help transform their culture, leadership, and flexible work strategies. He is also the host of a popular radio show TalentTalk where he has had hundreds of conversations with the world’s best leaders for his audience of over 3 million annual listeners. Currently he is the Founder of PeopleG2, an Accusource company, with a fully remote organization. PeopleG2 is routinely ranked one of the best places to work and has been listed as one of Inc.'s 5000 Fastest Growing Companies five times.

Chris enjoys contributing to the leadership conversation and has been featured by leading media outlets such as the BBC, Fox Business, NBC, Telegraph, The Sun, INC, and Forbes. He has also delivered keynotes and worked as a consultant for top brands like Johnson & Johnson, Citi, IKEA, Kelly Services, the United States Patent Office, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and their Ministry of Defense, as well other top firms like Farmer’s Insurance and Cornerstone OnDemand. He is listed a Top 50 Global Thought Leader by PeopleHum, and as a top leadership voice on LeaderHum. Most importantly he married his high school sweetheart and has three adopted children who have finally left the house, and one grandson.

SESSIONS:
Monday, June 29, 2020 - 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Sarah McVanel
Chief Recognition Officer
Greatness Magnified
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Sarah McVanel helps organizations leverage the exponential power of recognition to retain top talent & delight customers. She has a BA (Psych), MSc (Family Relations) & certifications in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Coaching. She is also one of only 1500 people worldwide with her CSP – Certified Speaking Professional – designation. Sarah left a senior leadership role 5 years ago to launch Greatness Magnified, leaving more time to speak, author books, tap dance, and enjoy her hubby Mark & kids Justin & Simonne.

SESSIONS:
Joe Urbanski
Personal Pronouns
He/Him/His
Chief Operations Officer
Total Solutions Group
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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.

 

SESSIONS:
Jack Gottlieb
Personal Pronouns
He/Him/His
CEO
Total Solutions Group
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Jack Gottlieb is a results-driven senior executive with 20 years of experience in transforming and revitalizing organizations. As the CEO of Total Solutions Group, a strategic consulting and results-based training firm, he has a proven track record of aligning culture, strategy, and capability to achieve critical short-term and long-term goals. TSG has generated $3.25 billion in ROI for clients in growth, profitability, innovation, and efficiency, including leading fifteen M&As and ten turnarounds from inception to implementation. 

With extensive experience in the C-Suite and as an HR leader Jack has a deep expertise of how to drive organizational health and performance through an embedded employee experience. Jack has had global roles such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, & Chief Culture Officer in banking and currently is the Vice President of Global Capability & Transformation in a market leading test lab in the gaming industry. 
Jack has been one of the top rated speakers and thought leaders for SHRM both at annual and state council conferences. Jack also hosts the successful "L&D Transformation Podcast: How To Lead The Future Of Our Organizations Through Talent Development” which is in its third season with over 100 episodes.

 

SESSIONS:
Audrey Shelton
Vice President of Human Resources
Maritz Motivation (formerly with MaritzCX)
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Audrey leads human resources at Maritz Motivation, a behavior insights company with customer loyalty, employee engagement, and sales/channel incentive programs that enable people to establish and extend themselves through their companies, careers or favorite brands. In her role, Audrey ensures human resources is data-driven and a value-add function by effectuating a business strategy and culture that empowers the company’s 1,000 employees as the greatest competitive advantage for business success.

As the Vice President of Human Resources, Audrey sets strategy on performance management, employee relations, legal compliance, change management, compensation, professional and leadership development, recognition, and employee engagement for the company. Audrey is also responsible for driving cost effective business staffing strategies and managing staffing and onboarding for all labor types.

Audrey has a Master’s degree in Interpersonal Communication from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communication with a minor in Social Psychology from the University of Iowa. She holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Certified Professional title from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-CP).

SESSIONS:
Monday, June 29, 2020 - 7:30am to 8:30am