Interpersonal (Behavioral)

Ryan spent a decade litigating cases for the Department of Justice and U.S. Intelligence Community before joining Sixfifty, where he has happily traded arguing cases for collaborating on projects. At the time, Ryan was the first member of the Legal Product Team, and Sixfifty offered only one product. Today, he serves as Sixfifty’s Chief Legal Officer and leads a robust Legal Product Team that has helped create over a dozen products that simplify the law for businesses and individuals. Ryan loves spending time with his wife and four kids, coaching youth soccer, and camping in the Adirondacks.

Ryan spent a decade litigating cases for the Department of Justice and U.S. Intelligence Community before joining Sixfifty, where he has happily traded arguing cases for collaborating on projects. At the time, Ryan was the first member of the Legal Product Team, and Sixfifty offered only one product. Today, he serves as Sixfifty’s Chief Legal Officer and leads a robust Legal Product Team that has helped create over a dozen products that simplify the law for businesses and individuals. Ryan loves spending time with his wife and four kids, coaching youth soccer, and camping in the Adirondacks.

Kent is as passionate about compensation and pay equity as he was in 1999 when he co-founded Salary.com with a goal of reinventing how employers and employees access compensation data. Kent has always believed pay equity is a two-sided coin and designed the business to support that belief. The company’s groundbreaking Salary Wizard was the first tool employees could access to understand their worth, effectively lifting the veil on salary information for millions of employees annually. On the B2B side, Salary.com has become the preeminent provider of compensation market data, software, and analytics, serving over 30,000 survey participant organizations, 8,000 business-to-business software subscribers, and 45+ million employees globally. 

Kent holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and A.B. in Economics and Government from Georgetown University. He is a three-time Inc. 500 CEO, a six-time Deloitte Fast 50 awardee and recipient of the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of Year Award for business services. Kent is accredited by WorldatWork as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP®) 

An accomplished HR practitioner, Laurie has industry experience in non-profit, health care, consumer packaged goods, and banking. As a senior leader of SHRM’s HR team, she focuses on strategic initiatives to drive innovation to positively impact the employee experience and allow staff to maximize their potential through a culture of learning. She received her Masters’ degree in HRM from Capella University, is a Certified Strengths Coach and holds both SHRM-SCP and CAE designations.

Machael Sherry is a Principal Consultant and Executive Coach at Linkage, a SHRM company, with over two decades of expertise in the learning and development arena. Throughout her career, Machael has spearheaded the creation, implementation, and management of large-scale leadership development initiatives designed to foster self-awareness, inspire action, and drive impactful outcomes for individuals, teams, and organizations. Prior to her tenure at Linkage, Machael held esteemed senior leadership roles, where she consistently enhanced organizational performance by clarifying vision and strategy, nurturing talent, and cultivating inclusive cultures that prioritize people's value and investment in the organization's success. Machael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston College, a Master of Science in Education from Pace University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University at Buffalo School of Law. She has further honed her coaching expertise through an Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. As a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Machael also holds certifications in Linkage’s Advancing Women Leaders Assessment, Linkage’s Purposeful Leadership Assessment, the Hogan Assessments (HPI, HDS, and MVPI), and the EQ-i 2.0 Assessment. Her multifaceted background and unwavering commitment to excellence position her as a trusted advisor and catalyst for professional growth and organizational success.

Claire Stroh, MBA, SHRM-CP is currently the Manager, of Managed Talent Services at Lighthouse Technology Services and CEO of Claire is Coaching. She has used LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and networking to build her personal brand and uncover new opportunities for herself and the companies she’s worked for. She’s passionate about helping others do the same! Claire has more than 10 years of successively diverse human resources management experience with privately-owned and publicly-traded global leaders. She is an active member and blogger for SHRM and served on SHRM’s Emerging Professional Advisory Council (EPAC) for four years. Claire was named a 2022 HR Impact Award Winner by Buffalo Business First and 2022 Community Catalyst Award Winner by HRUnite!.

Claire Stroh, MBA, SHRM-CP is currently the Manager, of Managed Talent Services at Lighthouse Technology Services and CEO of Claire is Coaching. She has used LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and networking to build her personal brand and uncover new opportunities for herself and the companies she’s worked for. She’s passionate about helping others do the same! Claire has more than 10 years of successively diverse human resources management experience with privately-owned and publicly-traded global leaders. She is an active member and blogger for SHRM and served on SHRM’s Emerging Professional Advisory Council (EPAC) for four years. Claire was named a 2022 HR Impact Award Winner by Buffalo Business First and 2022 Community Catalyst Award Winner by HRUnite!.

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.

During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction. In 2015, Kennedy co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which details a bold plan for the future of mental health care in America. In 2023, The Kennedy Forum launched the Alignment for Progress, a movement to align leaders from across industry and across the aisle to achieve 90/90/90 by 2033: 90% of all individuals will be screened for mental health and substance use disorders; 90% of those screened will be able to receive evidence-based treatment; 90% of those receiving treatment will be able to manage their symptoms in recovery. Kennedy’s second co-authored book “Profiles in Mental Health Courage” available April 2024 will delve into the compelling stories of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with their mental health – many of whom are sharing their stories for the first time.

Kennedy is also the founder of DontDenyMe.org, an educational campaign that empowers consumers and providers to understand parity rights and connects them to essential appeals guidance and resources; co-founder of One Mind, an organization that pushes for greater global investment in brain research; co-chair of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19 (National Response); and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force.

Jen Butler has worked for over 35 years helping individuals uncover their stress triggers and ways to reduce their stress to live a more peaceful and joyous life. She is now the CEO and founder of Rest from Stress, an educational training company dedicated to helping organizations create a culture of stress management and resilience so every employee works to their greatest potential.