Leadership (Behavioral)

Brenda S. Kasper is a founding member of Kasper & Frank LLP, a law firm representing California and multi-state employers for all of their human resources and employment law needs.  She regularly advises employers of all sizes on wage and hour compliance, leaves of absence, disability accommodation, reductions in force, terminations and discipline management, employment contracts, personnel policies, and hiring issues.  She also provides management and human resources training.  Brenda is a former HR director so her legal advice is practical, creative and tailored to each client’s needs.  She was the 2015 San Diego SHRM Board President, is an instructor for the HR Certification program at the University of California San Diego Extension and holds her SHRM-SCP and SPHR-California certifications.

G. Riley Mills is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, and the co-founder of Pinnacle Performance Company. He is the co-author of the book The Bullseye Principle and was included in the list of "Top Leadership Speakers" by Inc. Magazine. He presented his TEDx session "Are We Killing Communication" at the Shanghai American School and has guest-lectured at such institutions as the Columbia University, London Business School, Manchester United, and The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace. Mills has written about leadership and communication for Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc. Magazine. 

Pam Allyn is a world-renowned leader in education entrepreneurship and the connection between home, work, and community life. She is the founder of companies and programs that focus on the ways family and child raising can inspire our lives and our work. She is the author of many books including Your Child's Writing Life, What to Read When, and more. Her work on helping families and children to thrive, bond, and learn has been widely recognized both nationally and internationally. She is also the creator of World Read Aloud Day, celebrated in 60 countries worldwide.

Julie Burch has spoken at 2 SHRM National Conferences, 5 state SHRM conferences, and countless regional and local SHRM events. She was also inducted in to the Speaker Hall of Fame at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Southwest Conference in 2017. She has spoken in all 50 states, 3 countries, and 3 U.S. Territories. Where she has designed programs for industry leaders in a wide range of industries

Julie is the comedienne with content! Julie’s presentations are high energy, highly interactive and packed with real world, tangible techniques the audience can implement immediately. Julie also loves to make them laugh! She has discovered the more her audience laughs the more they learn. “Solid Business Strategies. Brilliant Comedic Humor.” It’s not just her tag line, it is her promise in every presentation!

Jay has more than 30 years of experience as a tax attorney specializing in employee benefits.  Prior to joining World, Jay was a Sr. VP and Senior ERISA Attorney with Lockton was previously the national practice leader for the legal and research team at WT.W

Jay served as a Peace Corps volunteer and business consultant from 1979 to 1982. 

He has an LL.M.  in taxation from New York University School of Law, J.D. with distinction from the University of Arizona College of Law and a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis.  Jay is the former Chair of the American Benefits Council, an adjunct professor of employee benefits in the LL.M. program at Washington University School of Law.

Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is vice president of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders, and consultants who are distinguished experts in the HCM field and uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices, and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as liaisons, trusted advisors, and thought leaders who help to shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG. 

Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence, and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging (DEI&B), and has been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.” 
 
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.” 
 
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida. 
 

Jeff Nally is the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Coaching Officer at CoachSource, the world’s most experienced leadership coaching company. He is an executive coach, HR professional, coaching supervisor, professional speaker, and author who brings the neuroscience of leadership and human interaction into the workplace.

Prior to CoachSource, Jeff created and led the Executive Coaching Practice at Humana where he coached senior leaders and established Humana’s Women in Leadership Group Coaching Program. He also co-created the first LGBTQ+ employee resource group at Humana. He has 28 years of professional experience leading human resources in manufacturing, healthcare, and coaching companies.

Jeff serves on the board of directors at the SHRM Foundation, the International Gay Coaches Alliance, and the National Speakers Association Chapter Leadership Council. Jeff is a co-author of Rethinking Human Resources, and Humans@Work with other HR and coaching thought leaders with all Amazon.com sales benefiting the SHRM Foundation.

Jeff earned a BA in Psychology from Georgetown College and an MBA from Georgia State University. He is a Senior Certified Professional with SHRM and Certified Virtual Presenter through eSpeakers.com. Jeff is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation. He is a Results Professional Certified Coach with The NeuroLeadership Group and graduated with distinction with a Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from The NeuroLeadership Institute. He earned a coaching supervision certification and leads professional development for coaches and HR professionals.

Jeff was named one of the top Twenty People to Know in Human Resources by the Louisville Business First Journal and is the 2021 recipient of the Thomas J. Leonard Coach Humanitarian Award. He is a past chair of the Kentucky SHRM State Council and a past president of the Louisville SHRM Chapter. Jeff and his husband, Bob, were one of the first same-sex couples to adopt in Kentucky, and they recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary.

Brian McComak is a consultant, speaker, author, and facilitator with over 25 years of experience in DEI, HR, culture, change management, internal communications, and employee experience. He is an openly gay man and a person with a disability who shares his lived experiences in service of fostering workplaces where humans thrive.

​Before starting Hummingbird Humanity, he was the Global Head of Inclusion for Tapestry – the home of Coach, Kate Spade & Stuart Weitzman – where he designed and launched the company’s DEI strategy. He put Tapestry ‘on the map’ as a great place for inclusion, earning recognition from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, Women in the Workplace and Forbes’ Best Places to Work for Diversity.

​​Brian has also worked in leadership roles at leading global companies including The Walt Disney Company, L’Oreal, and Christie’s Auction House. His experience spans a diverse variety of industries including fashion/retail, hospitality, auction, entertainment/media and he has consulted with organizations in technology, financial services, media and non-profit.​

Brian is a frequent guest on podcasts where he shares his passion for creating human-centered workplace cultures. Recent appearances include Jennifer Brown’s The Will to Change, Surabhi Lal’s SIPS & Leadership and Nikki Lewallen’s Gut+Science.

​Brian holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and Change Management from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Management and Marketing. 

​Join Brian in working to create a world where we accept each other, celebrate our differences, and recognize that we truly are #bettertogether.

 Joe is a leading thinker in managing and motivating people. He’s passionate about helping organizations achieve their vision through effective performance management.

 He’s a top-rated SHRM speaker and serves as Chief Value Officer for Delphia Consulting, a national HR and Payroll software consulting firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Joe is the co-creator of miviva, a continuous performance management application.

 Joe has over 30 years of experience and serves as VP of Professional Development on the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO) Board of Directors. Joe is a cited contributor to the SHRM Learning System.

 Joe is a leading thinker in managing and motivating people. He’s passionate about helping organizations achieve their vision through effective performance management.

 He’s a top-rated SHRM speaker and serves as Chief Value Officer for Delphia Consulting, a national HR and Payroll software consulting firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Joe is the co-creator of miviva, a continuous performance management application.

 Joe has over 30 years of experience and serves as VP of Professional Development on the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO) Board of Directors. Joe is a cited contributor to the SHRM Learning System.

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.