Leadership & Navigation

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.

Tamra is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and speaker. In 2016, she wrote the acclaimed book How Performance Management is Killing Performance — and What to Do About It.  Her second book, Feedback (and Other Dirty Words): Why We Fear It, How to Fix It was published in June 2019.

She's spent most of her career thinking about people, researching how they're motivated, and developing new and effective ways for organizations to achieve the ultimate win-win: inspired people driving inspiring performance.  Tamra brings more than thirty years of experience strategically partnering with organizations across industries on complex business transformation projects to her role as EY Americas People Advisory Services Leader, Principal.

Prior to joining EY, Tamra was the CEO and co-founder of PeopleFirm, one of Washington State's fastest-growing businesses and most successful women-owned firms. Prior to founding PeopleFirm, Tamra had people leadership roles at Arthur Andersen at Hitachi Consulting.

Jennifer Currence is a Senior Partner of HR Soul consultancy firm in Tampa, Florida, where she delivers results through strategic HR solutions, customized training, and coaching programs for organizational and HR leaders. She is the creator of The SOTO Approach to Leadership and the content architect for the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) international People Manager Qualification (PMQ).

Jennifer is regularly published and featured in industry magazines, webinars, and podcasts, and is the author of three HR books on behavioral business competencies.

Jennifer was named one of the top 100 Influential HR professionals in Leadership and Development in 2023 and Tampa Bay’s HR Consultant of the Year in 2017.  She is a faculty member for SHRM and a former management professor at the University of Tampa.

Patty McCord brings the Silicon Valley concepts of fresh ideas and innovation and applies them to rethinking the way we work. She challenges norms and invites us to reconsider the idea of “best practices.”

From her many years working with companies that range from very large global tech companies to small very small innovative start-ups, Patty saw first-hand how companies can become slow and complacent and employees become cynics and whiners. She spent 14 years at Netflix experimenting with new ways to work.

Making the Netflix culture deck become reality for the people who work there. From abolishing performance reviews to challenging the need for policies, Patty believes people come to work as fully formed adults with a desire to make an impact and be proud of what they do and she’s on a mission to spread the word that we can do this differently.

She is frequently in the media with interviews and articles from Harvard Business Review, NPR, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal. She speaks at CEO Forums, Business schools and for large groups around the world.

Steve Browne, SHRM-SCP is the Chief People Officer for LaRosa's, Inc., a regional Pizzeria chain. He has 35+ years working as an HR professional in a variety of industries. He has a globally recognized HR blog and author of three books, HR on Purpose !!, HR Rising !! and HR Unleashed !! He is a past member of the SHRM Board of Directors. Steve also runs a global HR network called the HR Net which reaches 15,000+ HR and business professionals weekly.

Jennifer Lee is an experienced keynote speaker, engaging educator, and talented facilitator. Jennifer has over 15 years of learning and development experience with a robust background in luxury hospitality, human resources, and training. As the former Learning and Development Director at the AAA Five Diamond-rated Waldorf Astoria Chicago and the former Learning Manager at The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, Jennifer brings a rich perspective in leadership, management, service, hospitality and presentation skills training. When she’s not presenting, Jennifer can be found checking items off her bucket list, which still includes attending the Oscars at least once in her lifetime.

James is a rare mix of management consultant, change specialist, adventurer and motivational speaker. James helps turn busy and over-worked managers into inspirational leaders.

I have nearly 30 years experience in security consulting, human resources and investigative services, including 14 years in the public sector. My expertise is in fraud and theft investigations, compliance, security operations, public speaking, and executive protection. Prior to joining the private sector, I developed my behavioral acumen through experience as a court investigator, intensive probation supervisor and law enforcement officer, serving both vice and criminal intelligence. 

I served two Fortune 500 companies, as Director of Compliance and Ethics, and Director of Global Investigations Security Services. I have lead a multitude of fraud-related investigations, resulting in the recovery of millions of dollars. 

SHRM member Scott Oswald is an accomplished trial lawyer who has brought more than 40 trials to verdict, tallying more than $300 million in judgments and settlements. As managing principal at The Employment Law Group, he represents employees and whistleblowers in matters ranging from wrongful termination to corporate fraud. Mr. Oswald serves as chair of the Federal Bar Association's Qui Tam Section, which focuses on whistleblower law. He earned his law degree at Howard University and is a fellow of the elite College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Lawdragon, and more.