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.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

As a “Recovering HR Manager" Richard Fagerlin, has led Peak Solutions, a leadership development firm for the last 20 years.

Born out of the simple idea that we should love what we do and who we do it with, Peak Solutions is dedicated to helping build wise leaders, strong teams & healthy cultures & has served countless organizations in over 50 countries worldwide. Richard is also a leading authority on the topic of Trust and is the author of Trustology: The Art and Science of Leading High Trust Teams.

Richard is from Fort Collins, Colorado where he enjoys an active lifestyle following the interests and passions of his four boys and making memories and enjoying experiences every step of the way.

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Alex envisions a world where work is effortless and teams are drama-free.

Standing side by side since 2015 with New York Times best-selling author and thought leader Cy Wakeman, Alex collaborates with organizations and leaders globally to help them ditch the drama from the workplace, hardwire accountability in their teams and turn excuses into results.

Everything he does is designed to help people understand that success and happiness is their natural state as a human being—once the drama is gone. With this core belief, Alex’s passion is revealing to those he works with that once people carve away drama from their lives, the same job they found themselves upset with today becomes the job they look forward to and love tomorrow.

As a keynote speaker and trainer, he helps organizations exchange the endless argument for a DIFFERENT workplace reality for a shifted perspective that enables them to start achieving more success and fulfillment in their CURRENT workplace reality.

In addition to sharing the reality-based philosophy from the stage, Alex is also a quintessential part of Cy Wakeman’s content creation and media team, spreading the ditch-the-drama message online. Over the last three years, his expertise, insights and execution have helped to balloon her  online community of raving fans from 15,000 to 150,000 followers across multiple platforms.

As the host of The Carvery Podcast with Alex Dorr (available on Apple iOS, Google Play and Simplecast), he shares his journey, stories and insights as a reality-based speaker and practicing drama defuser to help others carve away their own drama and start calling those they lead to greatness.

Although Alex stands at 6’6” tall and is commonly told at events, “you look a lot taller up close,” he prides himself on being down-to-earth or, better yet, grounded in reality.

An advocate for mental minimalism and a former professional basketball player, Alex holds a MSc in international business from the University of Derby (England) and his client list includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Adobe, Carnival Cruise Lines, Ely Lilly, Kohler, Emory Healthcare, Methodist Healthcare (San Antonio), Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Commerce, NetJets, Allina Health, Delaware North, AMC Theatres, Washington Department of Transportation, Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center, Providence Medical Center, the University of Oregon, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, CH Robinson, Intact Insurance, National Association of Credit Management and Credit Institute of Canada, among others.

Allies provides integrated medical care, supportive human services, and community-based education for individuals living with, or at risk of HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections.  Mark joined the organization in 2016 as their first HR professional.  As a department of one and a member of the Agency’s Leadership, he works to ensure that their efforts are efficient, socially aware, ethical, legally compliant, and aligned with their mission and vision.  He works in an environment where employees are required to delve into subjects that would make the most seasoned HR professional blush or turn pale; Mark is learning a lot.

Prior to Allies, Mark was the HR Manager for an independent primary care pediatric practice for 15 years.  He was the first HR person there too.  For 10 of those years, he was also the owner of a company that designed and produced masks, costumes, and props for a variety of enterprises.  Mark’s HR foundation was built in higher education administration and software development (before it was trendy).  He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association and Pittsburgh Cares.

Danna Hewick joined USSI in July 2013.  In her role as Vice President of Human Resources, Danna oversees performance management; training and development; policy and procedure; recruiting; and employment practices for both union and non-union staff.  A Senior Professional certified through HRCI (SPHR) and SHRM (SHRM-SCP), Danna has over 15 years of strategic human resources experience. Prior to USSI, Danna was Director of Administration, managing human resources, facility, information technology and administration for Pacific Trade International a home fragrance manufacturing company.

With an extensive background as a business partner, Danna has a strong foundation in developing business strategy; envisioning future talent requirements; implementing sound business process; developing performance improvement and talent management programs; succession planning; and the creation of competency mapping to ensure that the company’s human resources are prepared to meet future goals.  Danna holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from George Mason University and an Executive MBA from the University of Maryland, Robert H Smith School of Business. She is a member of the National Society of Human Resources and the Montgomery County Society of Human Resources. She currently lives in Annapolis, MD.

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.

Dr. Karlyn Borysenko is the force behind Zen Workplace. An organizational psychologist and executive/performance coach, she is a leader in integrating mindfulness strategies at work to increase productivity and creativity, reduce stress, and create better work experiences. Her practice is based in the greater Boston area and serves clients all over the world. She holds an MBA and a PhD in Psychology, is an experienced trainer and facilitator, coach, and award-winning speaker. Karlyn is a contributor to Forbes.com and the author of Zen Your Work: Create your ideal work experience through mindful self-mastery.

Dr. Bryan Deptula is the CEO of BKD Leaders, a modern-day leadership consulting company, and is the acting chair of the management department at W. Huizenga College of Business at Nova Southeastern University.

He capitalizes on years of industry experience, his own research, and knowledge of leadership to discover and develop leaders that make organizations grow. Deptula believes that the most important people in our lives are those who see the leader within us that we cannot see for ourselves. These people give us the courage and confidence to become the best possible version of ourselves. His motto learn, lead and live reminds himself, and all people that encounter him, to live into their highest potential.

Dr. Deptula is published in leading journals, the Leadership Quarterly, Personality and Individual Differences, and Human Resource Development Quarterly.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, M.B.A., is Chief People Officer for King’s Hawaiian, a global producer of irresistible Hawaiian food. Amy was brought on to King’s Hawaiian to re-envision the employee experience and transform the People function from traditional HR to a strategic driver of business growth. During her time at the company she has worked to radically redefine the purpose, structure and activities of HR with significant results. Prior to her role as CPO, Amy ran a successful human capital consulting firm, The Interchange Group, helping executives and HR professionals retool and adapt their strategies to rapidly changing workforce expectations and business landscapes.

Two themes are woven throughout Lauraine Bifulco's diverse career: a passion for a job well done and a zest for continual learning and improvement.  Lauraine infuses Vantaggio HR with these qualities every day. When she founded the firm in 1994, Lauraine combined her rare talent in understanding what a client needs and her gift of business foresight to create a company that can service the HR and management consulting needs of small and large companies equally well.  Today, Vantaggio serves clients across the country from their offices in California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York. 

Her Career experience helps employers realize their HR goals and adapt to the shifting HR landscape.  Lauraine is a veteran HR executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of international, corporate, and consulting experience. Her bold career has taken her to employment and business opportunities in Europe and multiple U.S. cities. She serves as co-chair of the California Small Business Administration's committee on Labor Issues which reviews and makes recommendations on pending labor/employment laws, keeping her abreast of legal developments.                                                                            

Delivering over 30 presentations and webinars each year, Lauraine is a well-respected, and highly sought after guest lecturer and speaker on a variety of business management and HR-related topics for both state and national organizations including Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA), American Payroll Association (APA), Next Concept HR Association (NCHRA), Paylocity annual Elevate Conference, and HR Star Conference to name a few. She has been invited to review, develop, and deliver certificate programs for SHRM, and has developed and delivered curriculum for businesses throughout the U.S.                                                                   

Lauraine received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and conducted graduate level studies in linguistics at the Sorbonne in Paris.