Relationship Management

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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Gerri Fiala is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training for the U.S. Department of Labor.  She is currently responsible for guiding the Department’s implementation of WIOA -- the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Prior to her time at DOL, Gerri served as Staff Director to the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety chaired by Senator Patty Murray. Here Gerri drafted Senator Murray's "Innovations in 21st Century Careers" bill to make education more relevant for high school students. She also developed bills introduced by Senator Murray during the economic stimulus debate. Key components of these bills were ultimately included in Recovery Act funding provisions for the Department of Labor.

Gerri served for nearly eight years as Administrator, Office of Policy Development, Evaluation and Research, in the U.S. Department of Labor. This includes a year as a loaned executive to serve as Senior Counselor for Economic Development to the American Association of Community Colleges. As Administrator, she led interagency efforts to drive job training reform. This work culminated in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000 (creating the Senior Community Service Employment Program). Her leadership on interagency teams also secured the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, and Welfare to Work program, and provided direction to a DOL effort to craft and implement regulations for each of these programs.

Gerri has a Masters of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa, and Associate of Arts from North Iowa Area Community College.

Matt Grove is a Principal Consultant with Recruiting Toolbox based in Chicago. Matt is an accomplished recruiting leader and speaker who is a storyteller with a unique point of view as a former opera singer and actor. In his presentations, Matt shares his greatest learning experiences (both the highlights and the lowlights!) and helps people see new and better ways of working. He shares What to do and How to do it.

Matt has been a featured speaker and panelist at recruiting conferences and leadership events. He has led live and virtual trainings for a variety of industry organizations and has trained sourcing and recruiting teams in the US, Canada, Europe, India, and South Africa.

Erika Tedesco describes herself as culture champion in her role as Vice President of (HR) People & Culture at Diversified Automation, responsible for the culture, engagement, retention, and recruitment of professional talent at the company. Erika also teaches at the Gordon Ford School of Business at Western Kentucky University on International HR Business, leveraging her practical experiences with multinational entities to train the HR professionals of the future. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Louisville and a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Illinois.

Tim Mulligan serves Vulcan Inc, in Seattle, managing a staff of over 25 employees who fulfill employment needs for the organization, develop benefits packages for its very diverse group of employees and handle organizational and strategic challenges that occur in a very unique workplace.  Mulligan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Washington State University in 1990 before receiving his Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1994.  He has extensive experience in human resources legal issues having practiced labor and employment law from 1995 – 1998.  Prior to joining Vulcan, Mulligan served as Chief Human Resources Officer for San Diego Zoo Global from 2004 – 2017, and previously spent several years in various Human Resources leadership positions with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.  Mulligan just recently joined Vulcan Inc. in early 2017.

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.

Been there – done that!  With 30 years of HR and business experience – Lori has walked in your shoes.  A recovered HR Generalist, she built a consulting company that she sold to Arthur J Gallagher after 7 years and then reinvented her current business – HR Topics -  training, speaking and developing content for HR professionals.  Lori delivers facts, tips, tricks and best practices in a way that appeals to human resource and business leaders: with a sense of humor, a bias toward actions that improve their operations right away, and practical resources and tools to support their progress.  As an annual speaker at the National SHRM conference, she has leveraged her masters in HR, SPHR and SHRM-SCP background to elevate the position of all HR professionals!

Nicole Oliver’s recruiting career began in 2007 with Robert Half International and continued with AppleOne Employment Services, where she served as a branch leader for 4 years.  In 2012, Ms. Oliver transitioned into corporate recruiting as the Director of Talent Acquisition for a specialized financial services company.  Under her leadership, the organization was able to acquire the necessary talent to expand their business services into emerging markets and grew from 700 employees to over 2000 in just 14 months.  Currently she serves as a Recruiting Business Partner for Meritage Homes, providing talent advisory services to business leaders as they expand their operations across the southeast. 

With expertise in workforce planning, sourcing strategies, selection methods and leadership development, Ms. Oliver has a track record of successfully delivering ambitious talent solutions.  She believes that the purpose of recruiting isn’t simply to fill requisitions or achieve a headcount goal.  It’s an opportunity to serve others by uncovering their needs and connecting them to solutions that empower and elevate everyone involved.

For over 20 years, Allison West has used her employment law background in delivering customized workplace training, conducting investigations, coaching executives/managers, serving as an expert witness, and specializing in conflict resolution and facilitated discussions to create more collaborative work environments. 

Allison is a top-rated speaker at the SHRM Annual Conference as well as other HR/diversity conferences, and is a national expert on harassment, discrimination and investigations. She has appeared on PBS, CBS This Morning and in O Magazine discussing workplace harassment issues. 

She is a member of the State Bar of California and holds her SHRM-SCP certification and AWI-CH (investigation) certificate.