Louis R. Lessig, Esquire, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is a Partner at the law firm of Brown & Connery, LLP in Westmont, NJ in their labor and employment group.  He regularly counsels clients, conducts training sessions and represents clients in federal and state court as well as before administrative agencies. Also known as The Employment Law Translator®, Mr. Lessig speaks across the country and regularly writes articles that appear in publications nationwide including XpertHR.  In 2018 he won the Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year Award. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and a Past President of the Philadelphia chapter.  Mr. Lessig is an active volunteer for The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as the Northeast Membership Advisory Council (MAC) Representative.

Ben Eubanks is a bestselling author, speaker, and researcher living in Huntsville, AL. He spends his days as the Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, developing groundbreaking research on workforce trends and examining the talent technologies and People practices that set great organizations apart from the rest. 

His latest book Talent Scarcity explores why companies are having difficulties finding quality talent and how they can solve it. His first book, Artificial Intelligence for HR, is the world’s most-cited resource for leveraging technology to create a more human experience at work. His new book The Payroll Promise (March 2025) examines how HR and payroll teams can create workplace trust and do more meaningful work at the same time. He also hosts HR Summer School, a virtual event focusing on improving human resources, one HR pro at a time. When he's not speaking or writing, he spends time with his five kids and runs in a variety of outlandish races for fun.

Stacey Carroll is the President of HR Experts On-Call. HR Experts On-call provide strategic HR consulting services to business owners and HR professionals. Prior to establishing HR Experts On-Call, Ms. Carroll served as the Director of Professional Services & Education for PayScale. As Director of Professional Services, Stacey created and managed the compensation consulting business for PayScale, a venture-backed SaaS provider of compensation resources to HR and business leaders.  Prior to her  work at PayScale, Stacey spent over 12 years in various positions within Human Resources for Trendwest Resorts, Nordstrom, and Western Washington University. Stacey’s specialty areas in HR include: compensation, benefits, training & development, and strategic human capital management.  She earned her BA and MBA from Western Washington University. Stacey has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP). In addition to her regular full time responsibilities, Stacey has taught HRM classes for Western Washington University, Seattle Research Partners, and Tacoma Community College. She also speaks at many local, regional and national conferences.

Follow Stacey on Twitter @HRStacey.

Kevin Cope is the #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author of Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company. A renowned trainer and speaker, Kevin has spent the last 25 years working with top organizations including 30 Fortune 50 companies. His 5 Business Drivers model and ideas, shared with millions through his book, articles, and courses, have been praised for being relevant and actionable; they help you come to the table prepared.

 

Robin Schooling, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is on a mission to make organizations better by making HR better. With 20+ years of senior HR leadership experience in a variety of industries, she consults with organizations, advises HR teams, and writes for a variety of sites and publications. She explores what HR does (and why we do it) by discussing the intricacies, complexities, and absurdities through the sharing of information, the exploration of ideas, and the development of solutions. She rattles cages, takes an audacious approach, and works to ensure HR is valued. She’s been an active and involved SHRM volunteer leader and once upon a time received an award as “HR Professional of the Year.”

 

Cornelia C. Springer has 20 plus years of experience in the credentialing industry. Over the past year Ms. Springer has been engaged as a contractor with SHRM to aid in the development of the new SHRM certification program. Her many years of certification experience has provided foundational knowledge in the development of program policies, certification and recertification criteria as well as aided in defining the customer relations management database.

Prior to joining Real Time Process Solutions in 2011 as a certification consultant, Ms. Springer held several leadership roles with the HR Certification Institute including Executive Director and Operations Director from 1990 to 2010. During her tenure with the HR Certification Institute she had operational oversight for budget development, product development, and the administration of the certification, recertification and pre-approval programs. While with the HR Certification Institute she was instrumental in moving from paper and pencil testing to computerized testing, added two new credentials to the portfolio of products. She also led the organization in becoming accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Ms. Springer has a BS degree in Management from Clemson University.

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.

Jathan Janove, a former state bar Employment Lawyer of the Year and now Executive Coach and Organization Development consultant, writes SHRM’s “Putting Humanity into HR Compliance” column, and is a Master Coach and Practice Leader with the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching organization, including writing its Ask the Coach column. He’s the author, most recently, of “Hard-Won Wisdom: True Stories From The Management Trenches” (HarperCollins 2017). He’s currently working on his next book, “From Compliance Cop to Culture Coach: Transforming the HR Profession.”

Dr. Jody Janati teaches in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. She has an Ed.D. degree in Organizational Leadership and her primary interest area pertains to interpersonal conflict resolution strategies. As an author and independent consultant, she offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective interpersonal communication skills. Follow Jodi on Twitter @jjanati.

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.