Senator Linda Newell, SPHR, is a Colorado State Senator now, but came from the private sector in Human Resources and Learning and Organizational Development, although her first career was in theatre and television in California.  She is a repeat presenter at national SHRM conferences, Colorado Human Resources Association, and regional and national summits and she hosts Colorado Human Resources professionals at their annual HR Day at the Capitol.  She attended UCLA, UC Irvine, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive program.  

In her five years in the legislature, Senator Newell has earned the reputation of being one of the most effective legislators at the Capitol.  Because of her collaborative approach, she is known as a problem-solver and bridge-builder, with 98% of her bills thus far receiving bipartisan support.

Heather Owen is Board Certified in labor and employment law and has been representing employers in employment matters since 1993.  Her client counseling focuses on problem solving, litigation prevention, risk reduction and legal analysis of complex employment issues. When matters escalate to litigation, she has successfully defended employers in all areas of employment law, including claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, wage and hour laws, the National Labor Relations Act, and various whistleblower and retaliation laws.  Heather is a frequent presenter to national and local organizations.  Heather received both her Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida.  She is AV® Peer Review Rated By Martindale-Hubbell, and has been listed several years in Florida Trends’ Legal Elite, and Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition. 

Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherAOwen.

James M. Nelson is Chair of Greenberg Taurig, LLP's Sacramento Labor & Employment Practice. He represents employers and ERISA plan fiduciaries in matters concerning ERISA compliance, fiduciary responsibility, collective bargaining, wage and hour, employee benefits, safety, discrimination, wrongful termination, and other labor and employment issues. His experience includes complex litigation, class action defense, administrative proceedings and appeals, as well as advice and counseling to ERISA plan fiduciaries of single-employer and multi-employer plans. James has counseled clients in numerous industries, including construction, transportation, health care, hospitality, manufacturing and publishing.

Jack has 34 years of experience in a broad range of employee benefit matters including welfare benefit plans, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and other employer-provided fringe benefits.  Prior to joining Willis, Jack held human resources/benefits leadership positions at four different Fortune 500 companies.  

Jack received his LLM – Employee Benefits from John Marshall Law School, his JD from South Texas College of Law, and his MBA and BBA- Business Economics from Cleveland State.  

In 2012, Jack completed his three year appointment to serve on the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Advisory Council.  He continues to serve on the World at Work Benefits Advisory Board, and he previously served in board positions for the Council on Employee Benefits, the American Benefits Council and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Corporate Board.  

For the last three decades, Jack Smalley has devoted his career to the field of human resources. His experience includes executive-level management in a number of different industries such as oil, chemical and packaging with an emphasis in manufacturing, engineering, sales, logistics and corporate management.

Jack serves as the director of HR learning and development for Express Employment Professionals. He provides human resource training and consulting for nearly 600 Express offices and clients in the U.S. and Canada. Jack offers clients preventive measures that minimize the threat of allegations emanating from workplace problems and employee relations issues.

Stephen is a globally recognized inclusion, leadership and communications expert. From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programs for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London Organizing Committee (LOCOG). Prior to LOCOG, Stephen established and led the workplace team at Stonewall, Europe's largest LGBT equality organization. Stephen was elected recipient of the 2010 Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions and in 2011 he was named one of the top 100 influential LGBT people in the UK.  He is currently a Visiting Fellow in the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Follow Stephen on Twitter @frostincluded.

Melvin Brown II is an author, conference speaker and organizational consultant. He is sought out by both government and industry as an expert in the areas of Chanage Management, Program Management, Knowledge Management and Training.

Nicknamed “Mr. Turnaround” he has more than twenty years of not only turning around the lives of individuals but several organizations both in the private sector and the federal government.

He has developed several change management strategies for collaboration and is the recipient of the America Council for Technology, Industry Advisory Council’s, 2007 Excellence in Government award.

Follow Melvin on Twitter @melvinbrownii.