Debra Cohen, PhD, SPHR, is the chief knowledge development and integration officer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is responsible for the Society’s Knowledge Development and Integration Division, which includes the SHRM Knowledge Center (including the Society Library), the Research Department, Academic Initiatives, and HR Standards. Dr. Cohen joined SHRM in May of 2000 as the director of Research. Prior to joining SHRM, Dr. Cohen spent 15 years as an academician teaching HRM at George Washington University (10 years) and George Mason University (5 years). Dr. Cohen has published over 40 articles and book chapters and has been published in several journals. Dr. Cohen received her PhD in management and human resources in 1987 and her master’s degree in labor and human resources (MLHR) in 1982, both from The Ohio State University. She received her bachelor of science (in communications) from Ohio University. She is a frequent presenter at national, international, and regional conferences and has spoken to a wide variety of audiences. Prior to her academic career, she was a practicing human resources manager (in Training and Development).

Mary K. W. Jones is Vice President, Global Human Resources for Deere & Company. Jones is responsible for leading the Global Human Resources organization.

After working in private practice, Jones joined Deere & Company in 1997 as an attorney. She served in Global Law Services for over ten years in roles as senior attorney, senior counsel, assistant general counsel and associate general counsel. In March 2008 she was appointed Corporate Secretary and Associate General Counsel, Deere & Company. In October 2008, Jones joined the company's Corporate Human Resources organization as Director, Regional Human Resources and Shared Services. Prior to her current position, she was named Director, Human Resources Global and Regional Deployment in May 2009.

A native of Cordova, Illinois, Jones received her bachelor's degree from Truman State University. She received her juris doctor degree, with high distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was a member of the editorial board of the Iowa Law Review.

Jones is a member of the Illinois and Iowa Bar Associations. She is a member and previously has served as Chair of the Corporate Law Departments Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association. She also is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Jones serves on the Board of Directors of the Deere Employees Credit Union and on the regional Board of Directors of the March of Dimes. She has previously been a member of the Board of Directors of the Learning Campus Foundation, Edgerton Women's Health Center, and the Family Museum, where she served as Chairman of the Board.

Mary Spees is the Senior Director of Human Resources for Cirque du Soleil’s Resident Shows Division. Mary leads a staff of human resources professionals ranging from generalists to subject matter experts in all areas of human resources, including immigration, health and safety, talent attraction, compensation and benefits, workers’ compensation, and employee/artist relations. Cirque currently presents nineteen different shows around the world, and the Resident Shows Division Human Resources team is responsible for employees located in the United States, Tokyo, Macau, and other countries. Mary joined Cirque in 1998, and has held several different positions in the Human Resources Department.

As Field Services Director for the Society for Human Resource Management, Susan Post has accountability for the membership and relationship management strategies for SHRM affiliates in a nine-state territory (CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI and VT.)  She serves SHRM members, prospective members and volunteer leaders from her home office in upstate NY. 

Prior to joining SHRM in 1999, Susan had 15 years of progressively responsible HR experience with several organizations, including Eastman Kodak and Cornell University.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Le Moyne College, is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Susan's affiliation with the Society began in the early 1980's, when she served two terms as President of the Le Moyne College student chapter in Syracuse, NY.  Throughout her professional career, Susan held numerous SHRM volunteer leadership roles, including two terms as President of her local professional chapter and District Director on the New York State Council.

Outside of SHRM, Susan has served in a variety of volunteer leader capacities for many organizations. She is currently a member of the Elmira Little Theater board of directors, a non-profit community theater group in Elmira, NY.

Steve is the Chief Global HR and Content Integration Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In this role, Steve is responsible for both the development of best-in-class HR programs for the world’s largest professional HR organization as well as globalization and planning strategies focused on serving both existing and future members.

Steve is a former HR Vice President at Lucent Technologies where his work took him around the world, including a 3 ½ year assignment as head of Lucent’s HR operations for the Asia Pacific region. He also held positions where he was responsible for supporting a wide variety of business units across Lucent. His specific responsibilities included the creation of global talent development initiatives, assessment methodologies, leadership development programs, and organizational design / effectiveness strategies.

Steve currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) and is a past United States representative to the North American Human Resources Management Association (NAHRMA), North America’s representative body to the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA).

Steve received his Master’s Degree in Computer Science and his Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Detroit, both Summa Cum Laude.

Tom Carroll is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for RR Donnelley, a 10 billion dollar international Fortune 250 Company with more than 60,000 employees worldwide.

Tom’s career with RR Donnelley began in 1995 as the Human Resource Manager in the Pontiac, Illinois, manufacturing facility. Since then, he has served as a manager in Leadership Development and has had increasing responsibility in the role of Vice President of Human Resources. As the EVP and Chief Human Resource Officer, Carroll has responsibilities for all aspects of human resources for domestic and global operations in the Asia Pacific, Mexico, South America, Canada, Europe and the United States.

Additionally, Carroll is a skilled business strategist, executive coach, team developer, facilitator, and motivational speaker. In September 2009 his featured cover story in Human Resource Executive, was focused on “Rethinking HR.”

Prior to joining RR Donnelley, he was a manager of Employee Relations and Organization Development in a large hospital where he practiced clinically before transitioning to human resources. Carroll began his career in 1984 as Director of Family Services for a social service agency. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology.

Tom lives in Naperville, Illinois with his wife and three children and enjoys photography, yoga, and stained glass.

Sarah King is executive vice president of human resources for Wyndham Vacation Ownership. She is responsible for leading all human resources operations including recruitment and retention, leadership and associate development, employee relations and the alignment of more than 13,300 associates across the organization to strategic goals and initiatives.

Prior to her most recent position, Ms. King served as vice president of human resources for Wyndham Exchange and Rentals, based in the UK. In this role, she was responsible for all human resources strategies for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI), including nine businesses with approximately 4,000 associates across more than 20 countries. In addition, Sarah also had oversight for EMEAI’s facilities and real estate management and corporate communications.

Previously, Ms. King was responsible for overseeing all human resources operations in Australia, Africa and the United Kingdom for RCI. In these roles, she led strategies designed to attract, retain and engage associates and drive business performance improvement through effective people strategies.

Sarah holds a Diploma of Communications from Auckland University of Technology and several Certificates in Workplace Training and Assessment as well as the Foundations of Human Resources Management. She is a member of the American Resort Development Association’s Human Resources Council, as well as the National Association of Professional Women.

Dr L.L.G.M. (Lucas) van Wees MBA MBT holds a B.Sc in Tourism & Leisure (Breda) and Masters in Social Sciences (Tilburg), Telecommunications (Delft) in the Netherlands and Business (IMD, Lausanne) in Switzerland. He worked for Philips, Shell and KPN in HR, management and commercial jobs. Since 2001 he is the Vice President HR Commercial and Global for KLM which merged mid 2004 with Air France.

Van Wees was co-author or editor for four books and published various (international) articles a.o. for Personnel Journal, the International Journal of Career Management and the Journal of Management Development. His contribution to a European book, describing HR practices in 13 European countries, was published in late 2008 by Routledge, Taylor & Francis (ISBN 978-0-415-44761-4).

Amongst others, he is a member of the Board of the Dutch Association of Personnel Management (NVP) and, on behalf of the NVP, delegate for the European Association of Personnel Management (EAPM) in which 28 European HR associations take part. He was the also the chairman of the Jury of the first EAPM European HR Award, granted in 2009.

In the attachments, you will find my photograph and an article on the AFKL Merger.

For over twenty-five years Jeff has delivered development and training solutions for the private and public sector. He has facilitated hundreds of programs and delivered keynote addresses to scores of clients as diverse as General Electric, the U.S. Postal System, Federal Express and the City of New York. Topics have ranged from leadership to performance accountability, from customer service/loyalty to team building.

Earlier Jeff’s consultant activities were associated with The Disney Institute, a best-practices institution modeled on America’s first corporate university. While there, Jeff was responsible for designing The Disney Approach to Quality Service and Service, Disney Style programs. The models, concepts, and examples of that program were later introduced to corporate America in Be Our Guest, a popular benchmarking title published by The Disney Institute, with a forward by Michael Eisner.

While at the Disney Institute, Jeff played a key role in developing other programs at The Disney Institute to include Disney’s Approach to Customer Loyalty, and Disney’s Approach to Creativity and Innovation. He continues today as a columnist for MousePlanet.Com where he continues to share stories of excellence in the Walt Disney Company as best-practices ideas for corporations worldwide.

Jeff is now CEO of World Class Benchmarking, which provides a programming series that benchmarks many of America’s greatest corporations. Recently, World Class Benchmarking supported Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (Sheraton, Westin, & St. Regis) in launching a massive customer/brand service initiative for over 125,000 associates globally.

Recently Jeff has consulted in the last couple of years for the Finance division of the City of New York in providing leadership and transformation solutions for the public sector. He is the Chief Learning Architect for The Public Strategies Group (PSG) creating training and development solutions for such organizations as the State of Iowa and Federal Student Aid—U. S. Department of Education.

Jeff’s new best-selling book, Lead With Your Customer: Transform Culture and Brand into World-Class Excellence (ASTD Press) showcases what world-class organizations do to attain and sustain extraordinary results and is available via ASTD.org, Amazon.com, and bookstores all over the world.  Jeff's book, "The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney" highlights best practices in customer service at Disney.

For over twenty-five years Jeff has delivered development and training solutions for the private and public sector. He has facilitated hundreds of programs and delivered keynote addresses to scores of clients as diverse as General Electric, the U.S. Postal System, Federal Express and the City of New York. Topics have ranged from leadership to performance accountability, from customer service/loyalty to team building.

Earlier Jeff’s consultant activities were associated with The Disney Institute, a best-practices institution modeled on America’s first corporate university. While there, Jeff was responsible for designing The Disney Approach to Quality Service and Service, Disney Style programs. The models, concepts, and examples of that program were later introduced to corporate America in Be Our Guest, a popular benchmarking title published by The Disney Institute, with a forward by Michael Eisner.

While at the Disney Institute, Jeff played a key role in developing other programs at The Disney Institute to include Disney’s Approach to Customer Loyalty, and Disney’s Approach to Creativity and Innovation. He continues today as a columnist for MousePlanet.Com where he continues to share stories of excellence in the Walt Disney Company as best-practices ideas for corporations worldwide.

Jeff is now CEO of World Class Benchmarking, which provides a programming series that benchmarks many of America’s greatest corporations. Recently, World Class Benchmarking supported Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (Sheraton, Westin, & St. Regis) in launching a massive customer/brand service initiative for over 125,000 associates globally.

Recently Jeff has consulted in the last couple of years for the Finance division of the City of New York in providing leadership and transformation solutions for the public sector. He is the Chief Learning Architect for The Public Strategies Group (PSG) creating training and development solutions for such organizations as the State of Iowa and Federal Student Aid—U. S. Department of Education.

Jeff’s new best-selling book, Lead With Your Customer: Transform Culture and Brand into World-Class Excellence (ASTD Press) showcases what world-class organizations do to attain and sustain extraordinary results and is available via ASTD.org, Amazon.com, and bookstores all over the world.  Jeff's book, "The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney" highlights best practices in customer service at Disney.

David Lusk joined the SHRM Government Affairs Team as the Senior Associate for Member Advocacy in 2010.  Lusk oversees SHRM’s traditional member advocacy efforts.   He is also responsible for the development of the Advocacy Team, a SHRM initiative that will elevate the visibility of the HR profession by establishing a strong member presence in each of the 435 congressional districts.

With over 15 years of policy experience, Lusk most recently specialized in grassroots and grasstops internet engagement with Capitol Advantage -- now a part of the CQ-Roll Call Group. He also focused on health policy as a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and in the state affairs department of the Health Insurance Association of America. He is based in Alexandria, Va.

seller The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2010). The Corporate LatticeTM model provides a strategic, flexible and scalable approach to the realities of today’s workforce and workplace. Molly led the implementation of Mass Career Customization® across Deloitte’s 45,000-person organization, significantly increasing career-life satisfaction, retention and engagement.

Molly has extensive management consulting experience implementing transformational change. She is an authority on organizational effectiveness, human resources strategy, and learning and development.

Molly is a frequent speaker and writer on talent topics. Her articles have appeared in leading publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, CNBC, Leadership Excellence and The Conversation at Harvard Business Review and she recently appeared on First Business TV.

Molly earned her M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and her undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two children.

Camille is a trusted advisor to national companies facing high-profile legal, policy, and media challenges, especially in situations with significant reputational risk. She excels at helping clients navigate complex issues and turn abstract risks into actionable decisions. Camille is renowned for her expertise in crisis management and legal strategy, making her an invaluable asset to her clients. 

A partner at Seyfarth, Camille co-chairs the National Complex Litigation practice group and leads the Complex Discrimination Litigation practice group. She is also a member of the firm’s National Labor and Employment Law Steering Committee. With nearly 30 years of experience, Camille has represented clients in employment discrimination, harassment, wage-and-hour disputes, and independent contractor matters across the country. 

Camille’s distinguished trial record includes serving as lead defense trial counsel in high-stakes cases involving harassment, discrimination, and systemic policy violations. She has also worked as outside counsel to boards of directors and executive teams on sensitive internal investigations. Her sophisticated approach to litigation has led to numerous successful resolutions, often on the eve of trial or through creative motion practice. 

In addition to her legal practice, Camille has regularly testified before the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, EEOC, and Department of Labor on key legislative issues. She has served as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity policy subcommittee since 2013, advocating for employer perspectives on critical employment laws. 

Camille earned both her B.A., with Highest Honors, and her J.D. from the University of Michigan. As an undergraduate, she was awarded the Eita Krom Scholar distinction for her published thesis. Her extensive legal and policy contributions make her a sought-after speaker and a leading voice in the field of complex litigation.