Erika Frank is the Vice President, Legal Counsel of the California Hospital Association.

Prior, Erika served as the Associate Executive Director, General Counsel and Section Chief for the California Lawyers Association. 

Over her twenty-year career, Erika has utilized her legal expertise in employment and labor law to benefit the non-profit and private sector alike. When serving as Counsel at the Shaw Law Group in Sacramento, California, Erika advised the region’s employers about California’s complex employment laws, conducted impartial workplace investigations for public and private sector employers, and conducted seminars and training programs.  

Erika also served General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs at the California Chamber of Commerce, the largest broad-based trade association in California. During her tenure at the Chamber, Erika developed an expertise in employment law compliance, oversaw CalChamber’s Labor Law Helpline and assisted countless members with their employment law questions. She also played an integral role in the launch and success of CalChamber’s “The Workplace” podcast.

Erika has not only produced but has led numerous seminars and webinars on employment law topics such as leaves of absence, wage and hour compliance, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention. She is known for her relentless energy and ability to transform legal concepts into simple stories and realistic scenarios for any type of audience and professional.   

In any organization that she is a part of, Erika utilizes her skills to translate vision into reality. Paying special attention to organizational culture, structure, and human capital, Erika is able to maximize potential and achieve results that boards, stakeholders and members are proud of.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and received her Juris Doctorate Degree from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. In her spare time, Erika enjoys spending time with her family, running the local trails, swimming laps in the pool, listening to the trending legal podcasts, and practicing mindfulness.   

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.

Brittany S. Hale is the founder and CEO of BND Consulting Group. Brittany's experience in litigation, politics, and risk management led her to create BND Consulting Group, which equips senior leaders with the tools to establish highly engaged, trustworthy, and resilient audiences to gain a competitive advantage. She guides leaders in navigating organizational transitions by operationalizing aspirational values for enterprise, government, and startup clients alike. 

As CEO of BND Consulting Group, she established custom onboarding programming for marketing, finance, and sales departments, which increased employee retention by 21% and saved an organization an additional $400,000 through strategic operational advisement. While serving as Interim CEO of an entrepreneurial-focused nonprofit, Brittany increased donor contributions by 16% and research-based revenue by 41%. In Fall 2022, Brittany lectured on managing human behaviors in organizations at Columbia University's School of Professional Studies, and her strategies have reduced attrition within organizations by over 10%.

Brittany's dedication to public service is reflected in her extensive service record. She became one of the youngest Black women to hold office in her state after using her experiences as an Obama Organizing Fellow to run for office in 2016. In August 2020, Brittany developed the first municipal Social Justice Commission in New Jersey and served as Executive Director. She serves on the Rutgers University Alumni Association Board of Directors and was appointed to the Human Relations Council Executive Committee by Governor Murphy. Brittany is also a 2023 Women inPower Fellow with 92NY.