Dr. Smith is a respected practitioner of I-O psychology with over 20 years of experience in HR research and consulting. His primary areas of expertise involve strategic research approaches, test development and validation, individual assessment, and management development. Throughout his career, he has worked with all levels of employees (from hourly rate to executive level). He joined SHRM in 2018 after spending most of his career in consulting roles. At SHRM, he spent three years as Director of Exam Development for certification and more recently became Director of HR Thought Leadership for the research group.

Mark holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida. He has authored professional publications and presented numerous papers and symposia at numerous professional meetings. He is a member of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and he has also served as President, Treasurer and Board Member of the Houston Association for I-O Psychology.

Mandy Schaumburg is the Chief Counsel and Deputy Director of Education Policy on the Committee on Education and Labor. In this role she focuses on general oversight of education and human services policy as well as policy issues including child nutrition, parent involvement, early education and child care, charter schools, and student privacy. She also assists the education staff on the issues they cover for the Committee. She previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Prior to that she worked for Congressman Mark Green of Wisconsin as his Legislative Counsel working on judiciary issues, health care, and the faith based initiative. Before coming out to Washington, Mandy worked for Governor Tommy G. Thompson as Deputy Legal Counsel and his successor, Governor Scott McCallum, as his Legal Counsel.

Mandy graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.A. in Political Science and from Hamline University School of Law with a J.D.

Dr. Michael Mandel is Vice President and Chief Economist at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC and senior fellow at the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School (UPenn). He was chief economist at BusinessWeek prior to its purchase by Bloomberg.

With experience spanning policy, academics, and business, Dr. Mandel has helped lead the public conversation about the economic and business impact of technology for the past two decades. Mandel’s seminal analysis showing how ecommerce creates jobs and reduces inequality was featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Financial Times, among others.

Mandel argues that Americans suffer from too little innovation, rather than too much. More innovation, especially in “physical” industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare, will raise wages and create more good jobs. His current work focuses on the economic benefits of digital manufacturing; job creation by ecommerce and 5G; pharmaceutical pricing and innovation; and regulation of cross-border data flows. He spearheads PPI’s “Investment Heroes” annual report, and tracks App Economy jobs around the world.

Mandel has written four books, including the optimistic Rational Exuberance. His economics textbook, Economics: The Basics, is in its fourth edition. He received a PhD in economics from Harvard University, and taught at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Senator Breaux led a long and distinguished career in the US Congress. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 at the age of 28 – at the time of his election, he was the youngest member of Congress. He represented the 7th District of Louisiana for 14 years before being elected to the United States Senate in 1986. Senator Breaux was a widely recognized bipartisan leader in the Senate, and in 1993, was appointed by his Democratic colleagues to the post of Chief Deputy Whip, a position he held until his retirement. He also held a number of key Senate committee positions.

A senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Breaux served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. He also held positions on two other Finance subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Health Care and the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight. Senator Breaux also served on the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, where he was a leader on telecommunications and transportation issues, along with his work on fisheries and ocean policy.

Senator Lott represented the people of Mississippi in Congress for 35 years and is one of a handful of officials to have held elected leadership positions in both the House of Representatives and Senate. During his 16 years in the House and 19 years in the Senate, he worked closely with seven presidential administrations and was regarded as a savvy coalition builder and dealmaker. Senator Lott joined the House in 1973, representing Mississippi’s Fifth Congressional District. From 1981 to 1989, he served as House Minority Whip, the second-ranking Republican in the House. 

In 1995, Senator Lott was elected Senate Republican Whip, giving him the distinction of being the only person to hold that position in both the House and Senate.  He served as both Senate Majority and Minority Leader from 1996 to 2003.