As Head of Growth Marketing at Reward Gateway, Rachel is able to combine her passions for marketing, leadership and employee engagement. With more than 20 years of high-tech leadership experience, more than half spent in the HR Technology space, Rachel has worked with countless HR leaders to hire, develop and retain world-class teams, and helped organizations create and execute successful employee engagement strategies. Learn more about Rachel’s experience: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-weeks/

After an early post-college career in sports management and coaching, Carissa joined The Boston Beer Company in 2004 and has been a key contributor throughout. She started in sales as a brewery rep in Boulder, Colorado and after holding numerous positions within sales and marketing she became the company’s first Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in fall of 2020. Prior to being chosen to lead Boston Beer Companies DE&I initiatives, she was a co-founder of the company’s D&I Committee and a member of the LGBTQIA co-worker resource group.  In her 16 years within the Alcohol Industry she has won awards nearly every year at Boston Beer Company starting with Rookie of the Year in 2005 and earning The Brewer Patriot Award twice in 2012 and 2016.

She holds a B.A. in Sports Management from Nichols College, D&I for HR Certification from Cornell University.  She is a Certified Cicerone and Certified Cider Professional.

Andrew Aragon joined SHRM in October 2019 and serves as Senior Advisor of Public Policy & Government Affairs. Prior to joining SHRM, Andrew worked in business development for a political tech startup in Washington, DC. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a congressional staffer for New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce from 2013-2016, where he managed the health care, labor, and workforce development legislative portfolios.

James Redstone joined the SHRM External Affairs team after nearly 10 years of service in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and White House. As the Special Assistant to the President responsible for workforce development policy, he oversaw initiatives to modernize federal hiring, expand public access to higher education performance data, provide more granular state and local labor market data, and collaborate with Congress on legislation governing employer-provided education assistance. As the lead workforce development policy expert for the House of Representatives, he negotiated the recent reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and oversaw the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.