Conferences

Workplace Policy Conference Virtual Advocacy Day

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 9:00am to 3:00pm

Heather Tinsley-Fix

Senior Advisor, Financial Resilience Programming

AARP

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Heather Tinsley-Fix is a Senior Advisor at AARP, where she leads the organization’s work on employer engagement and helps drive AARP’s focus on providing workers 50+ with the tools they need to thrive in today’s work environment. With a background in marketing, innovation, and program management, Heather works with employers and job seekers, external partners, and academics to provide thought leadership on 50+ labor market issues and create practical resources that enable employers to capitalize on the value of experience.

SESSIONS:

Wendi Safstrom

President

SHRM Foundation

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Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams. She has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams. Safstrom currently serves as President for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's new mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals. 

Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of their Foundation's most recent five-year strategic plan, and was responsible for all Foundation programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives. The NRAEF's philanthropic programming supported a number of audiences including high school youth, veterans transitioning from service to civilian work and life, opportunity youth and incumbent workers. Of particular note, she led the implementation of the restaurant industry's premier high school career and technical education program, growing the program to over 2,000 public high schools, engaging over 150,000 students annually, nationwide. In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10 million contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture. 

Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. She has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry. 

SESSIONS:

Meg O'Connell

CEO & President

Global Disability Inclusion

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Ms. O’Connell is the Founder & CEO of Global Disability Inclusion. She is an internationally recognized disability employment and inclusion expert with over 20 years of experience in human capital management, talent acquisition, performance management, disability inclusion, employee engagement, marketing and customer service programs.

Ms. O’Connell provides strategic program design and implementation of disability employment and inclusion programs for Global 500 companies, US Federal Contractors, colleges and universities, non-profits, and foundations.

Prior to founding Global Disability Inclusion, Ms. O’Connell was Vice President at The National Organization on Disability where she designed and led their national consulting practice, Bridges to Business, providing disability inclusion expertise to Fortune 500 companies. She was the lead architect of the first ever disability assessment tool, The Disability Employment Tracker, and led the analysis of the first data captured on employee engagement of people with disabilities.

Ms. O’Connell also spent ten years at the premier consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. She was a member of the firm’s People Strategy team and led several large-scale talent management projects and diversity & inclusion efforts that transformed business operations for her clients.

While at Booz Allen, Ms. O’Connell developed and led their employee resource group for employees with disabilities, and won Booz Allen’s Global Diversity Award for Individual Contributor. Booz Allen was also one of the first recipients of the New Freedom Initiative Award for their disability employment programs.

Her work has received numerous accolades including the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) Innovative Practice Award. She has been quoted in Diversity Executive magazine, The Huffington Post, DiverseAbility and numerous trade magazines for her insights on employment of people with disabilities. She keynotes and presents at national conferences regularly. Ms. O’Connell holds a certificate in ADA Mediation and she is also conversationally proficient in American Sign Language.

A few of O’Connell’s notable clients have included Aetna, Arrow Electronics, Cummins, HBO, JLL, Lowe’s, NCR, P&G, The Poses Family Foundation, Starbucks, Toys R Us, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Understood 4 All, IRS and the Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. O’Connell is a board member of the United States International Council on Disabilities, which serves to promote global equality for persons with disabilities and is working to promote and ratify the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She is also an expert resource to The Valuable 500, a global organization working with CEOs to include disability on their board agendas.

SESSIONS:

Mary Wright

Manager, Apprenticeship

SHRM Foundation

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Mary V. L. Wright leads one of the SHRM Foundation’s four pillars of work: Skill Building - Preparing People for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Workplaces. A critical part of that effort is leading the implementation of the US DOL funded HR Registered Apprenticeship Program, the first national HR apprenticeship program. As such, she is responsible for all parts of the program – development, marketing, sales, budget and evaluation. In addition, she leads the Foundation’s work on the role of credentials in achieving an organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals and is an integral part of the team in promoting the inclusion of untapped talent in the workforce.

Ms. Wright has many years of experience connecting the public and private sectors in municipal finance, government affairs, and workforce development as a project leader, facilitator and subject matter expert.

Previously, Ms. Wright was a director at Jobs for the Future (JFF) where she designed and supervised the completion of foundation, government and employer-funded projects on topics including: expanding employability skills, developing apprenticeship and work-based learning strategies, utilizing labor market information to determine educational focus, better hiring and training practices for people with disabilities, improving entry level jobs for the retail sector, determining the correct educational focus for specific geographic areas including the state of Florida and Columbus Ohio, and an in-depth analysis of green infrastructure jobs.

Prior to joining JFF, she served as director at The Conference Board in New York City, driving its work in workforce readiness, business, and education partnerships. She also focused on improving the employment outcomes for people with disabilities through research and convenings. Ms. Wright co-authored or acted as project director on several key Conference Board reports regarding workforce readiness skills, including Are They Really Ready to Work? and The Ill-Prepared Workforce.

She serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Work & the Economy and the Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation.

Ms. Wright received a Master of Business Administration in public/nonprofit management from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs from Connecticut College.

SESSIONS:

The New Roadmap to Talent: Leveraging Workforce Development Policy, Education and Employer Innovation

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 2:00pm to 2:50pm

Adrienne Schweer

Fellow

Bipartisan Policy Center

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A Nebraska native, Schweer first came to Washington, D.C., to work for then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, following many years of working in campaigns, including those of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE). After her years of service on Capitol Hill, Schweer joined the rock star Bono’s non-profit organization, The ONE Campaign, where she led partnership strategy and advocacy in support of African development, including maternal and child health.

From 2014 to 2017, Schweer served as chief of protocol to Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel, Ashton Carter, and Jim Mattis in the Pentagon. During her tenure, she proposed and led creative new initiatives to raise the profile and advance the priorities of the Secretary of Defense, including helping roll out a 12-week paid maternity leave policy for the military.

In 2018, she helped BPC stand up the first bipartisan Paid Family Leave Task Force and has been working on bipartisan, bicameral paid family leave policy at the federal level.

She and her husband have three young daughters and a son.

SESSIONS:

Yelena Vaynberg

Governmental and Regulatory Affairs Executive

IBM

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At IBM’s Government and Regulatory Affairs, Yelena is responsible for managing global workforce policy issues, including employee benefits and paid leave as well as emerging technology workforce policies. Before joining the workforce policy team, she served on IBM’s congressional relations team supporting direct Capitol Hill advocacy and relationship building to advance the company’s public policy priorities.

Prior to joining IBM, she spent over a decade working on Capitol Hill in various capacities helping advance legislative priorities on behalf of diverse constituencies in her home state of Minnesota. Previously, Yelena managed international development programs at the International Republican Institute (IRI) where she administered educational trainings for Iraqi parliamentary staff. Yelena received her B.A. in International Relations from the University of Minnesota and a M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. She and her husband and daughters live in Takoma Park, Maryland.

SESSIONS:

Cheryl Vincent

Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support

Committee on Ways and Means (Republicans)

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Cheryl Vincent serves as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support for the Committee on Ways and Means (Republicans). The subcommittee oversees several federal programs including unemployment insurance, child welfare, child support, and child care. She also leads the Committee’s work on paid family leave.

Cheryl was previously a policy advisor on child care and paid family leave at the White House Office of Economic Initiatives, and senior advisor for legislative affairs at the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Prior to that, she worked as professional staff on the Ways and Means Committee leading efforts to reform the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. She also has state experience, having worked in her home state of Ohio as deputy director in the Office of Human Services Innovation under former Governor John Kasich. Vincent began her career at HHS working for more than a decade on programs to support working families.

Cheryl received her Bachelor’s from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

SESSIONS:

Moderator:

Lisa K. Horn

Vice President, Government Affairs

SHRM

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SESSIONS:

Tick Tock: Is Now the Time for Paid Family Leave?

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 1:00pm to 1:50pm

Gary Claxton

Senior Vice President

Kaiser Family Foundation

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Gary Claxton is a Senior Vice President, the Director of the Program on the Health Care Marketplace at KFF. The Health Care Marketplace Project provides information, research, and analysis about trends in the health care market and about policy proposals that relate to health insurance reform and our changing health care system. The Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance examines changes in the private insurance market under the Affordable Care Act as federal and state policymakers implement provisions of the health reform law. Prior to joining KFF, Mr. Claxton worked as a senior researcher at the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University, where his research focused on health insurance and health care financing. From March 1997 until January 2001, Mr. Claxton served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he advised the Secretary on health policy issues including: improving access to health insurance, Medicare reform, administration of Medicaid, financing of prescription drugs, expanding patient rights, and health care privacy. Other previous positions include serving as a consultant for the Lewin Group, a special assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, an insurance analyst for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and a health policy analyst for the American Association of Retired Persons.

SESSIONS:

Katie W. Mahoney

Vice President, Health Policy

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Katie W. Mahoney rejoined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in June 2010. Mahoney has more than 13 years of health care experience in hospital and health plan operations, as well as health policy. She is responsible for developing, advocating, and publicizing the Chamber’s policy on health and works with members of Congress, the administration, and regulatory agencies to promote the organization’s health policy. Mahoney also crafts regulatory responses for the Chamber and its member companies and addresses material areas as part of a comprehensive health policy.

Mahoney joined the Chamber from the law firm of Greenberg Traurig where she served as assistant director of health and FDA business. While there, she analyzed legislative and regulatory health care proposals and advised insurers, health care providers, and employers on the respective business impact.

Previously, Mahoney worked at the U.S. Chamber as director of health care policy from 2004 to 2007. She focused on access to health coverage for small businesses and the uninsured, health plan mandates, ERISA preemption and regulatory requirements, COBRA, Medicare payment systems, retiree health coverage, medical liability reform, and health care quality improvement initiatives.

Mahoney has consulted on a variety of projects for state agencies and hospitals to maximize reimbursement and improve coverage among underserved populations, using public financing strategies. Her operational experience includes negotiating, implementing, and monitoring all managed care agreements with hospitals and health systems, large medical groups, and ancillaries in Southwest Central Louisiana on behalf of the largest single health carrier in the United States. She completed a postgraduate fellowship with the then-fully integrated Ochsner Health System, working at the executive level with chief executive officers at the Ochsner Health Plan, Ochsner Clinic, and Ochsner Foundation Hospital.

Originally from Massachusetts, Mahoney graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University with an undergraduate degree in English literature. She earned a law degree and a master’s degree in health administration from Tulane University’s Schools of Law and Public Health and Tropical Medicine, respectively. She lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband, Jason, twin sons, and a daughter.

SESSIONS:

Marcie McClintic Coates, JD, MBA

Senior Executive Advisor and Deputy Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors

VIATRIS

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Marcie McClintic Coates currently serves as Senior Executive Advisor and Counsel in the office of the Executive Chairman as well as Deputy Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors of VIATRIS, a global healthcare company recently formed through the combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn division, committed to empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. In her current role, McClintic Coates advises executive management and the Board on various strategic, business, legal, policy, operational and governance related matters. She is a member of the Viatris leadership team and serves on the company’s corporate affairs council and corporate social responsibility advisory committee.

In addition to her most recent work helping to ensure the successful launch of Viatris, McClintic Coates has held various global leadership roles throughout her nearly 15-year career at Mylan, including Head of Global Policy, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs, Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO and Global Regulatory Counsel. She is a proven leader of global teams, recognized for her consistent commitment to collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability.

With her unique background across many disciplines in healthcare, McClintic Coates has also become a recognized policy thought leader, representing the generic and biosimilar industries before Congress, the White House, HHS, FDA and in various international policy forums to increase patient access to more affordable medicine.

McClintic Coates played a leading role in negotiating the $1.5 billion Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA) of 2012 and 2017 with the FDA to improve access to safe and high-quality generic drugs. She also helped lead industry efforts for passage of the FDA Amendments Act of 2012, which updated antiquated U.S. law to ensure that all prescription drugs are held to the same high-quality standards regardless if made in the U.S. or abroad. McClintic Coates has remained active in numerous advocacy efforts, including advancing solutions to help reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients, ensuring that trade and intellectual property laws balance both competition and innovation, and working with policymakers to harmonize regulatory requirements.

In addition, McClintic Coates currently serves as vice chair of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership organization, a nonprofit group devoted to developing high school student leaders to tackle the world’s biggest challenges beginning in their own communities. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Accessible Medicines Board, the trade association representing the generic and biosimilar industry and served as chair of its membership committee.

McClintic Coates holds a law degree and M.B.A. from West Virginia University where she served as Editor in Chief of the West Virginia Law Review and an undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Prior to her time at Viatris and Mylan, she was an attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of the Baker & Daniels law firm, now known as Faegre Drinker.

SESSIONS:

Wendell Primus

Senior Policy Advisor

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

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Wendell Primus is the Senior Policy Advisor on Budget and Health issues to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In that capacity, he was the lead staffer in developing the Affordable Care Act. He also played a major role in the SGR legislation in 2015 and various budget agreements. Prior to this appointment in March, 2005, Dr. Primus was the Minority Staff Director at the Joint Economic Committee. He has also held positions at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, served in the Clinton Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services and also served as Chief Economist for the House Ways and Means Committee and Staff Director for the Committee's Subcommittee on Human Resources. Dr. Primus received his Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University.

SESSIONS:

Moderator:

Chatrane Birbal

Vice President, Public Policy

SHRM

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Chatrane Birbal is Vice President, Public Policy in SHRM national’s Alexandria, Va. office. In this capacity, she is actively involved in solidifying strategic partnerships and research to address policy issues on Capitol Hill that impact the workplace. In her role, Ms. Birbal lobbies Congress and develops policies and positions in support of workplace public policy issues including workplace healthcare, workforce development, workplace equity, workplace flexibly and leave, workplace immigration and employer-sponsored benefits (retirement, education assistance, unemployment insurance, among others).

Prior to joining SHRM, Ms. Birbal was the director of government relations at the Council on Foundations, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit membership association of some 2,000 grant making foundations and corporations, with assets totaling more than $282 billion. During her tenure at the Council, Ms. Birbal implemented strategies and launches programs in support of the organization’s public policy and government relations work. She lobbied Congress on tax legislation relating to charitable giving, raised the Council’s profile with Congress and other nonprofit organizations, advised members on legislative activities impacting philanthropy and planned and executed the Council’s annual legislative fly-in conference, “Foundations on the Hill.”

Prior to joining the Council, Ms. Birbal was a federal legislative lobbyist at the American Psychiatric Association (APA), an Arlington, Va.-based medical specialty society with over 38,000 U.S. and international member physicians who work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. During her tenure at APA, Ms. Birbal lobbied Congress on behalf of psychiatrists, planned and executed the association’s annual advocacy day training session for membership as well as developed the APA’s online advocacy action center to further legislative efforts on behalf of the psychiatry profession.

Chatrane previously served on the Board of Directors for the ACT for Alexandria community foundation. ACT for Alexandria brings the community together to elevate local philanthropic giving and engagement to new heights, supports local nonprofits working to aid the most vulnerable and develops solutions for the community’s most pressing challenges. During her tenure on the Board Ms. Birbal supported the foundation’s initiatives including ACTion Alexandria, an online civic engagement platform and Spring2ACTion, 24 hours of online giving to support local nonprofits.

Chatrane obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the State University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y. and received her graduate degree of public administration and public policy from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Ms. Birbal currently serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Government Relations (WGR) - the premier, non-partisan professional society dedicated to advancing and empowering women by fostering professional development and growth opportunities through a community that supports women’s leadership in government relations. She is a member of the Tax Coalition, which provides a forum for the exchange of ideas among professionals in federal tax policymaking to encourage the professional development of women in federal tax policy and Birbal also serves as a Director-at-large on George Mason University’s Alumni Board.

SESSIONS:

Let’s Get to the Heart of Workplace Health Care

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 1:00pm to 1:50pm

Your Workplace, Your Story

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 3:00pm to 3:50pm

Sen. Brent Hill

Director, Next Generation

National Institute for Civil Discourse

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Brent Hill has served in the Idaho State Senate for nineteen years. He was the highest-ranking member of the Idaho State Senate for ten years, making him the longest-serving President Pro Tempore in Idaho’s history. He did not seek reelection in 2020.

He has accepted a position with the National Institute for Civil Discourse as Director of its Next Generation program. He works directly with various legislatures throughout the country to promote civil discourse and create a culture where engaging differences constructively leads to better public policy development.

He is a retired Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner with over thirty-five years of business and financial experience. Born and raised in Idaho, he graduated valedictorian from Madison High School and earned his accounting degree from Utah State University where he has been honored as the university’s Outstanding Accounting Graduate and Alumnus of the Year. For over twenty years, he was CEO of an accounting and business consulting firm with offices in Idaho and Montana. He has also served on boards and advisory councils for various corporations, banks, charitable organizations, and universities.

Brent is a frequent contributor to newspapers and other publications and authored the book, A Matter of Principle that explores the fundamental ideals that guided America’s Founders. He is also a featured speaker at universities, seminars, and conferences.

Most importantly, Brent and his wife Julie have raised four sons who, in turn, have blessed them with twenty grandchildren.

SESSIONS:

Preconference - Civility in Discourse – Differences Don’t Have to Divide

Sunday, April 18, 2021 - 12:00pm to 12:50pm

Brad Fitch

President and CEO

Congressional Management Foundation

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Bradford Fitch is President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation.

Fitch started his communications career at the age of 16 working at his local AM radio station in Upstate New York and a disc jockey and reporter. After graduate school, he worked as a television reporter in Washington, moving on to Capitol Hill for 13 years as press secretary, legislative director, and chief of staff. In 2001 he served as Deputy Director of CMF, a non-profit dedicated to improving congressional operations and citizen engagement. He left CMF in 2006 to form a successful internet startup, before returning to CMF in 2010.

Fitch frequently quoted in national media outlets on how Congress works. He is also is the author of Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials and Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress.

SESSIONS:

Preconference - Learning to Hug a Porcupine – Relationship Building with Lawmakers and How It Helps Your Organization

Sunday, April 18, 2021 - 12:00pm to 12:50pm

Charlie Cook

Editor and Publisher of The Cook Political Report

Columnist for the National Journal

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Charlie Cook is widely considered to be one of the nation’s most respected and impartial analyst of American politics, elections and political trends. As the editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, columnist for National Journal, political analyst for NBC News and co-author of the upcoming 2020 edition of the Almanac of American Politics, Charlie’s prodigious writing is a direct line to the heart of politics. Deemed “the Picasso of election analysis” by The Wall Street Journal, he produces the sharpest and most impartial political handicapping in the business, serving as the one-man, go-to-source for Americans who want to be “in the know” about politics.

Cook’s expertise receives endless praise. The New York Times called him “one of the best political handicappers in the nation” and noted that The Cook Political Report is “a newsletter that both Parties regard as authoritative.” The Washington Post said he is “perhaps the best non-partisan tracker of Congressional races,” and the Washingtonian called him “the man who knows more about politics than anyone else.”

With his encyclopedic knowledge, memorable stories, quick wit, and meaningful insights, Charlie Cook focuses on the broad implications of the latest election results. Using poll numbers, economic indicators, and historical data, he forecasts the fortunes of each party in a non-partisan way, leaving audiences with the concrete information they need in today’s political environment.

SESSIONS:

2020 Elections: Impact on Workplace Policy

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 4:00pm to 4:50pm

Guy Ryder

Director-General

International Labour Organization

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Guy Ryder was elected Director-General, International Labour Organization, by the ILO’s Governing Body in 2012 and took office in October that year. He was re-elected for a second term which started on 1 October 2017. Guy Ryder is committed to promoting decent work for all and to working through tripartism and social dialogue to make a positive difference in the working lives of people everywhere including and particularly in the lives of the most vulnerable.

The ILO celebrated its centenary in 2019 and Guy Ryder was instrumental in setting the Future of Work as the defining theme of the centenary to position the organization to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Under his leadership, the Global Commission on the Future of Work was established in 2017. Subsequently, the International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019. The Declaration, centred on the Organization’s founding values, drives the promotion of a present and future of work that is fair and just by actively shaping the new forces impacting on the world of work. Guy Ryder collaborates closely with the UN System to support global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In the social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy Ryder is engaged in working with the ILO’s Members and in partnership with the multilateral system and other relevant parties, to apply the principles of the Centenary Declaration in the response to the crisis as well as to the challenge of recovery.

Guy Ryder joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and, from 1999, as Director of the Office of the Director-General. In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). He was elected as first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006. In 2010, Guy Ryder came back to the ILO as Executive Director. Born in Liverpool (UK) in 1956, Guy Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool.

The ILO is a tripartite organization comprising governments and representatives of employers and workers.

SESSIONS:

Roberto Suárez Santos

Secretary-General

International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

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Roberto Suárez Santos was appointed Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) on 26 October 2018, having held the post of Deputy Secretary-General since December 2012. After successfully deputising for the Secretary-General over this period, dealing mainly with ILO matters and employers’ activities in the ILO Governing Body (GB) and International Labour Conference (ILC), Roberto stepped in as acting Secretary-General from March to October 2018. In his new post, Roberto is supported by a multilingual, multi-disciplinary team in discharging his overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Secretariat and for ensuring the Organisation works towards the achievement of the strategic priorities adopted by the IOE General Council.

Prior to joining the IOE, Roberto was ILO Programme Director for the promotion of youth employment in the Maghreb region. He previously worked at the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (CEOE) in various areas ranging from comparative labour policies and labour relations to youth unemployment and social and employment policy. Roberto was a member of the European Social Dialogue Committee and President of the CSR group for BUSINESSEUROPE. He was BUSINESSEUROPE’s Vice President for Labour Affairs for several years and spokesperson for European employers at Euromed meetings, including Marrakech (2009), Barcelona (2010) and Brussels (2011). Roberto was Vice-President of BIAC’s Employment and Labour Affairs Committee and has been a member of various follow-up committees for the European Social Fund and the EU Economic and Social Committee.

Roberto’s experience extends to academia, having served as associate professor of European Social Law at both the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Spain. Roberto is a trained lawyer with experience in European and international labour law, as well as in international relations. In addition to his native Spanish, he speaks French and English. The IOE is the largest network of the private sector in the world. With more than 150 business and employer organisation members in 145 countries around the world, the IOE is a powerful voice for business at the international level.

SESSIONS:

Achal Khanna

CEO

SHRM India

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Achal Khanna has a diverse experience and a highly successful track record of building and operating successful and profitable businesses for leading multinational and India companies and managing their businesses across the globe.

She is the CEO for SHRM India and the Business Head over Asia Pacific and MENA. She joined SHRM 6 years ago as COO for SHRM-India, was promoted to CEO-SHRM India and now manages the global business development role also.

Khanna is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa. In her current role she is responsible for building SHRM brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.

She has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations and successfully put them on a high-growth path in India. Before that she was Vice President for GE, managing business development and operations for two important GE businesses, NBC & Consumer Industrial, across India, China, Hungary and Mexico. In her earlier role as Country Manager for Polaroid India, she managed the entire India operations including their software development center. She has worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group handling key global business development and operation roles.

She is a recipient of the "Best Women Executive in India" award.

Khanna holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics, a Master's Degree in English Literature and a Master's in Business Management.

SESSIONS:

Moderator:

Lynden Melmed

Partner

Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP

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Lynden Melmed is a partner with Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP and oversees the firm’s compliance and government affairs practices. He counsels corporate clients on complex immigration matters, assists businesses in establishing and managing global immigration programs, and represents businesses in connection with audits and investigations by the federal government. He has served as immigration counsel in connection with several of the largest immigration investigations ever pursued by the federal government.

Before joining BAL, Lynden served as Chief Counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), where he was a key advisor to senior leadership within USCIS, DHS, the White House, and other federal agencies on all aspects of immigration law. Lynden also served as Special Counsel to Senator John Cornyn, who was Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship; in that role, Lynden played a leading role in drafting and managing comprehensive immigration legislation.

SESSIONS:

Closing General Session:The Future of Work is Now

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm