In-person Pass

Steve Browne, SHRM-SCP is the Chief People Officer for LaRosa's, Inc., a regional Pizzeria chain. He has 35+ years working as an HR professional in a variety of industries. He has a globally recognized HR blog and author of three books, HR on Purpose !!, HR Rising !! and HR Unleashed !! He is a past member of the SHRM Board of Directors. Steve also runs a global HR network called the HR Net which reaches 15,000+ HR and business professionals weekly.

Robyn Hopper is a SHRM-CP with 24+ years of experience in the human resources field.  She obtained a BA, in Integrative Studies with a specialty in Social Work from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.  She has worked in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, for profit and nonprofit along with large and small employers.  Her experience also includes training HR professionals and supervisors in a variety of programs including FMLA; ADA; Recruitment; Terminations; FLSA; Reasonable Accommodation; and much more. 

Robyn has been a Knowledge Advisor for over 2 years and loves working for SHRM.  She says that this is the best company she has ever worked for with the hardest job she has ever had but wouldn’t change that for anything.  What she loves most about being an HR Advisor is helping members every day! 

Dorian Rollins is an experienced Senior Certification Specialist within the Society for Human Resource Management’s Certification Relations team, supporting affiliate, international and B2B groups.  She joined SHRM in 2005 as a Customer Care representative and transitioned to the SHRM Certification Relations team in 2019.  Prior to SHRM, Dorian was with our SHRM Certification exam vendor, Prometric, so she is no stranger to the world of credentialing.  She works very closely with several of SHRM’s affiliates including chapters, global and domestic education partners, military partners, and B2B groups, to provide them with specialized SHRM Certification services.  Dorian is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she majored in Communications. 

Vince Caldwell, SHRM Partner Products and Programs Sr. Specialist has been with SHRM for over 25 years and serves as the primary contact for the SHRM Traveling Store Operation. He supports HR professionals with solutions and strategies that meet or exceed their needs, by recommending books, tools, and other software product solutions. He provides bookstore solutions to chapter and state conferences throughout the US. He has a passion for helping others succeed and become more than they thought they could be.  He is a graduate of “The College of New Jersey”.

TEDx speaker Bonnie Low-Kramen is the former assistant to celebrity couple Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis  and Louis Zorich, with whom she worked for twenty-five years. That work led to writing the best-selling Be the Ultimate Assistant, A celebrity assistant’s secrets to working with any high-powered employer and speaking in thirteen countries.

Bonnie is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on workplace issues who is committed to bridge the communication gaps between leaders and their assistants in order to fix what is broken in our workplace. She is known for her work to end workplace bullying and close the wage gap.

Natalie Massey is Operations Coordinator to APL’s Space Exploration Sector (SES). She leads the team that runs the SES office and supports the Sector Head and members of the Executive
Leadership Team. She provides oversight and analysis of operations and prioritizes day-to-day operations. Prior to this role, Massey worked at NASA for 25 years, most recently as Executive
Assistant to NASA’s Deputy Administrator, where she directly contributed to the overall Agency vision and independently performed administrative management functions that serviced
organizational requirements. She has supported many of the agency’s significant milestones, including serving as organizational liaison for three Presidential transitions. Massey received her
Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies – Technical Writing and a certification in Desktop Publishing from the University of Maryland University College. She is a native of
Washington, DC and resides in Hyattsville, MD.

Kristen Howe is the Vice President Enterprise Products for SHRM Enterprise Solutions, where she oversees Product Management and Product Development. She has over 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership and development space, with a focus on leadership development, sales, coaching and facilitation.

Kristen is passionate about building products that foster inclusive behavior, positive corporate performance and business outcomes. She strives to create products that help global organizations develop key segments of their business, in both live settings and through digital platforms. She empowers teams by developing smart and efficient processes designed to utilize the individual skills of every team member, all while optimizing overall performance.

Kristen is a highly sought-after leadership consultant and speaker, with a deep expertise in Advancing Women Leaders and Inclusive Leadership. She has delivered programs and keynotes to thousands of leaders globally at organizations such as the Chief HR Officer Exchange, The Chief Learning Officer Exchange, Constellation Brands, The Tata Group, Western Union, and Texas Instruments, among others. She is also an emcee at Linkage’s Women in Leadership Institute™, an immersive experience which attracts more than 1,400 women leaders across the globe each year.

Background & Experience:

Prior to joining Linkage, Kristen spent the last decade growing businesses within Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. During her time there, she led multiple teams across the Talent Solutions business, focusing on conceptualizing, building, selling and delivering talent solutions based on CEB data. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals at 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries; Kristen was consistently recognized as one of the top managers and coaches across the entire firm.

Education & Training:

Kristen previously served in a variety of roles including global facilitator, consultant and engineer. She has a Master of Business Administration from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Jennifer McCollum is CEO of Linkage, Inc., where she oversees the strategic direction and global operations of the Boston, MA-based leadership development company. With a mission to “Change the Face of Leadership,” Linkage has dedicated 30 years to improving leadership effectiveness and equity in hundreds of organizations globally. Linkage provides assessments, training, coaching, consulting and conferences, with Solutions designed to Accelerate Purposeful Leaders; Advance Women Leaders; and Create Inclusive Organizations. 

Jennifer is a highly sought-after consultant and speaker, with a deep expertise in Inclusive Leadership and Advancing Women Leaders. She has delivered workshops, keynotes, webinars and podcasts to thousands of leaders globally on live and virtual stages, including 100 Leaders Live (Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches conference), Chief Learning Officer Exchange, Chester Elton’s “Leading with Gratitude” LinkedIn Live, John Baldoni’s “Grace under Pressure” LinkedIn Live, Candy O’Terry’s “The Story Behind Her Success” podcast, and VoiceAmerica radio broadcast. She is a contributing author to Leadership in a Time of Crisis and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Chief Talent Development Officer, CEO Refresher, and Real Leaders. She is a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.

Background & Experience:

Jennifer has 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership space. Prior to Linkage, Jennifer spent a decade growing businesses within Korn Ferry and Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. At CEB, she led product management within the leadership division, driving innovative solutions that helped organizations select, develop and place leaders at all levels. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals in 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries and grew revenue at a 97% combined annual growth rate across five years. 

Previously, Jennifer served as CEO of IntraVision, a leadership consultancy she founded and grew over the course of eight years. She worked with public companies, start-ups, associations and nonprofits. Her passion is creating vision, executing strategy and managing cohesive teams toward aspirational goals, with a special focus on supporting women in leadership roles.

She is an avid tennis player and skier, and lives in Bethesda, MD, with her husband and three children.

Education & Training:

Jennifer has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, and an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in psychology and communications.

For over 20 years, Allison West has used her employment law background in delivering customized workplace training, conducting investigations, coaching executives/managers, serving as an expert witness, and specializing in conflict resolution and facilitated discussions to create more collaborative work environments. 

Allison is a top-rated speaker at the SHRM Annual Conference as well as other HR/diversity conferences, and is a national expert on harassment, discrimination and investigations. She has appeared on PBS, CBS This Morning and in O Magazine discussing workplace harassment issues. 

She is a member of the State Bar of California and holds her SHRM-SCP certification and AWI-CH (investigation) certificate.

Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

Lauren McFerran served as a Member of the NLRB from December 17, 2014 until December 16, 2019. On July 29, 2020, the Senate confirmed her renomination as a Board Member for a term expiring on December 16, 2024.

On January 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden named Ms. McFerran Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

Previous to her appointment to the NLRB, Ms. McFerran served as Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee) and had also served the Committee as Deputy Staff Director under Senator Tom Harkin.  She began on the HELP Committee as Senior Labor Counsel for Senator Ted Kennedy.  Before her work in the United States Senate, Ms. McFerran was an associate at Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C. and served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  Ms. McFerran received a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.