In-person Pass

John S. Parke is President & CEO of Leadership Synergies, a global consulting firm that has provided strategic planning, organizational audits, executive coaching, training, and development for hundreds of corporations and non-profit organizations over the past 20 years.

Before forming Leadership Synergies in 2001, Parke worked for Marriott International for more than 18 years, ultimately as Vice President of the Global Account Sales Organization. In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing more than 200 senior sales executives and $1.3 billion of annual revenues. Under Parke’s leadership, the Marriott sales force was rated Number 1 by Sales & Marketing Magazine for three consecutive years.

He was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University for five years, where he designed and taught the Sales and Marketing Management program. He also taught the ASAE and Center for Association Leadership Brand and Marketing course for the Business of Meetings certificate course for five years.

Parke is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) with extensive experience in the hospitality industry and association community. He has served on several boards, including Meeting Professionals International (MPI), E-Philanthropy, and Certified Meeting Professionals.

John S. Parke is President & CEO of Leadership Synergies, a global consulting firm that has provided strategic planning, organizational audits, executive coaching, training, and development for hundreds of corporations and non-profit organizations over the past 20 years.

Before forming Leadership Synergies in 2001, Parke worked for Marriott International for more than 18 years, ultimately as Vice President of the Global Account Sales Organization. In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing more than 200 senior sales executives and $1.3 billion of annual revenues. Under Parke’s leadership, the Marriott sales force was rated Number 1 by Sales & Marketing Magazine for three consecutive years.

He was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University for five years, where he designed and taught the Sales and Marketing Management program. He also taught the ASAE and Center for Association Leadership Brand and Marketing course for the Business of Meetings certificate course for five years.

Parke is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) with extensive experience in the hospitality industry and association community. He has served on several boards, including Meeting Professionals International (MPI), E-Philanthropy, and Certified Meeting Professionals.

As SHRM’s Director of Certification and Veteran Affairs Andrew Morton works with the military and veterans' organizations to develop workforce readiness pathways for veterans and military-families. As part of SHRM’s Speaker’s Bureau Andrew informs and empowers organizations in their inclusion-hiring efforts across many populations including Veterans, individuals with disabilities, and Returning Citizens as part of SHRM’s Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative.  He is the contributing author to Justin Constantine’s SHRM published book “From We Will to At Will- A Handbook for Veteran Hiring, Transitioning and Thriving in Today’s Workplace.” 

Andrew, a retired Infantry-Officer, served in several leadership roles during multiple overseas and combat tours (Iraq, Bosnia, Macedonia and Egypt) in his 21-year Army career. He also served as the Chief of Marketing and Advertising for the Army Reserve.   Prior to his arrival at SHRM in 2014 Andrew previously served as public relations director for a PR firm in Alexandria. 

Andrew is passionate about awareness and resources in support of mental health within our workforce and society at large and is currently completely his Masters in Mental Health Counseling at the College of William and Mary.       

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.

Adam Rosenthal is an employment attorney and Partner at Sheppard Mullin based in California.  Adam represents a broad spectrum of companies before federal and state courts and arbitration forums.  In addition to his single plaintiff and class action litigation practice, Adam advises clients throughout the country on compliance matters.  Adam is one of the few attorneys on the SHRM Speakers Bureau.  This is the third year in a row Adam has been invited to lecture at the SHRM Annual Conference.  Adam is also the author of Managing Employees Without Fear: How to Follow the Law, Build a Positive Work Culture, and Avoid Getting Sued.  Adam received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from UC Davis.

Adam Rosenthal is an employment attorney and Partner at Sheppard Mullin based in California.  Adam represents a broad spectrum of companies before federal and state courts and arbitration forums.  In addition to his single plaintiff and class action litigation practice, Adam advises clients throughout the country on compliance matters.  Adam is one of the few attorneys on the SHRM Speakers Bureau.  This is the third year in a row Adam has been invited to lecture at the SHRM Annual Conference.  Adam is also the author of Managing Employees Without Fear: How to Follow the Law, Build a Positive Work Culture, and Avoid Getting Sued.  Adam received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from UC Davis.

Ryan is the Founder and CEO of ApplicantPro, a hiring software company founded in 2006. Ryan and his team have grown the small startup into a leading provider of hiring software for over 7,000 companies around the nation. Ryan's mission is to help companies, managers, and HR teams improve their hiring results. To do this, he and his team strive to create educational content, tools, integrations, and software to help businesses drive their hiring results. In addition, he is an HRCI and SHRM-CP Approved Provider and conducts weekly, free webinars and presents at SHRM events around the country. 

Ryan is the Founder and CEO of ApplicantPro, a hiring software company founded in 2006. Ryan and his team have grown the small startup into a leading provider of hiring software for over 7,000 companies around the nation. Ryan's mission is to help companies, managers, and HR teams improve their hiring results. To do this, he and his team strive to create educational content, tools, integrations, and software to help businesses drive their hiring results. In addition, he is an HRCI and SHRM-CP Approved Provider and conducts weekly, free webinars and presents at SHRM events around the country.