In-person Pass

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.

Amber Clayton is the Senior Director of Knowledge Center Operations at SHRM.  Amber leads a team of HR experts who field an average of 60,000 HR-related inquiries from members a year.  She is frequently sought after as a speaker and expert for webinars, conferences, and media interviews.  Amber co-hosts a podcast called Honest HR.  She is SHRM-certified with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore.  She also holds specialty credentials in California law, inclusive workplace culture, and workplace investigations.  Prior to joining SHRM in 2011, she had years of HR experience in healthcare and retail.

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.

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.       

Jennifer Kroll is a multi-time founder and understands what it’s like to feel constantly bombarded with learning new technologies. Her career has spanned Marketing, Higher Ed and IT – and wherever she goes she has always been “that person” that brings new technology to the organization to help streamline systems and solve problems.

Now she’s doing that for HR Professionals by building the Workplace Tech Community! The Workplace Tech Community allows HR professionals to learn about the latest technologies, interact with other HR professionals about all-things workplace tech and ultimately enhance overall tech-savviness.

Nancy is a Field Services Director based in Phoenix, AZ. She leads the Membership CLA team and was in HR for 27 years and a SHRM volunteer leader for over 20 years before joining the SHRM staff.