In-person Pass

Kris Erickson currently serves as co-founder and executive consultant for Workforce Science Associates. In this role, she empowers organizations to discover the unique drivers and motivational aspects that drive performance in their workforce and use these to accelerate a high-performance culture.

Kris has over 25 years of consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies. In this capacity, Erickson worked at both the strategic and tactical levels to develop and deploy comprehensive workforce solutions.

Ragan Decker, Ph.D., SHRM-CP, is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and Manager of Executive Network and Enterprise Research at SHRM. She designs and conducts strategic research to support SHRM’s mission as it relates to work, workers, and the workplace. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and Graduate Certificates in Quantitative Research Methods and Occupational Health Psychology. Her work has been published in HR Quarterly, People + Strategy Journal as well as Occupational Health Science, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, and Annals of Work Exposure and Health. 

John Austin came to SHRM in February of 2016 and served as the Operations Manager for the Knowledge Center for three years. Prior to joining SHRM, he served in various operational and managerial capacities. John is currently the Manager of Certification Relations, where he is responsible for managing operational planning and oversight of market/constituency growth initiatives for the Certification Department. John holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, University College and earned his bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University. 

Trent serves as the VP of Research at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM),  the world’s largest HR professional society, representing more than 300,000 members in more than 165 countries.  In this position, Trent leads a comprehensive research program that identifies workplace needs, conducts research, and develops research-based solutions and products to allow HR and business leaders to further the goals of their organization.  Trent also served as a SHRM Certification Commissioner.  In this position, Trent served as a chief technical advisor for the development of the SHRM competency model and certification exams.  Prior to SHRM, Trent spent 15 years at Walmart Stores, Inc. leading global HR Centers of Expertise and has led large, multinational HR projects in China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Canada, the UK, and the US.  Trent holds a BA in Psychology and a MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron.   He is also holds the SHRM-SCP certification. 

Ms. Migliaro is a US Army Veteran with 5 years active duty experience in the Military Police Corps. During her service, Ms. Migliaro deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan supporting and building local national law enforcement capabilities. She was awarded the FYo8 FORSCOM J.P Holland Award for best Military Police Company in the Army, the combat action badge and bronze star. Ms. Migliaro earned her degree in American Politics and Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy. She is currently the Vice Chairwoman of America’s Warrior Partnership’s Board and is an advocate for veteran integration. Prior to joining the Apollo Team in 2017, Ms. Migliaro worked in various human resource and operation management roles. In her previous role at UBS, Ms. Migliaro led the Veterans Initiative where she was responsible for the strategic planning and business opportunity operations. In her current role, Ms. Migliaro is focused on value creation in the recruitment, development and sustainment of diverse talent at Apollo and at the companies in which its funds invest.

Jeff Horwitz is the Chief Operating Officer for SAFE Project, a national nonprofit committed to contributing in a tangible way to overcoming the epidemic of addiction in the United States. He is a retired Navy Captain and Judge Advocate. Jeff graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He also earned a master’s degree in Homeland Security from American Military University. During his 28 years of military service, Jeff served in multiple positions including General Counsel of the White House Military Office, Command Judge Advocate on board the USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN 75), Counsel for the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Northern Europe and the United Kingdom and as the Director of Navy’s Legislative Program.

Upon his retirement in 2014, Jeff became the first Director of Development for Penn State Law as well as Penn State University’s School of International Affairs. Jeff worked for a brief period as the Director of Strategic Planning for the Milton Hershey School before joining SAFE Project in April 2018.

Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education,  and corporate learning and development.  He has a history of driving product innovation, growth and profitability and he has led organizations operating worldwide. 

Nick is Chief Commercial Officer for SHRM, the world’s largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, Nick was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, Nick was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry.  Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development.  Nick was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content.  He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR.  He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. 

Nick graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds Master’s degrees in Administration from the University of Maryland University College, and Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University.