In-person Pass

JoDee is the Founder of Purple Ink, a human resources consulting firm in Indianapolis, IN. They serve a wide array of organizations with recruiting, HR consulting, leadership training, and HR outsourcing services.

JoDee serves on the Indiana SHRM State Council and is the chair of the Indiana SHRM conference.

Dr. Caroline Brookfield is a veterinarian, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and award-winning innovator. She discovered the joy of merging her creative and scientific sides, and loves to share how to engage a creative mindset to make life better. Although she can’t sing Happy Birthday, she expresses her creativity through comedy, writing, and problem solving, like sneaking vegetables into smoothies. She holds a Certificate of Professional Management, a DVM, and is a creative problem solving facilitator. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, where her lectures go unheeded by her family. The dog listens, if treats are involved.

Before becoming CEO of Leadership Pipeline Institute, Kent Jonasen was Deputy Head of Group Human Resources in A.P. Moller – Maersk since 2003 up to 2008 responsible for talent management, leadership development, executive development and executive compensation. Previously to his deputy position, Kent was Regional HR Manager for Europe Region from 2000 to 2003.

In A.P. Moller – Maersk Kent lead the implementation of a companywide integrated leadership development initiative based on the Leadership Pipeline concept to impact more than 10,000 leaders in more than 100 countries. The project secured reliable executive succession plans and a 90% hit ratio on talents in the executive talent pool. During his time in A.P. Moller - Maersk he was member of the US Conference Board Council on Development, Education and Training.

Since founding the Leadership Pipeline Institute Kent has lead the implementation of the Leadership Pipeline and Specialist Pipeline concept with regards to development, selection, and assessment in more than 25 different large international organizations.

Kent is author of the book “Specialist Pipeline – how to winning the war for specialist talent” and he is co-author the 3rd edition of the book “Leadership Pipeline – Developing leaders in the digital age”.

Before joining Human Resources in A.P. Moller – Maersk in 1996 Kent was employed in the financial industry. He worked in retail banking for two years and in the capital market business for three years dealing with various interest rate and currency derivatives.

Dr. Mark Luetzelschwab leads the PwC Saratoga benchmarking team which provides hundreds of workforce benchmarks in over 20 major industries. In his 30+ years leading initiatives around skills and skill development, Mark has helped launch seven successful startups, led a division of a major non-profit, and created innovative new models for Amazon and PwC. His current focus is making sure everyone has access to the right data to make good decisions about their workforce. 

As a Partner and head of the San Francisco office and a vital member of BAL’s Government Strategies team, Kelli is at the forefront of immigration government policy, trailblazing with creative tactics to meet even the most urgent contemporary matters.  From complex cases requiring strategic government interaction to broad policy initiatives that involve sensitive political dynamics, Kelli successfully leverages her extensive background in government, her technical expertise and her passion for advocacy to help U.S. businesses access global talent and remain in compliance with the complicated web of employer immigration obligations.  She keeps clients updated on fast-moving legislative and policy changes, drives immigration program management and advises on complex compliance issues in her role as a leader of the firm’s I-9 and e-verify practice.

Kelli joined BAL after a 17-year career with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service. She managed the Western Law Division of USCIS and was responsible for developing and coordinating all legal strategies in the western United States. She also worked closely with government investigators and federal law enforcement officials and was a close advisor to agency leadership on complex immigration issues.  In addition to her legal duties as a USCIS attorney, Kelli worked as an immigration officer in the overseas refugee program in Nairobi, Kenya; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and various locations in Thailand. She was the acting field office director in Beijing, China and New Delhi, India, as well as an adjudications officer in Bangkok, Thailand.

As USCIS special counsel to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, she assisted with comprehensive immigration reform during the 2006 legislative session.

Kelli is a prolific advocate for immigration policy. She is a frequent speaker at WERC, SHRM and other venues and is sought after by the media for her immigration expertise. She currently serves as Chair of the Federal Bar Association's Immigration Law Section.

Susan Anderson, SHRM-SCP has dedicated her career to orchestrating profound shifts in HR practices through strategic integration of emergent technologies. An early adopter by nature, she has been at the forefront of the recent surge in GenerativeAI capabilities, spearheading experiments and adoption of novel strategies to enhance operations and redefine customer experiences.

As a thought leader and analyst, Susan speaks passionately about innovation and leading the future of work while balancing ethical and privacy concerns. Susan has spearheaded the development of proprietary HR Compliance custom GPTs at Mitratech for research, writing, and in delivery of Services to 1.5 Million+ customers.

Susan Anderson, SHRM-SCP has dedicated her career to orchestrating profound shifts in HR practices through strategic integration of emergent technologies. An early adopter by nature, she has been at the forefront of the recent surge in GenerativeAI capabilities, spearheading experiments and adoption of novel strategies to enhance operations and redefine customer experiences.

As a thought leader and analyst, Susan speaks passionately about innovation and leading the future of work while balancing ethical and privacy concerns. Susan has spearheaded the development of proprietary HR Compliance custom GPTs at Mitratech for research, writing, and in delivery of Services to 1.5 Million+ customers.

BRENDA MCCHRISTON, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP                                                                               

Brenda is CEO and Principal of Spectrum HR Solutions, a certified woman-owned minority human resource advisory practice in strategic HR management, diversity, leadership training, compliance, employee relations and compensation. Her vision for the company began in 2004. Since then, Spectrum has helped more than 175 companies and organizations nationwide save money, improve employee productivity, and achieve organization growth.

In the community, Brenda has a passion for mentoring the next generation to be successful in their life’s work. She has been an Advisory Council Member to the Passport-to-the Future Program at Howard County Public Schools; providing guidance on curriculum-based tools to meet labor force needs. Each year, this program grows larger with employer participation with the help of organizations such as the Howard County HR Society, an organization to which Brenda was a past president. In 2019, Brenda chaired the Howard County Human Resource Society’s Diversity Inclusion Committee and organized the County’s first ever Leader’s Symposium on Diversity Inclusion bringing top notch speakers and attracting C-suite attendees. The results of which inspired several organizations to develop and/or create diversity programs for their organizations. She was recently appointed by the County Executive to the County’s first Police Accountability Board - a federal initiative.

Continuing her work as advocate for youth and women’s issues, she was re-appointed to a second four-year term by the Governor to the Maryland Commission for women. As Commissioner, she is working to protect and promote women’s issues in education, safety, childcare, workforce development and health. Previously, she served on Howard County’s Personnel Board and the Mid-Maryland Workforce Investment Board (WIB). She has served as College Relations Director for the SHRM Maryland State Council and served as a board member to the Better Business Bureau of Maryland.     

Additionally, her leadership commitments continue graduating from Leadership Maryland, Class of 2015 and Leadership Howard County, Class of 2006. She is an alum of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program.

In 2013 and 2023, Brenda was twice selected as one of Maryland Daily Record’s Top 100 Women. In 2018, for her volunteer contributions she received the regional CEO Leadership award. In 2017, Brenda received the prestigious international award as Enterprising Women of the Year, recognizing her community contributions. In 2014, Spectrum HR Solutions was noted as one of Baltimore’s 100 Smart Run Companies – Innovative Leaders. Again, Spectrum HR Solutions received the distinguished honor twice as one of the region’s Top 100 MBE’s. In 2011, her company was recognized as one of SmartCEO’s Future 50 – Emerging Growth Companies and Brava! Women in Business Achievement Award.

As the top Human Resources executive, Brenda has frequently served as an advisor, consultant, and coach to CEOs, on organization development, culture inclusion and HR globalization. For 7 years she was Adjunct Professor at McDaniel College, in the Post-graduate Program in Human Resources Development. Completing her business undergraduate degree at Michigan State University, Ms. McChriston holds a master’s degree in business management/human resources from Central Michigan University and holds prestigious SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications in human resources.

Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM, is recognized internationally as the SME on the integration of Creative Problem Solving into Project Management. Since 2017, 85K+ people have participated in one of her in-person or virtual trainings, workshops, keynotes or facilitated sessions. Services include cognitive diversity training, executive leadership searches, coaching, team development, transformational goal setting, and developing a project management mindset. Teresa serves as Senior Advisor to the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of the Virgin Islands. International Deliverables, LLC is a NYS Women Business Enterprise (WBE).