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Jennifer Lee is an experienced keynote speaker, engaging educator, and talented facilitator. Jennifer has over 15 years of learning and development experience with a robust background in luxury hospitality, human resources, and training. As the former Learning and Development Director at the AAA Five Diamond-rated Waldorf Astoria Chicago and the former Learning Manager at The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, Jennifer brings a rich perspective in leadership, management, service, hospitality and presentation skills training. When she’s not presenting, Jennifer can be found checking items off her bucket list, which still includes attending the Oscars at least once in her lifetime.

Attorney James P. (“Jim”) Reidy is a management-side labor and employment lawyer. He is a partner in the New England based law firm, Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green, PA, where he is the Chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment group. His practice focuses on prevention, training and compliance but he also handles matters when claims arise.

He has more than 35 years of experience in the field and been a media resource on workplace law for media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Business Magazine, Bloomberg, NPR, The Associated Press, NPR Market Place, Buzz Feed, Law 360, Inc. Magazine, The HR Power Hour, HR Breakroom, SKI Magazine and HR Magazine as well as several local/regional publications.

In 2020 Jim was inducted as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. 

Chambers USA and New England Super Lawyers have ranked Jim in the Top Tier of management-side employment lawyers for each year of the last 15 years. Best Lawyers USA named Jim the 2022 Lawyer of the Year for Labor and Employment Law (Manchester, NH) and the NH Business Review named him one of the top 200 most influential business leaders in New Hampshire.

Jim has been a presenter regularly at SHRM’s Legal and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC as well as SHRM’s annual conferences.

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.

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.

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.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

Tammy D. McCutchen is a senior affiliate with Resolution Economics, providing expert services in the Company’s Wage & Hour and Human Capital Strategy groups.

McCutchen became affiliated with Resolution Economics in 2021. She is a nationally recognized expert in all aspects of wage and hour law. Her experience includes regulation drafting and enforcement, conducting internal compliance audits, defending agency investigations, designing compliance applications using smart technology, and serving as a consulting and testifying expert in wage and hour class and collective actions.

Prior to joining the DOL, she served as Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor. Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she was the country’s top enforcer of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and wage laws affecting government contractors (the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act). She managed an annual budget of $160 million and 1,400 employees, represented by two unions, in more than 250 offices across the country. She was responsible for the issuance of opinion letters and set enforcement policy. She also was the principal architect of the 2004 revisions to the overtime exemption regulations, the most significant overhaul of the regulations in 50 years. Since leaving DOL, she has been the principal author of numerous comments on proposed changes by DOL to the FLSA regulations, including on overtime and independent contractors. She also has defended dozens of employers facing DOL investigations of FLSA, DBA, and SCA compliance.

After serving at the DOL, she practiced law with Littler Mendelson, PC and was a founding vice president and managing director of ComplianceHR. At CHR, she directed the development of the only on-demand suite of intelligent compliance applications focused on helping employers address the ever-changing federal and state employment law requirements on minimum wage, overtime, independent contracting and more. Her Navigator IC and Navigator OT apps assess the risks of classifying workers as independent contractors and employees as overtime exempt as quickly as it takes to fill out an on-line questionnaire. She remains a Strategic Advisor for the company.

Previously, she was in-house counsel for employment at the Hershey Company, practiced law at Skadden Arps, and clerked for Honorable Daniel A. Manion on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Tammy D. McCutchen is a senior affiliate with Resolution Economics, providing expert services in the Company’s Wage & Hour and Human Capital Strategy groups.

McCutchen became affiliated with Resolution Economics in 2021. She is a nationally recognized expert in all aspects of wage and hour law. Her experience includes regulation drafting and enforcement, conducting internal compliance audits, defending agency investigations, designing compliance applications using smart technology, and serving as a consulting and testifying expert in wage and hour class and collective actions.

Prior to joining the DOL, she served as Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor. Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she was the country’s top enforcer of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and wage laws affecting government contractors (the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act). She managed an annual budget of $160 million and 1,400 employees, represented by two unions, in more than 250 offices across the country. She was responsible for the issuance of opinion letters and set enforcement policy. She also was the principal architect of the 2004 revisions to the overtime exemption regulations, the most significant overhaul of the regulations in 50 years. Since leaving DOL, she has been the principal author of numerous comments on proposed changes by DOL to the FLSA regulations, including on overtime and independent contractors. She also has defended dozens of employers facing DOL investigations of FLSA, DBA, and SCA compliance.

After serving at the DOL, she practiced law with Littler Mendelson, PC and was a founding vice president and managing director of ComplianceHR. At CHR, she directed the development of the only on-demand suite of intelligent compliance applications focused on helping employers address the ever-changing federal and state employment law requirements on minimum wage, overtime, independent contracting and more. Her Navigator IC and Navigator OT apps assess the risks of classifying workers as independent contractors and employees as overtime exempt as quickly as it takes to fill out an on-line questionnaire. She remains a Strategic Advisor for the company.

Previously, she was in-house counsel for employment at the Hershey Company, practiced law at Skadden Arps, and clerked for Honorable Daniel A. Manion on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Martin J. Walsh was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 23, 2021. A lifelong champion of equity and fairness, and a proud product of the City of Boston, Secretary Walsh leads the U.S. Department of Labor with a strong connection to working people, and a commitment to creating an economy that works for all.

In 1997, he was elected to serve as a State Representative for one of the most diverse districts in Massachusetts. There, he focused on creating good jobs, protecting workers' rights, expanding mental health treatment, and investing in public transit.

Following his time as a State Representative, Secretary Walsh spent the last seven years as the Mayor of the City of Boston. While mayor, he led the creation of close to 140,000 jobs and helped secure a statewide $15/hour minimum wage, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave. He established Universal, high-quality Pre-Kindergarten for all children, and free community college for low-income students.

Secretary Walsh was a national leader in the response to COVID-19, getting PPE to first responders and nursing homes; funding emergency child care for healthcare and frontline workers; halting evictions and providing rental relief; and setting up multiple funds to help small businesses survive. His work early in the pandemic to pause construction and establish safety requirements has been lauded as a model by both unions and employers alike.

As Mayor of Boston, Secretary Walsh also made his mark as a labor leader. After following his father into Laborers Local 223 in Boston, he rose to head the Building and Construction Trades Council from 2011 to 2013. He worked with business and community leaders to promote high-quality development, and he created a program called Building Pathways that has become a model for increasing diversity in the workplace and providing good career opportunities for women and people of color.

Born and raised in the neighborhood of Dorchester by immigrant parents, Secretary Walsh is driven to ensure our nation's economy works for everyone. Secretary Walsh is a survivor of Burkitt lymphoma and is a proud member of the recovery community who has worked to expand addiction treatment throughout his career. While working full-time as a legislator, he returned to school to earn a degree in Political Science at Boston College.