Virtual Pass

Steve Lowisz is a successful entrepreneur, TEDx and keynote speaker, educator, trainer, and investor. He founded Qualigence International in 1999 and has since founded other businesses under the Qualigence brand. The additional companies include Qualigence Leadership Institute, Recruiting Education Institute, and others.

Steve prides himself on tailoring every speaking engagement to educate the audience, as a result, he has received requests to speak at corporations headquartered around the world including Starbucks, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems, Whirlpool, and more. Steve is a contributor to the Forbes Human Resource Council and the founder of the HR Executive Council.

Omari Faulkner is President and CEO of Blue Fire Fed, a strategic communications and development company.  As a trailblazing business leader, driven by service and a passion to address the needs of the military community, Omari delivers solutions and provides thought leadership to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations.  He ensures veterans, military families, and active military members transitioning to civilian life are fully integrated into the civilian workforce and culture; filling an untapped niche in the global workplace.

He has traveled to over 45 countries as a U.S. Department of State Special Envoy and is the author of Athlete for Life, a book providing student-athletes, parents, coaches, and the sport development community with a blueprint for success and lifelong accomplishment.  Today, he remains an active Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  

Wendy Harkness is the Chief Compliance Officer at Harri. She leads the advancement of Harri’s industry-leading Workforce Compliance Platform, supporting a rapidly expanding community of global enterprise clients across multiple compliance functions, including wage & hour, payroll, and training. Wendy is also leading the development of Harri’s Predictive Compliance products. This first-in-market suite of solutions allows HR, legal, finance, and operations executives to better monitor, mitigate, and plan for employee risk across their organization.

Terri L. Dougherty, SHRM-CP, is an editor on the human resources content team at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. It’s rare to find someone who specializes in labor law posting compliance, but that’s Terri’s world. She has worked with posting compliance for more than 10 years and answers hundreds of questions on the topic annually. Always happy to talk about posters, she also delivers posting webcasts and has spoken at national SHRM conferences. Her other areas of specialization include marijuana regulations and drug testing laws.

Terri L. Dougherty, SHRM-CP, is an editor on the human resources content team at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. It’s rare to find someone who specializes in labor law posting compliance, but that’s Terri’s world. She has worked with posting compliance for more than 10 years and answers hundreds of questions on the topic annually. Always happy to talk about posters, she also delivers posting webcasts and has spoken at national SHRM conferences. Her other areas of specialization include marijuana regulations and drug testing laws.

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.

Dick Finnegan is THE global turnover expert, having cut turnover by 30% and more for healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, distribution centers, call centers, and other industries…and on all six inhabited continents.

Dick has authored the top-selling SHRM-published book, The Power of Stay Interviews, along with four other books. BusinessWeek magazine has said “Finnegan offers fresh thinking for solving the turnover problem in any economy”. He has been similarly cited by Forbes, Chief Executive Magazine, and Consulting Magazine.

He holds bachelors and graduate degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and lives in Orlando, Florida.

Elissa M. McGovern is the Chief of Policy at the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a position she has held since September 2014.  In this role, she is responsible for the office’s Annual Report and recommendations to USCIS.  She was formerly the Director of Policy for the Office of Foreign Labor Certification in the U.S. Department of Labor.  A graduate of the New York University School of Law, Ms. McGovern has also been in private practice (most recently as counsel with the firm of Greenberg Traurig), specializing in immigration law and compliance.  She has served on the American Immigration Lawyers Association Board of Governors and as president of the Washington, DC Chapter, as well as on the staff of the Association.  She is a frequent speaker on immigration topics. 

Kim McNeil, SHRM-SCP is an HR practitioner with 11 years of experience. She spent most of her professional career working in the nonprofit, technology, and federal contractor sectors. Kim is currently a Knowledge Advisor in the Knowledge Center at SHRM. Her expertise includes talent acquisitions, benefits and compensation, global human resources management, employee relations, performance management, and diversity, equity, & inclusion. Kim has a Bachelor of Arts in World Politics from The Catholic University of America.

Gennady Babankov, J.D. is a Manager of SHRM Exchange Visitor (J-1) Program. Babankov oversees two private sector exchange programs for foreign trainees and interns and helps develop, implement, and promote SHRM benefits portfolio for global mobility and immigration members.

Babankov has more than 20 years of experience building and managing global education and training programs for students and professionals. He has experience in teacher training, study abroad, cross-cultural training, and language acquisition, and has directed field operations in Russia, Central Asia, Middle East, and the Caucasus.

Prior to joining SHRM in 2019, Babankov managed several education and training programs sponsored by the federal government, including the Flagship Overseas Language Program (U.S. Department of Defense), Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program (U.S. Department of State), and the Open World Program (Library of Congress).

Babankov earned his J.D. degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia.

Babankov has lived in the United States since 1994 and currently resides in Fairfax, VA.