Virtual Pass

Richard Lowenthal is the Chief Operating Officer at The Game Agency, a division of ELB Learning. Along with lots of interesting war stories, he brings to the fore over 25 years of game development, publishing, and training experience.  Richard has had the good fortune of working on training games with such companies as Intel, Microsoft, Merck, and Pfizer and educational games with National Geographic, Sesame Workshop, Disney, and The Learning Company.  He’s also negotiated licensing deals for world-class brands including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Monopoly, Scrabble, Bicycle Cards, Sesame Street, Crayola, and National Geographic. After computer punch-cards went the way of the Dodo bird but before the first cellphone, Richard graduated with high honors from the University of Texas in Austin with a B.S. in Aerospace engineering and earned the school’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship.  Yes, he’s a rocket scientist.  His tombstone will read: “He Helped People Do Their Jobs Better.”

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.

Marion Anderson, Chartered MCIPD, graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in Scotland in 2014 as a mature student after discovering a passion for driving business results through people during her extensive leadership career in international retail operations working for brands such as Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein and French Connection.  While working in a front-line People Leadership role with Apple Retail in the UK, she decided to undertake a Master’s program at GCU in International HR Management.  Her passion for developing true global professional experience inspired her to pursue the professional standards curriculum set by SHRM, as well as accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). So far she has lived and worked in Mumbai, Kuwait, Dubai, London as well as at home in Scotland. In 2020, Marion has completed an 18-month J-1 visa Trainee program in Orange County, California with the award-winning digital advertising agency Channel Bakers.  Marion has been a SHRM member since 2013.

Barbara Holland has over 10 years' experience as Global Director of HR for nonprofit organizations working in Africa, India, China, Mexico, Kosovo, and Myanmar.  Prior to working in international development, she worked for 15+ years in California in Medical and Health Insurance Industries.  In addition to her HR duties, she also was responsible for Global Travel Security and Facilities Management.  Barbara holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Human Resources from California State Polytechnic University and is a certified practitioner in Myers-Briggs (MBTI®).  Barbara has served on various nonprofits board.  She is married, has two children and three grandchildren and enjoys anything that has to do with family and the outdoors.

Taraneh Sarrafzadeh is a yoga teacher and wellness facilitator who specializes in adapting yoga & mindfulness practices to a wide and diverse array of groups. From community-centered classes, to working with corporate groups, Taraneh's intuitive style centers the needs of the people she is working with first. Taraneh has studied a wide range of yoga styles, Vinyasa, Hatha, and Kundalini and completed trainings in Trauma-Informed Yoga, The Subtle Body, Yoga & Social Justice, and Yoga in Action's Leadership Intensive. The teachers who have most influenced her include Noell Clark, Mark Tanaka, Seane Corn, Charanpal Kaur, Alejandro Rivas, Tias Little, and more. As a community organizer, Taraneh is committed to equity, compassionate action, and nonviolence in her work and is always evolving her creative leadership style. In 2017-2018 Taraneh was grateful to participate as a Creative Community Fellow in UPenn's National Art Strategies fellowship. Currently, Taraneh is a fellow in San Jose's Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute Class 11. Taraneh leads workshops on a wide array of topics from Self-Care to Creative Leadership.

Ms. Sarrafzadeh believes “Without inner change there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.”

Yvette Lee, SHRM-SCP, is an HR Knowledge Advisor at SHRM, the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 300,000+ members in more than 165 countries. Yvette possesses over 25 years of human resources experience. Her expertise includes talent management, benefits, compensation, diversity and inclusion, employee relations, ethics and compliance, and employee development. A published author of several articles in SHRM's HR Magazine on various topics, Yvette holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Virginia. She also holds the SHRM California Law HR, Talent Acquisition, Inclusive Workplace Culture, People Manager Qualification and HR Dept. of One Specialty Credentials. Yvette enjoys spending time with her family and doing community service.

Jed and Sophia are facilitators, coaches and the creators behind Cozy Juicy Real. More importantly, they’re two people who believe in the power of great conversations to bring us all a little closer. Favorite coffee treat? Frappuccinos with silky soy milk and a pump of something sweet.