Concurrent Session

Tracye provides value to clients in the areas of thought partnership, HR strategy, leadership coaching and training, and implementing best practices for creating high performing organizations. She often serves as the Interim HR Leader for clients who value her creative solutions for solving organizational challenges. Tracye advises leaders on strategy related to organizational structure, policies, risk assessment and aversion. Additionally, she enjoys managing creative initiatives that fit into “bigger picture” long-term organizational goals. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business, a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and a Doctorate in Human Resource Management.

From prospect stewardship to strategic alliances and scaling growth, Sidney Abrams’ role sits at the intersection of where organizations are going and the talent capacity needed to get them there. A collaborative thinker and leader with a can-do spirit, Sidney architects solutions for new and existing clients by mobilizing the best and brightest minds with cutting edge people-focused solutions across all Nonprofit HR practices, including Strategy and Advisory, Outsourcing, Search, Total Rewards and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Melissa is a Founder and CEO of Youth Empowerment Project (YEP).  Melissa received her B.A. from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and her M. Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).  Melissa first came to New Orleans through Teach for America (TFA) and she returned to the city after receiving her Master’s Degree in order to help reform the state’s juvenile justice system. In 2004, Melissa and two other juvenile justice advocates founded YEP as the first program of its kind in Louisiana to support formerly incarcerated youth transition back into their families and communities.  Over the past 17 years, YEP has expanded to provide mentoring, high school equivalency preparation, employment readiness, and out-of-school time programming to young people across the Greater New Orleans region.  Among the significant recognition she has received for her leadership at YEP, Melissa was recognized by the Times-Picayune as one of the 300 people “who have made New Orleans, New Orleans” (2018) and Gambit Weekly selected her as New Orleanian of the Year (2016).  

Lisa set out to build a market where one didn’t exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the U.S. that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Lisa’s goal is to ensure that every Nonprofit HR engagement inspires social sector leaders to strengthen their most important asset: their people. Over the course of her career, Lisa has presented to hundreds of organizations, staff and leadership teams. Today, fueled by the passion of their 100-plus employees and consultants nationwide, Nonprofit HR is helping many of the nation’s most impactful nonprofit organizations get ahead through smart people management strategies.

After years of what his parents called “the diagnosis of the month club,” Dylan was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism at the age of eight. Life has been a minefield of obstacles for Dylan. When he was little, he struggled with learning the rules and following directions that did not make sense to him. As he got older, he was challenged, especially socially, by a world that seemed extremely confusing to him, with a disability that to most was invisible. Even today, Dylan works hard to figure out what he needs to do in order to get through each day as a 27-year-old adult with autism in our fast-paced and often unforgiving society.

Dylan graduated from Sedgefield High School in 2010 and is currently pursuing his goal of making it in the entertainment industry. He has a YouTube channel under his stage name “Real Dielawn” where viewers are treated on a daily basis to a look inside his one-of-a-kind mind. Dylan has also been a regular on SiriusXM’s “Dirty Pop Live” hosted by Lance Bass, heard formerly on OutQ Channel 106 and RadioAndy Channel 102. He has hosted his own radio show, “Ridin with Dielawn” which aired Saturday nights in Portland, Maine on WLOB 100.5-FM and via his podcast.

Dylan has been enjoying his experiences speaking about his life and the book he wrote with his father.  His presentations to thousands of people from coast to coast have been overwhelmingly well-received. He hopes his work helping his father write Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Autism Spectrum and his new book, Bad Choices Make Good Stories: My Life with Autism, will help families as they navigate through the difficulties of living life on the spectrum.  He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Sophia A. Nelson, Esquire, is the 2024 Distinguished Varner Vitality Lecturer and award winner at Oakland University in Michigan. She is a highly regarded award-winning author, journalist, and distinguished international motivational speaker. Renowned for her perceptive columns on CNN Opinion and her weekly appearances on CNN, where she offers expert legal and political analysis, Nelson boasts a background as a former Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Big 10 Law Firm Senior Counsel, and Capitol Hill Congressional Committee Counsel. She is widely recognized as a Scholar, Lecturer, and Panel Moderator at prestigious academic institutions such as Harvard's Kennedy School, Bowdoin College, Depauw University, University of Indiana-Bloomington, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the United States. Nelson has been featured on prominent national programs such as Morning Joe, The Today Show, Nightline, and NPR. A trailblazer in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, women's workplace wellness, and Emotional Intelligence (EIQ), she serves as a respected curator and trainer in corporate leadership and human resources development. Collaborating closely with Fortune 100 companies, Nelson has left a significant impact on global diversity and workplace wellness practices, extending her influence as far as Sydney, Australia. With four bestselling non-fiction works to her name, including "Black Woman Redefined," "The Woman Code," "ePluribus One," and her latest 2022 publication, "Be the One You Need: 21 Life Lessons I Learned While Taking Care of Everyone But Me" (Simon & Schuster 2022). Nelson continues to make meaningful contributions to literature and societal well-being through her various media, writing, and speaking platforms. She is the founder of the new "Redefining Freedom" Center located in Virginia, and she is working on her 5th book by the same name, due for publication in 2026.

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.

Amy Bruce is a Director at UBS and Head of the Financial Wellness business, helping employees at all levels to improve their relationship with money and overall financial health. Prior to this Amy spent ten years in Human Resources where she held several service delivery and business partner positions in various locations including New York, Nashville and Krakow, Poland.

Vanessa Kelly strategizes with employers to minimize their legal risks and optimize the employee experience, to help companies focus on their business. Clients partner with Vanessa when looking to create and foster respectful workplaces that comply with national and state employment standards. Vanessa counsels her management clients about their employee relations concerns. She also creates employment and other transactional agreements to meet her client’s goals.

Nanci Appleman-Vassil is a highly sought after Certified Speaking Professional® (CSP) and accomplished business professional with more than 25 years' experience in training, organization development, and corporate consulting with focus on coaching and developing managers and building high-performing teams.She is the Founder and CEO of APLS Group, a firm that specializes in facilitating individuals, groups and organizations toward better solutions for increased effectiveness.Known for her dynamic style that touches hearts, engages minds and gets an audience smiling, Nanci infuses her presentations with real-life examples that are relatable to the audience and bring teams to a new level of understanding. From keynotes to webinars to workshops and everything in between, Nanci will get you excited about discovering, learning and transforming your behavior to increase your influence in the workplace.As part of her commitment to helping others increase their confidence and competence, Nanci devotes her off work time to supporting non-profits and aspiring entrepreneurs. 
 

Roy is a digital marketing consultant and CEO of Digital Revamp Communications. Digital Revamp Communications is a leading digital marketing and advertising agency that creates digital communication strategy, launches creative websites and social media content campaigns to grow brands or executives presence and connect them with their audience.

Roy advises C-level executives on digital storytelling, online strategy integration, executive personal brand and paid media.

Through monthly collaboration, content creation, and social media engagement with Digital Revamp’s team, SHRM has amplified its online presence to become the leading voice on the future of the workplace with a content reach over 5 Million views annually. 

The latest achievement of SHRM’s partnership with Digital Revamp is the recognition of its CEO among LinkedIn’s “Top Voices for Associations and Advocacy,” alongside figures like Justin Trudeau, Bill Gates, and others. Roy advised the Military Health System (MHS) for the Department of Defense on communication strategies and is also a speaker for the US State Department. Roy also serves as a certified Clifton Strengths and High Performing Team coach.

Prior to Digital Revamp, Roy worked for Gallup consulting. In his work with Gallup, Roy directed various social and digital communications, as well as provided guidance in advertising and brand messaging. Roy led project communication for Gallup clients such as the International Labor Organization and the World Bank Financial Inclusion index.