Concurrent Session

Cynthia works with numerous multinational organizations to establish and manage worldwide immigration compliance programs. Cynthia founded and led the firm’s I-9 Service Center and is experienced in representing organizations preparing for government investigations and audits.  She began her career at the U.S. Department of Justice as an INS trial attorney in the Attorney General Honors Program in 1985. In her 35 years at the firm, Cynthia has served on Fragomen's Worldwide Executive Committee and as the Managing Partner of the firm’s Northern California practice.

As a longtime Adjunct Professor at Southwestern University School of Law, Cynthia taught for over 18 years.  She also frequently lectures on corporate immigration, and as a thought leader in the industry. She has chaired the Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) Annual Immigration Symposium for more than a decade.  Cynthia has received numerous awards and recognitions including Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Who’s Who Legal, Super Lawyers, and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Brenda S. Kasper is a founding member of Kasper & Frank LLP, a law firm representing California and multi-state employers for all of their human resources and employment law needs.  She regularly advises employers of all sizes on wage and hour compliance, leaves of absence, disability accommodation, reductions in force, terminations and discipline management, employment contracts, personnel policies, and hiring issues.  She also provides management and human resources training.  Brenda is a former HR director so her legal advice is practical, creative and tailored to each client’s needs.  She was the 2015 San Diego SHRM Board President, is an instructor for the HR Certification program at the University of California San Diego Extension and holds her SHRM-SCP and SPHR-California certifications.

Tiffany Brown serves as the Certification Specialist for SHRM Affiliate Operations and is responsible for working with SHRM local chapters and state councils to develop and implement SHRM Certification initiatives.  Before joining the SHRM Certification department, Tiffany worked with the SHRM Member Relations team as a Member Engagement Associate supporting numerous affiliates across multiple regions in their efforts to achieve their respective membership goals. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Maryland - College Park, SHRM-CP, and SHRM People Management Qualification (PMQ).

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, has led an extensive leadership career in international retail operations working for brands such as Apple, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein, and French Connection. While in the UK, she decided to undertake a Master’s program at Glasgow Caledonian University in International HR Management which has a SHRM aligned curriculum. So far, this had led her to live and work in Mumbai, Kuwait, Dubai, London, and her native country, Scotland. Marion is currently completing a professional and cultural exchange, sponsored through SHRM’s Exchange Visitor (J-1 Visa) Program, with the award-winning advertising agency Channel Bakers, in Orange County, California in a Global People & Culture leadership capacity.

Mykay is a strategically minded business executive and entrepreneur, with deep commercial experience from working in start-ups, SMEs, global businesses, banking and private equity.  He has worked in the USA, United Kingdom, Italy, South Africa and many other countries. Mykay has held senior management roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Aviva and Lloyds Banking Group. More recently Mykay led the creation of A&A Investments and Services, the management buy-in of Studio Something and the start-up of Welbot.

Mary Cheddie, SHRM-SCP is Divisional Director, Membership Community. 

Cheddie has more than 35 years of domestic and international experience in all aspects of human resources and training. She has extensive experience with strategic planning, M&As, and in starting and turning around businesses.

Prior to joining SHRM, she served as senior vice president of human resources for Interval Leisure Group, Inc. and its affiliated companies. The company was publicly traded on NASDAQ and the leading provider of vacation services with a global consumer membership base of nearly 2 million member families, more than 2,500 member resorts in over 75 countries worldwide, and has oversight for about 14,000 employees. 

Cheddie also served as senior vice president, people with PRC, as well as vice president, human resources, strategic planning, office services, and facilities for The Orvis Company, Inc. in Manchester, VT.

She earned her MBA from Upper Iowa University, a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, and is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional.

Cheddie received the HR Award of Excellence, Hospitality in 2016 from South Florida Business & Wealth. Business Leader Magazine named Cheddie one of the 2011 Women Extraordinaire and in 2012 the National Diversity Council awarded her the Glass Ceiling Award.

She serves on the Board of Trustees for Upper Iowa University, Chairs the Human Capital Committee and is a member of the Governance and Advancement Committees, Chaired the Keiser Career College’s Advisory Board, was a member of the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) from 2003-2008 and chaired SHRM’s governance and compensation committees. Cheddie has more than 35 years of SHRM volunteer leadership experience at the national, regional, state, and local levels.  She also served on the Waldorf College Alumni Board from 2004 through 2008 and was the President of the Dallas HR Association in 2000 (one of the largest affiliated SHRM chapters). She resides in South FL.

As SHRM’s Director of Certification and Veteran Affairs Andrew Morton works with the military and veterans' organizations to develop workforce readiness pathways for veterans and military-families. As part of SHRM’s Speaker’s Bureau Andrew informs and empowers organizations in their inclusion-hiring efforts across many populations including Veterans, individuals with disabilities, and Returning Citizens as part of SHRM’s Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative.  He is the contributing author to Justin Constantine’s SHRM published book “From We Will to At Will- A Handbook for Veteran Hiring, Transitioning and Thriving in Today’s Workplace.” 

Andrew, a retired Infantry-Officer, served in several leadership roles during multiple overseas and combat tours (Iraq, Bosnia, Macedonia and Egypt) in his 21-year Army career. He also served as the Chief of Marketing and Advertising for the Army Reserve.   Prior to his arrival at SHRM in 2014 Andrew previously served as public relations director for a PR firm in Alexandria. 

Andrew is passionate about awareness and resources in support of mental health within our workforce and society at large and is currently completely his Masters in Mental Health Counseling at the College of William and Mary.       

 

Nicole is a human resources leader with over 15 years of expertise in all things talent. Currently serving as the Director, Talent Acquisition and Inclusion at SHRM in Alexandria, VA, she is fortunate to lead a team of amazing people who also happen to be exceptional HR professionals.  As a talent leader for well-known brands, she has crafted and executed award-winning talent management strategies that attract, develop, and retain top-tier talent, enhancing companies' reputations as premier workplaces and net exporters of talent. 

Nicole has honed her skills across diverse industries, including fashion and beauty retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and learning from The George Washington University in Washington, DC and bachelor's degree in business administration from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. Nicole is proud to be SHRM certified.

 

Lina Perez is an accomplished and creative membership and marketing executive professional with more than 15 years of multifaceted experience and proven ability to re-energize and restructure an organization's marketing strategies, develop strategic initiatives, and capture emerging business opportunities; taking on challenging positions with the opportunity to make a lasting impact on company and customer success. Lina joined SHRM In 2014. As an Enterprise and Executive Relationship Director, Lina is part of the Marketing and Membership team. She serves as a regional senior account representative and a trusted advisor in building relationships inside SHRM and with the Executive and Enterprise Members to drive SHRM goals and objectives. She focuses on delivering value-added servicing to members to increase engagement and satisfaction, increasing membership retention and acquisition, increasing sales of products and services, and promoting SHRM's strategic initiatives with these key member segments. Lina holds a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in International Finance from Universidad de la Sabana (Colombia) and an M.A. in International Commerce and Policy with a concentration in International Marketing from George Mason University. She also holds the People Manager Qualified (PMQ) credential.

Renée Rouse is Director of Integrated Marketing at SHRM, where she works across teams and within the marketing division to ensure the creation of strategic, seamless experiences for our members and audiences. She is a digital marketer and content strategist with over a decade of B2C and B2B experience across the automotive, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, food, and technology industries.

Prior to joining the SHRM family, she was Global Digital Marketing Manager for Employer Brand at Marriott International. She also worked for the global public relations agency, Edelman where she led the digital content team out of the Washington, DC office. Renée started her career in the SEO space at a startup, as a social media specialist, creating and optimizing social channels for her clients. Renée was also a member of the Washington Women in PR (WWPR) Board in 2015 as the Website Chair, and a 2017 Honoree for the WWPR Emerging Leaders Award.

 

As Field Services Director for the Society for Human Resource Management, Susan Post has accountability for the membership and relationship management strategies for SHRM affiliates in a seven-state territory (CT, DE, MA, NJ, PA, RI and WI.) She serves SHRM members, prospective members and volunteer leaders from her home office in upstate NY. Prior to joining SHRM in 1999, Susan had 15 years of progressively responsible HR experience with several organizations, including Eastman Kodak and Cornell University. She has a bachelor's degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Le Moyne College, is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). Susan's affiliation with the Society began in the early 1980s when she served two terms as President of the Le Moyne College student chapter in Syracuse, NY. Throughout her professional career, Susan held numerous SHRM volunteer leadership roles, including two terms as President of her local professional chapter and District Director on the New York State Council. Outside of SHRM, Susan has served in a variety of volunteer leader capacities for many local non-profit organizations, most recently as Board President for the ARC of Chemung and Fundraising Director for Elmira Little Theater.