Concurrent Session

Joanna spearheads the company’s Affordable Care Act and Pay Equity auditing practices. She speaks about ACA Compliance and Pay Equity at conferences and provides her expert insight as a regular contributor to written publications such as Employee Benefit Adviser, Accounting Today, and The ACA Times. She has also authored books published through the American Bar Association.

Joanna, formerly a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP, has over 20 years of experience advising clients on a wide range of employment, tax, intellectual property, and other related business issues.

Joanna holds a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from Loyola Law School (with honors). She is a former President of the Korean American Bar Association; Rising Star, Super Lawyers; and has held positions with various subcommittees of the American Bar Association and Federal Courts Coordinating Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

After an early post-college career in sports management and coaching, Carissa joined The Boston Beer Company in 2004 and has been a key contributor throughout. She started in sales as a brewery rep in Boulder, Colorado and after holding numerous positions within sales and marketing she became the company’s first Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in fall of 2020. Prior to being chosen to lead Boston Beer Companies DE&I initiatives, she was a co-founder of the company’s D&I Committee and a member of the LGBTQIA co-worker resource group.  In her 16 years within the Alcohol Industry she has won awards nearly every year at Boston Beer Company starting with Rookie of the Year in 2005 and earning The Brewer Patriot Award twice in 2012 and 2016.

She holds a B.A. in Sports Management from Nichols College, D&I for HR Certification from Cornell University.  She is a Certified Cicerone and Certified Cider Professional.

Tim Sackett, SCP, is the CEO of HRUTech.com, a leading technical recruiting firm. Tim has over 20 years of combined executive HR and talent acquisition experience working for Fortune 500 companies. Tim is a highly sought-after international speaker on leadership, HR &TA Tech, talent acquisition, and HR execution. Tim is currently a Senior Faculty member with the Josh Bersin Academy. He is also an Angel investor and advisor and sits on multiple HR Technology corporate boards.

Tim is the author of the newly released book The Talent Fix, Vol. 2. He also writes daily on his blog, the Tim Sackett Project. Tim is married to a hall-of-fame wife, has three sons, and his dog Tucker. In 2023, he was named a Top Global HR & Recruitment Influencer by HR Executive. He has more Twitter (X) followers than his 3 Gen Z sons and is sponsored on stage by diet Mt. Dew.

William D. Wight is a partner in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices and is the chair of the firm's International Employment Practice Group.  He counsels employers on various global employment, compensation and benefit issues related to employees abroad, as well as foreign nationals working in the U.S. and the employment of the U.S. permanent residents and citizens abroad.  Bill has worked with compliance issues related to hiring, retention and separation of employees in a multitude of jurisdictions.  His experience with global employment issues has helped him assist our clients with international operations on all sevel continents including Antarctica.  Bill has assisted clients with the implementation of strategic planning and policy development with respect to global HR practices and policies.  He has also assisted clients with the management of litigation and employment controversy matters in numerous international jurisdictions.  Bill has also counseled clients based outside the United States with the special considerations that are required when complying with U.S. employment and employee benefit rules and regulations. Bill is regularly involved with resolving questions related to privacy and data protection issues.  

Amy Hirsh Robinson, M.B.A., is Chief People Officer for King’s Hawaiian, a global producer of irresistible Hawaiian food. Amy was brought on to King’s Hawaiian to re-envision the employee experience and transform the People function from traditional HR to a strategic driver of business growth. During her time at the company she has worked to radically redefine the purpose, structure and activities of HR with significant results. Prior to her role as CPO, Amy ran a successful human capital consulting firm, The Interchange Group, helping executives and HR professionals retool and adapt their strategies to rapidly changing workforce expectations and business landscapes.

 

Jane Cooper is founder, President and CEO of Patient Care, the nation’s leading advocacy company, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has over 25 years’ experience in the health care industry, and has started and led five health care companies since the early 1980s. Ms. Cooper has a Bachelor's of Liberal Arts from Augustana College in Illinois and a Master's of Art from Western Illinois University, with a major in speech and communication. She serves on the board of Crescent City Bank & Trust, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN).

Karl Ahlrichs specializes in helping organizations solve their talent shortage. 

He is a national speaker, author, and consultant, presenting on the people issues in all industries with a focus on solving the talent shortage, and is often quoted in the local and national media. 

He has held senior level positions in multiple Professional Services firms, and was a founding partner of ExactHire, bringing his HR, operations, diversity & belonging, and learning & development skills with him.

He loves intentionally improving with all manner of hobbies including writing haiku, mastering photography and learning Spanish. He wishes he had stuck with his guitar lessons in high school.

He was named the SHRM Human Resource Professional of the Year for the State of Indiana. He is on the Boards of several organizations, including the Maryland CPA Society.  He has lived in Scotland and Spain and is passionate about exploring new experiences with his family and friends.

Shane A. Yount is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and President of Competitive Solutions, Inc. (CSI), an international Business Transformation consulting firm that pioneered the acclaimed organizational development system known as Process Based Leadership® - A business transformation methodology designed to create a sustainable culture of clarity, connectivity, and consistency through the use of Non-Negotiable Business Processes. Since 1991 he has led the offices of CSI in becoming one of the nation’s most recognized Business Transformation consulting firms,  personally working with such organizations as Michelin, Genentech, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense, and many others.

Dr. David S Cohen, Ed. D. has a vision: organizations that thrive by living their values in good times and especially VUCA times. David's first career was in elementary and high school education, where he built a reputation for building school communities based on purpose and social responsibility. Thirty-three years ago, David transitioned to corporate consulting. As a consultant, David earned a reputation as a contrarian consultant because he does not always follow what is popular in his chosen field. David works with leaders helping them understand what is and what is not necessary to build an active and positive organization. He helps leaders' step into life's challenges, inspiring them to create a sustained approach through a values-based focus, resulting in better business results. David has had the privilege of partnering with firms across five continents and all business sectors. Additionally, he has worked with governments, from the local to the federal levels, and not-for-profits.

He has taught at Queens University School of Labour Relations and the executive education program at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Currently, he teaches organizational development at Durham College. David earned his doctorate from Boston University in Humanistic and Behavioural Studies. During that time, he also completed independent studies at the Harvard School of Education, where he was a teaching assistant.

David is a keynote speaker, educator, disruptor, facilitator, team builder, and executive coach. He has authored two books and numerous articles in professional journals.

• The Talent Edge: A Behavioral Approach to Hiring, Developing, and Keeping Top Performers (John Wiley and Sons, August 2001)
• Inside the Box: Leading With Corporate Values to Drive Sustained Business Success (Jossey-Bass September 2006)

When David is not travelling, he is hanging out with his five grandchildren, when possible, attending Toronto Raptor's games, or relaxing with family and friends.

David is honored to be recognized by the GlobalGurus30 as one of the top 30 GlobalGurus in Organizational Culture.

Marni Falcone is a Managing Consultant at FMP Consulting, a human capital consulting firm located in Arlington, VA. Marni has over 13 years of experience working on and leading human capital projects for the public, private and non-profit sectors. Her areas of expertise include: competency model development and strategic implementation, applied training and development, competency/skill gap assessment and analysis, employee selection, and program evaluation. Marni received her MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University, is a Project Management Professional (PMP), and Certified Scrum Master (CSM). Marni currently serves as the President-Elect of the Personnel Testing Council Metropolitan Washington (PTCMW).

Haylee Gans has over four years of human capital experience spanning both the public and private sectors. Specifically, Ms. Gans has expertise in the areas of competency modeling and assessment, training and development solutions, survey design, and research and data analysis. Ms. Gans applies industrial/organizational psychology principles to identify, develop, and deliver custom solutions that address organizations’ unique needs. She has led and supported several projects with a variety of organizations, including private and non-profit organizations, as well as State and Federal government agencies.  Ms. Gans earned her MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame.