Concurrent Session

Sarah McVanel helps organizations leverage the exponential power of recognition to retain top talent & delight customers. She has a BA (Psych), MSc (Family Relations) & certifications in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Coaching. She is also one of only 1500 people worldwide with her CSP – Certified Speaking Professional – designation. Sarah left a senior leadership role 5 years ago to launch Greatness Magnified, leaving more time to speak, author books, tap dance, and enjoy her hubby Mark & kids Justin & Simonne.

Joe Urbanski believes an Undeniable Culture™ inspires its people to unleash their best selves, take home more wins and less stress to their families, and create incredible value for the company, its customers, and community. For more than two decades, he has worked with HR and training departments, consulting and coaching 750+ executives and leaders at 400+ global organizations, and facilitating 800+ kickass trainings, strategic retreats, and leadership programs for 480,000 people. Joe has a remarkable understanding of how to transform the workplace experience. Plus, you’ll have more fun and laughs than you’d expect.

As a measurement strategist, Whitney’s passion and expertise lies in the field of surveys and assessments. A self-professed “data nerd,” Whitney has a Master’s degree in the area of Human Resources Measurement and Evaluation and has conducted extensive research on the predictive validity of various hiring assessment strategies.

Whitney has been a highly rated speaker at several National HR Conferences and has authored articles on assessments for several books and publications, including Harvard Business Review. She is a member of the Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and has two decades of experience working in the assessment industry.

Ryan is the Founder and CEO of ApplicantPro, a hiring software company founded in 2006. Ryan and his team have grown the small startup into a leading provider of hiring software for over 7,000 companies around the nation. Ryan's mission is to help companies, managers, and HR teams improve their hiring results. To do this, he and his team strive to create educational content, tools, integrations, and software to help businesses drive their hiring results. In addition, he is an HRCI and SHRM-CP Approved Provider and conducts weekly, free webinars and presents at SHRM events around the country. 

Audrey leads human resources at Maritz Motivation, a behavior insights company with customer loyalty, employee engagement, and sales/channel incentive programs that enable people to establish and extend themselves through their companies, careers or favorite brands. In her role, Audrey ensures human resources is data-driven and a value-add function by effectuating a business strategy and culture that empowers the company’s 1,000 employees as the greatest competitive advantage for business success.

As the Vice President of Human Resources, Audrey sets strategy on performance management, employee relations, legal compliance, change management, compensation, professional and leadership development, recognition, and employee engagement for the company. Audrey is also responsible for driving cost effective business staffing strategies and managing staffing and onboarding for all labor types.

Audrey has a Master’s degree in Interpersonal Communication from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communication with a minor in Social Psychology from the University of Iowa. She holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Certified Professional title from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-CP).

Shari Harley, author of How to Say Anything to Anyone, is known globally as an engaging, funny, content-rich business speaker. Her international training firm, Candid Culture, is making it easier to tell the truth at work. Shari is bringing candor back to the workplace. A former HR practitioner and operations leader, Shari’s practical approach has led her to speak and train in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Dubai and Australia. From “Making Meetings Work” and “Delegating Better” to “Managing Your Career” and “Saying Anything to Anyone,” Shari’s tips are sure to delight and inform in a real, direct and very funny way. Watch videos and learn more about Shari at www.candidculture.com.

The founder of a company specializing in background screening and insurance fraud investigations, Mario Pecoraro’s passion for the industry began at a young age working in his parent’s firm. He published “Avoiding Costly Hiring Mistakes” which provides the warning signs HR Professionals should look for when making hiring decisions. He is a sought-after industry expert who is invited to speak at national conferences, and a SHRM Recertification Provider conducting accredited webinars for HR professionals. He’s been featured on many local and national media outlets including ABC’s 20/20 as the “gold standard for those who want to screen out the fakes.”

As the Vice President of Business & Product Development, Manoj Tiwari oversees Business Development, Marketing, Software Development, Technical Support and enterprise software accounts for Berkshire. With over 30 years of combined business and technical experience, Manoj has been instrumental in constructing well-defined processes, and automating large-volume, recruiting solutions for medium and large size companies. He has emerged as one of the industry's leading authorities on engineering automated solutions for human resources. He has held distinguished positions at companies including IBM, Amtrak, KPMG and others.

Michael Timms believes that everyone has the right to be inspired and uplifted by their leaders at work. As principal of Avail Leadership, Michael shows executives how to create a people first culture and build a pipeline of leadership talent. He also provides leadership training and is a professional speaker.

Michael is the author of the book Succession Planning That Works, which has received critical acclaim as “an invaluable guide for identifying, and taking advantage of, talent within organizations.”

Prior to forming his own consultancy, Michael was a consultant with Deloitte and HR leader in the construction and manufacturing industries.

A’eesha Bell has been an HR Professional for more than 10 years. Working primarily in the nonprofit sector, A’eesha has worked her entire career as an HR of One, ranging from an HRG to a Chief Human Capital Officer. She received her bachelors in Accounting from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. After more than 15 years in accounting, feeling completely unfulfilled, A’eesha was thrown into the world of human resources, thanks to the recession of 2006. She knew immediately, this was her field. She has spent her career ensuring that skill meets passion as a way to strengthen organizations and the teams which support them.