Concurrent Session

Internationally recognized as an expert in the field, Mr. Kushner is one of the nation's most sought after speakers on HR strategy and employee benefits. He has advised four U.S. Presidents on health care and has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and the U.S. House Small Business Committee on employee benefit issues.

A frequent resource to the media, Mr. Kushner contributes to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, AP, Knight-Ridder, the Kiplinger Washington Newsletter, CNN News, Fortune, MSNBC and Good Morning America among others. More importantly, he and his wife Tamis have five children and four wonderful (and amazing!) grandchildren.

 

Jonathan A. Siegel is a principal in the Orange County, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has spent more than 27 years at Jackson Lewis representing employers in workplace law matters.  In 2009, Jonathan was recognized as one of the Top 100 Labor Attorneys in America. In 2020 and 2021, Jonathan was recognized in Best Lawyers in America.

Jonathan provides advice and counsel to employers regarding various issues including wage and hour, reduction in force, discipline, leave management, labor, harassment and discrimination issues. 

Jonathan has represented management in NLRB elections, unfair labor practice proceedings, collective bargaining and arbitrations.

As HireRight’s Vice President of Operations, Catherine Aldrich is responsible for leading HireRight’s background screening service delivery functions and overseeing  consumer compliance departments. With a focus on continuous process improvement, Catherine also steers HireRight’s operational excellence teams.

Catherine came to HireRight from Accurate Background, where she was Executive Vice President and Corporate Compliance Officer relating to credit reporting laws.

Catherine has served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Background Screeners and has been a member of several professional organizations including the NAPBS Background Screening Credentialing Council  and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Two themes are woven throughout Lauraine Bifulco's diverse career: a passion for a job well done and a zest for continual learning and improvement.  Lauraine infuses Vantaggio HR with these qualities every day. When she founded the firm in 1994, Lauraine combined her rare talent in understanding what a client needs and her gift of business foresight to create a company that can service the HR and management consulting needs of small and large companies equally well.  Today, Vantaggio serves clients across the country from their offices in California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York. 

Her Career experience helps employers realize their HR goals and adapt to the shifting HR landscape.  Lauraine is a veteran HR executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of international, corporate, and consulting experience. Her bold career has taken her to employment and business opportunities in Europe and multiple U.S. cities. She serves as co-chair of the California Small Business Administration's committee on Labor Issues which reviews and makes recommendations on pending labor/employment laws, keeping her abreast of legal developments.                                                                            

Delivering over 30 presentations and webinars each year, Lauraine is a well-respected, and highly sought after guest lecturer and speaker on a variety of business management and HR-related topics for both state and national organizations including Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA), American Payroll Association (APA), Next Concept HR Association (NCHRA), Paylocity annual Elevate Conference, and HR Star Conference to name a few. She has been invited to review, develop, and deliver certificate programs for SHRM, and has developed and delivered curriculum for businesses throughout the U.S.                                                                   

Lauraine received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and conducted graduate level studies in linguistics at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Michael F. Turansick is the Managing Partner of Fragomen’s Chicago office. He has been practicing in the field of immigration and nationality law for over 30 years. Michael manages a diverse practice that is comprised of start-up, midsize, and large multinational companies encompassing a broad range of industry sectors, including automotive, manufacturing, finance, pharmaceutical, technology, telecommunications, professional services and consumer products.His work on behalf of clients includes advising on immigration compliance strategies, the immigration consequences of Mergers & Acquisitions and other corporate restructurings, Form I-9 and H-1B/LCA compliance, EB-5 advisory services and strategic immigration program management.
 

Giovanni is a global expert on Organizational Strategy, Analytics and HR.

A Harvard Business School alum, he serves as Senior Advisor for HR & Organizational Development at Boston Global – a Harvard affiliated consultancy. He is also Senior Advisor for Qlearsite – a People Analytics company and sits on the advisory board of PeopleCart, a Social Rewards & Recognition company.

Giovanni is a passionate writer and speaker on The Future of Work and People Analytics. He is featured in the analytics book “The Power of People”. In his spare time, he and serves as Creative Director for a contemporary fashion label and recently produced an award winning documentary on Women Empowerment.

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.

Pamela Meyer, Ph.D. works with organizations internationally that want to be more agile and innovative. Meyer is author of four books on innovation, learning and change, including The Agility Shift: Creating Agile and Effective Leaders, Teams and Organizations. Specializing in leadership and team development, Meyer develops award-winning strategies and programs that get results. In addition to her speaking and consulting practice, Pamela teaches courses in innovation, organizational change, and adult learning at DePaul University.

Mary Faulkner is a talent strategist and business leader with 15 years' experience in helping organizations achieve their goals. After working on the Operations side of start-ups and small companies, Mary landed in HR by way of learning and development, with extensive experience in leadership and organizational development, coaching, key talent planning, talent acquisition, performance management, business partnering, HRIS, process and policy creation, and instructional design.

In addition to her work within companies, Mary authors a leadership development blog (survivingleadership.blog) to continue the dialogue around the challenges of leadership - both being a leader AND being led. 

Mary is also the co-chair of the Denver chapter of DisruptHR - a new way to network and think about people and work.