Concurrent Session

Patrick Kelly is the founder and President of Change Point Consulting.  He began his career in the corporate world as a consultant for a global real estate organization, working with business owners all over the world on issues around growth strategies, attracting talent, marketing, and building engaging cultures.  Through his tenure, Patrick began to see common issues arise: the struggles of what lacking an authentic culture that is built for today’s changing world will do to limit attracting, retaining, and engaging great employees Through Change Point, Patrick works with companies to create unique cultures, get beyond generational stereotypes, understand the larger changes in how we work, and learn how to use culture to attract the best people.

Karl Ahlrichs specializes in helping professionals make order from chaos. He is a national speaker, author, and consultant, presenting on the people issues in all industries, and is often quoted in the local and national media. 

Karl’s experience is ideally suited to times of organizational change as he pulls on risk management and organizational development theories to replace “best practices” with “next practices”. He owes much of his communications mastery to working as a writer and editor in daily media, to on-the-job writing experience and to the process of becoming a published author.

He joined Gregory & Appel in 2010 after serving as a founding partner of ExactHire, bringing his HR, operations, diversity & belonging, and learning & development skills with him. Karl’s affinity for design, composition and learning started at a very young age, by taking and examining thousands of boring pictures with the goal of improving his craft. He loves deploying that practice-to-improve approach with all manner of hobbies including writing haiku, mastering cutting-edge technology and learning Spanish.

In 2003, 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 lives to explore new experiences with his wife and family.

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.

Ms. Walters has more than 30 years’ combined experience in management, HR administration, employment law practice, and teaching.

She has presented at conferences across the country, been engaged as an expert witness, and testified before U.S. Congressional and state legislative committees on employment issues.

Her book, “From Hello to Goodbye: Proactive Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations” is in its 2nd edition and was one of the SHRMStore’s “Great 8” best-sellers for eight consecutive years.

Today, Ms. Walters works as an independent consultant doing business as FiveL Company, “Helping Leaders Limit their Liability by Learning the Law.”SM

Ellen Galinsky, President of Families and Work Institute, has been a trailblazer in the work-family and early childhood fields. She is a prolific writer with more than 100 books and reports and 300 articles, which include the best-selling Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. Ms. Galinsky co-directs the most comprehensive ongoing studies of the U.S. workforce and workplace as well as When Work Works which, in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management, provides an award for workplace effectiveness and flexibility.

Ms. Galinsky has been a presenter at numerous White House Conferences and was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources in 2005. She is the recipient of many awards including the Distinguished Achievement Award from Vassar College, Seven Wonders of the Work Life World from Working Mother magazine and the Friend of Children Award from the Southern Early Childhood Association.

Jeremy Eskenazi, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CMC is Managing Principal of Riviera Advisors, Inc., a global Human Resources management consulting and training firm that helps organizations improve, enhance and optimize their internal talent acquisition and recruiting capabilities.

Prior to founding Riviera Advisors in 2001, Jeremy spent almost 20 years leading talent acquisition and recruiting teams at Universal Studios, Amazon.com, and Idealab. A regular SHRM speaker and a member of the SHRM Talent Acquisition Special Expertise Panel, Jeremy is also proud professional member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the Institute of Management Consultants-USA.

Jeremy is the author of the books, “RecruitCONSULT! Leadership – The Corporate Talent Acquisition Leader’s Field Book”, and “The High-Performance Talent Acquisition Advantage”.

William is the President of RecruitingDaily. At the intersection of HR and technology, he’s a Writer, Speaker, Advisor, Consultant, Investor, Storyteller & Teacher. He's been writing about HR related issues for over a decade. William serves on the Board of Advisors / Board of Directors for 20 HR technology startups. William is a graduate of the University of Alabama of Birmingham with a BA in Art History. He also earned an MA in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

Mark S. Fogel is currently a Director for Clifton Larson Allen’s National HR consulting practice. He is a former CHRO for Leviton, Marcum, and Success Academy Charter Schools, Mark has been the recipient of several national awards including SHRM’s Human Capital Leader of the Year in 2007, SHRM’s Innovation in a Down Economy in 2009, and HR Executive Magazine’s Honor Role in 2010. He has also been recognized as a 50 around 50 award recipient by Long Island Business News. Mark is also a part-time educator employed as a Senior Adjunct Professor of distinction at Adelphi University in their MBA program. Additionally, he facilitates the SHRM SCP/CP prep class for HR Jetpack. Mark has presented over two dozen times at SHRM and World at Work national, regional, and local conferences on a broad range of HR topics. Often Quoted in national media, Mark brings a refreshing point of view to every HR discussion.

Steve Donahue is one of the world’s leading authorities on business applications of Narrative Intelligence. He combines brain science, case studies, mythology and psychology to give leaders powerful tools to drive change, attract talent and engage staff. As a young man Steve crossed the Sahara Desert.  His first book, Shifting Sands: A Guidebook for Crossing the Deserts of Change, which chronicles that epic adventure, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. His second book, Follow Your Compass, was an instant bestseller in Asia.  Steve’s programs are known for their humor, interactivity and immediately applicable content.

Kelly Marinelli, J.D., SHRM-SCP, SPHR is the founder of and Principal People Strategy Consultant at Solve HR, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado. With over twenty years of success in business leadership, legal practice and HR consulting, she has extensive experience working in multiple industries and organization types, from Fortune 500 companies to startups. Kelly has been licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado since 1995, and specializes in aligning HR with business strategy and handling complex legal and regulatory requirements. She writes about these issues and others on The Solve HR Blog, and is an active SHRM volunteer leader.