Concurrent Session

Mr. Fortney is a co-founder of Fortney & Scott, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm counseling and advising clients on the full spectrum of work-place related matters, including employment discrimination and labor matters, compliance programs, government contracting, international dispute resolution and counseling matters, and developing strategies for avoiding or responding to workplace-related crises.

David has a broad-based practice representing and counseling employers and executives in employment and labor matters, including equal employment opportunity requirements, wage and hour matters, federal contractor's affirmative action and non-discrimination obligations, collective bargaining, and workplace health and safety. He brings experience from the public and private sectors in advising clients on these issues, and he frequently represents clients before federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor's agencies, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board.

Mr. Fortney has been widely recognized for his professional accomplishments, including being named one of the leading employment lawyers in Washington, D.C. by the CHAMBERS USA survey of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in all years from 2005 through 2012. He was selected for inclusion in the 2009 through 2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, Washington D.C.’s, Washington D.C.’s Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. Mr. Fortney was also awarded an AV rating (the highest level) by Martindale-Hubbell.

David is a frequent lecturer and writer on employment-related topics, including appearances on CNN, CBS and Fox News. Mr. Fortney is the co-editor of the Federal Employment Law Insider monthly newsletter, Chapter Editor of The Family and Medical Leave Act (2006) published by BNA Books, co-author of the Military Leave Compliance Kit (2001), published by M. Lee Smith Publishers, and lead author of the Guide to Employee Leave (1997), published by Warren, Gorham & Lamont.

Senator Linda Newell, SPHR, is a Colorado State Senator now, but came from the private sector in Human Resources and Learning and Organizational Development, although her first career was in theatre and television in California.  She is a repeat presenter at national SHRM conferences, Colorado Human Resources Association, and regional and national summits and she hosts Colorado Human Resources professionals at their annual HR Day at the Capitol.  She attended UCLA, UC Irvine, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive program.  

In her five years in the legislature, Senator Newell has earned the reputation of being one of the most effective legislators at the Capitol.  Because of her collaborative approach, she is known as a problem-solver and bridge-builder, with 98% of her bills thus far receiving bipartisan support.

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

Chatrane Birbal is Vice President, Public Policy in SHRM national’s Alexandria, Va. office. In this capacity, she is actively involved in solidifying strategic partnerships and research to address policy issues on Capitol Hill that impact the workplace. In her role, Ms. Birbal lobbies Congress and develops policies and positions in support of workplace public policy issues including workplace healthcare, workforce development, workplace equity, workplace flexibly and leave, workplace immigration and employer-sponsored benefits (retirement, education assistance, unemployment insurance, among others).   

Prior to joining SHRM, Ms. Birbal was the director of government relations at the Council on Foundations, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit membership association of some 2,000 grant making foundations and corporations, with assets totaling more than $282 billion. During her tenure at the Council, Ms. Birbal implemented strategies and launches programs in support of the organization’s public policy and government relations work. She lobbied Congress on tax legislation relating to charitable giving, raised the Council’s profile with Congress and other nonprofit organizations, advised members on legislative activities impacting philanthropy and planned and executed the Council’s annual legislative fly-in conference, “Foundations on the Hill.”

Prior to joining the Council, Ms. Birbal was a federal legislative lobbyist at the American Psychiatric Association (APA), an Arlington, Va.-based medical specialty society with over 38,000 U.S. and international member physicians who work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. During her tenure at APA, Ms. Birbal lobbied Congress on behalf of psychiatrists, planned and executed the association’s annual advocacy day training session for membership as well as developed the APA’s online advocacy action center to further legislative efforts on behalf of the psychiatry profession.

Chatrane previously served on the Board of Directors for the ACT for Alexandria community foundation.  ACT for Alexandria brings the community together to elevate local philanthropic giving and engagement to new heights, supports local nonprofits working to aid the most vulnerable and develops solutions for the community’s most pressing challenges. During her tenure on the Board Ms. Birbal supported the foundation’s initiatives including ACTion Alexandria, an online civic engagement platform and Spring2ACTion, 24 hours of online giving to support local nonprofits.

Chatrane obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the State University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y. and received her graduate degree of public administration and public policy from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Ms. Birbal currently serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Government Relations (WGR) - the premier, non-partisan professional society dedicated to advancing and empowering women by fostering professional development and growth opportunities through a community that supports women’s leadership in government relations. She is a member of the Tax Coalition, which provides a forum for the exchange of ideas among professionals in federal tax policymaking to encourage the professional development of women in federal tax policy and Birbal also serves as a Director-at-large on George Mason University’s Alumni Board.

Kelly is responsible for SHRM legislative activities on employment and labor issues, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal employment issues as they affect the management of human capital.

Prior to joining SHRM, Kelly worked as the legislative director for Congressman Lou Barletta (PA), a member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. In this role, Kelly developed an overall legislative strategy for the office and managed the Congressman's legislative team. She specifically focused on Congressman Barletta's Committee portfolio of issues including, labor, health, and education policy

Erika Tedesco describes herself as culture champion in her role as Vice President of (HR) People & Culture at Diversified Automation, responsible for the culture, engagement, retention, and recruitment of professional talent at the company. Erika also teaches at the Gordon Ford School of Business at Western Kentucky University on International HR Business, leveraging her practical experiences with multinational entities to train the HR professionals of the future. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Louisville and a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Illinois.

Gerry Crispin, SPHR is a former practitioner, Co-author of eight books and over 100 articles, and a Life-long student of Staffing. Gerry facilitates the CareerXroads Colloquium – a series of intense, small-group meetings for staffing leaders from some of the world’s largest firms to share staffing best practices.

A long time SHRM volunteer, Gerry currently leads a national standards task force of more than 100 volunteers working to establish standards for recruiting that meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

One indicator that Gerry still sees himself as a student and keeps his perspective fresh is his travels around the world to watch, interview and observe recruiters, job seekers and employers. He has been to more than 20 countries in the last decade including China, Japan, Australia, Russia and India.

Follow Gerry on Twitter @GerryCrispin.

Ken Perluss is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Coupons.com, Inc. He manages all the day to day activity for Coupons.com’s Talent Acquisition organization in the US and in India. Ken has over 30 years of experience building and growing teams and recruiting top talent in Silicon Valley. Prior to Coupons.com, Ken led the technical recruiting function at Yahoo for over 11 years where, under his leadership, the engineering function grew from 40 people to over 7,000 globally. He also led recruiting teams at Silicon Graphics and owned Perluss Consulting, an executive search and talent acquisition consulting company.

Marlene Chism is a consultant, speaker and author of Stop Workplace Drama, (Wiley 2011.) Marlene is a seasoned national speaker who has the unique ability to speak across the boundaries of many types of audiences: from the fortune 500 executives to managers dealing with workplace drama to franchise owners, small business owners and nonprofit CEOs.

On stage, Marlene is an engaging story-teller with the ability to take complex subjects and universal principles and make them immediately applicable to her audience. She is known for her thought-provoking yet down to earth practicality, her sharp wit, balanced by a sense of humor and her ability to create an intellectually stimulating and transformational experience.

Marlene brings her experience in manufacturing, business, entrepreneurialism, and story of reinvention to engage and inspire her audiences to discover, develop and deliver their unique gifts to the workplace and to the world.

Attorney James P. (“Jim”) Reidy is a management-side labor and employment lawyer. He is a partner in the New England based law firm, Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green, PA, where he is the Chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment group. His practice focuses on prevention, training and compliance but he also handles matters when claims arise.

He has more than 35 years of experience in the field and been a media resource on workplace law for media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Business Magazine, Bloomberg, NPR, The Associated Press, NPR Market Place, Buzz Feed, Law 360, Inc. Magazine, The HR Power Hour, HR Breakroom, SKI Magazine and HR Magazine as well as several local/regional publications.

In 2020 Jim was inducted as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. 

Chambers USA and New England Super Lawyers have ranked Jim in the Top Tier of management-side employment lawyers for each year of the last 15 years. Best Lawyers USA named Jim the 2022 Lawyer of the Year for Labor and Employment Law (Manchester, NH) and the NH Business Review named him one of the top 200 most influential business leaders in New Hampshire.

Jim has been a presenter regularly at SHRM’s Legal and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC as well as SHRM’s annual conferences.

Joshua Fredenburg is a Nationally Recognized Speaker, Best Selling Author, Gen. Y Television Commentator, and Leadership-Relationship-Diversity Expert that is on a mission to empower at least 1 BILLION LEADERS WORLDWIDE with effective leadership, career, relationship, and success strategies that will enable them to make a positive impact in their community, nation, and world!

For the past seven years, Joshua has appeared as a television guest on BET, the Wayne Brady Show, the KTLA Morning Show in Los Angeles, the Daily Buzz Nation Morning Show, and many other familiar radio and television programs throughout the country. He has also served as a dynamic Keynote Speaker in 44 different states across the country for lectures, leadership conferences, retreats, and trainings at high schools, colleges, non-profit organizations, and different corporate events.