Concurrent Session

Robert A. Boonin is a member of the national law firm of Dykema Gossett and is based in its Ann Arbor office. Rob is an honors graduate from The University of Michigan Law School, holds a Masters in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, and a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.  Practicing law for nearly 40 years, Rob has litigated employment law matters before federal and state courts across the nation, handles all forms of union matters for employers, and regularly counsels clients on such issues as discrimination, FMLA compliance, and wage and hour law. 

Rob is a recognized leader in his field.  For instance, he is: on the Chambers USA list of top employment law attorneys; listed as a Best Lawyer in Employment Law; repeatedly recognized as one of Michigan’s “Super Lawyers”; a Fellow and a Past-President of the Litigation Counsel of America; a Past Chair of  the national Wage and Hour Defense Institute; a Past Chair of the Michigan Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; and a Fellow of the distinguished American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Rob also in an immediate past-chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee (which covers FLSA matters), and serves as an Editor of the most recognized authority on the FLSA, the Bloomberg BNA legal treatise – The Fair Labor Standards Act.

 

Melvin Brown II is an author, conference speaker and organizational consultant. He is sought out by both government and industry as an expert in the areas of  Chanage Management, Program Management, Knowledge Management and Training.  

Nicknamed “Mr. Turnaround” he has more than twenty years of not only turning around the lives of individuals but several organizations both in the private sector and the federal government.  

He has developed several change management strategies for collaboration and is the recipient of the America Council for Technology, Industry Advisory Council’s, 2007 Excellence in Government award.

Follow Mevin on Twitter @melvinbrownii.

Louis R. Lessig, Esquire, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is a Partner at the law firm of Brown & Connery, LLP in Westmont, NJ in their labor and employment group.  He regularly counsels clients, conducts training sessions and represents clients in federal and state court as well as before administrative agencies. Also known as The Employment Law Translator®, Mr. Lessig speaks across the country and regularly writes articles that appear in publications nationwide including XpertHR.  In 2018 he won the Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year Award. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and a Past President of the Philadelphia chapter.  Mr. Lessig is an active volunteer for The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as the Northeast Membership Advisory Council (MAC) Representative.

Sherrin Ross Ingram, CEO of the International Center for Strategic Planning, is a Master Strategic Planning Facilitator and an Independent Corporate Board Director for companies in need of fresh strategies, an updated strategic plan, improved strategy execution, or restructuring to increase competitive advantage. She is a frequent speaker on strategy development, execution and leadership topics at business meetings and conferences around the world.

Jack has 34 years of experience in a broad range of employee benefit matters including welfare benefit plans, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and other employer-provided fringe benefits.  Prior to joining Willis, Jack held human resources/benefits leadership positions at four different Fortune 500 companies.  

Jack received his LLM – Employee Benefits from John Marshall Law School, his JD from South Texas College of Law, and his MBA and BBA- Business Economics from Cleveland State.  

In 2012, Jack completed his three year appointment to serve on the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Advisory Council.  He continues to serve on the World at Work Benefits Advisory Board, and he previously served in board positions for the Council on Employee Benefits, the American Benefits Council and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Corporate Board.  

Michele Espada joined Federal Home Loan Mortgage Co.(Freddie Mac) as a Recruiting Manager in March 2006. Michele was promoted to her current role, Talent Acquisition Director in August of 2012. She is responsible for leading a team of 35 recruiting professionals who support the executive and non-executive recruiting efforts. Prior to assuming her current duties, Michele was a Director of Recruiting for Nextel Communications. In this role, she was responsible for managing the nationwide recruiting efforts for the Information Technology, Engineering and Technology Development departments. Michele brings seventeen years of recruiting and leadership experience to her role with Freddie Mac. Michele earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from Cabrini College in Radnor, PA.

Maggie Williams is the AIG’s Global Head of Talent Management. She joined AIG on December 1, 2010 in the capacity of Sr. HR Business Partner at AIG’s subsidiary ILFC, located in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to joining AIG, Ms. Williams was the Chief Human Resources Officer for iCrossing, a global digital marketing and advertising agency.

As one of North America’s pre-eminent specialists in organizational, professional and personal productivity, Ann Max is known for her engaging and performance-driven approach to productivity enhancement. Her information-packed presentations are grounded on solid experience from her active consulting and coaching practice. Her sessions are highly motivating, fun and deliver skills that can be directly put to use. Her realistic approach, lively sense of humor and engaging style immediately create trust and rapport and instill confidence

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.