Concurrent Session

Jay has more than 30 years of experience as a tax attorney specializing in employee benefits.  Prior to joining World, Jay was a Sr. VP and Senior ERISA Attorney with Lockton was previously the national practice leader for the legal and research team at WT.W

Jay served as a Peace Corps volunteer and business consultant from 1979 to 1982. 

He has an LL.M.  in taxation from New York University School of Law, J.D. with distinction from the University of Arizona College of Law and a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis.  Jay is the former Chair of the American Benefits Council, an adjunct professor of employee benefits in the LL.M. program at Washington University School of Law.

 

 

 

 

Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group.  Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year.  He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc. Michael is a 1997 magna cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Shaw provides regular advice and counsel on workplace issues to various private and public sector employers throughout the country. Named by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in California for 2009 and 2010, Jennifer is a frequent speaker on employment law topics, and has been a guest on CNN and local television and radio. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Jennifer graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she was the editor-in-chief of the law review. Before founding Shaw Valenza LLP in 2006, Jennifer was a partner at Jackson Lewis LLP.

Shaunti Feldhahn is a popular public speaker, research analyst and best-selling author with 2 million copies of her books sold in 22 different languages. Shaunti holds a Master in Public Policy with a concentration in business from Harvard University, and worked on Wall Street as an analyst and on Capitol Hill before becoming a surprise bestselling author and relationship researcher. This wife of attorney-entrepreneur Jeff Feldhahn and mother of two, now applies her analytical skills to uncovering and passing along the startling research of what men and women each privately think in the workplace but rarely share; perceptions that often fundamentally affect their colleagues.

Elizabeth Moore is the Vice President of Development of Holmes Corporation and manager of the SHRM Learning System. She has over 25 years of combined Product Management, Project Management, and training and development experience.  She has managed the design and development of SHRM certification and education courses for over 10 years, working directly with HR experts, employers, educational partners, instructors and students from around the globe. Elizabeth’s insights and expertise have helped shape the SHRM Learning System into the premier HR Certification preparation resource and advanced the careers of thousands of HR professionals worldwide.  

David C. Fowler is Vice President of Product Strategy at Equifax Workforce Solutions. His responsibilities include new business services and expansion, partner initiatives and integration of acquired products for Equifax Workforce Solutions. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, MO as well as the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School Executive Development Program. He chairs the American Payroll Association Government Affairs Task Force Immigration Subcommittee and was a founder and former chair of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners Government Identity Verification Systems (GIVS) Committee. Fowler speaks annually with representatives of ICE and USCIS (DHS divisions) at the APA’s Capital Summit in Washington, D.C.

Cecile Alper-Leroux is an economic anthropologist with over 20 year of experience as an HR leader and HR technology product and implementation strategist in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Passionate about people and technology in the workplace, Cecile has dedicated her life's work to helping organizations design the best possible experience for people at work and in life, so they can achieve great things. She has been featured in Forbes, HuffPost, HR Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Cecile is the Vice President of human capital management (HCM) innovation at Ultimate Software.

Rubens Pessanha, GPHR, PMP, MBA, is global market researcher at the HR Certification Institute and a doctoral candidate in Human Resources Development at The George Washington University. Since 1998, he has been involved with internationalization of organizations; more specifically he has conducted the start-up of French organizations in Brazil. He has also participated in the start up of several internet companies in Brazil and of a new management journal for the South Asia Region. Rubens has almost 15 years of experience working with strategic planning, marketing research, business development, organizational development and change. He has been a speaker at the 2011 SHRM Annual Conference, 2010 ASTD International Conference, the 2009 Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference and the 2009 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. His areas of interest include internationalization of organizations, marketing research, cross-cultural communication, global mindsets, strategic thinking, self-directed-learning and action learning. Rubens has written several research articles on HR trends for SHRM and co-authored a paper on experiences that develop strategic thinking skills. An active volunteer, Rubens has held leadership positions at GWU student association, COPPEAD former Master students association and the Rio de Janeiro Chapter of the Brazilian HR Association. Rubens is currently a member of the Project Management Institute, SHRM, American Marketing Association and Marketing Research Association.