General Session

Mary Cheddie, SHRM-SCP is Divisional Director, Membership Community. 

Cheddie has more than 35 years of domestic and international experience in all aspects of human resources and training. She has extensive experience with strategic planning, M&As, and in starting and turning around businesses.

Prior to joining SHRM, she served as senior vice president of human resources for Interval Leisure Group, Inc. and its affiliated companies. The company was publicly traded on NASDAQ and the leading provider of vacation services with a global consumer membership base of nearly 2 million member families, more than 2,500 member resorts in over 75 countries worldwide, and has oversight for about 14,000 employees. 

Cheddie also served as senior vice president, people with PRC, as well as vice president, human resources, strategic planning, office services, and facilities for The Orvis Company, Inc. in Manchester, VT.

She earned her MBA from Upper Iowa University, a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, and is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional.

Cheddie received the HR Award of Excellence, Hospitality in 2016 from South Florida Business & Wealth. Business Leader Magazine named Cheddie one of the 2011 Women Extraordinaire and in 2012 the National Diversity Council awarded her the Glass Ceiling Award.

She serves on the Board of Trustees for Upper Iowa University, Chairs the Human Capital Committee and is a member of the Governance and Advancement Committees, Chaired the Keiser Career College’s Advisory Board, was a member of the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) from 2003-2008 and chaired SHRM’s governance and compensation committees. Cheddie has more than 35 years of SHRM volunteer leadership experience at the national, regional, state, and local levels.  She also served on the Waldorf College Alumni Board from 2004 through 2008 and was the President of the Dallas HR Association in 2000 (one of the largest affiliated SHRM chapters). She resides in South FL.

Mary Cheddie, SHRM-SCP is Divisional Director, Membership Community. 

Cheddie has more than 35 years of domestic and international experience in all aspects of human resources and training. She has extensive experience with strategic planning, M&As, and in starting and turning around businesses.

Prior to joining SHRM, she served as senior vice president of human resources for Interval Leisure Group, Inc. and its affiliated companies. The company was publicly traded on NASDAQ and the leading provider of vacation services with a global consumer membership base of nearly 2 million member families, more than 2,500 member resorts in over 75 countries worldwide, and has oversight for about 14,000 employees. 

Cheddie also served as senior vice president, people with PRC, as well as vice president, human resources, strategic planning, office services, and facilities for The Orvis Company, Inc. in Manchester, VT.

She earned her MBA from Upper Iowa University, a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, and is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional.

Cheddie received the HR Award of Excellence, Hospitality in 2016 from South Florida Business & Wealth. Business Leader Magazine named Cheddie one of the 2011 Women Extraordinaire and in 2012 the National Diversity Council awarded her the Glass Ceiling Award.

She serves on the Board of Trustees for Upper Iowa University, Chairs the Human Capital Committee and is a member of the Governance and Advancement Committees, Chaired the Keiser Career College’s Advisory Board, was a member of the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) from 2003-2008 and chaired SHRM’s governance and compensation committees. Cheddie has more than 35 years of SHRM volunteer leadership experience at the national, regional, state, and local levels.  She also served on the Waldorf College Alumni Board from 2004 through 2008 and was the President of the Dallas HR Association in 2000 (one of the largest affiliated SHRM chapters). She resides in South FL.

EBONY BLAKE is a native of Dayton, OH and a graduate of Wright State University.  Most recently, she opened the San Francisco production of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Curran Theatre.  Her regional theatre appearances include Little Shop of Horrors (Portland Center Stage), Black Nativity (Classical Theatre of Harlem), and Nefertiti: A Concert of Music and Dance (alongside the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater).  Ebony’s favorite job was traveling across the U.S. in the first national tour of the musical, The Book of Mormon, written by the creators of South Park. She’s an avid reader, loves to make her husband snort-laugh, and she thinks she could be on Jeopardy, but is probably more suited for Family Feud. 

EBONY BLAKE is a native of Dayton, OH and a graduate of Wright State University.  Most recently, she opened the San Francisco production of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Curran Theatre.  Her regional theatre appearances include Little Shop of Horrors (Portland Center Stage), Black Nativity (Classical Theatre of Harlem), and Nefertiti: A Concert of Music and Dance (alongside the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater).  Ebony’s favorite job was traveling across the U.S. in the first national tour of the musical, The Book of Mormon, written by the creators of South Park. She’s an avid reader, loves to make her husband snort-laugh, and she thinks she could be on Jeopardy, but is probably more suited for Family Feud. 

EBONY BLAKE is a native of Dayton, OH and a graduate of Wright State University.  Most recently, she opened the San Francisco production of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Curran Theatre.  Her regional theatre appearances include Little Shop of Horrors (Portland Center Stage), Black Nativity (Classical Theatre of Harlem), and Nefertiti: A Concert of Music and Dance (alongside the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater).  Ebony’s favorite job was traveling across the U.S. in the first national tour of the musical, The Book of Mormon, written by the creators of South Park. She’s an avid reader, loves to make her husband snort-laugh, and she thinks she could be on Jeopardy, but is probably more suited for Family Feud. 

EBONY BLAKE is a native of Dayton, OH and a graduate of Wright State University.  Most recently, she opened the San Francisco production of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Curran Theatre.  Her regional theatre appearances include Little Shop of Horrors (Portland Center Stage), Black Nativity (Classical Theatre of Harlem), and Nefertiti: A Concert of Music and Dance (alongside the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater).  Ebony’s favorite job was traveling across the U.S. in the first national tour of the musical, The Book of Mormon, written by the creators of South Park. She’s an avid reader, loves to make her husband snort-laugh, and she thinks she could be on Jeopardy, but is probably more suited for Family Feud. 

Mike Aitken is Executive Vice President, HR Professional Solutions at SHRM, following 15 years of leading SHRM’s successful advocacy programs as Vice President of Government Affairs.  

Mike is a leading authority on the issues important to the human resource profession and drives SHRM’s membership vision, ensuring excellent member experiences, and implementing the organization’s newly developed business strategy.

He applies his proven model of engagement to shape the future of work, workers, and workplaces. He is an expert relationship-builder across diverse constituencies and stakeholders, always seeking out the “win-win” in every situation.

As a member of SHRM’s executive team, Mike also plays a key role in setting the strategic direction of the organization, offering important counsel on SHRM’s educational programs and professional development opportunities.

Before joining SHRM in 2003, he spent 14 years with the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), which represents more than 23,000 HR professionals at over 1,900 higher education institutions. 

In 2015 and 2016, Mike served as an employer representative on the U.S. delegation to the International Labour Conference.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Diego.