General Session

Featured with her husband Bill Klein and family on TLC’s hit docu-drama, The Little Couple, which follows her personal and professional life, Dr. Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, FAAP has been involved in healthcare simulation education for the last 8 years. She completed her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology at the University of Miami in Florida. She then completed her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD and graduated in 2000. She is Board Certified in both Pediatric and Neonatal Medicine. Dr. Arnold is currently an attending neonatologist at Baylor College of Medicine and Medical Director of the Simulation Center at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Arnold is married to her best friend and they are parents of two adopted children, Will and Zoey. In 2013, upon the adoption of their second child, Dr. Arnold received the devastating news that was battling a rare form of cancer. Rather than giving up after hearing her Stage 3 diagnosis, she fought for her life with intense treatments and the tireless support of her family and fans. Currently, Dr. Arnold is cancer free and is an advocate for spreading cancer awareness, supporting those on the road to recovery and engaging all others with her inspiring story of survivorship.

Dr. Arnold has been funded for her simulation educational research through the Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine. Prior to coming to Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Arnold completed a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of a simulation-based training program on pediatric resident neonatal intubation success and competency.

She has received numerous awards, including the Ray E. Helfer Award for innovation in medical education from the Academic Pediatric Association, Compassionate Doctor Recognition in 2010, 2011 and Patients’ Choice Award for 2008- 2012 from Vitals.com. She has appeared on television programs including Oprah, The Today Show, Dr. OZ and The Doctors among others.

Dr. Arnold is an advocate for neonatal and pediatric health, infertility, adoption and Thinking Big! Dr. Arnold has spoken both nationally and internationally on healthcare simulation education and motivational talks on overcoming obstacles. She has made numerous speeches for avenues such as the Texas Conference for Women, Shiners Hospital, March of Dimes and many more.

Bettina A. Deynes, SHRM-SCP,  IPMA-CP , is Vice President, Human Resources at SHRM. She has more than 20 years of experience in HR.  Prior to joining SHRM, Bettina was Director of Human Resources for the City of Alexandria, Va., where she was responsible to the city manager for the effective and efficient management of all human resource responsibilities, programs and projects. Prior to that role, she was director of human resources for the National Association of Social Workers in Washington, D.C.

Octogenarian Rita Moreno still remains one of the busiest stars in show business. In the Spring, Rita will begin production in the Latino remake of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, One Day at a Time, for Netflix. This past December she received a Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture. Prior to that she served as the 2015 Grand Marshal of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City and released her first ever all Spanish language album, Una Vez Mas, produced by her good friend, Emilio Estefan. She also lends her voice to the character, “Abuelita” in the new animated series, Nina’s World, currently seen on NBC-TV’s Sprout Network. She also was the voice of “Aunt Mimi” in the animated film, Rio 2. Her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir, published by Celebra Books, instantly became a New York Times Bestseller. In 2011, she premiered her one-woman show, Life Without Make-up, an original stage production about her life and also appeared as a season regular on the TV Land series Happily Divorced, playing Fran Drescher’s mother. 

As a Business Strategist and Executive Coach, LaFern Batie leads The Batie Group, LLC, a business consulting and leadership development firm serving organizations around the globe. With extensive Fortune 500 corporate leadership experience and widely recognized expertise, she works with international organizations and leaders across diverse industries to maximize their collective and individual performance. Leaders value her high business acumen, ability to quickly connect with teams, thorough and efficient approach to identifying challenges and commitment to helping them achieve results that exceed their expectations. 

Follow LaFern on Twitter @LaFernBatie.
 

James Wright of JamesWantsToKnowYou.com is a dynamic and compelling leader with a track record of delivering practical roadmaps for increasing Inclusion and Diversity in global corporations such as Apple Inc., LinkedIn, NBCUniversal, and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). A featured guest on NBC and FOX, Wright’s articles and commentary appear frequently on LinkedIn and his expertise has been included in The Washington Post as well as several SHRM articles. 

In his practice, James offers transformative training solutions on Gender Equality, Unconscious Bias, Improving Race Relations, and Generational Diversity. In addition, James introduced The Language of Inclusion - a free download of over 135 key terms and definitions to help organizations find a common language to Inclusion. With increased focus on gender and LGBTQIA+ equality, James believes it is important to update these terms to signal where we are today in our journey to ensure diverse communities are truly seen, heard, and valued.

James attended Erskine College in SC & The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

Shane Snow is an award-winning journalist, celebrated entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of Smartcuts and the forthcoming DREAM TEAMS (June 2018), as well as the co-author of The Storytelling Edge. He is co-founder of the content technology company Contently, and has helped out gun traffickers and gender discrimination as a founder and board member of The Hatch Institute for Investigative Journalism.

Snow's writing has appeared in Fast Company, Wired, and The New Yorker. He's a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and has been called a “Wunderkind” by The New York Times, a “Digital Maverick” by Details, and his work “Insanely addicting” by GQ—though he wishes they had been talking about his abs.

Eric Boles is the president of The Game Changers Inc., a training and development company dedicated to maximizing the human asset. Through assessment, consulting, coaching, and corporate training, The Game Changers Inc. has set the standard for helping organizations enhance their culture and develop greater levels of commitment and performance.

Boles is also a highly acclaimed keynote speaker and consultant for some of the most recognized and respected organizations in the world. He presents his inspiring and challenging insights and strategies to thousands of men and women each year.

His expertise on leadership, peak performance, team dynamics, and change management has been shared with clients such as Dunkin' Brands, National Association of Realtors, Alaska Airlines, State Farm Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, US Air Force, First West Credit Union, Emergency Nurses Association, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. He also speaks to a variety of organizations and associations including sales, education, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services.

Prior to becoming an authority on high performance, Eric Boles learned many principles of team dynamics and leadership from his experience playing in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers. While in the NFL, he had the privilege of being coached and mentored by some of the finest coaches and players in the game.

Henry G. (Hank) Jackson is the president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world's largest HR professional Society. He previously served as the Society’s interim president and CEO, and as chief global finance and business affairs officer.

Under Jackson’s leadership, the Society has grown to a record 290,000 members and hosted its largest-ever Annual Conference and Exposition. To better serve a diverse and more complex HR profession, the Society expanded its global reach and impact, formed partnerships with the Council for Global Immigration and SHRM’s Executive Network, HR People and Strategy, and opened its first state office in California, home to the largest concentration of HR professionals in the U.S.

During Jackson’s tenure, the Society developed and launched its competency-based certification—the accredited SHRM-Senior Certified Professional and SHRM-Certified Professional—to further advance the HR profession. Within two years, the number of SHRM-certified professionals grew to more than 100,000 worldwide.      

At the helm of SHRM during the economic downturn, Jackson spearheaded the Society’s initiatives on pressing HR and employment issues such as workforce readiness, veterans’ employment, and long-term unemployment. The Society has also strengthened its position as a highly sought-after voice on workplace public policy, as HR and workplace issues have increasingly been part of national discussions and public policy debates.

Jackson believes that the HR profession is at an exciting and pivotal moment, calling it the “Decade of Human Capital.” Businesses are beginning to better understand and embrace human resource management as the most critical contributor to the strategic direction of their organizations, and the HR profession is being propelled into a key business leadership position.

A long-tenured SHRM employee, Jackson has ensured as CEO that the organization remains an employer of choice and invests in a world-class workplace and work environment. In 2013, Washingtonian magazine recognized SHRM as a Great Place to Work in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Jackson came to SHRM from Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was senior vice president/chief financial officer and treasurer of the university. In this role, he oversaw the financial well-being of the university’s 11 schools and colleges, hospital, public television station, and commercial radio station. He served in several previous positions at Howard University, including comptroller, deputy comptroller, and systems accountant, before becoming senior vice president.

Prior to joining Howard University, Jackson worked in public accounting with Hurdman Main and KMPG as senior auditor and a computer audit specialist. For several years, he was a consultant for the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers.

Jackson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. He is a certified public accountant.