Leadership & Personal Growth

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.

Sel is an HR Professional, Business & People Leader, Speaker, and seasoned entrepreneur. Sel started her career in HR over 20 years ago and launched her first business wattsnext Group in 2007 with the vision to disrupt the HR industry and create great workplaces across the globe.

wattsnext is based in Brisbane and New York and partners with Founders & CEO's of small to medium businesses and fast growth startups to create high performing and engaged teams and cultures.

Sel has developed and led her own team of HR professionals, supporting them to not only be successful within wattsnext but to continue to advance their careers and personal lives beyond wattsnext, which has led to the launch of her most recent business The HR Linc.

The HR Linc is a membership and community created to disrupt and advance the professional development of sole charge HR professionals in the small to medium business sector.  Our mission is to elevate HR to have a valued seat at the table whilst connecting and growing our members through experiential learning.

The Unconventional Life vlog is Sel’s way of sharing her journey of expanding her brands globally, chasing a dream and living a ‘no plan b’ life.  She is passionate about people choosing the life they really want and gives value to her audience through her vulnerable and engaging style.

Sel also allocates time to coaching Founders, CEO’s and startup entrepreneurs.   She is known for her progressive and real approach to HR and her raw and honest shares of her experience as a Leader.

Sel is a mother to three sons who are learning a lot about resilience, gratitude, never settling and striving for their dreams with everything they have!

You can learn more about Sel’s background, experience, many ventures, and accomplishments here www.sue-ellenwatts.com.

Anton Gunn is a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama and a leading expert on Socially Conscious Leadership. He was the first African American in history elected to the South Carolina Legislature from his district early in his career. Anton is a graduate of the University of South Carolina (USC) where he played SEC football for the Gamecocks. He also earned a master's degree in Social Work from USC and was a Resident Fellow at Harvard. He is the bestselling author of The Audacity of Leadership and The Presidential Principles, and has been featured in TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine, BBC, NPR, and on Good Morning America.

Anton was named one of the Ten Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare by Fierce Healthcare. An international keynote speaker, management consultant, and the CEO of 937 Strategy Group, Anton has worked with renowned organizations like Mercedes-Benz Vans, KPMG, Rock Ventures, Sodexo, WellPath, Verizon Wireless, Aetna, T-Mobile, American Organization of Nurse Leaders, Emory Healthcare, Blue Shield of California, and The Boeing Company. Anton is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation earned by the top echelon of professional speakers and held by fewer than 10% of the members belonging to the International Federation for Professional Speakers. He has spent his life helping leaders build diverse, high-performing teams, and world-class workplace culture.

Nicole’s passion for eliminating gender expectations and redefining “Woman’s Work” fuels her as an in-demand keynote speaker, leadership strategist, respected coach, and host of the “This Is Woman’s Work” Podcast. Her direct experience at the C-level with a Fortune 100 company, as well as her work in coaching hundreds of women in business, has given her insight as to what – structurally, systemically and socially – is and isn’t serving women and leaders within an organization. Beyond Nicole’s practical experience, her slight obsession with confidence sets her apart from the constant stream of experts telling us to BE confident, in that she gives actionable tools – not just stories – to BECOME confident. Maintaining sanity in her different roles of mother, wife, and business owner successfully is an ongoing challenge, and she enjoys wine tasting and reading in whatever free time she has.

Kevin M. Coleman is the Founder of KMC Empowerment, LLC where he provides executive coaching, empowering speeches, and professional development training to make individuals and organizations successful.  This is done through inspiring leaders to define clear vision, mission, and value systems that leads to exponential personal, professional, and business growth.  Kevin has vast experience in leading training for Entrepreneurs, Executives, Division Chiefs, Branch Chiefs, Mid-Level Managers, Supervisors, and Team Leads for over 35 years.  Kevin has demonstrated experience speaking for all audiences from three (4) to three thousand (4,000).  In addition, Kevin is a United States Army disabled veteran.

Cindi Cooper is accountable for the global growth and expansion of Gap International. Working across all facets of the business, she is responsible for ensuring the execution of the company's strategic objectives.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Cooper has been instrumental in both the sales and marketing of Gap International, providing the creative spark behind the ongoing expansion of the company's brand identity.

She co-leads the development of Gap International's leading-edge work in the Leveraging Genius Institute, as well as the delivery of The Leveraging Genius Conference. In addition, she leads the development of Gap International's work in the area of organizational alignment and is instrumental in the delivery of The Alignment Intensive, one of the company's premier programs for senior executives and their teams.

Ms. Cooper works closely with CEOs and executive teams of many Global 1000 companies in delivering breakthroughs in growth and performance. She has over 20 years of experience working with the pharmaceutical, retail, telecommunications, utilities, and financial services industries.

Ms. Cooper received a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art and completed the Tuck Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Prior to joining Gap International in 1989, Ms. Cooper was the co-founder and president of a corporate graphic design and marketing firm.

Julius Cox is Executive Vice President, People, Shared Services and Supply Chain of Pacific Gas and Electric Company and PG&E Corporation.

Cox started with PG&E in February 2021 and is responsible for ensuring the company has the people, skills, resources and tools to meet its customers' expectations. He leads the Human Resources, Supply Chain and Shared Services teams.

Cox has 20 years of energy industry experience, most recently serving as Chief Human Resources Officer at American Electric Power (AEP) from October 2019 to January 2021. Cox had responsibility for strategically aligning human resources functions and processes in support of AEP's overall business strategy including oversight of employee relations, leadership and organization development, culture and diversity, benefits and compensation, operations, wellness and productivity for AEP's 18,000 employees.

Prior to AEP, Cox was Chief Transformation Officer at Dynegy, a Houston-based power producer that is now part of Vistra Energy, where he and his team championed a culture of performance and process improvements across the company. Prior to that role, Cox served as the Chief Administration Officer and was responsible for human resources, information technology, business services, investor relations, regulatory and governmental affairs and communications. Cox joined Dynegy in 2001 as a human resources director and held progressive leadership roles in human resources.

Before joining Dynegy, Cox was a consultant at Arthur Andersen and worked in human resources roles at Shell Oil and Neiman Marcus.

A native of Houston, Texas, Cox earned a bachelor's degree in business management and a master's degree in human resource management from Texas A&M University. He also completed the Wharton Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as an Independent Director for the Midwest Reliability Organization.

Lisa set out to build a market where one didn’t exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the U.S. that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Lisa’s goal is to ensure that every Nonprofit HR engagement inspires social sector leaders to strengthen their most important asset: their people. Over the course of her career, Lisa has presented to hundreds of organizations, staff and leadership teams. Today, fueled by the passion of their 100-plus employees and consultants nationwide, Nonprofit HR is helping many of the nation’s most impactful nonprofit organizations get ahead through smart people management strategies.

Sophia A. Nelson, Esquire, is the 2024 Distinguished Varner Vitality Lecturer and award winner at Oakland University in Michigan. She is a highly regarded award-winning author, journalist, and distinguished international motivational speaker. Renowned for her perceptive columns on CNN Opinion and her weekly appearances on CNN, where she offers expert legal and political analysis, Nelson boasts a background as a former Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Big 10 Law Firm Senior Counsel, and Capitol Hill Congressional Committee Counsel. She is widely recognized as a Scholar, Lecturer, and Panel Moderator at prestigious academic institutions such as Harvard's Kennedy School, Bowdoin College, Depauw University, University of Indiana-Bloomington, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the United States. Nelson has been featured on prominent national programs such as Morning Joe, The Today Show, Nightline, and NPR. A trailblazer in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, women's workplace wellness, and Emotional Intelligence (EIQ), she serves as a respected curator and trainer in corporate leadership and human resources development. Collaborating closely with Fortune 100 companies, Nelson has left a significant impact on global diversity and workplace wellness practices, extending her influence as far as Sydney, Australia. With four bestselling non-fiction works to her name, including "Black Woman Redefined," "The Woman Code," "ePluribus One," and her latest 2022 publication, "Be the One You Need: 21 Life Lessons I Learned While Taking Care of Everyone But Me" (Simon & Schuster 2022). Nelson continues to make meaningful contributions to literature and societal well-being through her various media, writing, and speaking platforms. She is the founder of the new "Redefining Freedom" Center located in Virginia, and she is working on her 5th book by the same name, due for publication in 2026.

Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.