Leadership & Personal Growth

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.

Nanci Appleman-Vassil is a highly sought after Certified Speaking Professional® (CSP) and accomplished business professional with more than 25 years' experience in training, organization development, and corporate consulting with focus on coaching and developing managers and building high-performing teams.She is the Founder and CEO of APLS Group, a firm that specializes in facilitating individuals, groups and organizations toward better solutions for increased effectiveness.Known for her dynamic style that touches hearts, engages minds and gets an audience smiling, Nanci infuses her presentations with real-life examples that are relatable to the audience and bring teams to a new level of understanding. From keynotes to webinars to workshops and everything in between, Nanci will get you excited about discovering, learning and transforming your behavior to increase your influence in the workplace.As part of her commitment to helping others increase their confidence and competence, Nanci devotes her off work time to supporting non-profits and aspiring entrepreneurs. 
 

Dr. Smith is a respected practitioner of I-O psychology with over 20 years of experience in HR research and consulting. His primary areas of expertise involve strategic research approaches, test development and validation, individual assessment, and management development. Throughout his career, he has worked with all levels of employees (from hourly rate to executive level). He joined SHRM in 2018 after spending most of his career in consulting roles. At SHRM, he spent three years as Director of Exam Development for certification and more recently became Director of HR Thought Leadership for the research group.

Mark holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida. He has authored professional publications and presented numerous papers and symposia at numerous professional meetings. He is a member of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and he has also served as President, Treasurer and Board Member of the Houston Association for I-O Psychology.

Adam Rosenthal is an employment attorney and Partner at Sheppard Mullin based in California.  Adam represents a broad spectrum of companies before federal and state courts and arbitration forums.  In addition to his single plaintiff and class action litigation practice, Adam advises clients throughout the country on compliance matters.  Adam is one of the few attorneys on the SHRM Speakers Bureau.  This is the third year in a row Adam has been invited to lecture at the SHRM Annual Conference.  Adam is also the author of Managing Employees Without Fear: How to Follow the Law, Build a Positive Work Culture, and Avoid Getting Sued.  Adam received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from UC Davis.

G. Riley Mills is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, and the co-founder of Pinnacle Performance Company. He is the co-author of the book The Bullseye Principle and was included in the list of "Top Leadership Speakers" by Inc. Magazine. He presented his TEDx session "Are We Killing Communication" at the Shanghai American School and has guest-lectured at such institutions as the Columbia University, London Business School, Manchester United, and The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace. Mills has written about leadership and communication for Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc. Magazine. 

Julie Burch has spoken at 2 SHRM National Conferences, 5 state SHRM conferences, and countless regional and local SHRM events. She was also inducted in to the Speaker Hall of Fame at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Southwest Conference in 2017. She has spoken in all 50 states, 3 countries, and 3 U.S. Territories. Where she has designed programs for industry leaders in a wide range of industries

Julie is the comedienne with content! Julie’s presentations are high energy, highly interactive and packed with real world, tangible techniques the audience can implement immediately. Julie also loves to make them laugh! She has discovered the more her audience laughs the more they learn. “Solid Business Strategies. Brilliant Comedic Humor.” It’s not just her tag line, it is her promise in every presentation!

Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is vice president of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders, and consultants who are distinguished experts in the HCM field and uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices, and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as liaisons, trusted advisors, and thought leaders who help to shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG. 

Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence, and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging (DEI&B), and has been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.” 
 
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.” 
 
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida. 
 

Kevin Cope is the #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author of Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company. A renowned trainer and speaker, Kevin has spent the last 25 years working with top organizations including 30 Fortune 50 companies. His 5 Business Drivers model and ideas, shared with millions through his book, articles, and courses, have been praised for being relevant and actionable; they help you come to the table prepared.

Tracy Stock is one of the most in-demand and top-rated female speakers in North America today because of her ability to inspire behavior change and achieve positive outcomes. As a workplace culture expert, an engaging Certified Speaking Professional®, highly skilled live and virtual training expert and a best-selling author with five published titles, her 25 years of experience include clients such as the U.S. Army, Motorola, True Value, US Bank and Subway, to name a few. As a speaker of choice, Tracy is committed to helping energize workplace culture, enhance employee engagement and empower high performance. 

Dawn Kelley is a certified HR Professional with 25+ years of experience, she is highly skilled in human resources management, employee relations, leadership development, coaching/ supervision, and agency operations.  Dawn has a reputation for being a strong, empathetic leader.  She has volunteered for the Society for Human Resources Management including creating test questions for the SHRM-CP exam, serving as a judge in the college games and spent several years serving on the Executive Board for Central Valley Human Resources Management Association, the local SHRM affiliate chapter.  She is the Human Resources Manager for City of Modesto.  

In 2021, Dawn spoke at SHRM 2021 in Las Vegas bringing forward a thoughtful intro to transgender in the workplace, “Coming of Gender”. Reviews of this session included, “Dawn was an engaging speaker! Very passionate about the subject. Dawn was funny too! Loved that she was transparent enough to share her story with the group! Great presentation!”

Most recently she provided sidebar insights on transgenderism in Chapter 11 Diversity and Inclusion for the SHRM Complete Study Guide authored by Sandra M. Reed and was a speaker on PCTY Talks podcast- https://pctytalks.podbean.com/e/championing-gender-equity-with-dawn-kelley/ with Shari Simpson.

In September 2018, Dawn was a featured TEDx speaker in the Central Valley presenting on Parental Resiliency. She was a guest on two (2) episodes the Therapists Uncut Podcast in 2020 and most recently took part in the My HR Journey Podcast (2021) with Steve Watson.

With a determination to meet people where they are, to help people be heard and to celebrate their accomplishments, she uses her power of persuasion to teach leaders that every voice matters.  Seeing that light bulb go off, that realization in their eyes…means the world.

“We are the voice of those unable to speak, the confidant to lighten the load and the professional to hold people accountable when their bias and judgement get in the way of respect in our workplaces.”