Professional Development

The HR Certification Institute is based in Alexandria, Va.

Howard Ross is lifelong social justice advocate, and is considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing unconscious bias.  Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and major institutions within healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias:  Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His latest  book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2018, received the Nautilus Gold Medal for Social Change and Social Justice. His next book, Building Belonging: 9 Pathways to Creating Inclusive and Joyful Organizational Communities, will be published in 2020.

Hailed by Tom Peters for bringing his company out of the doldrums, almost overnight, heralded by the media as the UnGuru because he is such a convention-breaker, Aman Motwane is the man behind the movement to change how the world of business does business — Skills 2.0.

Aman holds degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and a Master’s from Stanford University, which he received in 9 months. But he’s the first to point out that education and information are worth nothing if you don't understand the right questions to ask.

Lorin Mueller, PhD, SPHR, is a nationally recognized expert on occupational and employment testing. He is currently as the managing director of assessment at the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, a not-for-profit that develops the national licensure examination for physical therapy professionals. Prior to taking that position, Dr. Mueller was a Principal Research Scientist at the American Institutes for Research where he led the development of SHRM’s Assurance of Learning assessment for recent HR graduates. Dr. Mueller has worked on occupational assessments for such diverse occupations as air-traffic controllers, advanced mathematicians, medical school students, and teachers.

Based in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Kimberly Alyn is a human behavior expert, a best-selling author, and an international professional speaker. She is the author of eleven books including "Building Better Teams," "How to Inspire People to Achieve More," "How to Give a Butt Kicking Presentation," and "Discover Your Inner Strength" (with contributors Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Brian Tracy). An advocate of life long learning, Dr. Alyn has her bachelors degree in business management, her masters degree in organizational management, and her doctorate degree in organizational management with a specialty in leadership. Dr. Alyn has over 20 years of experience with speaking, training, educating, and entertaining audiences.

Jennifer B. Kahnweiler is a bestselling author and one of the leading speakers on introverts in the workplace. Her pioneering books, The Introverted Leader, Quiet Influence, The Genius of Opposites, and Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces have been translated into 18 languages. The Introverted Leader was named one of the top 5 business books by The Shanghai Daily.

Jennifer has partnered with leading organizations like Amazon, Merck, Kimberly Clark, NASA, Bosch, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She has delivered her signature presentations from Singapore to Spain. She holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation, awarded to a small percentage of speakers, and serves as a mentor to many professional women.

A native New Yorker, Jennifer calls Atlanta, GA home.

Kris Dunn is a Partner and CHRO at Kinetix, a national RPO firm for growth companies headquartered in Atlanta. He's also the founder of two industry-leading blogs – Fistful of Talent and The HR Capitalist – and has written over 70 feature columns at Workforce Management magazine. Prior to his investment at Kinetix, Kris served in HR leadership roles at DAXKO, Charter and Cingular. 

Specialties: Belief that the HR function rocks mixed with Business chops. Crossover Dribble. Encyclopedia-like knowledge of the Grunge Era.

Kris is the author of The 9 Faces of HR: A Disruptor’s Guide to Mastering Innovation and Driving Real Change.

George Bradt has a unique perspective on transformational leadership based on his combined senior line management and consulting experience at companies including Coca-Cola, Walt Disney and Procter & Gamble. Now he is a Principal of CEO Connection and Managing Director of PrimeGenesis, the leading executive onboarding and transition acceleration group he founded in 2002. George is the author of three books on onboarding published by Wiley including The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan, as well as a weekly column for Forbes.com, “The New Leader’s Playbook.”