2014 Alabama SHRM State Conference Speakers
Step Up Your HR Game
Tuesday, May 131:30 - 2:45
Session 1
HRCI:
Approval Pending / Title: Step Up Your Employee Benefits, Health and Wellness Game
Overview:HR Professionals will learn how to step up their employee benefits game by gaining a better understanding of the importance of developing and communicating effective employee benefits and wellness plans.
Organizations struggle with creative ways to assist employees with a “holistic” approach to their health and welfare. They realize successful programs can help employees be healthier and increase the bottom line by decreasing healthcare costs. It can also decrease employee time away from work, increase productivity, and even increase morale.
This panel discussion will identify ways to improve communication campaigns that will help improve organizational perception, and drive adoption and engagement in health, wellness and incentive programs. You will learn about best-practice examples and get tips to help you communicate to your employees about the importance, scope and strength of your benefits offerings. It will also provide insights into initiatives for transforming your work culture that are clever, work friendly and have a positive impact on morale, productivity, health, recruitment and retention.
Panelists:
/ Scott Smith, EVP Director of Employee Benefits – SS Nesbitt & Company
Scott began his benefit career in 1995 as a healthcare consultant with New England Financial in Atlanta. Moving back to Alabama in 1999, he continued to expand his medical consulting practice and also started his own firm specializing in benefit communication and enrollment. In 2004, Scott’s firm was acquired by Northwestern Benefits of Alabama, and in 2009, he was named the President and CEO. Scott joined S.S. Nesbitt & Company in 2013 as Executive Vice President- Director of Employee Benefits when Northwestern Benefits of Alabama was acquired by the EBSCO Industries subsidiary. Scott brings unique experience and is considered a thought leader and is a sought after speaker on the topics of leadership, strategic employee communication and sales growth strategies.
Michelle Pawlik - Hand in Paw Animal Assisted Therapy Team
Michelle is a Corporate Health and Wellness expert. She currentlyserves as an animal assisted therapy team for Hand in Paw. Her education and experiences include: Teacher Re-certification, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, Alabama. General Science. B.S. Nursing, honors, University of Tennessee Medical Units, Memphis, Tennessee. B.S., cum laude, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee- Dual Majors: Microbiology and Second Education.
Tuesday, May 13
3:00 – 4:45
Session 2
HRCI:
Approval Pending / Title: Step Up Your HR Brand (Competence, Confidence and Credibility)
Overview:This session identifies specific ways human resource professionals can dramatically enhance their competences, confidence and credibility to be the strategic business partner desired from C-Suite leaders. Our panel of experts will provide practical examples that will allow you to be indispensable to your organization while boosting your function’s value laced with a bit of self-promotion to help you step up your HR brand.
You will learn how to gain personal credibility and buy-in for your initiatives, gain internal and external human resource credibility, look, feel, walk and talk the part of a confident professional, develop the competencies that guarantee professional success and use your role to become more relevant as a business leader by aligning your strategies with your CEO’s priorities.
Panelists:
/ Michelle Clemon, SPHR, JD - UCP of Greater Birmingham
Michelle Clemon brings fifteen years of experience in employment law and human resources management as a licensed attorney and executive human resources professional. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Yale University in 1996 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1999.
Michelle currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham (UCP), where she is responsible for the implementation of UCP’s strategic plan to expand and position the organization as a continued leader in services and programs for children and adults with disabilities. She practiced labor and employment law for a number of years with the Birmingham office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale. Following her time at Maynard, Michelle served as Vice President of Human Resources and Community Affairs for McWane, Inc., a Birmingham-based manufacturer. More recently, she served as President/CEO of The Clemon Consulting Group, a human resources consulting firm with an emphasis on compliance/governance and organizational development.Michelle is an active community volunteer, having most recently served as the Chairman of the Board of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. She also serves as a Trustee for Miles School of Law.
Robin Schooling, SPHR – Owner, Silver Zebras, LLC
With 25 years of HR Management experience, Robin Schooling, SPHR, has worked in a variety of industries including gaming, health care, manufacturing and banking. In 2013, after serving as VP Human Resources with the Louisiana Lottery Corporation for 7 years, Robin opened up Silver Zebras, LLC, where she works with organizations to develop integrated HR and Talent Strategies that drive business success. She’s a member of the Smartbrief on Workforce Advisory Board and has served on the Boards of Directors for Geaux Veterans, and the Louisiana Business Leadership Network, which focuses on providing positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Robin is a Past President of the Greater Baton Rouge SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), a former board member with ASTD Baton Rouge, an active member of the Baton Rouge Social Media Association and a longtime volunteer leader with the Louisiana SHRM State Council. In 2012, Greater Baton Rouge SHRM awarded Robin its “HR Professional of the Year Award.”
A regular speaker at HR business conferences around the country, she has a popular HR blog at HRSchoolhouse, is a contributor to the blogs WomenofHR, SHRM’s We Know Next, and regularly provides content for other global channels. She was recently named one of the The Top 100 Most Social Human Resources Experts On Twitterby the Huffington Post and one of the 25 people most retweeted by recruiters by ere.net (Electronic Recruiting Exchange).
Eunice Ellliott – NBC Alabama’s 13
Eunice is a proud graduate of The University of Alabama where she earned a Journalism/Theatre degree in 1997. A week after graduation, Eunice moved to Bristol, Connecticut where she started out in public relations and later moved over to the production side as a production assistant on ESPN’s Flagship program, SportsCenter. Not a fan of the cold temperatures and snow, Eunice sought an opportunity to continue to grow her skill set in Media and joined the NFL’s Tennessee Titans as a Media Relations Assistant.
During her time with the Titans, she gained invaluable experience in media training, regional/national story pitches and enjoyed working closely with the NFL and its member teams during the Titans run to the Super Bowl. That hard work paid off as Eunice was a part of the Media Relations staff that was rewarded with The Pete Rozelle Award as voted by the Pro Football Writers Association for the best Public Relations Staff in the NFL. Later career moves saw Eunice living in Miami while working with the FedEx Orange Bowl Committee’s Media Relations staff, and in Atlanta working with a high profile sports agency before she started her own public relations firm offering media training/publicity/marketing services to professional athletes.
Eunice has started several ventures including an athlete relocation company called Tradewinds & Created/Executive Produced a television program for Comcast called The Other Side of The Bench, featuring the Atlanta Falcons. She was also recognized as one of Rolling Out Magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Women in Atlanta. Eunice performs regularly as a stand-up comedian, motivational speaker, & corporate trainer and can be seen daily as the traffic reporter on Alabama’s 13’s morning show, TODAY in Alabama. She also enjoys acting, radio broadcasting and writing/producing new television shows.
Opening Keynote
Wednesday, May 14
8:25-9:35am
Room: Ballroom
Talent Management
HRCI:
Preapproved for Strategic Business / Title: Ubuntu: Inspiring Teamwork & Collaboration at Work
Sense of Purpose, Connectedness and Unity Among Your Team Members
Multi-million copy best-selling author Dr. Bob Nelson (1001 Ways to Reward Employees) shares his expertise and energy to show managers and organizations how to obtain new levels of focus, excitement and results in any work environment through the principles of Ubuntu as based on the parable he co-authored with Dr. Stephen Lundin(co-author of themega-million copybest-selling Fish! series). Dr. Nelson delivers a passionate, inspiring, high-energy multi-media program that intertwines fun & creativity, learning & application, and numerous examples and best practices from business, sports, politics & music in applying this traditional African principle of connectedness and unity to the world of work today. This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of teamwork, motivation and engagement in their workplace. Learning objectives include:
• The Core Principles & Philosophy of Ubuntu • Creating a Shared Vision and Sense of Purpose
• Inspiring Others to Greatness at Work • Creating Greater Rapport from Shared Experiences at Work
• Harnessing Individual Strengths to Create Stronger Teams • Creative Ways to Recognize Team Effort and Results
/ Speaker: Dr. Bob Nelson– President, Nelson Motivation Inc.
Dr. Bob Nelson is one of the world’s leading authorities on employee motivation and engagement. He is president of Nelson Motivation Inc. ( a management training and consulting company that specializes in helping organiztions improve their management practices, programs and systems; a co-founder of Recognition Professionals International; and previously worked closely with Dr. Ken Blanchard (co-author of The One Minute Manager) as his vice president, chief of staff and ghost writer for ten years. Dr. Nelson has sold 4 million books on management and employee motivation, including 1501 Ways to Reward Employees (the original edition of which sold 1/6 million copies), The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Fieldbook, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, 1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work, The Management Bible, Keeping Up in a Down Economy, and Ubunti! An Inspiring Story About an African Tradition of Teamwork and Collaboration. He has appeared extensively in the national media including CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NPR and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washing Post, The Chicago Tribune, Fortune, Business Week and Inc. magazines to discuss how to best motivate today’s employees. He received an MBA in organizational behavior from UC Berkeley and earned his PhD in management with Dr. Peter Drucker (The Father of Modern Management) at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate Management School of the Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles. He teaches organizational behavior for the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego.
Concurrent Session - A
Wednesday, May 14
9:45-10:55am
HRCI:
Preapproved for Strategic Business / Title: Why the Best CEOs are Turning to HR to Lead the Organization Through Today's Top Five Threats
Workplace Application:Learn how to leverage your leadership skills to help your company overcome the top five threats to organizational success. We are entering a new economy and business model with tremendous potential for HR to lead strategic organizational success.The first of the five threats that will be discussed is the loss of your competitive advantage as other organizations level the playing field while simultaneously failing to engage your workforce to create and develop new products and services faster than your competition. Second, we will discuss the cost of reckless hiring, as most analysts agree that 80% of turnover can be attributed to bad hires. Third, regulatory nightmares can become a huge external nightmare due to the impact that government regulation can have on your business. The other two threats we will examine are the inability to innovate, and poor leadership and communication skills. You must be ready to anticipate, respond, adapt, and above all, lead through these critical threats.
/ Speaker : Jack Smalley ,Director, HR Learning and Development, Express Employment Professionals
Jack serves as Director of Human Resource Learning & Development for Express Employment Professionals international headquarters. He provides leadership, human resource training and consulting for more than 600 Express offices and their clients in the U.S. and Canada. Jack offers clients extensive leadership guidance from a progressive career as a Human Resource executive. For the last thirty years, Jack has devoted his career to the field of leadership and human resources. His experience includes executive-level management in a number of different industries such as oil, chemical, and packaging with an emphasis in manufacturing, engineering, sales, logistics, and corporate management.
He is a sought after national keynote speaker. Since 2010 Jack has had over 500 speaking engagements, including numerous state and local SHRM (Human Resources) conferences, totaling more than 50,000 attendees. Also, Jack has been a regular speaker at the National SHRM Conferences and will be conducting two mega sessions at the 2014 National SHRM Conference in Orlando. Jack is included in SHRM’s very small but elite group of “most preferred speakers.” Jack is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and hold the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Concurrent Session - B
Wednesday, May 14
9:45-10:55am
HRCI:
Approval Pending / Title: Step Up Your Legal & Legislative Game
Overview: This session will explore the most recent legal and legislative decisions that impact you, your employees and your organization.Our panel of legal and legislative experts will discuss new legislation, employment laws, court decisions and regulatory initiatives that will affect how you remain compliant, manage your talent and strategically position your organization for the remainder of 2014. In addition to sharing common pitfalls that can put your organization at risk, our panelists will share action items to help you step up your knowledge and understanding of employee legal and legislative issues.
Panelists:
/ Charles A. Powell IV – Attorney - Littler (Law Firm)
Charles A. Powell has represented employers throughout the southeast against employment discrimination and harassment, non-competition and wage and hour litigation suits for more than 18 years. He has a strong record of successfully defending employers against various employment and labor law claims. He successfully defeated class certification efforts in a racial harassment case filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and has experience litigating wage and hour collective claims involving misclassification and off-the-clock issues.
Additionally, Charles offers counseling on compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws to numerous types of employers, ranging from small businesses to publicly held companies. Practice areas include: Discrimination Harassment, Complex Litigation, Jury Trials, Wage Hour, Competition, Trade Secret Law, Training, Compliance, Ethics, Leadership. Education: J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 1992, M.P.A., University of Alabama, 1989, B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1987
Jamie M. Brabston–Senior Counsel with Lehr Middlebrooks & Vreeland, PC.
Jamie has litigated cases involving sexual harassment, retaliatory discharge, disability, age, religion, race and sex discrimination, FMLA, ERISA, invasion of privacy, negligent supervision, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and breach of contract. Jamie assists employers in compliance, problem prevention and legal analysis of complex employment issues, as well as conducting investigations to address employee complaints. She also assists federal government contractors with regard to affirmative action compliance, record keeping, training, mock audits and audit defense.
Following more than a decade of private practice with a large Huntsville based law firm, Jamie served as General Counsel, Vice President of Human Resources, and Corporate Secretary for Digital Fusion, Inc., a Huntsville based government contracting firm, from 2006-2009. In 2009, Jamie founded her own employment law compliance business, Practical Employment Solutions, Inc., where she partnered directly with small businesses, including government contractors, to assist them with a full range of human resource and employment law compliance needs. Jamie was born and raised in Birmingham. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Alabama. During law school, Jamie served as editor of The Law & Psychology Review and a member of the Order of the Barristers, the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board, and the Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Team, where her team received the Dillard Award for Best Brief in the world.
Juanita K. Phillips, SPHR- Director of Human Resources with Intuitive
Mrs. Phillips came to INTUITIVE in 2006 with a background in both government contracting and manufacturing. She brings over twenty years of experience in developing and promoting human behavior and resources. Her practiced skills add solidity to the company’s base as INTUITIVE is poised to move forward. Mrs. Phillips is a business oriented professional leading the human resource function to connect solidly up and down the organizational chain, to engender trust and build relationships and to partner with INTUITIVE’s leadership across the board to recruit and retain the brightest and best in order to provide customers with outstanding solutions and support. Her area of responsibility includes the company’s facility security function.