HR Credit

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.

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.

Dr. John J. Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, has a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organizes information. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School—a provocative book that takes on the way our schools and work environments are designed. Medina is an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.

Bonnie Shelor, the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for Bon Secours Virginia Health System, is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic human resources vision and goals for the organization. She has worked in human resources for more than two decades and has worked for Bon Secours since 1994. 

Bon Secours Virginia, the fourth largest health system in the Commonwealth, includes seven award-winning hospitals and brings together a network of hospitals, primary care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities to provide quality health care services to thousands of Virginians. The not-for-profit health system employs more than 13,000 people.  Ms. Shelor is well versed in operations and business strategies and understands human resource’s role in helping achieve them. She has created, implemented and measured human resource strategies resulting in improved organizational performance.

During Ms. Shelor’ s tenure with Bon Secours, she culturally and operationally integrated two health systems, implemented an Accountable Care Organization for employees designed to create a Culture of Wellness and reduce healthcare expense, created an overarching culture of engagement that resulted in an organizational engagement score in the 98^th percentile as measured by the Gallup organization and developed a Talent Acquisition Center of Excellence creating a brand for the organization to the external and internal community.  In addition, Ms. Shelor implemented an Enterprise wide Talent Management, Talent Mapping and Talent Succession process designed to identify high potential/performance leaders to ensure the next generation of leadership.

Ms. Shelor has been honored to be recognized with several awards including the Executive Women in Business Achievement Award presented by Ernst & Young, Style Weekly, and Troutman Sanders, the Bonnie Dayan Memorial Award, sponsored by the Center for Companies That Care and the Human Resource Strategist of the Year Award, by the Titan Group LLC and Richmond Society for Human Resource Management. In addition, because of her work in developing a positive workplace for older workers, which has been recognized by AARP yearly since 2003, Ms. Shelor was invited to testify in July 2010 before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing, “Choosing to Work During Retirement and the Impact on Social Security.”

Under Ms. Shelor’s tenure, Bon Secours became known as an Employer of Choice and has been recognized by numerous prestigious organizations:

• 2011 and 2010 Gallup Great Workplace Awards, Gallup. The Gallup Great Workplace Award recognizes companies for their extraordinary ability to create an engaged workplace culture. Fewer than 30 organizations worldwide earned this award in 2011.
• Best Company for Working Mothers, Working Mother magazine, yearly since 1998. (Top 20 in 2009, 2010 and 2011.)
• AARP Best Companies for Employees Over 50, yearly 2003-2012. ( top 10, 2009-2011)
• National Association for Female Executives, 2005-2012.
• Alfred P. Sloan for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, yearly 2006-2012.
• 2010 Employer of Choice, as named by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Richmond Society for Human Resource Management.
• Companies That Care Honor Roll, yearly 2007-2010. 

Ms. Shelor has an undergraduate degree in Human Resources from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., and a graduate degree in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.    

Lora Geiger is the Vice President of Human Resources for Coughlan Companies, Inc. . Prior to joining Coughlan Companies, Lora gained extensive experience in senior HR business partner organizational development, and leadership roles having worked in the software development and manufacturing industries, as well as consulting and account management experience in the medical equipment and insurance/financial service industries. During Lora’s leadership as Director of Human Resources for Turck Inc., an internationally recognized industrial automation company, they received local and national recognition for their holistic approach to culture, well-being and leadership development and related positive organizational and individual outcomes. Lora earned her doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University. She earned her B.S. degree in Human Resource Management from Winona State University and her Master’s in Human Resource Development from the University of St. Thomas. She has the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation from the Human Resources Certification Institute and is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) accredited coach. Turck employer honors during Lora’s tenure as Director of HR include:

• Work-Life Seal of Distinction, WorldatWork Alliance for Work-Life Progress
• Workplace Well-being Award, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)
• HR Excellence Award – Management Resource Association, Employer’s Association
• The Alfred P. Sloan Award for Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility for being in the top 20% nationally for engagement in the use of flexibility in work as an effective workplace strategy to increase business and employee success
• Platinum Level Wellness by Design Awards from Hennepin County for finding unique and innovative ways to promote well-being at work, 2011, 2012 and 2013
• Outstanding eWorkplace Employer Award from the State of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute for the advancement of Telework, for demonstrating corporate social responsibility, and contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion and improved quality of life
• The Star Tribune, leading newspaper in MN, published its list of “Top Workplaces” and TURCK made the list consecutively based on employee survey feedback

Lora has been asked to speak at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) National Conferences on driving business results through strategic HR initiatives; the Work and Family Research Network’s international conference on leading towards well-being through organizational climate, leadership and individual factors that relate to thriving at work; Minneapolis Business Journal’s Innovations in Healthcare Forum on positive organizational and individual outcomes of well-being at work; Twin Cities Human Resource Association (TCHRA) and hrConnection on best practices in talent management; and at SHRM’s National Work-Life Conference and Work and Family Institute on creating organizational effectiveness and work-life fit. Lora has also been asked to speak on the role employers play in fostering workflex and well-being for business results by TCHRA, and HR Professionals of MN, Chicago’s SHRM Chapter, Twin Cities Commuter Services, Center for Law and Social Policy and New America Foundation in Washington D.C.; SHRM at the Democratic National Conference in Charlotte, NC and the International Association for Worksite Health Promotion – Executive Summit, in Las Vegas, NV. 

Susan Avello is Social Marketing Consultant and Principal of Social Buzz Concepts, specializing in Corporate Social Media Marketing Solutions, Training and Development. She shares her knowledge of Work-Life Balance, Social Media in the Workplace, and the latest in Technology over at HR Virtual Cafe blog, SHRM WeKnowNext and is a part of the social press team for SHRM annual conference and IHRIM Technology Conference. She is social media chair for Illinois SHRM State conference and  the recipient of 2011’s Most Influential Women in Business award by Chicago’s Daily Herald Business Ledger, the National Association of Women Business Owners and Women’s Innovation Network. Follow her on Twitter @susanavello.

Kyra Cavanaugh is president of Life Meets Work, a consulting firm that helps organizations implement and improve workplace flexibility. She provides companies that are striving to be "best-in-class" with an online member-based community and services that include coaching, consulting, and training. She's a nationally-recognized speaker on workplace flexibility, telecommuting and work/life issues, and the recipient of the 2011 Work-Life Rising Star Award by Alliance for Work-Life Progress.

Kathy Kacher, President of Career/Life Alliance Services, (CLAS) and Cofounder of The SMART Workplace, is a workforce transformation expert with a focus on workplace mobility, change management and leadership engagement. She is also a faculty member with World at Work.

Ms. Walters has more than 30 years’ combined experience in management, HR administration, employment law practice, and teaching.

She has presented at conferences across the country, been engaged as an expert witness, and testified before U.S. Congressional and state legislative committees on employment issues.

Her book, “From Hello to Goodbye: Proactive Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations” is in its 2nd edition and was one of the SHRMStore’s “Great 8” best-sellers for eight consecutive years.

Today, Ms. Walters works as an independent consultant doing business as FiveL Company, “Helping Leaders Limit their Liability by Learning the Law.”SM