2020 Global Mobility and Immigration Symposium

Keynote Speakers

  • Rep. Zoe Lofgren

    Rep. Zoe
    Lofgren

    Zoe Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents the 19th District of California, based in the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” San Jose, and the Santa Clara Valley. A lifelong Bay Area resident and the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook, Zoe attended public schools and attended Stanford University on a California State Scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1970. Prior to attending Stanford, Lofgren worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to save money for non-tuition college expenses not covered by her scholarship. After graduating from Stanford, she attended, with the help of a scholarship, Santa Clara University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1975. She served as a member of Congressman Don Edwards’ staff for eight years in both his San Jose and Washington DC offices. While practicing and teaching immigration law, she was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979.  In 1980, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors where she served for 14 years. Following Congressman Don Edwards’ retirement in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Zoe was elected to the House of Representatives. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

    As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and a former immigration attorney and immigration law professor, Zoe is recognized as an established champion of top-to-bottom immigration reform and a national leader in immigration policy. During the 113th Congress she played a key role in negotiating a comprehensive reform bill in the House Representatives as part of an eight-person bipartisan working group.

    In 2010, in part due to her work on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented Zoe with the gavel used to preside over the passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Zoe is known for her work on patent reform, copyright issues, digital rights, and net neutrality.  She successfully fought to initiate the “e-rate” that provides affordable internet access for schools, libraries, and rural health centers, and she is the author of legislation that would allow the unlocking of cellular phones and other digital devices to give owners more control over their devices. She led a bipartisan effort in the House to decontrol encryption technology.

    A staunch advocate for digital rights, Zoe was the lead early opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and led a successful fight to stop bill in the House Judiciary Committee. Her Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before retrieving communications and documents stored remotely or geolocation information about an individual.

    In 2014, Zoe led a bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes on unwarranted government surveillance. The Massie-Lofgren amendment to the 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations Act to stop the NSA from searching Americans’ private communications collected without a warrant, and to prohibit the NSA from weakening security protections in devices and software for unwarranted surveillance purposes, passed the House by a resoundingly bipartisan vote of 293 to 123.In 2019, Zoe was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on House Administration by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and confirmed unanimously by the House Democratic Caucus. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) was established in 1947 as part of a larger effort to streamline the U.S. House of Representatives' committee system and to modernize its internal management and operations. After more than 70 years since the committee was established, CHA’s two principal functions include oversight of federal elections and day-to-day operations in the House. Historically, the committee has had a hand in shaping legislation that touches on any and all aspects of federal elections. Issues concerning corrupt practices, contested congressional elections, campaign finance disclosures, and credentials and qualifications of House Members also fall under its purview. Additionally, she is a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, formed to make Congress more transparent, unifying and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the American people.

    Zoe is also the Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. It is the most diverse delegation in the House and outnumbers all other state House delegations.

    Zoe is married to John Marshall Collins and is the mother of two.

    Austin T. Fragomen, Jr.

    Austin T.
    Fragomen, Jr.

    Over the course of his career in immigration, Austin served as assistant counsel, subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and international law, U.S. House of Representatives, and as an adjunct professor of law at New York University Law School.

    Austin has testified before committees of Congress on a variety of business immigration topics.

    Currently, Austin serves as Chairman of the Business Mechanism of the Global Forum on Migration and Development and has participated at a number of GFMD and UN sponsored events and proceedings, including the Global Compact on Migration. He also serves as Vice-Chair of Jesuit Refugee Services and a Board Member of the Center for Migration Studies. Additionally, Austin is an Advisory Board Member of the Investor Migration Council.

    He is a co-author of the treatise Immigration law and Business, as well as a series of Handbooks published by Thomson Reuters/West.

  • Mayor Douglas J. Nicholls

    Mayor Douglas J.
    Nicholls

    Douglas J. Nicholls is the 27th Mayor of the City of Yuma, Arizona. He began his second four-year term as Mayor in January 2018. Mayor Nicholls is committed to the Yuma community through his core belief that quality communities provide opportunities to success to all residents through quality jobs, superior education and robust quality of life.

    Mayor Nicholls spearheads many efforts to enhance and grow the Yuma community, including serving as the Founder and Chairman of 4FrontED’s Governing Board. The 4FrontED effort is an economic development-focused governing board of regional mayors from the region that includes states near the U.S.-Mexico border. Together, they work collaboratively to maximize impact at the global forefront, representing a population of more than one million people.

    His vision to enhance accessibility to higher education culminates in plans for the Yuma Multiversity Campus (YMC). Mayor Nicholls currently serves as Chairman of the YMC’s Governing Board which includes multi-disciplinary industry leaders from throughout the community who are working to develop a centralized campus in Yuma. The YMC will offer baccalaureate programs in full, utilizing the academic programs and specialties offered by the state universities and local community colleges.

    Mayor Nicholls was appointed to the Military Affairs Committee by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. He serves as Treasurer of the Arizona League of Cities and Towns’ Executive Committee. In 2019, he was inducted into the Arizona State University (ASU) Academy of Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

    Mayor Nicholls was raised in Yuma, Ariz., and earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from ASU, before continuing post-baccalaureate studies in transportation engineering. In addition to his role as Mayor of Yuma, he is President/Owner of Core Engineering Group, an active Rotarian, a deacon at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, and a dedicated husband and father. Mayor Nicholls is married to Danette, his high school sweet heart, and the two have four children.

    Moderator: 

    Emily M. Dickens, J.D.

    Emily M.
    Dickens

    Emily M. Dickens, J.D., serves as SHRM Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs & Corporate Secretary.  She is the executive responsible for coordinating staff to implement the CEO's vision, serving as corporate secretary for the SHRM Board and subsidiary boards, as well as managing external partnerships and providing oversight for the Government Affairs division.

    Dickens is an attorney with significant and progressive experience in government, higher education and the non-profit sector. She has served as a member of the leadership team at the University of North Carolina system, the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Her prior roles include general counsel, chief relationship officer, senior vice president, vice president for public policy and assistant vice president for federal relations. Dickens has also worked at Duke University and Fayetteville State University in administrative and external affairs roles. 

    Emily is actively engaged in board service. She formerly served on the Fayetteville/Cumberland (NC) Chamber of Commerce (Secretary of the Board), the Cumberland County Workforce Development Board, the North Carolina Partnership for Defense Innovation Board, and the Educational Advancement Foundation. She is currently a member of the Advisory Council of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the Advisory Board of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Carolina Central University, and chairs the International HBCU Task Force for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

    She is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and North Carolina Central University School of Law. 

    Emily is a member of the SHRM Speakers Bureau.

    Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 10:00am to 10:55am
  • Guy Ryder

    Guy
    Ryder

    Guy Ryder was elected  Director-General, International Labour Organization, by the ILO’s Governing Body in 2012 and took office in October that year.  He was re-elected for a second term which started on 1 October 2017. Guy Ryder is committed to promoting decent work for all and to working through tripartism and social dialogue to make a positive difference in the working lives of people everywhere including and particularly in the lives of the most vulnerable.   

    The ILO celebrated its centenary in 2019 and Guy Ryder was instrumental in setting the Future of Work as the defining theme of the centenary to position the organization to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Under his leadership, the Global Commission on the Future of Work was established in 2017.  Subsequently, the International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019. The Declaration, centred on the Organization’s founding values, drives the promotion of a present and future of work that is fair and just by actively shaping the new forces impacting on the world of work. Guy Ryder collaborates closely with the UN System to support global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  In the social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy Ryder is engaged in working with the ILO’s Members and in partnership with the multilateral system and other relevant parties, to apply the principles of the Centenary Declaration in the response to the crisis as well as to the challenge of recovery.

    Guy Ryder joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and, from 1999, as Director of the Office of the Director-General. In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). He was elected as first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006.  In 2010, Guy Ryder came back to the ILO as Executive Director.  Born in Liverpool (UK) in 1956, Guy Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool.

    The ILO is a tripartite organization comprising governments and representatives of employers and workers.

    Roberto Suarez Santos

    Roberto
    Suárez Santos

    Roberto Suárez Santos was appointed Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) on 26 October 2018, having held the post of Deputy Secretary-General since December 2012. After successfully deputising for the Secretary-General over this period, dealing mainly with ILO matters and employers’ activities in the ILO Governing Body (GB) and International Labour Conference (ILC), Roberto stepped in as acting Secretary-General from March to October 2018. In his new post, Roberto is supported by a multilingual, multi-disciplinary team in discharging his overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Secretariat and for ensuring the Organisation works towards the achievement of the strategic priorities adopted by the IOE General Council.

    Prior to joining the IOE, Roberto was ILO Programme Director for the promotion of youth employment in the Maghreb region. He previously worked at the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (CEOE) in various areas ranging from comparative labour policies and labour relations to youth unemployment and social and employment policy. Roberto was a member of the European Social Dialogue Committee and President of the CSR group for BUSINESSEUROPE. He was BUSINESSEUROPE’s Vice President for Labour Affairs for several years and spokesperson for European employers at Euromed meetings, including Marrakech (2009), Barcelona (2010) and Brussels (2011). Roberto was Vice-President of BIAC’s Employment and Labour Affairs Committee and has been a member of various follow-up committees for the European Social Fund and the EU Economic and Social Committee.

    Roberto’s experience extends to academia, having served as associate professor of European Social Law at both the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Spain. Roberto is a trained lawyer with experience in European and international labour law, as well as in international relations. In addition to his native Spanish, he speaks French and English. The IOE is the largest network of the private sector in the world. With more than 150 business and employer organisation members in 145 countries around the world, the IOE is a powerful voice for business at the international level.

    Achal Khanna

    Achal
    Khanna

    Achal Khanna has a diverse experience and a highly successful track record of building and operating successful and profitable businesses for leading multinational and India companies and managing their businesses across the globe.

    She is the CEO for SHRM India and the Business Head over Asia Pacific and MENA. She joined SHRM 6 years ago as COO for SHRM-India, was promoted to CEO-SHRM India and now manages the global business development role also.

    Khanna is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa. In her current role she is responsible for building SHRM brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.

    She has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations and successfully put them on a high-growth path in India. Before that she was Vice President for GE, managing business development and operations for two important GE businesses,  NBC & Consumer Industrial, across India, China, Hungary and Mexico. In her earlier role as Country Manager for Polaroid India, she managed the entire India operations including their software development center. She has worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group handling key global business development and operation roles.

    She is a recipient of the "Best Women Executive in India" award.

    Khanna holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics, a Master's Degree in English Literature and a Master's in Business Management.

    Moderator: 

    Lynden Melmed

    Lynden
    Melmed

    Lynden Melmed is a partner with Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP and oversees the firm’s compliance and government affairs practices. He counsels corporate clients on complex immigration matters, assists businesses in establishing and managing global immigration programs, and represents businesses in connection with audits and investigations by the federal government. He has served as immigration counsel in connection with several of the largest immigration investigations ever pursued by the federal government.

    Before joining BAL, Lynden served as Chief Counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), where he was a key advisor to senior leadership within USCIS, DHS, the White House, and other federal agencies on all aspects of immigration law. Lynden also served as Special Counsel to Senator John Cornyn, who was Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship; in that role, Lynden played a leading role in drafting and managing comprehensive immigration legislation.

    Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm
  • Eduardo B. de la Garza

    Eduardo B.
    de la Garza

    Responsible for the design and execution of the people strategy of more than 230,000 associates, with the main focus in supporting business continuity and making Walmart the best place to be, grow and belong, leading the company transformation from the HR view within an agile framework. In 2020, Eduardo joined Walmart Foundation Board of Directors (Mexico & USA) and BIG Group Board of Directors (Brazil).

    Prior to joining Walmart, Eduardo was the CHRO for PepsiCo and an active member of the PepsiCo LATAM leadership and transformation council, with a focus on strategy of organizational development, culture and talent management. Responsible for cultural transformation in projects such as the integration of Gamesa and Sabritas.

    Eduardo has a history of more than 35 years in Human Resources in various companies and has obtained several awards such as: Top 10 CHRO´s during the last three years (Executive World) and HR Executive (AMEDIRH). Additionally, he has participated as a speaker in national and international forums, including: RH ERIAC World Forum (2018), Marcus Evans Latin Summit (2018) and AMEDIRH World Forum (2017).

    Eduardo is an industrial engineer from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and has an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources and Productivity from the same institution.
    Eduardo is the current president of NAHRMA (North America Human Resource Management Association) and was president of AMEDIRH from 2015 to 2016. Additionally, he is an active member of the board of Talent and Culture in the TEC of Monterrey, and former board member of companies such as Naranya, Endeavor and Intelexion.

    Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP

    Johnny C.
    Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP

    J

    Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

    As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. Recognized as one of the “300 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America” for 2024 by Savoy Magazine and one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."

    Mr. Taylor's career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit spaces. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/InteractiveCorp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

    He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which immediately upon its release in September 2021, was in the top three of The Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books.

    Mr. Taylor is a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and serves on the corporate boards of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), Flores & Associates, and Guild Education. He previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Trump Administration.

    The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.

    He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

     

    Tuesday, November 17, 2020 - 10:00am to 10:55am