Developing the Next Generation of HR Professional: Career Insights from SHRM’s Executive Team
Workplace Application:
•Participants will gain first-hand knowledge on advancing their career in HR and perspective on some of the new tools that SHRM is offering to assist with their HR career.
General Description:
In this session, SHRM Foundation Executive Director, Wendi Safstrom, will host a panel of her colleagues on the SHRM Executive Leadership team. The panel will present to SHRM’s emerging professionalsabout the importance of the HR profession and what students can do to prepare themselves as the next generation of HR leaders. Additionally, the panel will be answering audience questions as it relates to human resources, their careers, the future or HR, and so much more.
Learning Objectives:
•Discussthe future state of Human Resources
•Determine best practices for preparing for your career
•Learn about the careers of some of SHRM’s Executive Leadership Team
•Explore next steps for your professional career
Mike Aitken
Mike Aitken is Chief Membership Officer at SHRM, following 15 years of leading SHRM’s successful advocacy programs as Vice President of Government Affairs.
Mike is a leading authority on the issues important to the human resource profession and drives SHRM’s membership vision, ensuring excellent member experiences, and implementing the organization’s newly developed business strategy.
He applies his proven model of engagement to shape the future of work, workers and workplaces. He is an expert relationship-builder across diverse constituencies and stakeholders, always seeking out the “win-win” in every situation.
As a member of SHRM’s executive team, Mike also plays a key role in setting the strategic direction of the organization, offering important counsel on SHRM’s educational programs and professional development opportunities.
Prior to joining SHRM in 2003, he spent 14 years with the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), which represents more than 23,000 HR professionals at over 1,900 higher education institutions.
In 2015 and 2016, Mike served as an employer representative on the U.S. delegation to the International Labour Conference.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Diego.
James L. Banks, Jr.
James L. "Jim" Banks serves as SHRM's General Counsel, managing SHRM's legal functions, overseeing the work of outside counsel, and serving as key lawyer and legal advisor on major business transactions.
Previously, Banks served as City Attorney to the City of Alexandria, Va., representing and advising the mayor, city council, city manager and city departments on a variety of legal matters. He was previously a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and McGuireWoods LLP, where he focused on employment litigation.
Banks began his legal career in Richmond, Va., and he practiced law in the private and public sectors, including serving as both prosecutor and judge. He has a broad background in legal ethics and spent over 10 years in the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary system, ultimately serving as Chair of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. He was an instructor for the Virginia State Bar Professionalism Course and has taught frequently on topics of ethics and professionalism. He is also an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech in the Master of Public Administration program.
Banks is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Virginia Army National Guard and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia, a master's degree in Public Policy from Walden University and a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College.
This speaker is a member of the SHRM Speakers Bureau.
Sean T. Sullivan, SHRM-SCP
Sean Sullivan serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer and is responsible for providing human resources leadership, vision and service delivery for SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society.
Sullivan has over 25 years of experience in human resources strategy and operations. He has built his career across multiple industries, including health care, defense, technology, IT, and manufacturing, applying his expertise to help grow and support diverse business models.
Prior to SHRM, he was Vice President, Human Resources for Tufts Medical Center, an internationally respected academic medical center in downtown Boston. He was responsible for all aspects of human capital practices and labor relations in support of the healthcare, research, and teaching mission of the oldest permanent medical facility in the country. Under his leadership, Tufts Medical Center launched innovative initiatives in workforce development and diversity and inclusion while strengthening strategic partnerships with community-based organizations and enhancing equity in patient access to healthcare.
Sullivan has held senior leadership positions for technology firms in the defense and intelligence industries, including senior vice president for human resources with Leidos, a global IT and technology firm. He led due diligence and integration efforts for international mergers and acquisitions. He helped establish the Leidos Relief Foundation and served as its first president. He played a key role in the re-design of the human resources function for SAIC when it was spun off from Leidos in 2013. Earlier in his career, Sullivan took on roles of increasing responsibility at Northrop Grumman and TRW, including the support of global business units in systems integration and manufacturing.
With a passion for workforce development, he has been a guest speaker at the Close It Summit, the Colloquium on Global Diversity, the Work Rebooted Conference and other forums. He has been a member of Innovate+Educate's Innovative Business Hiring Council and the Healthcare HR Leadership Forum. He holds an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, from which he also earned his undergraduate degree in political science.
This speaker is a member of the SHRM Speakers Bureau.
Wendi Safstrom
Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams. She has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams. Safstrom currently serves as President for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's new mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals.
Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of their Foundation's most recent five-year strategic plan, and was responsible for all Foundation programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives. The NRAEF's philanthropic programming supported a number of audiences including high school youth, veterans transitioning from service to civilian work and life, opportunity youth and incumbent workers. Of particular note, she led the implementation of the restaurant industry's premier high school career and technical education program, growing the program to over 2,000 public high schools, engaging over 150,000 students annually, nationwide. In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10 million contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture.
Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. She has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry.