SHE-CESSION: Seizing the Moment to Lead Global Change for Women in the Workplace
Women’s equal participation and leadership in business and politics is essential to a post-pandemic global economic recovery. Join international elected officials and business leaders to discuss why the current SHE-CESSION is NOT a “status quo moment” but an opportunity to seize the moment to create an inclusive and equitable world of work that works for all.
Emily M. Dickens, J.D.
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.
Susana Suarez Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Dr. Susana Suarez Gonzalez with over 30 years of experience is the Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer of International Flavors and Fragrances, Inc. since November 2016. Based in New York at IFF’s headquarters, Ms. Suarez Gonzalez is responsible for championing the growth and development of IFF people. She leads the creation and implementation of the IFF Global Human Capital Strategy across the enterprise and works to build talent and organizational capability through IFF’s established Human Capital platforms. Her modus operandi ‘Results tHRu People’ reflects a Human Resource approach where each IFFer’s uniqueness unleashes their potential. Some have considered Ms. Suarez as one of the first pioneers of what in the past decade has been coined as “HR with an attitude.”
Prior to joining IFF, Ms. Suarez Gonzalez spent 25 years at Fluor Corporation, where she held leadership positions across several business groups and functions including project engineering, marketing, sales, finance, general management and human resources. Immediately before her current role at IFF, Ms. Suarez Gonzalez held the position of Senior Vice President Global Operations, Human Resources with Fluor, and was responsible for the global execution of HR services as well as all corporate HR functions, encompassing total rewards, learning and organizational design, HR technology, talent acquisition and talent analytics.
Recognized as a strategic thinker and results-driven multilingual executive, Ms. Suarez Gonzalez is a proven transformational leader. Her global mindset is a direct result of having lived and worked in over 15 countries and having fulfilled executive, leadership and country management roles.
Having published two books and authored or co-authored numerous industry articles, Ms. Suarez Gonzalez has been recognized throughout her career for her professional achievements. In addition to her work in Human Resources, she serves on special volunteer projects and events that focus on children. Ms. Suarez Gonzalez holds an executive MBA from the IUDE University and a Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Oviedo in Spain where she graduated summa cum laude and is currently attending Harvard pursuing a master’s in International Relations with a focus on Social Justice. She lives between New York City and Madrid with her family.
Camille A. Olson
Camille is a partner at Seyfarth, co-chair of its National Complex Litigation practice group, and national chair of its Complex Discrimination Litigation practice group. She serves on the firm's National Labor and Employment Law Steering Committee and is the past national chair of the Labor & Employment practice department. Since 2013, Camille has served as chair of the US Chamber of Commerce's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Subcommittee. For nearly 30 years, she has represented companies nationwide in all areas of litigation, with an emphasis on employment discrimination and harassment, wage-and-hour matters, and independent contractor status.
Throughout the last decade, Camille has regularly appeared before the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, the EEOC, and the US Department of Labor on her own behalf (because of her extensive experience in various fields), and on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management. In these capacities, she has provided the business perspective on proposed legislation to amend the following laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the application of white collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. During the Bush Administration, Camille served as the employer spokesperson to the Department of Labor, advising Labor Secretary Elaine Chao on significant wage-and-hour matters.
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.