Turning Divisiveness into Inclusiveness, Focusing on Civility and Honest Conversations
In-person session offerings are on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is limited.
To view all event accessibility & accommodations details, visit here.
General session doors will open around 8:00 AM.
This engaging panel of CHROs & CPOs will dive into a critical need we all face – the increasing need for civility in the workplace. What happens when you have diversity but no inclusion in the workplace? Is civility the new north star for organizations struggling to balance the often-competing demands of multiple stakeholders? How can employees productively engage in honest conversations when possibly surrounded by incivility? In the end, attendees will understand key approaches to address creating a culture of civility in the workplace.
All general sessions will be livestreaming at the Spotlight Stage in the INCLUSION Marketplace (Monday and Tuesday only) and the Oglethorpe Auditorium.
Advanced seating assistance is available for anyone with mobility issues, sensory sensitivity, pregnant women, etc. Please head to the Accessibility & Accommodations Advanced Seating waiting area outside the doors to the Main Stage by 7:45 AM to be seated at 7:50 AM.
If a speaker has provided session materials, please see below or visit https://presentations.shrm.org
All virtual sessions inherently run the risk of audio or visual issues due to factors out of our control. If any technical difficulties arise, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work diligently to resolve it. All virtual sessions, unless marked as "LIVE ONLY" or "VIRTUAL LIVE ONLY", are recorded and will be available to view on demand until December 1, 2023.
Melonie D. Parker
Parker is an HR executive committed to innovative, relevant, and contemporary HR leadership. She is an advocate for change and a passionate thought leader. Parker is responsible for advancing Google's employee engagement strategy across Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Prior to this role she served as the Vice President of Human Resources & Communications at Sandia National Laboratories. Parker was responsible for the leadership and Labs-wide management of human resources, health, benefits and employee services. She was also responsible for Sandia’s communication efforts, which include planning, strategy, executive communications, media relations, external branding, community affairs and internal communications.
Prior to joining Sandia as the VP of HR and Communications, Parker extended expertise from a career spanning over 17 years in a variety of Lockheed Martin business areas, locations, and progressive leadership roles. During her time at Lockheed Martin, she has held responsibility for employee relations, staffing, EEO/Affirmative Action, diversity programs, compensation, benefits, and K-12 outreach initiatives.
Parker received a B.A. in Mass Communications from Hampton University and an M.A. in Human Resources from Villanova University. She was named the 2016 HR Professional of the Year by the New Mexico Society of Human Resource Management. She was recognized with a Special Recognition Award at the 2014 Women of Color STEM Awards, and in 2012 graduated from Lockheed Martin’s Executive Assessment & Development Program.
Gloria Goins
For over 22 years, Gloria Goins has been tapped to launch new employee and business strategies to reach and acquire underserved customers at Fortune 50 companies. Most recently, Gloria was the Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity for the Sales, Marketing and Global Services for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Prior to her role at AWS, Gloria served as the Head of Health Equity and Business Development at Amazon Pharmacy, reporting to the CEO. In that role, Gloria was charged with growing revenue and building new business partnerships with a focus on underserved customers and was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top five Amazon health care executives to know. Prior to joining Amazon Pharmacy, Gloria was the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Amazon’s worldwide Consumer division and supported nine business leaders in expanding the company’s brand, revenue and loyalty among diverse employees, customers, suppliers and communities.
Gloria uses her relentless ability to thrive in ambiguity to reach diverse customer markets. Notably, Gloria was recruited to build the Hispanic business strategy for The Home Depot, where she helped to launch the first paint color palette that reflects Hispanic culture (Colores Origenes), which became the highest selling paint brand at the company. While at Prudential, Gloria developed and managed the company’s largest affiliate marketing program that generated $100 million in revenue and expanded the company’s brand and market share in the African American community.
Gloria brings a national reputation as a disruptive big thinker and business builder, and as such, was invited by the CEO of The TJX Companies to serve on an external Advisory Board to position the company as the retailer of choice for diverse customers, communities and employees. As a highly sought-after public speaker and multicultural thought leader, Gloria frequently consults with senior executives and Boards of Directors on how to build an inclusive culture that attracts, engages and leverages a diverse workforce to drive growth, sales, and operational excellence.
Gloria began her career as an attorney in private practice in her hometown of Miami before becoming General Attorney for a division within BellSouth, which was one of her corporate clients. With the objective of improving customer service and growing customer acquisition for BellSouth, Gloria chose and implemented the technology that accounts for why all Americans must now dial ten digits to make a local call.
Gloria enjoys travelling, volunteering and reading books on real estate and finance. She resides in Parkland, Florida with her husband Prince, her daughter Grace, and her Yorkie Max.
Marissa Andrada
Marissa Andrada is a master of activating organizational hyper-growth and turnaround through the transformation and creation of dynamic, diverse, and inclusive cultures. With over 25 years of experience integrating people and leadership capability into the foundation of business strategies, she has energized brands to codify their purpose and values while accelerating company growth and industry-wide change, inspiring a movement for employee well-being and opportunity.
Marissa is passionate about leading with authenticity and helping people and organizations unleash human potential to lift personal and overall company performance. She has been the key catalyst in transforming cultures and driving performance at a multitude of consumer brands, most recently as the first chief people officer at Chipotle Mexican Grill. As the former chief diversity, inclusion, and people officer, Marissa activated a culture strategy that was co-created with the workforce - including the launch of a debt-free college degree and education program and access to mental healthcare.
Prior to Chipotle, Marissa led human resources at Kate Spade & Company and partner resources at Starbucks Coffee Company. Earlier, she served as senior vice president and head of human resources at GameStop Corporation and at Red Bull North America. She is currently serving as an independent board director at Krispy Kreme, Inc. where she is also the chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Marissa also serves as a board member on a $150 M diversity fund and advisor to GUILD, Sholder, With U Forever and Boomerang, companies committed to the creating opportunity and well-being for employees.
Marissa advises CEOs and their teams on creating high-performance and inclusive cultures as well as developing diverse go-to-market product and service strategies. Marissa hosts live weekly conversations with leaders from various industries on how
they are creating cultures where people can thrive and what advice they can share to lead through transformation on her CultureCast with Marissa podcast. Marissa holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and an undergraduate degree from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. She is a founding member of the SHRM Executive Council, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Workplace Dignity Council and the CNBC Workforce Executive Council and a 2020 American Business Award Gold Stevie winner.
Jim Link, SHRM-SCP
Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management. With more than 315,000 members around the world, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world and the leading voice for matters related to workers and the workplace.
Jim’s career includes roles of increasing responsibility across a variety of industries and companies including General Electric, the Pillsbury Company, Porsche Cars, and Randstad. In his most recent role as CHRO for Randstad North America, he led a global team of 150 HR professionals who were instrumental in transforming the company into an award-winning, inclusive, and sustainable global leader.
Jim has served as a volunteer leader in several organizations including the SHRM Foundation Board, the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank Human Capital Advisory Board, and the Human Resources Leadership Forum.
Jim holds undergraduate and master’s degree from Murray State University. Born and raised on a working family farm in western Kentucky, he currently resides in Atlanta and Alexandria, VA.
Jim is an adjunct instructor in the Executive MBA program at the University of Poznan (Poland) School of Economics and Business and the University of Liège (Belgium) Asia-Pacific campus in Taipei, Taiwan.