Defining Tomorrow: Journey through the New Landscape
The global events of 2020 have truly tested our ability to be agile, adaptable, and flexible with our lives and how we operate on a day-to-day basis. Even today, returning to “normal” seems to be unforeseeable, and that is only if what we are currently experiencing is not already considered the “new norm.” In this session, we will explore the current state of society, how society has adapted to the current state, and the plan to move forward. Whether it’s a new idea, new mindset, or new opportunities, there is a need to move together forward to continue building towards a better tomorrow.
- Learn new techniques to engage members from a virtual platform
- Think creatively and outside common opportunities to explore different venues as a way of embracing change
- Change the mindset for how we should be viewing new opportunities as opposed to new barriers
Christopher Lopez
Christopher Lopez is the Director of the CEO Academy, a SHRM company, the Society for Human Resource Management.
The CEO Academy has emerged as the best refresher course in the United States for long serving CEOs as well as the perfect “war room” training ground for new CEOs and next-generation CEOs. The Academy is led by a faculty of some of the best, recently retired and successful CEOs and top academic at the prestigious, Wharton School.
SHRM drives social and economic change in the workplace and fosters mutually beneficial work environments that serve both business and employees. In his previous roles, Mr. Lopez served as a key leader for developing the next generation of HR leaders, through SHRM programming, and played a critical, strategic role in building relationships within SHRM and with affiliates to drive SHRM goals and objectives with these key stakeholders. Prior to this role at SHRM, Mr. Lopez was the Manager of Executive Office Operations and the Special Assistant to SHRM’s CEO, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
Over the years, Mr. Lopez amassed a wealth of experience in both the for-profit and not-for-profit space. He served as the Operations Manager for TM2 Executive Search, an organization dedicated to capacity building at higher education institutions by identifying, preparing, and building the next generation of educational leaders. Immediately prior to joining TM2, Mr. Lopez joined the Fox Entertainment Group and the 20th Century Fox Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team, where he served and contributed to the foundational build of the company’s D&I initiatives.
Prior to his time at Fox Entertainment Group, Mr. Lopez served as the Program Manager and Executive Assistant to the President & CEO at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), a national organization supporting and representing nearly 300,000 students attending the country’s 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), medical schools, and law schools. He joined TMCF as the Education Policy Specialist and Executive Assistant to the President.
Mr. Lopez earned his Master of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Miami, and his Bachelor of Business Administration, in Management, with honors, from North Carolina Central University.
Dr. Vernon Williams
Dr. Vernon Williams is a Manager for the SHRM Foundation. SHRM Foundation offers participants important educational opportunities, training, and valuable resources that help them gain the skills they need to take their career to the next level. As part of his role, Dr. Williams leads SHRM Foundation’s programs for next generation of HR leaders, as well as the $500,000 portfolio of scholarships, professional development grants, and awards.
Prior to joining the SHRM Foundation, Dr. Williams was the Assistant Dean of Students and spent over 20 years in higher education overseeing various student service units including, Campus Events, Conduct, Crisis Response, Engagement, Graduate Services, Housing, and Orientation at such institutions including George Washington University, in Washington, DC and Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Williams earned his doctorate in Higher Education from George Washington University. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Loyola University in Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Morgan State University.