Program
The 2025 Symposium will include a dynamic keynote session, 9 additional breakout sessions, and a high-impact CHRO panel. The full day conference will include plenty of time for networking with colleagues and sponsors, as we connect and learn from some of the best in our region and beyond.
See below for details on all sessions
Keynote Session - 8:30am - 9:30am
Leadership in the Digital Age
Digital technologies have revolutionized relationships, and leadership is no exception. To be truly engaged, effective leaders must harness and master the power of digital communications and branding, especially with the challenges of leading a distributed team.
In this speech, Charlene explains that the key is understanding how your leadership style can be extended and scaled through digital techniques to achieve your most important goals. You’ll learn the art and science of how to listen, share, and engage with employees and customers in the digital era. We’ll also discuss common objections and concerns of leaders and how to address them.
Learning Objectives:
Master a new way of developing relationships, which begins by stepping out of traditional hierarchies.
Listen at scale, share to shape, and engage to transform.
Shift to a digital mindset.
Apply the right digital tools to meet strategic goals.
CHRO Panel – 9:45am - 10:45am
Navigating the New Era of Talent
Moderator Kelly Jones
Panelists Diane Hart, Betty Larson, Kristie Pappal, and Jennifer F. Terry
Resilience, adaptation, and innovation – How are HR leaders in every industry leaning into these concepts to build a successful workforce strategy that drives overall business goals? HR is being challenged to be more agile and creative than ever before, as we strive to create the dynamic teams of the future. Leaders are expected to shift and adapt to new ways of working, thinking, and delivering HR services – all while being challenged to measure performance, and/or progress in an ever-changing talent landscape. Join a discussion with an elite panel of local business leaders who are thriving amid the changes and challenges of the new age of talent.
Learning Objectives:
Discover how they are building resilience, adaptation and innovation into their HR strategies, what the differentiators are in their approach to leadership, the innovative concepts they are using to measure if they are making progress on their goals, and their key takeaways for driving leadership success and business results.
Breakout Session 1 - 11:00am - 12:00pm
Care Today, Thrive Tomorrow: Transform Engagement and Retention in the Future of Work.
The world of work is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and the challenge to retain top talent has never been more intense. Salaries, benefits, and perks were once enough to attract employees, but today, they are merely the baseline. Workers now expect more: a deeper sense of connection, purpose, and care. In this hyper-competitive landscape, how do organizations engage, motivate, and retain their greatest assets to their people? The solution is Care. Care is no longer a feel-good conceptive a strategic advantage. When leaders create a Culture of Care where employees feel safe, valued, and connected to the return on investment is infinite. Care boosts productivity, drives deeper engagement, and sparks greater innovation. Employees don’t just survive they thrive. They become committed, motivated, and eager to contribute their best. Your organization becomes a place where top talent wants to stay. Drawing from his award-winning career as an entrepreneur and Workplace Culture Expert, Danny Goldberg reveals his Culture of Care framework, a research-backed approach that equips leaders with the tools to make care their greatest asset. This session goes beyond explaining why care matters, it provides clear, actionable steps to make care simple, authentic, and tangible for every team member. Loyalty today requires a mindset shift, one where people are seen as the foundation of success, not just resources to manage. Because when you take care of your people, they take care of everything else.
Learning Objectives:
Discover the 3 pillars that increase belonging, connection, and care in your workplace.
Learn how to embed psychological safety into your culture, creating a foundation of trust that fuels engagement and performance.
Walk away with an actionable toolkit to build a future-proof culture where care drives performance, innovation, and loyalty.
Harnessing AI to Revolutionize the Employee Experience
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, organizations must re-imagine their approach to HR. Strategies that focus on the employee experience are better equipped to attract and retain top talent. Generative Gen AI is a game changer, presenting organizations with the opportunity to gain competitive edges through automation and content creation. This program equips HR leaders with the tools and insights needed to harness Gen AI to enhance the employee experience. Participants will learn Gen AI use cases, the feasibility of each, the different approaches companies can take to pilot and deploy AI, as well as strategies to increase trust with employees.
Learning Objectives:
1) Explore the transformative potential of AI and data analytics in HR practices, uncovering how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) can supercharge your HR department’s efficiency and effectiveness.
2) Master the art of integrating Gen AI into your existing people strategy, pinpointing high-impact activities with maximum return on investment. Empower leaders to embrace innovation in order to thrive in the dynamic digital landscape.
3) Gain insider knowledge and actionable strategies for implementing AI to drive organizational success. Navigate the process from team formation to deployment, while proactively addressing employee concerns to ensure successful adoption.
Managing the Noise: Continuing to Drive a more Inclusive Environment in Today’s Workplace
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are facing scrutiny both from external sources and from within organizations. Corporations are navigating a dual challenge: they encounter anti-DEI sentiments in the broader societal discourse while simultaneously responding to employees who seek a more inclusive and engaging workplace. To effectively address these complexities, Human Resources professionals play a crucial role in equipping leaders to navigate an increasingly dynamic environment.
As diverse perspectives and values intersect daily within the workplace, it is essential for organizations to develop policies, practices, and strategies that are adaptable, impactful, and aligned with the needs of both C-suite executives and the workforce at large. In her presentation, Ms. Warren will provide attendees with invaluable insights and practical examples for effective management and leadership in today’s challenging environment.
Key takeaways will include:
• Adopting a Holistic Approach to your Inclusion Strategy: Understand the significance of integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into the overall organizational framework to foster a truly inclusive culture.
• Monitoring External Trends: Learn how to effectively track and analyze external trends that could impact your organization, enabling proactive risk mitigation and strategic alignment.
• Leveraging Policies and Practices for Inclusion: Discover various policies and practices that can be implemented to cultivate an inclusive workplace, ultimately enhancing employee engagement and performance.
Breakout Session 2 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm
The EEOC is NOT Messing Around: Harassment Prevention in 2025 and Beyond
The EEOC has made clear that preventing workplace harassment is a meaningful priority for 2025 and beyond. The federal agency 2024 Workplace Guidance to Prevent Harassment has changed the game. As a result of the Guidance as well as the massive changes we have seen, the workplace (both in-person and remote) has become even more complicated and, in many instances, even more open to claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Given the current realities, we are seeing a massive proliferation in workplace harassment complaints. And, as we (hopefully) all appreciate, no organization is immune! As human resources professionals and organizational leaders, a large part of the responsibility falls on us to ensure that our workplaces are as comfortable as possible, for as many as possible as much of the time as possible. Embracing diversity and inclusivity goes a very long way towards achieving these goas. HR and leadership are the key both to the prevention of inappropriate behavior that undermines these goals and to the correction when such behavior occurs. In addition to discussing the traps into which HR and leaders fall regarding their own conduct, this fast-paced and hyper-business focused session centers on affirmative responsibilities, addressing not only sexual but also racial, ethnic and other forms of unlawful harassment.
Learning Objectives:
1. Analyze the current state of the ever-evolving law regarding workplace harassment.
2. Appreciate HR responsibilities to create and maintain an environment free from harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
3. Evaluate a series of real-life scenarios infecting our workplaces and how appropriately and effectively to address such situations.
Beyond Paychecks: Transforming Engagement with Total Rewards Strategies
In a talent market where competition is fierce, forward-thinking organizations know that engaging employees takes more than a great paycheck—it requires a strategic approach to total rewards. This session dives into the future of compensation strategies, showcasing how a comprehensive rewards framework can move the needle on true employee engagement. Attendees will discover how to go beyond traditional financial benefits by integrating elements like career development, wellness initiatives, work-life harmony, and authentic recognition into their reward programs. Backed by real-world success stories and compelling data, this presentation will provide actionable insights to help leaders align rewards with employee aspirations and organizational objectives. Learning Objectives: Walk away equipped to design innovative total rewards programs that captivate talent, elevate engagement, and drive retention across all levels of your workforce.
Exploring Class and Classism in the Workplace
In this session we will explore an often-overlooked dimension of diversity, equity and inclusion and that’s social class. We will discuss how unexamined class dynamics undermine inclusivity in many organizations and what strategies we can take to promote greater class inclusion in a manner that reinforces inclusion for other communities as well.
Learning Objectives:
(1) Cultivate a courageous environment in which to discuss challenging issues around class identity and classism in the workplace
(2) Develop an understanding of working definitions and basic concepts about class and classism
(3) Examine how the levels of classism appear in workplaces across the globe and opportunities to foster class inclusion
Breakout Session 3 - 2:15pm - 3:15pm
Speak Up, Lift Up: Transforming Workplace Mental Health Culture Through Compassionate and Effective Communication
In today’s workplace, effective communication is crucial for fostering mental health support. But how do we communicate effectively in such critical contexts? This presentation delves into strategies to enhance communication for HR professionals in communicating with fellow colleagues, managers, and all workplace professionals, particularly in sensitive situations. Key topics include active listening techniques, practicing empathetic responses, and how to initiate mental health centered conversations to create a supportive environment. Additionally, participants will receive practical guidance on destigmatizing mental health conversations and promoting inclusivity, all aimed at cultivating a workplace culture that prioritizes well-being and encourages open dialogue. Attendees will walk away with actionable insights and strategies to build stronger, more compassionate workplace relationships that support mental health.
Learning Objectives:
1. Cultivate Empathetic Communication: By the end of the workshop, participants will understand how to apply empathetic responses such as; The ADT response model, The ACT response Model, and Active Listening in their interactions, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment that encourages open dialogue about mental health.
2. Implement Supportive Communication Strategies: Participants will become well-versed on the five key pillars of effective communication, and will be instructed on how to incorporate these pillars into their everyday interactions at work, leading to stronger, more compassionate workplace relationships.
3. Promote Mental Health Inclusivity: Participants will gain practical strategies to destigmatize mental health discussions in the workplace through the use of adaptable response strategies; which will contribute to a culture that prioritizes well-being and supports the mental health of all employees.
The Business Case to Recruit and Hire Untapped Talent
Blair Corcoran de Castillo, Audrey Mickahail
The value of untapped talent must be recognized as more than a matter of social good or community goodwill; workers from these groups provide a high return on investment and unique skills that employers should be realizing (Beneath The Surface, SHRM.org). Increasingly, over the past 30 years, workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) instead of a bachelor’s degree have become underutilized and untapped for the skills that they bring. STARs include veterans, caregivers, individuals with disabilities, workers who are 60+, those with a criminal record, and opportunity youth (people between 16-24). This talent group possesses unique life experiences, perspectives, and transferable skills that can add value to organizations willing to make the effort to seek them out and hire them.
For employers to remain competitive, bringing untapped talent to the forefront of recruitment, hiring and advancement will be critically important. Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to rewire the U.S. labor market so that all individuals can work, learn, and earn to their full potential, will lead the discussion offering insights and data on untapped talent.
Learning Objectives: Debunk common myths on hiring untapped talent
• Learn how to find and hire workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)
• Receive tangible recruitment strategies such as apprenticeships, on-the-job training and more
• Hear from skills-first hiring employers, professionals, and workforce development partners
• Understand the business case and return on investment for hiring untapped talent
Creating Culture with Personality
Organizations spend time, money, and energy on an array of behavioral assessments and training. But does it make a difference? Discover why these sessions get rave reviews, yet overwhelmingly fail to create a lasting impact. You will learn how to infuse personality into your culture and transform the way people work together and lead others. From meaningless alphabet soup to the training methodology itself, we will deconstruct today’s current model and reinvent a new one for the future. Instead of styles and types that reside in short-term memory and create only momentary ahas!, this session reveals a brain-friendly approach to rewire your employees so the styles trigger at the exact moment they are needed. Reimagine how you can drive engagement with personality.
Learning Objectives: Bridge the gap between personality assessment and culture change
• Turn self-awareness into long-term application, not short-term fascination
• Utilize the personality styles as a catalyst for cultural revolution
• Unleash a new way to create an attractive culture that inspires commitment and inclusiveness
• Heighten organizational emotional intelligence