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Conference Speakers

    2014 Wyoming SHRM State Conference Speakers

    Dr. Bob Nelson, Ph.D., President of Nelson Motiviation Inc.

    Dr. Bob Nelson is considered one of the leading authorities on employee recognition, motivation and engagement.  He is president of Nelson Motivation Inc., a management training and consulting company that specializes in helping organizations improve their management practices, programs and systems.

    He serves as an Executive Strategist for HR Issues and has worked with 80 percent of the Fortune 500.  He previously worked closely with Dr. Ken Blanchard, “The One Minute Manager” for ten years and currently serves as the personal coach for Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s #1-ranked executive coach.

    Dr. Bob has sold 4 million books on management and employee motivation, including 1501 Ways to Reward Employees, The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Fieldbook, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, The Management Bible, Ubuntu! Inspiring Teamwork & Collaboration at Work, among others.  His books have been translated into 37 languages.

    He has presented on six continents and appears extensively in the national & international media including CBS’ 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NPR, as well as in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Fortune, BusinessWeek and Inc. magazines to discuss how to best motivate today’s employees.

    He received an MBA in organizational behavior from UC Berkeley and earned his PhD in management with Dr. Peter Drucker, “The Father of Modern Management,” at the Drucker Graduate Management School of the Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles. He teaches for the Rady School of Management at the University of California in San Diego.

    Sara Christansen, Social Scientist, Author of Critical Leadershift

    During her 20+ year career as a Social Scientist, Sara Christiansen has had the privilege to work with very diverse companies in both the private and public sectors.

    Sara has vast experience working with professionals at all levels in an organization.  Whether delivering a formal presentation to a room full of managers, or providing one-on-one guidance to a new employee; Sara's passionate style allows her to connect with all audiences in a way that energizes individuals to perform at a higher level.

    As the VP of Client Services at Ideation Consulting, Sara is responsible for providing customized human resources services that drive true business results. She has developed organizational development, talent development, and customized training solutions that have improved employee engagement and performance in many organizations.

    Recently, Sara has been commissioned by many SHRM chapters to facilitate Human Resource Development seminars. The feedback for these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive and Sara has been invited to many of the chapter – and member companies – to come back at future seminars.

    Over the past few years, Sara has had the privilege of collaborating and co-facilitating Leadership Seminars with National Best-selling Authors and Management Consultants: MARCUS BUCINGHAM (First Break all the Rules, Now Discover your Strengths, The One Thing You Need to Know, Go Put your Strengths to Work, The Truth About You, A Strong Life) and CHARLES JACOBS (Management Rewried).

    Joan Evans, Director, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services

    Born and raised in Wyoming, Joan Evans has dedicated her career to supporting efforts that empower Wyoming communities and individuals to thrive.

    Appointed by Governor Matthew Mead in 2011, Joan currently serves as the Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Joan was first appointed to this position by Governor Dave Freudenthal in January of 2007.

    In 2011, at the request of Governor Mead and the Wyoming Legislature, Joan successfully led the reorganization of two state agencies for the purpose of streamlining and efficiency in state government. As Director of the Department of Workforce Services, Joan is responsible for the oversight of nearly 600 employees and 55 programs which fall under: Employment Services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Worker’s Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA), Business Training Grants, Labor Standards and Mine Safety.

    Working closely with stakeholders in our Wyoming communities throughout the State, Joan is known as a savvy coalition builder. Prior to her current position, as Director of the Carbon County Higher Education Center (CCHEC), Joan led educational initiatives and gained voter approval for continued funding of college credit, vocational education, GED, adult education, community education and branch campus services in the Little Snake River Valley.

    Joan holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Wyoming. She is a Council of State Governments Toll Fellows Alumni and a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.  In addition, she serves on the University Of Wyoming College Of Business Advisory Board, the Leadership Wyoming Advisory Board, the State Compensation Commission and the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities Advisory Board.. Joan and her husband Bart have two children, Drew and Emily.

    Dianna Gould, SHRM Field Services Director, Pac West Region

    Dianna Gould, SPHR has over 20 years experience in the human resources profession. Currently she is the Field Services Director for the Pacific West Region for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

    Prior to joining SHRM, she had experience as an HR professional for Fortune 500 companies to start-up firms. She has worked in the high tech, international export, manufacturing, and the service industry.

    Dianna has been an active member with SHRM since 1991 and has volunteered for a variety of leadership roles during that time. She has served as the President for the Portland Human Resource Management Association (Portland, OR) and in 2006 was the Director of the SHRM Oregon State Council Board of Directors.

    Dianna has taught courses at Clark College in Washington for the PHR and SPHR Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) certification and is life-time certified as a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR). In 2012 she obtained her Certified Association Executive (CAE) certification.

    Ben Graves – Vice President, Research and Compliance, Hays companies

    Ben C. Graves has been the Director of Compliance for Administration Resources Corporation, a Cafeteria Plan and COBRA administration services company. In his role, Ben has been responsible for technical and compliance advice for Cafeteria Plan and COBRA administration services, plan document management, and seminar presentations and web casts on COBRA, FMLA, HIPAA Privacy and HIPAA Portability, Cafeteria Plans, Consumer Driven Health Care, Integration of FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Compensation.

    Previously, Ben was the Director of Compliance for A.E. Roberts Company, a nationally recognized training and consulting company for human resources, benefits, and insurance professionals. He was responsible for all training materials and presented A.E. Roberts seminars nation-wide on Cafeteria Plans, COBRA, HIPAA Privacy and Portability, the ADA and FMLA.

    Ben holds a BS in Sociology from Central Michigan University, a Masters of Industrial Safety from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law obtained in 1993. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota and has over 24 years’ experience in developing workplace policies, employee training, and risk management issues. He has consulted with management personnel and individual clients on employment related matters and has personally trained over 4,000 human resources and benefits professionals.

    Randall Johnson, Vice President, Hays Companies of Utah

    Randall Johnson is a licensed broker in Hays Companies employee benefit division as a Client Leader Consultant.

    Randall’s principal areas of concentration include working with multiple industry employer groups of private industry and governmental entities. As a client leader consultant, Randall is responsible for analyzing current market trends, providing strategic consulting and tactical planning with respect to health plan cost and structure, as well as all other phases of health and welfare consulting.

    Randy has 33 years of experience in the health and welfare service sector of employee benefits.  As a benefits advisor,   Randy has provided underwriting, stop loss reinsurance, reserving analysis and renewal rate setting for both fully insured and self-funded employers. Additionally, he has provided all phases to health plan design and underwriting for several self-funded employers and fully insured employers and in developing on-site medical clinics, wellness incentive strategies with clinical diagnostic targets, transparent pharmacy programs, plan utilization benchmarking, employer contribution analysis, aggregate and specific reinsurance analysis.

    Unique Projects

    • Currently is the designated Health Insurance program manager for the Specialized Carrier and Rigging Association (SC&RA) 1,250 employers and 65,000 employees.  Trucking, specialized transportation, crane and rigging employers
    • Deployed an Association Stop Loss Captive Program
    • Deploying a Private Exchange
    • Consulting for Hospital and Physician On-site Medical Clinics
    • Deployed Transparent Pharmacy Programs

    Education

    Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an MBA with health care administration emphasis from Westminster College

    Experience

    Hays Companies of Utah, Buckner Company, Marsh and DMBA

    Leann Pritchard, M.S., SPHR, Senior Consultant, Cedar Crestone Inc.

    Leeann Prichard has more than 17 years experience in human resources and HRIS.  She was Director of HRIS for a Fortune 500 company with 30,000 + employees.  She collaborated with executives to design HR strategies to support business goals and objectives. She directed cross functional teams through implementations and upgrades of PeopleSoft HRMS, Kronos, Success Factors, Open Hire, and other applications.  All implementations and upgrades included business process optimization to maximize system use and minimize cost.  Also, all projects demonstrated verifiable returns on investments.

    For the past 10 years, she has worked as a Project Manager in the field of information technology, PeopleSoft Human Capital Management.  All client facing interactions included presentations.

    With a B.S. from Vanderbilt University and a M.S. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Prichard focuses on adding value to the organization through analysis for short and long term improvement strategies.  Leeann has been a speaker for IHRIM, Kronos, PeopleSoft Global conference and others.   Along with her Senior Professional Human Resources certification, she holds certification with Development Dimensions International and in Six Sigma.

    Kari Strobel, SHRM Director of HR Competencies

    In her role as Director, HR Competencies for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Kari Strobel is responsible for overseeing key initiatives around professionalism and competencies to include the assessment and implementation of SHRM’s ELEMENTS for HR Success Competency Model, and setting the research agenda for developing additional competency-based selection, career pathing, and performance management tools.

    Prior to joining SHRM in 2013, Dr. Strobel worked at the Department of Defense where she was responsible for leading the development, assessment, and implementation of competencies for the total force. Dr. Strobel has also been responsible for managing organizational development projects for the Chief of Naval Operations, Surface Warfare Enterprise and the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command.

    With over 30 journal articles, technical reports, and national and international conference presentations, to include published works in Journal of Applied Psychology and Human Performance, Situation Awareness and Automation, Dr. Strobel has received national recognition for her contributions to the field. She was the first recipient of the 2002 American Psychological Association Division 19 (Military Psychology) Research Award, and received Honorable Mention from the Virginia Academy of Science for her team performance research.

    As a consultant she has worked with Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Royal Dutch Shell, Deutche Bank, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, The United States Army, and the State of Virginia’s Peninsula Aids Foundation.

    Dr. Strobel received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Old Dominion University.

     

    Trent White, Certified with The Maxwell Group & Personality Insights Institute

    Trent has studied leadership and effective communication for over 10 years, and has run a profitable home and office cleaning service business since 2006. He has grown the company and increased profits during a tough economy. Trent has experienced the power of personal growth and human potential in life and business. He teaches that people who choose leadership and success thinking do not let circumstances deter them from their purpose.

    Born and raised in Wyoming on a dairy farm, Trent learned early in life the value of hard work, discipline, and the importance of following through on your commitments in order to be successful. Trent's upbringing, business experience, and leadership capabilities make a dynamic approach when speaking and working with other people in training sessions and workshops.

    Trent has contributed countless hours to serving in his Church and Community. For over four years Trent served in a volunteer capacity with the local Ambulance Service. In 2014 he will reach fifteen years of service as a volunteer Fire Fighter in the local community with statewide certification.

    Trent has a unique passion in helping people achieve higher levels of success, and to develop greater capacity and confidence. Trent believes that the answers which will make all of the difference in an individual's life are deep inside and that the seeds of greatness are there. As a certified coach and speaker with the John Maxwell Team and a Certified trainer with Personality Insights Institute he teaches groups, teams, and organizations what leadership is, why it is vital to growth and forward progress, how to communicate effectively, prioritize, delegate, and win with people. Trent helps people to identify and connect with their true potential and establish a clear vision. Most of all and possibly the most powerful piece of information a person can understand is the Model of Human Behavior. Trent has a gift and an effective approach in helping people understand their different qualities and styles in a fun positive way. This information helps people move from a lower level of tolerating others to a much higher level of appreciating and celebrating the differences that we each posses.

    Trent lives by his motto "whatever it takes, you can learn". He encourages and invites people to pursue their personal journey in growth and excellence.

    Trent currently lives in Star Valley, Wyoming with his wife Tina and their five beautiful children.