San Francisco HR Star Conference Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Speaker Information Bob Nelson, Ph.D. is President of Nelson Motivation, a management training and consulting company based in San Diego, California; co-founder of Recognition Professionals International; and a leading international advocate for employee recognition and engagement for more than 15 years. He has worked with 70% of the Fortune 500 companies to help improve their strategies, systems and programs for better motivating employees to achieve exceptional performance and is a best-selling author of multiple books including "1001 Ways to Reward Employees" (now in its 55th printing), "The 1001 Rewards and Recognition Fieldbook" and his latest book, "Keeping Up in a Down Economy: What the Best Companies do to Get Results in Tough Times." He has appeared extensively in the national media including CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, PBS, and National Public Radio; and he is a frequent expert resource for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Fortune magazines and numerous other media. Mr. Nelson holds an MBA in organizational behavior from UC Berkeley and received his Ph.D. in management from The Peter F. Drucker Graduate Management School at Claremont Graduate University in suburban Los Angeles. His doctoral dissertation was on "Factors that Encourage or Inhibit the Use of Non-Monetary Recognition by U.S. Managers." Debbie McGrath is the CEO of HR.com, a company committed to delivering HR best practices and helping organizations build great businesses through community, collaboration, research, shared best practices and measurements. Prior to starting HR.com, Debbie owned The CEO Group, a Canadian and European entity that created job board software, talent management software, HTC career magazines and career fairs. In August of 1998, The CEO Group was sold to Kaplan (now BrassRing.com), a fully-owned subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. During her tenure, Debbie served as President of the Canadian and European operations, as well as Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Complementing her extensive background in human resources, publishing and the Internet, Debbie also holds a degree in Computer Science and Business Administration through the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Jane Kow, Esq. is the Founder of Jane Kow & Associates, an employment law firm that provides advice, consulting, and training on all aspects of workplace laws. Based in San Francisco, the firm helps companies to develop and implement sound personnel policies and practices to effectively reduce the risk of litigation. In addition, Jane Kow & Associates designs and delivers customized training on a variety of topics, including effective documentation and performance management practices, conducting wage and hour audits, sexual harassment prevention, workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities, and compliance with leave of absence laws. Jane Kow also conducts workplace investigations and provides training and guidance to companies on how to conduct effective internal workplace investigations. Before starting her own firm, Ms. Kow practiced at leading California and national law firms, representing companies of all sizes and industries in all phases of employment disputes. Notably, she was a contributor to the California Practice Guide on Employment Litigation, widely used by lawyers and judges throughout California. Ms. Kow has taught Employment Law in the Human Resources Program at the University of California at Berkeley and Legal Issues of Supervision in the Business and Management Program at San Jose State University. Ms. Kow received her B.S. at Cornell University in 1984 and her J.D. at New York University School of Law in 1993. Valerie Frederickson is Founder and CEO of Valerie Frederickson & Company, a global human resources executive search and consulting firm based in Silicon Valley with an expertise in developing and training winning teams. She consults to and places top executives in a variety of industries, including high tech, software, wireless, insurance and finance. Ms. Frederickson holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology with options in Adult and Career Development, and Marriage, Family, Child Counseling. Also, she is a certified Career Management Practitioner. Referred to as one of “the top business thinkers in the country” (SF Chronicle), Ms. Frederickson is a popular presenter and has published many articles on a wide variety of human resource and career management topics, including the HR’d on the Street column for the HR Bulletin. Ms Frederickson has earned a reputation as an expert source for information on labor market trends, career and job search issues, and general human resource management, and she has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Elle Magazine, the SJ Mercury, the SF Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Denver Post, CFO Magazine, and Monster.com. In addition, Ms. Frederickson is the author of "Folio: Silicon Valley’s Comprehensive Career Transition Manual" and was a featured expert in "The Change Agents: Decoding the New Workforce and the New Workplace" published by St. Martin’s Press. Helen Peters is the Vice President, Leadership Development Services for Torchiana, Mastrov & Sapiro, a Bay Area consulting firm dedicated to helping individuals and organizations achieve successful outcomes through change. In addition to her work as an executive coach, leadership consultant and author, Helen is also the Co-Director of Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business Human Resources Leadership Program. She possesses over ten years’ experience as an executive coach and consultant and has over twenty years of successful corporate senior management experience – five years of which were spent living and working in Europe. Prior to joining TMS, Helen held a series of responsible leadership positions with such companies as DBM, National Semiconductor, Hagberg Consulting Group, Syntex/Roche and Union Bank/The Chartered Bank of London. Coaching clients have included CEOs, presidents, general managers and vice presidents at organizations ranging from Global 100 companies to start-ups. PricewaterhouseCoopers, PacifiCorp, BMW Financial Services and Bowne Business Solutions represent some of Helen’s coaching roster. Holding an M.A. in Counseling, Helen has also completed The Executive Program at the University of California at Berkeley and is a member of the Human Resources Planning Society. Allison West, Esq., SPHR is the Managing Principal of Employment Practices Specialists LLC and holds a simple approach to employment practices: be proactive. Using her employment law background, coupled with her sound knowledge of human resources practices, Allison provides proactive risk management services aimed at helping companies both prevent and resolve employment claims. She is a frequent speaker on employment law and human resources topics at national conferences related to human resources and diversity. Allison specializes in delivering customized in-house training programs to companies of all sizes, serving a wide variety of industries. Her clients include: Chiquita Brands, SanDisk, Kodak EasyShare Gallery, Sharp Hospital, and Portola Pharmaceuticals. Her expertise also includes delivering one-on-one sensitivity training to executives, managers and employees concerning harassment, discrimination, and disciplinary and/or behavioral issues as well as conducting workplace investigations, providing expert witness assistance and other HR consulting. Allison is a member of the State Bar of California and holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources certification. Kathy Anttila is a Partner at Barchas Anttila & Blew, LLC – a consulting firm that develops employee and marketing communications and conducts communication research for clients of many sizes and industries. Kathy has been a human resources communication and training professional for more than 25 years and has developed award-winning programs for organizations such as Bank of America, Levi Strauss & Co., Hewlett-Packard Company and The Packard Foundation. Prior to forming Barchas Anttila & Blew in 1992, Kathy spent six years as Director of the Communication Practice for the San Francisco office of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. There, she evaluated, planned and implemented employee communication programs for leading California companies, winning several International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) awards for her work. Kathy has also held employee communication and training positions at Allstate Insurance Company and Kraft, Inc. Kathy is a frequent speaker and trainer on communications topics for organizations such as the American Management Association, The Conference Board, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and IABC. She has also written articles and contributed to books for several of these organizations. Kathy holds a B.A. in Journalism and an M.S. in Education from Indiana University. Lester S. Rosen, Esq. is the President of Employment Screening Resources, a national background screening company headquartered in Novato, California. He is an attorney at law, as well as a nationally recognized consultant, writer and speaker on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), pre-employment screening, and safe hiring issues. In addition, Mr. Rosen is the author of the first comprehensive book on employment screening, The Safe Hiring Manual Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace – a book that is considered a classic. Mr. Rosen was the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), the professional trade organization for the screening industry, and served as the first co-chairman in 2004. In addition, he has qualified and testified in the California and Arkansas Superior Court as an expert witness on issues surrounding safe hiring and due diligence. Mr. Rosen's speaking appearances have included numerous national and statewide conferences. Cindy Ventrice is the President of Potential Unlimited. With over 20 years of experience as an employee loyalty specialist, management consultant, speaker, and workshop leader, Cindy consults with organizations wishing to implement or improve recognition programs. Besides offering guidance on design and implementation, Cindy also trains and coaches managers. Having worked with front-line supervisors to CEOs from 14 countries, Cindy understands the challenges of managing for global and generational differences, as well as how to work with a dispersed workforce. Her clients include Cisco, MIT, WorksafeBC, State of California, Bell Canada and State Farm Insurance. The author of the best-selling book, Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works, and the companion guide, Recognition Strategies that Work, Cindy has been quoted in The New York Times, HR Executive, Workforce Magazine, and The Likeability Factor. Norman C. Plotkin, Esq. is a Partner with Jackson & Hertogs LLP. Norman joined the well-respected firm in 1987, achieving Partner in 2002. His experience includes liaison for the Northern California American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Chapter to both the INS California Service Center and the U.S. Department of Labor. His professional background also includes editor of the Gold Book, a resource for practicing immigration law in California and co-editor of the Western Region Directory for the Immigration Practitioner. Recently listed in the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, Norman has also been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America. Fluent in Spanish, Norman obtained his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and is a graduate of Tulane Law School. Sally Thornton is President and Co-Founder of Flexperience Inc. and is an expert on issues related to flexible work practices that focus on business results. After earning a degree in International Relations from the University of Minnesota, she worked as a compensation and benefits consultant with two boutique HR consulting firms. Sally then accepted a position with Ernst & Young handling national and international compensation, benefits and stock plans. In 2000, Sally joined the management team of Covad Communications where she was instrumental in establishing and executing the company’s compensation strategy. She later served as the Director of Customer Experience which was the top strategic initiative of the company. Sally has been featured on KQED radio, Forbes, NBC11 News, ABC7 news, San Francisco Chronicle, Entrepreneur.com, ABC’s View From the Bay and BNET.com. She also supports other entrepreneurs as a Board member of the Women's Initiative in San Francisco. Braden L. Albert is the Founder and President of the HR Star Conference and its parent company, Abbington Court Media. A graduate of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Braden began organizing job fairs and trade shows in the mid-1990's. Intrigued by the idea of bringing people together for a shared, learning experience - and impressed by the impact such an experience can provide - Braden organized his first HR Star Conference in 1999. Today, the scope of the HR Star Conference includes annual events in Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; and Cleveland, Ohio. Over 2,800 HR professionals attended an HR Star Conference in 2009. Ever eager to explore new formats and innovative concepts, Braden recently added the HR Executive Summit to his event line-up. The HR Executive Summit is a roundtable, discussion-based forum designed exclusively for Vice Presidents and Directors of HR.