2024 Conference Speakers
Ramona Agrela
Facilitator
Ramona Agrela serves as the chief human resources officer and vice chancellor for the University of California, Irvine. She is the senior university official responsible for all human resources administration and operations. She is a dynamic HR professional with extensive, award-winning experience across multiple HR disciplines. With a passion for helping organizational leaders achieve their strategic goals through progressive talent management strategies, she truly believes that HR’s role is to empower people to drive a culture of innovation, learning and service.
She is involved in her community both professionally and personally. She sits on the board of the Irvine Barclay Theatre, participates on the HR work group for Girls, Inc., and is a member of the University of California committees for the Status of Women and the HR Leaders Group. She is also active with the Society for Human Resources Professionals, CUPA-HR, WorldatWork, and the Professional in Human Resources Association.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public administration, both from California State University, Fullerton. She is a SHRM certified senior professional, a WorldatWork certified compensation professional, and a Human Capital Institute Strategic HR Business Partner.
Amy Blankson
Speaker
Amy Blankson is the co-founder and chief evangelist of the Digital Wellness Institute and the bestselling author of The Future of Happiness. A graduate of Harvard and the Yale School of Management, she’s the only person to receive a Point of Light award from two U.S. presidents. She is also a member of Harvard’s AI for Human Flourishing Council, a former member of the UN Global Happiness Council, a featured professor in Oprah’s happiness e-course, and a regular contributor to Forbes. Her newest book, The Rise of the SuperThinkers, will be released in spring 2025.
Mun Young Choi
Speaker
Dr. Mun Y. Choi is president of the University of Missouri System and chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. In his role, he serves as the chief executive and academic officer for the four universities, including a land-grant research institution in Columbia; three diverse research universities in Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis; and a healthcare system and a statewide extension mission. He previously served as dean of engineering and then provost at the University of Connecticut. He earned his doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University and his bachelor’s degree in general engineering from the University of Illinois.
Manuel Cuevas-Trisán
Facilitator
Manuel Cuevas-Trisán joined Harvard University in August 2021. As vice president for HR, he serves as a member of the university’s executive leadership team and sets the overall strategic vision for Harvard’s workforce. He has oversight of and responsibility for benefits and labor relations for the entire university, acts as the coordinating partner to the HR leaders at each of Harvard’s 12 individual schools, and is responsible for all aspects of HR for central administration. He joined Harvard after serving in a similar capacity at Northwestern University (2019-21).
Prior to joining Northwestern, he had a successful 20-year career at Chicago-based Motorola Solutions, where he started as labor and employment counsel and assumed roles of global responsibility, culminating in his dual role as lead employment counsel and chief HR officer (2015-2019). Prior to Motorola, he worked at the San Juan, Puerto Rico, law firm of McConnell Valdés and served as judicial clerk at the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals.
He received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his juris doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. He holds Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and a master’s degree in executive coaching and leadership from Universitat de Barcelona/OBS.
Skye Duckett
Facilitator
Bio coming soon.
Marsha Fischer
Facilitator
Bio coming soon.
Lorraine Goffe
Panelist
Lorraine Goffe, a human resources leader with more than 20 years of senior-level experience, is the vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer at Northwestern University. She has also served as vice president for human resources at Penn State, MIT and Washington University as well as in leadership positions in both healthcare and private industry. She has broad HR experience, including organizational leadership; change management; workforce development; employee engagement; benefits and compensation; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; and HR analytics. She has differentiated herself as an HR leader by her ability to successfully enact change while supporting the needs of the organization and focusing on the well-being of employees. Along with her HR expertise, she understands the business and uses data to solve problems through innovative solutions.
She earned a B.A. from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, and an MBA from National University in San Diego, California. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institute and a Senior Certified Professional (SCP) by the Society for Human Resources Management. She has always been an active member of her civic and professional communities, serving on many nonprofit and professional boards. She is also a sought-after speaker, speaking at regional and national conferences. She currently serves on the board of ARU-HRI.
Hayley Harris
Facilitator and Panelist
Hayley Harris has served as chief HR officer at the University of Chicago since October 2022, where she leads an innovative and collaborative division focused on best practices in contemporary human resources comprised of the functional areas of talent management, compensation and workforce planning, employee and labor relations, benefits and work/life, HRIS, and organizational development and training. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, she served as CHRO and vice president of HR and planning at Ithaca College. In this role, she led the successful implementation of Oracle’s cloud-based HCM and payroll system in 2019-20, which enables the college to utilize best-in-class technology to drive data-based business decisions. She also led campus-wide efforts related to the implementation of the goals of the Ithaca Forever strategic plan, including being an Employer of Choice, serving as a national model for colleges committed to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and aligning the size of the workforce with the student population to ensure long-term sustainability for the college.
Prior roles include progressively responsible HR leadership positions at Yale University and Cornell University. Among other accomplishments, she served as the campus lead for training, communications and change management to implement Workday as Cornell’s HRIS in 2013; was the HR lead for establishing and developing global employment and operations policies and support at Cornell; and served as the HR lead for the 2014 Cornell presidential search, reporting directly to the board of trustees. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and M.Phil. from Yale University, and was certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources in 2006. She has two daughters, Margaux and Emme, who are currently both attending college, as well as two cats and a dog.
Tammy Kelly
Speaker
Tammy Kelly is the director of HR for IBM Canada, where she leads all aspects of the people and culture strategy impacting team members across the country. She is a member of the IBM Canada Executive Leadership team and works closely with IBM leaders both in Canada and globally to ensure the company’s people strategy in market is deeply grounded and aligned to business priorities. This includes championing digital transformation within IBM including the organization’s focus on leveraging automation and AI capabilities to improve HR processes, applications and technologies. A committed advocate for people and driving change for the better, she brings over 20 years of experience to her leadership role across talent and performance management, employee relations, conflict resolution, HR technology and transformation, diversity and inclusion, compensation, and complex employee relations.
Prior to joining IBM, she held roles in HR technology consulting with PwC Consulting (acquired by IBM) and with one of Canada’s largest retailers. She is a board member for Women in Communication and Technology (WCT), a member of the Conference Board of Canada, and a graduate of York University and Humber College.
Tammy Kenber
Panelist
Bio coming soon.
Katherine Ladd
Speaker
Bio coming soon.
Christine Lovely
Panelist
Bio coming soon.
Michelle Piekutowski
Facilitator
Michelle Piekutowski currently serves as the vice president and chief HR officer for New York University, with over 20 years of leadership experience in higher education. She is a seasoned HR professional with a demonstrated track record of driving transformation within higher education institutions. Previously, she served as associate vice president and chief HR officer at Carnegie Mellon University and associate vice president and chief HR officer at Clemson University. She is an expert in her field and has presented on several HR topics, such as strategic HR analytics, diversity and inclusion training, and competitive compensation programs. Her extensive experience has equipped her with strong values, a proven ability to realign resources for success, and a passion for transformational change. She is recognized for her expertise in human resources and her ability to lead strategically.
Her current and most recent professional affiliations include sitting on the National Chief HR Council for The Conference Board, the TIAA Advisory Committee, and the board for the American Research University-HR Institute, where she currently serves as chair. She also serves as a member of the CNBC Workforce Executive Council, Workday Advisory Council, NY CHRO Council, and the Society for Human Resource Management Executive Network. Additionally, she has served as an HR legislative advocate for the Society for Human Resource Management, on the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium advisory board, and as past president and vice president for the CUPA-HR South Carolina Chapter.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business education from Western Carolina University and a master’s in human resource development from Clemson University.
Cleo D. Rucker, J.D.
Panelist
Cleo Rucker serves as the associate vice chancellor and chief people experience officer at Vanderbilt University. As the university’s human resources function has transitioned to people experience, he has transitioned from chief human resources officer to chief people experience officer. He started his career over 20 years ago as a labor relations intern at Milwaukee Public Schools. Since then, he has gained extensive human resources experience working in positions such as chief HR officer, director of HR consulting, employee and labor relations, senior employee relations advisor, HR consultant and labor relations attorney. His experience at Vanderbilt University, Milwaukee Public Schools and service on municipal boards and committees has provided him with experience in both the public and the private sector.
He holds a juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, a master’s in religion from Trevecca Nazarene University and a bachelor of arts from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Laurita Thomas
President, ARU-HRI
Laurita Thomas is the president of the American Research Universities Human Resources Institute. She is responsible for executive development and leadership programming for the CHROs of 65 major research universities in the United States and Canada. She is a certified master coach and provides organizational effectiveness consulting. She served as the associate vice president for human resources at the University of Michigan for 15 years, where she was responsible for human resource policy for all UM campuses and a full range of comprehensive integrated HR services, products and operations. She was responsible for 330 staff, a budget of $36 million, and a benefit plan of approximately $1 billion. Prior to that, she served as CHRO for the University of Michigan Heath System for 15 years. She is known for her work to create environments where people thrive, partnerships prevail, and performance excels.
Her professional HR career spans roles in the financial industry, higher education and healthcare. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan in political science and economics. Her graduate work is in guidance and counseling and business administration. She has published many articles and book chapters and has received many leadership and service awards, most recently HR Executive of the Year for the State of Michigan from the American Society of Employers and the CUPA-HR Distinguished Service Award.
Allison Vaillancourt
Panelist
Allison M. Vaillancourt, Ph.D., is vice president and senior consultant at Segal, a human resources and organizational strategy consulting firm. Committed to fostering inclusive, high-performing workplaces, she advises organizations across diverse industries on future planning, leadership effectiveness and organizational strategy optimization. She is also an executive coach. Her consulting approach is informed by 30 years of faculty and leadership experience at universities across the United States. Before joining Segal in 2020, she served as vice president for business affairs and HR at the University of Arizona, where she was also an award-winning Professor of Practice in the School of Government and Public Policy. She is a former board chair of CUPA-HR and has also served on the board of ARU-HRI.
She is also a columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of The Organizational Politics Playbook: 50 Strategies to Navigate Power Dynamics at Work. She maintains an active speaking calendar and has addressed more than 250 audiences over the past decade. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from the University of Colorado-Denver, a master’s degree in public administration, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
John Whelan
Facilitator
John Whelan recently joined Yale University as vice president for human resources. Prior to this, he was Indiana University’s chief HR officer. His top priorities at IU were to build a stronger and more strategically focused HR function, to improve HR’s process efficiency and customer service, and to increase the engagement of IU’s 23,000 employees across the school’s seven campuses. Prior to IU, he served as vice president for HR at Baylor University. He has also held HR leadership positions at the University of Notre Dame, Bristol- Myers Squibb, The Gillette Company and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
He earned a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from the University of Notre Dame. He is a past member of the national board of directors for CUPA-HR and served as the board’s chair. He is also a member of the Massachusetts bar association.
Eugene Whitlock
Facilitator
As UC Berkeley’s chief people & culture officer (associate vice chancellor), Eugene leads a one hundred person human resources department including talent acquisition, people and organization development, employee and labor relations, total rewards, diversity equity, inclusion and belonging, business intelligence and human resources information systems. Eugene also serves on the governing boards of CUPA-HR (the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources) and the American Research Universities-Human Resources Institute, and is the chair of the Human Resources Leadership Council for the University of California. During his time at UC Berkeley, Eugene has emphasized the creation of a workplace where everyone can be themselves and feel like they belong and helped elevate Berkeley to be among the best institutions to work for in the University of California system.
Prior to UC Berkeley, Eugene served as the vice chancellor, human resources and general counsel for the San Mateo County Community College District. Eugene is most proud of his work to infuse equity into the hiring process by rewriting job announcements and interview questions, as well as training each person who is part of the decision-making process on the benefits of diversity and reducing the impact of unconscious bias. In 2017, the Association of California Community College Administrators selected Eugene for its “Progress in Diversity” Award given for “Outstanding Achievement in Support of Diversity in the Higher Education Community.”
Eugene also served as a deputy county counsel for the County of San Mateo for eight years where he primarily served as outside counsel for K-12 school districts. Eugene has also worked as a corporate attorney for DavisPolk in New York, Tokyo and Menlo Park, as an investment banker for Deutsche Bank in San Francisco and as a project manager for Stiftung, Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin.
Eugene obtained his undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and earned his law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan. He is also a fluent speaker of Spanish and German.
Marie Williams
Panelist
Marie Williams joined Brown University as the vice president for human resources in July 2021. In this role, she provides strategic leadership for HR, working collaboratively across campus to recruit and retain a diverse and talented workforce of the highest caliber, in support of Brown’s academic mission and strategic priorities. Prior to joining Brown, she served as the associate vice chancellor for human resources at NC State and as the associate vice president for human resources and administrative services at Ball State University. In these roles, she was instrumental in working with HR, university leadership and campus partners to lead major strategic, cultural and operational transformation of HRE operations, including the creation of an innovative, agile HR operation at NC State. She also previously served at Fisk University, a renowned historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee, in various roles, including as the vice president for finance and administration, vice president for administrative services and chief HR officer.
A native of England, she earned her master’s degree in business administration from Georgia Southern University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and enterprise from the University of Central England. Her professional affiliations include serving as the past chair, chair, chair-elect and at-large member on the CUPA-HR board of directors. She is an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow (class of 2009-10) and a HERS Women’s Leadership Institute alumna. In 2022, she received the Donald E. Dickason Award (CUPA-HR’s highest honor) for exceptional leadership and service to CUPA-HR.
Elizabeth Zacharias
Panelist
Bio coming soon.