Matthew Burr has over eleven years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was spent in manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor and employment relations. Matthew also has a generalist background in HR and provides strategic HR services to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. In July 2017, Matthew started as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Elmira College, he teaches human resources management, organizational behavior and management information systems. Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor at the institution. Matthew works as a trainer Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College and Penn State University. He also acts as an on-call Mediator and Fact-Finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions.

Frank A. Cania is president of driven HR, a Pittsford, NY-based human resource consulting firm. A business and HR professional for more than 30 years, Frank’s professional passion, and primary focus is on helping business owners, managers, and other HR professionals navigate the complexities of state and federal regulatory compliance.

Jane Clark is Vice President, Member Services for NationaLease. In this position, she is focused on managing the Member Services operation, as well as working to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups. Prior to joining NationaLease, Jane served as Area Vice President for Randstad, one of the world’s largest recruitment agencies, and before that, she served in management posts with QPS Companies, Pro Staff, and Manpower, Inc. Jane received a B.A. degree in Communication from North Central College and an M.A. in Communication from Northern Illinois University.

Katie Hensley, Workers’ Compensation Specialist, delivers valued claim reviews that include reserve change and/or closure, impact to Experience Modification Factors, dividends, and loss sensitive programs for Cottingham & Butler. She specializes in improving client’s internal claims best practices and advocates on insured’s behalf regarding impact claims.

For years, Peter James has worked at developing training programs that make a difference in people’s lives. He’s learned from leading chefs and teaching young culinarians that all the technical skills mean little in training and education if the participants do not relate. It is the feeling of being taught by a knowledgeable person who understands and cares that gets participants to buy in to a program.

Eivina Muniute-Cobb, Ed.D. is a Principal Consultant with the Pontis Group, specializing in training, consulting, and coaching in organizational development and HR development. Among her areas of expertise are organizational culture building, employee selection and retention practices, organizational assessment, leadership and team development, and implementation of effective employee evaluation systems. She passionate to work with organizations to bring best out of their employees while sustaining sound business practices. Eivina is a doctoral graduate from Florida International University in Adult Education and Human Resource Development.

Kevin Nelson, VP of Sales at EmployeeReferrals.com, has led the charge in helping EmployeeReferrals.com to be the global leader in employee referral program technology. As a product himself of an employee referral, Kevin knows firsthand the value of hiring through employee referrals. He also knows what it takes to build and sustain a best in class employee referral program. He has worked with 100's of employers, from SMB to Fortune 500, and has gained great insights into what it takes to manage and hire through this top source.

Dean was named President of NationaLease in 2012 and has been with the company since 2005. At that time, he was part of the National Account team in the Midwest, where he helped grow the National Account Program to more than $447 million in term sales. In 2008, he became Vice President of Member Services, executing a strategy that provided a sustainable competitive advantage to NationaLease Members and growing the membership base. In 2010, Dean became Vice President of National Accounts, leading that team, in 2011, to a record-breaking year in sales.

Tom Walter is a “serial entrepreneur,” author, speaker and a principal in numerous companies. He is best known as the Chief Culture Officer (CCO) of Chicago-area Tasty Catering, a suburban corporate caterer and event planner that was recently named a Forbes Best Small Company in America. Tom has more than 40 years of experience as an owner and operator in the service industry. He has participated in the startup of 32 companies, is currently active in 9 of those startups, has acquired three and—in a few cases—has terminated businesses in a broad spectrum of markets.