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Kelly Hastings
senior advisor, Government Relations
SHRM
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Kelly is responsible for SHRM legislative activities on employment and labor issues, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal employment issues as they affect the management of human capital.
Prior to joining SHRM, Kelly worked as the legislative director for Congressman Lou Barletta (PA), a member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. In this role, Kelly developed an overall legislative strategy for the office and managed the Congressman's legislative team. She specifically focused on Congressman Barletta's Committee portfolio of issues including, labor, health, and education policy
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Lauren McFerran
Chairman
National Labor Relations Board
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Lauren McFerran served as a Member of the NLRB from December 17, 2014 until December 16, 2019. On July 29, 2020, the Senate confirmed her renomination as a Board Member for a term expiring on December 16, 2024.
On January 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden named Ms. McFerran Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.
Previous to her appointment to the NLRB, Ms. McFerran served as Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee) and had also served the Committee as Deputy Staff Director under Senator Tom Harkin. She began on the HELP Committee as Senior Labor Counsel for Senator Ted Kennedy. Before her work in the United States Senate, Ms. McFerran was an associate at Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C. and served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. McFerran received a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
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Gerri Fiala
Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training
U.S. Department of Labor
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Gerri Fiala is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training for the U.S. Department of Labor. She is currently responsible for guiding the Department’s implementation of WIOA -- the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Prior to her time at DOL, Gerri served as Staff Director to the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety chaired by Senator Patty Murray. Here Gerri drafted Senator Murray's "Innovations in 21st Century Careers" bill to make education more relevant for high school students. She also developed bills introduced by Senator Murray during the economic stimulus debate. Key components of these bills were ultimately included in Recovery Act funding provisions for the Department of Labor.
Gerri served for nearly eight years as Administrator, Office of Policy Development, Evaluation and Research, in the U.S. Department of Labor. This includes a year as a loaned executive to serve as Senior Counselor for Economic Development to the American Association of Community Colleges. As Administrator, she led interagency efforts to drive job training reform. This work culminated in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000 (creating the Senior Community Service Employment Program). Her leadership on interagency teams also secured the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, and Welfare to Work program, and provided direction to a DOL effort to craft and implement regulations for each of these programs.
Gerri has a Masters of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa, and Associate of Arts from North Iowa Area Community College.
