General Session

As Senior Vice President, Bob Carr leads SHRM’s Membership, Marketing, and External Affairs business unit. He is responsible for the development and execution of a global communications strategy that builds SHRM’s portfolio of highly successful brands. Carr served as Chief Professional & Business Development Officer where he oversaw the society’s professional development program. As a member of the SHRM’s Executive Team, he played a key role in the organization as its Chief Human Resource and Strategic Planning Officer. Carr returned to the organization from the National Bar Association, where he served as Executive Director.

As Director of the Human Resources Group at AARP, he led all major organizational development activities, human resource and diversity management. Prior to joining AARP, he was Senior Director of Human Resources and Strategic Planning for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He also led the HR function for Howard University and Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Carr served in government as Deputy Counsel to the Ethics Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Deputy Counsel in the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor

Daniel H. Pink is the author of four provocative books about the changing world of work, including the long-running New York Times best seller, A Whole New Mind, and the #1 New York Times best seller, Drive. His books have been translated into 32 languages. His latest work, DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, uses 50 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation. Pink shows that carrot and stick motivators have been oversold and that high performance depends much more on the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things and to do better by ourselves and the world. Drive is a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times best seller—as well as a national best seller in Japan and the United Kingdom. In A WHOLE NEW MIND: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Pink charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and explains the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated world. A WHOLE NEW MIND spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times main and extended best seller lists—and has been a Freshman Read selection at several U.S. colleges and universities. Oprah Winfrey also gave away 4,500 copies of the book to Stanford University's graduating class when she was Stanford's commencement speaker. Pink's articles on business and technology have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Sunday Telegraph, Fast Company and Wired. He has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also advises both Fortune 100 companies and startups on recruiting, innovation and work practices. A free agent himself, he held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government. He received a B.A. from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Pink lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and their three children.

Blake Mycoskie is the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, and the person behind the idea of One for One®, a business model that helps a person in need with every product purchased.

A simple idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided over 60 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006, TOMS Eyewear has restored sight to over 400,000 since 2011 and TOMS Roasting Company has helped provide over 335,000 weeks of safe water since launching in 2014. In 2015, TOMS Bag Collection was founded with the mission to help provide training for skilled birth attendants and distribute birth kits containing items that help a woman safely deliver her baby. As of 2016, TOMS has supported safe birth services for over 25,000 mothers.

TOMS humble beginnings happened unintentionally. While traveling in Argentina in 2006, Blake witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes. His solution to the problem was simple, yet revolutionary: to create a for-profit business that was sustainable and not reliant on donations. Blake’s vision soon turned into the simple business idea that provided the powerful foundation for TOMS. Over the course of its first five years, TOMS was successful enough in providing shoes for children in need. But Blake, having recognized other vital needs during his travels around the world, realized that One for One® could be applied to more than shoes. He developed the idea for TOMS Eyewear in which for every pair of eyewear purchased, TOMS would help give sight to a person in need. One for One®. In the fall of 2011, Blake released his first book, Start Something That Matters, offering his own amazing story of inspiration, and the power of incorporating giving in business. He references other companies and individuals who have been motivated and inspired to integrate philanthropy into their profession as well as their personal lives. The book became a New York Times best-seller. More importantly, it is Blake’s hope that Start Something That Matters inspires others to turn their passion and dreams into a reality.

From shoes to eyewear and now a book, Blake’s unique approach to business has awarded him with numerous accolades. In 2009, Blake and TOMS received the Secretary of State’s 2009 Award of Corporate Excellence (ACE). At the Clinton Global Initiative University plenary session, former President Clinton introduced Blake to the audience as “one of the most interesting entrepreneurs (I’ve) ever met.” People Magazine featured Blake in its “Heroes Among Us” section, and TOMS Shoes was featured in the Bill Gates Time Magazine article “How to Fix Capitalism.” In 2011, Blake was named on Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list, recognizing him as one of the top young businessmen in the world.

 

Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author who is recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership. Backed by 20 years of experience, Wakeman’s philosophy offers a new lens through which employees and executives alike, can shift their attention inward, sharpen their focus on personal accountability, and uncover their natural state of innovation simply by ditching the drama.

Deemed “the secret weapon to restoring sanity to the workplace,” Wakeman has helped companies such as Google, Facebook, NASA, Pfizer, Bank of America, and United Healthcare learn to harness energy wasted in workplace drama and reinvest that effort into achieving profound business results.

Dr. Kimberly Alyn is a human behavior expert, a best-selling author, and an international professional speaker. She is the author of eleven books including "Building Better Teams," "How to Inspire People to Achieve More," "How to Give a Butt Kicking Presentation," and "Discover Your Inner Strength" (with contributors Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Brian Tracy). An advocate of life long learning, Dr. Alyn has her bachelors degree in business management, her masters degree in organizational management, and her doctorate degree in organizational management with a specialty in leadership. Dr. Alyn has over 20 years of experience with speaking, training, educating, and entertaining audiences.

Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, What's Your Red Rubber Ball?! and The Red Rubber Ball at Work, published by ESPN, Disney Press and McGraw-Hill. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Carroll's "job" to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals—from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren—to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth. With his consulting endeavors, Carroll has helped turn creative ideas into reality for organizations such as the National Hockey League, ESPN, Nike, Starbucks (his words appeared on 17 million Grande cups), The National Basketball Association, Walt Disney Company, Mattel, Hasbro, Procter & Gamble, Discovery Channel, Capital One and many others. Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Carroll spent endless hours at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball. His subsequent pursuit of play and his "red rubber ball" took him overseas with the Air Force, where he served as a language interpreter and translator, gaining fluency in Croatian, Czech, Serbian and German. After serving in the Air Force for ten years and earning his college degree, Carroll became an athletic trainer at the high school and collegiate levels in Philadelphia. His expertise in sport performance recognized by the 76ers organization and led to his job as the head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1995. While at the 76ers, Nike tapped Carroll to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant in 1997. Although no job "officially" existed at the time, Carroll was directed to create a position at the company that would add value to the overall mission of the brand. Carroll accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as "Katalyst" (the 'K' is for Kevin)—a creative change agent. At Nike he was instrumental in helping the company develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. Carroll left Nike in 2004 to create his own company, Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC, committed to elevating the power of sport and play around the world. Carroll has dedicated his life to advancing sports and play as a vehicle for social change. He partners with non-governmental organizations and businesses around the world that share his vision and goals. He was honored to address the United Nations as part of the UN Year of Sports for Development and Peace in 2005 and to serve as the host of the Beyond Sport Summit & Awards that featured Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2009. Carroll holds a MS in Health Education from St. Joseph's University, a BA in Speech Communication with a minor in Physical Education from Angelo State University and an Associates Degree in Interpreting and Translating from the Community College of the Air Force. Carroll is a frequent visiting professor across the United States.

Jane McGonigal is a visionary game designer and futurist, and she is harnessing the power of the Internet games in new ways to help solve some of the biggest challenges facing our world today and tomorrow.

John Jacobs is the Chief Creative Optimist of The Life is good Company. A $100 million privately held business based in Boston, MA, Life is good® spreads positive vibes with its colorful collection of apparel and accessories. Jake, Life is good’s iconic hero with the contagious smile, teaches men, women and children that optimism is fun, healthy, and empowering. John created his first poorly spelled and crudely drawn book at the age of five. He’s been writing and drawing ever since, graduating from the University of Massachusetts in 1990 with dual degrees in English and Art. He immediately began designing and selling tee shirts after college and worked as a substitute teacher to supplement his income during Life is good’s infancy. In 1994, with a combined sum of just $78 in the bank, John and his brother Bert officially launched Life is good. Today, Life is good products are sold by over 5,000 retailers nationwide, and in 32 countries worldwide. John, Bert, and The Life is good Company are living proof that “Optimism can take you anywhere.” Believing that consumers are already overwhelmed by too much “noise” in the marketplace, Life is good has never spent a penny to advertise its products. 100% of the company’s growth is attributable to consumer word-of-mouth. In 2006, at the Life is good Pumpkin Festival on Boston Common, Life is good broke the Guinness World Record for the most carved, lit pumpkins in one place at one time. Because Life is good considers children its ultimate source for inspiration, the company is totally committed to helping kids who face unfair challenges. 100% of all funds raised from Life is good Festivals as well as 100% of profits from a growing number of Life is good products benefit the Life is good Kids Foundation. Bert and John are the youngest of six siblings from Needham, MA. They credit their mother with teaching them to face the bumps in the road with a smile. The Jacobs brothers see simplicity, humility and a sense of humor as the three keys to Life is good’s continued success. When John is not evolving the brand for future seasons, he enjoys any game under the sun, film, music, and diving into the water to catch things. He lives in his favorite sports town, Boston, with his wife Jessica and their recently christened King of the Castle, Oskar.

Mike Aitken has worked at SHRM since 2003 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Prior to joining SHRM, he served for 14 years as associate director for Governmental and External Relations at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). Previously, Aitken worked on state public policy issues at Bonner & Associates, a public affairs firm in Washington, DC. Currently, he is based in Alexandria, VA.

 

 

Nina Totenberg is National Public Radio's award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR's critically acclaimed newsmagazines, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.

Totenberg's coverage of legal affairs and the Supreme Court has won her widespread recognition. Newsweek says, "The mainstays [of NPR] are Morning Edition and All Things Considered. But the crème de la crème is Nina Totenberg." She is also a regular panelist on Inside Washington, a weekly syndicated public affairs television program produced in the nation's capital.

In 1991, her groundbreaking report about University of Oklahoma Law Professor Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment by Judge Clarence Thomas led the Senate Judiciary Committee to re-open Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearings to consider Hill's charges. NPR received the prestigious Peabody Award for its gavel-to-gavel coverage--anchored by Totenberg--of both the original hearings and the inquiry into Anita Hill's allegations, and for Totenberg's reports and exclusive interview with Hill.

That same coverage earned Totenberg additional awards, among them: the Long Island University George Polk Award for excellence in journalism; the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for investigative reporting; and the prestigious Joan S. Barone Award for excellence in Washington-based national affairs/public policy reporting, which also acknowledged her coverage of Justice Thurgood Marshall's retirement.

In 1988, Totenberg won the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for her coverage of Supreme Court nominations. The jurors of the award stated, "Ms. Totenberg broke the story of Judge (Douglas) Ginsburg's use of marijuana, raising issues of changing social values and credibility with careful perspective under deadline pressure."

Totenberg has been honored eight times by the American Bar Association for continued excellence in legal reporting, and has received a number of honorary degrees. On a lighter note, in 1992 and 1988, Esquire magazine named her one of the "Women We Love."

A frequent contributor to major newspapers and periodicals, she has published articles in the New York Times Magazine, the Harvard Law Review, the Christian Science Monitor, Parade magazine, New York Magazine, and others.

Before joining NPR in 1975, Totenberg served as Washington editor of New Times Magazine, and before that she was the legal affairs correspondent for the National Observer.

Nina Totenberg has won every major journalism award in broadcasting, and is the only radio journalist to have won the National Press Foundation award for Broadcaster of the Year. On the non-broadcasting side of her career, she has written for newspapers and periodicals, from the New York Times Magazine to the Harvard Law Review.