FALL 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Our Fall, 2021 Conference was all virtual (for obvious reasons) and it was a huge success! We encouraged (and always do) feedback from everyone – from vendor, sponsor, speaker and attendee – and all of the comments were positive and lifting. We thank you for such a great event. Below are the highlights!

VIDEO REPLAYS
FALL AGENDA
SPEAKERS
SPONSORS

(All Times Are Eastern Time)

10:00am-10:15am
Welcome and Opening Remarks

10:15am-10:45am
Morning Keynote

Shaun Stephenson
Program Manager, Strategic Military/Veterans Outreach and Recruiting
Training Functional Area Manager, Strategic Human Resource Management Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

10:45am-11:25am

VETS Indexes 5-Star Employer Best Practices Roundtable

A panel comprised only of 5-Star Employers, talking about the most important aspects of their veterans programs

MODERATOR

Gerald Williams
Chief of Operations
OMNI Technologies

PANELISTS

George Bernloeher
Booz Allen Hamilton

Anthony Felice
Managing Partner
Drexel Hamilton

Kelly French
Veteran Talent Acquisition Program Specialist
United Rentals

Tom Watson
Senior Vice President, Defense Services Group
Serco

11:30am-11:50am
Morning Lounge – Sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal

Rodney Crable
Project Manager, Military & Veteran Affairs
Comcast NBCUniversal

11:55am-12:35pm

Preventing and addressing veteran underemployment

Underemployment – working a job that is below one’s skill level — is a big problem for vets in particular.

MODERATOR

Jose Ocasio-Christian
Chief Executive Officer
Caelus Partners, LLC, Washington, DC (Delaware LLC)

PANELISTS

Sidney Covington, LMSW
Associate, Veterans Engagement
AmeriVet Securities

Ross Dickman
Chief Operating Officer
Hire Heroes USA

Pat Hanley
Section Manager – BW Overhead
Con Edison

Chuck Kluball
Military Relations Leader
The Home Depot

12:40pm-1:20pm

Breakout Panel 1

OPTION 1
USERRA Guide: What you need to know about the laws governing treatment of Guard/Reserve employees

USERRA is the law companies must follow when dealing with Guard/Reserve employees, but ESGR leaders have noted that many companies don’t know or understand the rules.

MODERATOR

Bruce Townshend
Chief, Employer Engagement
DOD/ESGR

PANELISTS

John Berry
Criminal Defense Attorney
Berry Law

Lee J. Metcalf
Vice President, Daugherty Business Solutions
State Chairman, Missouri: Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve ESGR, Emeritus
Rear Admiral, USN (ret)

Kevin Schmiegel
President and Founder
KMS Strategies LLC

OPTION 2
Military spouse recruiting: Which methods give you the most bang for your buck?

Employers don’t always know where to recruit military spouses. This panel will give a breakdown of the various approaches available, their costs, and their benefits.

MODERATOR

Danielle Haro
Senior Program Development Specialist
USO

PANELISTS

Jason Boone
Enterprise Talent Sourcing Leader
Jacobs

Nicole Utt
Content Manager
Sandboxx

1:25pm-2:05pm

Breakout Panel 2

OPTION 1
Improving identification and tracking of your veteran employees

Companies constantly tell us that it is hard to know which of their employees are vets, but a few orgs have developed good techniques to address this.

MODERATOR

Courtney Browne
Military Talent Network Manager
Maximus

PANELISTS

James Beamesderfer
Vice President, Veterans Initiatives
Prudential Financial

Ann Treadway
Ann Treadaway, MA, Dir. Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

OPTION 2
Finding and contracting with veteran-owned suppliers/vendors

It’s not just who you hire but also who you contract with — this panel will talk about the importance of engaging veteran owned businesses and how to find them.

MODERATOR

Julia Arnold
Supplier Diversity Program Manager Commercial Inclusion SBLO
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

PANELISTS

Wayne Shanks
Supplier Diversity Director
USAA Global Sourcing and Procurement

John Perez
Head, Military & Veterans Affairs
Johnson & Johnson

Jessica Briseno
Sr. Supplier Diversity Sourcing Manager
AT&T Global Supply Chain & Logistics

2:05pm-2:25pm
Afternoon Lounge – Sponsored by Oracle

Chris Spencer
Director of Operations
Oracle Corporation

2:30pm-3:10pm

The importance of mentorship and apprenticeship programs for transitioning veterans – Sponsored by AppreNEXT

Mentorship and apprenticeship programs are a very important part of the veteran hire on-boarding process — this panel will discuss various forms mentorship and apprenticeship programs can take and why they are so critical for veteran hires in particular.

MODERATOR

Michael Mell
Senior Director, Custom Indices
S&P Down Jones Indices

PANELISTS

Romualdo “Mo” Cisneros Jr.
Outreach Specialist / Intake Coordinator
St Louis & Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council

Gary Patton MG (Ret), USA
VP, Veterans and Military Affairs
CACI

John “JR” Register
Founder
Inspired Communications International, LLC
Paralympic Silver Medalist
Combat Veteran & Inspirational Speaker

3:15pm-3:20pm
Closing Remarks

** The Expert Series reserves the right to alter the agenda without notice including substitution or cancellation of speakers and topics.