Thank you to our speakers for providing valuable information to students interested in the Human Resources field!
Van Lai-DuMone
TEDx Speaker Fractional Learning and Development Leader Lai-DuMone is a leader in implementing creative team and leadership development programs to minimized turnover. She has shared her knowledge in TEDx presentations. Lai-DuMone graduated from University of California Santa Barbara with a Bachelor's in Psychology and completed an MBA in Marketing at Pepperdine University. She is the founder of worksmART advantage. |
Kerry Leidich
Co-founder at Humantelligence Advisor to businesses on people and culture Kerry graduated from University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor's in Psychology and completed an MS in Industrial Organizational Psychology at San Franscisco State University. He is the co-founder of Humantelligence (an HR software company) and is a former senior consultant at Hay Group (a global management consulting firm). Kerry has 25 years of HR experience and has worked for companies like Disney, ABC Television, and Honda! |
Beth Hales
Customer Success Manager at Humantelligence Beth Hales graduated from University of Findlay with two Bachelor's degrees, one in Business Management and one in Equine Studies. Beth is currently the customer success manager at Humantelligence and is a former Director of Talent Solutions at AgCareers.com. She has over 10 years of experience in the HR field! |
Diana Steel
Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker Diana Steel is a former VP of Human Resources at HCA Human Resources, LLC with West Hills Hospital and Medical Center. She is also a former Director of Human Resources at Success Healthcare, LLC with Silver Lake Medical Center. Diana built her own consulting company and is the principal consultant at Diana Steel Consulting. She has a wealth of experience, going through several positions in the HR industry: Principal Consultant, VP, Director, HR Generalist, and Supervisor! |
Nina Woodard
President and Chief 'N' Sights Officer CalSHRM State Council Member Nina Woodard serves as the President and Chief 'N' Sights Officer for Nina E. Woodard & Associates. Ms. Woodard is also a lecturer at Ashford University teaching multiple topics such as Strategic HR, Compensation, and Organizational Development. Currently, Ms. Woodard serves on the National Global Expertise Panel for SHRM and the California State Council of SHRM as part of the Community Committee! |
Mike Letizia
Letizia HR Solutions, Inc. CalSHRM State Council Member Mike Letizia is a certified, senior human resource executive with over 35 years of experience in all HR functional areas. He spent the last 23 years holding Director, Vice President, and President roles in HR. Mike is a subject matter expert in California employment law and is the author of, “California Employment Law Essentials for Business.” Through his company “Letizia HR Solutions,” Mike provides HR services to businesses in California with a strong focus on training and development. He is a contracted instructor for SHRM delivering both virtual and face-to-face human resource education courses throughout the USA and California. He is also a frequent speaker at business and trade associations delivering presentations, workshops and courses on a variety of human resource topics. |
Shannon Pinder
Financial Planner at MassMutual Financial Group Shannon holds a degree in Finance from Santa Clara University and is a Chartered Financial Consultant and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. She is currently a financial advisor for MassMutual Financial Group, which serves five million clients in reaching their financial goals. Previously, Shannon worked as a financial advisor for MetLife, one of the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs. Shannon is a registered representative of MML Investors Services, LLC, a MassMutual subsidiary member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Outside of her work, she volunteers as the Sponsorship Chair for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Silicon Valley and is the Budget Chair for the League of Women Voters San Francisco. |
Charles Mah
Chief Evangelist at iCIMS Charles is currently a Chief Evangelist at iCIMS, a Talent Cloud company trusted by top brands such as Uber, Nascar, Ulta, and Tiffany & Co. Previously, Charles was Vice President of Global Talent at Databricks, one of the fastest-growing enterprise cloud companies on record, and the Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Workday, a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance, HR, and planning. Charles has also worked at BlackBerry, Box, and Informatica. Within his 15 years of leadership experience, he has achieved 99% of hiring plans for every quarter 8 years in a row and a Net Promoter Score of 70+ for both hired and unhired candidates while doubling hiring capacity. |
James Beverley
Director of Career Services at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Campus Recruiter, Career Development Professional James is a campus recruiter and the Director of Career Services at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the nation's largest non-profit organization supporting Hispanic American higher education. James is passionate about helping students pursue their dreams, such as through securing internships and entry-level positions at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Boston Consulting Group! |
Alex Cheney
Senior Recruiter Product / User Research at Robinhood Alex is a Senior Recruiter for Product and User Research at Robinhood, an American financial services company. Alex has ten years of professional Talent Acquisition/Human Resources experience and 15 years in professional entertainment both on-stage and for management. Outside of work, Alex is also a member of SHRM and a national member of the Society for Human Resource Management! |
Eli Weiss
Northrop Grumman (in charge of/heads UCLA operations) Eli Weiss has been at Northrop Grumman for over 2 years and leads a team of University recruiters in the Strategic Space System Division. He’s responsible for full cycle recruiting for multiple disciplines and leads the relationship between UCLA and Northrop Grumman. He spent 3 ½ years at Randstad Engineering where he led a team of full cycle recruiters servicing clients in the aerospace, medical device, construction, and manufacturing industries. |
Jenna Nicholas
Senior Recruiter Jenna is a Senior Recruiter passionate about connecting with people and promoting the core goals of an organization to build teams and meaningful partnerships. She works with the top HR and Executive leadership teams within entertainment/media, finance (vc, private equity, advisory), real estate (commercial and residential), fashion/apparel, esports, VR and tech! |
Stephanie Tan
Talent Acquisition Stephanie is a UCLA graduate and Talent Acquisition professional with over five years of recruitment experience! Currently, she works as a Talent Acquisition Business Partner for GroupM, where she “identifies and attracts top talent for agencies across North America for clients such as Adobe, Dell, Facebook, Google, L’Oréal, NBCUniversal, Sony, Unilever, and more. |
Amanda Luu
Senior Campus Recruiter Amanda is a Senior Campus Recruiter for Target for Southern California (heads UCLA operations) and Hawaii. Currently, she serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board for CSUSB’s marketing department and she sits on the Board for CSUSB College of Business Dean's Advisory Board. Amanda is the internship captain for field interns nationwide and develops and updates the internship program annually! |
Vanessa Duran
Human Resources Professional Vanessa Duran is a certified Human Resources professional with 5.5 years of progressive generalist experience across a variety of different industries. At Lionsgate, she supported the Benefits, L&D, HRIS, and Culture teams. At SpaceX, she supported the Compliance and HR Business Partner teams, liaising between them and key business leaders to deliver a seamless and positive experience throughout the employee lifecycle. Presently, Vanessa is an Employee Relations Specialist at Equinox, where she manages investigations relating to claims of harassment, retaliation, and discrimination in the workplace. In her spare time, she looks for ways to reconnect with UCLA and help other rising first-generation HR professionals. |
Lauren Sweeny
Coach and Trainer in Leadership and Professional Development Lauren works for Rise Up For You, a nonprofit organization that supports today’s youth and the next generation through teaching foundational life skills. She has had the honor of sharing her expertise at Google's largest conference of the year Google Cloud Next ‘19 and The California Human Resources Conference, and works with name brands such as LA Fitness, Don Roberto, and Free Wheelchair Mission. She has advanced coaching certifications from the Direct Sales World Alliance (DSWA) along with a Bachelor’s of Science in Community and Regional Development from UC Davis. Serving as a trainer of trainers for the California Association of Student Councils for many years, Lauren thrives on mentoring via asking questions, actively listening, and being a positive example of what she teaches. |