Summit Presenters

Sarah Light

Senior Director of People Operations at AltoIRA

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Sarah Light is the Senior Director of People Operations at AltoIRA, an early-stage Series B Nashville-based financial technology company. As the first HR professional hired at the company, Sarah is charged with building new people processes from the ground up and then optimizing them. She works closely with leaders across the organization and C-suite to drive a people-first approach, started a formal onboarding and orientation process, and introduced the company’s first performance review process.

Sarah’s career has been concentrated in startups and high-growth companies in a variety of industries, but primarily focused in the technology space. She has started and expanded HR teams, has served as an external consultant to companies without an internal HR team, and in her current role has been helping build up a brand new department in a rapidly-growing company (AltoIRA grew 360% in 2021).

Sarah completed her undergraduate degree at University of Mississippi (Major: Psychology; Minor: Business Administration). She earned her Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and HR Management from Appalachian State University in 2014. She is currently loving life in Nashville where she enjoys good food, friends, and live music as much as she can.

 

Kristen Kaufmann

Global Employee Resource Groups Senior Specialist at Salesforce 
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Kristen Kaufmann (she/her) is the Global ERG Sr. Specialist at Salesforce. She manages the Employee Resource Group program including 150 global leaders, 300 hubs, and 40,000 members. Kristen has almost 10 years of experience in Diversity & Inclusion, Change Management, and Employee Engagement. She has worked with various industries and clients in the private, public, and the nonprofit sector. Kristen also privately consults on D&I and Organizational design. Kristen is a 2015 alumni of the Appalachian State IOHRM program. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner, and 125 pound Great Dane!

 

Lisa Curtin

Program Director and Director of Clinical Training at Appalachian State University

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Dr. Lisa Curtin is a Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University where she serves as the Program Director and Director of Clinical Training of the doctoral program in clinical psychology. Dr. Curtin is a Licensed Psychologist in North Carolina and a Mental Health First Aid trainer. She earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and completed a predoctoral internship at Brown University Alpert School of Medicine. Her research interests focus on rural mental health services, including substance use interventions, stigma, workforce development, and Appalachian culture. Additionally, Dr. Curtin serves as one of the leaders of the behavioral health consultation service at Appalachian State University’s Student Health Services, integrating behavioral and mental health services in the context of medical healthcare.

 

Tammy Kowalczyk

Professor and Dixon-Hughes Fellow in the Department of Accounting at Appalachian State University

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Dr. Tammy Kowalczyk is a Professor of Accounting and Sustainable Business at Appalachian State University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in sustainability accounting and sustainable business. Kowalczyk’s primary areas of research include sustainability accounting and performance assessment, ESG reporting, carbon accounting, and natural resource economics. In the last decade, she has engaged in interdisciplinary research focused on scaling forest management practices that accelerate carbon mitigation and climate resilience, particularly among small-scale “family” forest owners in the rural Southeast states. In addition, her work emphasizes expanding practices to increase economic viability and participation by landowners as well as connecting private sector investment in these practices to align corporate sustainability goals. Kowalczyk started the Appalachian Impact Clinic at the university to facilitate student engagement with external organizations for the purpose of establishing more sustainable practices and improving both environmental and social impacts. Her research has been published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology and the Journal of Environmental Management, and prior accounting-related research has appeared in Behavioral Research in Accounting, Advances in Management Accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Business and Psychology, and the CPA Journal.

 

Michael Boitnott

Recruitment process outsourcing at  Bali Staffing

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Michael Boitnott is an RPO recruiter currently working with Credit Karma via Bali Staffing. In his current role, Michael sources marketing, business development, and software engineers for the Charlotte, NC market. He also heads up a team of recruiters to develop talent branding initiatives across the company.

Prior to becoming a recruiter, Michael worked for Boitnott Visual Communications, an audio visual event production company founded by his grandfather in 1969. There he did a combination of live event support, human resources, and led change management initiatives, created a formal hiring process, developed training for incoming employees, and consulted with management on various employee issues.

Michael received a master’s degree in I/O Psychology and Human Resource Management (IOHRM) from Appalachian State University in 2012 and bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University 2010.

 

Tasha Kolbe

Lead HR Business Partner for the Trade Marketing & Strategic Accounts Functions at Reynolds American

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Since 2021, Tasha Kolbe has served as the Lead HR Business Partner for the Trade Marketing & Strategic Accounts Functions at Reynolds American. She is responsible for leading the people agenda, to include the design and implementation of programs and initiatives to address the talent needs of the function. Prior to assuming this role, she was the Senior Director HRBP/Employee Relations for the Corporate Functions (HR, IT, Law & External Affairs, Finance, and Strategy & Business Development), and the Director Employment Relations for Marketing. In this role, she was responsible for the workplace practices, coaching of management, and guiding employees through HR policies and practices, for the Trade Marketing Organization in HQ and across the US. Tasha joined the HR function in 2012 as the Senior Manager for Talent Development supporting Marketing where she consulted, designed, and facilitated learning programs.

Tasha started her career with Reynolds American in 2005 in Atlanta, GA and spent 7 years on the Marketing side working in Territory Manager, Retail Manager and Senior Division Manager roles across the South East. Tasha lives in Winston-Salem, NC with her husband Tyler, their children, Kamden (7) and Hayes (18 months), and cat, Kooper.

 

Morgan Powers

Senior Manager, HR Business Partner at Reynolds American

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Morgan Powers currently sits as Senior Manager HRBP – Employee Relations supporting the Commercial & Marketing functions at Reynolds American. She is responsible for workplace practices issues, performance improvement and coaching, as well as helping employees understand HR policies and legal regulations. She first joined the organization in the summer of 2015 as an HR Intern supporting Organizational Effectiveness, and was hired full-time onto the Talent Acquisition team in 2016 following the completion of her dual masters degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management. 

Throughout her six years with Reynolds American, Morgan has worked up through various areas of HR, including Early Career Recruitment, Talent Management Analysis, and Workers’ Comp Management. For the last several years, however, she has served as Senior Manager HRBP supporting multiple functions including Scientific Research & Development, Law & External Affairs, Strategy & Business Development, and Marketing. Morgan resides in Winston-Salem, NC with her husband, Jon, and their three children. 

Parker Wassilchak

Senior Human Resources Specialist at Insperity

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Parker is an HR expert who delivers high-energy consultative services to businesses throughout the U.S so that key stakeholders can leverage their focus on strategic initiatives that drive their operations forward.  With a background in human resources management, her career expands over several industries including manufacturing, technology, and professional services. Parker has developed meaningful relationships with her clients that earned her a seat at the C-suite table across various organizations. She is passionate about helping HR professionals navigate the everchanging nature of the business world, and works hard to provide value-add solutions that organizations need to succeed in this current market.

Lucy Wise

Senior Client Liaison at Insperity

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Lucy Wise is currently a Senior Client Liaison at Insperity. In her role at Insperity, Lucy consults with small to medium sized businesses owners to develop strategies and initiatives that focus on human capital. The beginning of her career was spent in Human Resource management for the leading cement, asphalt -aggregate manufacturer in the world with over 80,000 employees. During that time her focus was on recruiting, compensation and performance management. She took that knowledge and started her own small asphalt seal coating business. While in the same industry and the same key players she found herself at ground zero and needing to build her own HR infrastructure. Lucy operated a successful small business during a 2009 recession, while experiencing all the same pain points and struggles many small business owners and HR professionals face. After years of successful operations, Lucy sold the business and decided to take her passion for small business and human capital and found her dream role where she is able to partner with small business owners and Insperity to offer solutions that truly help businesses succeed. Lucy has supported over 100 small to medium sized businesses with Insperity and is passionate about working with owners, C-suite and HR professionals and developing strategic plans that truly make a difference.

Wendy Ratcliff

Director, HR Services, WCI, Inc.

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Wendy Ratcliff is Director of HR services with WCI. She works with members on a daily basis to provide advice and counsel on leadership, human resource initiatives and problem solving. In addition, she develops and delivers training programs, HR Audits, policy development, and facilitates meetings in multiple locations.

Wendy received a B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resources. She is also certified as a SPHR (Senior Professional of Human Resources), SPHR and SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional). Wendy was selected from over 120 candidates to speak at the NC-SHRM convention in 2019, spoke at the NC Trucking Conference in 2020, and various local SHRM chapters. She serves of the Board as Secretary for Gaston HR. Prior to joining WCI, Wendy developed and managed the human resource function for a software development company with locations in six states and 600+ employees.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, exercising (the best stress relief), listening to podcasts, home decorating, watching sports, boating on Lake Norman and all things outside.

Carlton Brunson

HR Assistant Director at Duke University Health System

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Carlton Brunson currently serves as Assistant Director, Human Resources with Duke University Health System (DUHS). Carlton’s health system-level client groups include: Corporate Finance, Supply Chain & Procurement, Occupational & Environmental Safety, and the Patient Health Management Organization. In addition to business partnership, Carlton is involved in several system-level initiatives, including “Moments to Movement”, a program aimed at eradicating racism at Duke; Organizational Leader Effectiveness (OLE) group; and Black Affinity Group.

Carlton most recently worked for Republic Services as a Business Unit HR Manager and HR Generalist in both the Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham markets. Prior to that, his experience includes serving as an HR Business Partner at FreshPoint Charlotte, an HR Generalist at Sysco Charlotte, LLC, and an HR Shared Services Specialist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (now Atrium Health) in Winston-Salem, NC. In addition to earning his MA in IOHRM from ASU, Carlton obtained a BA in Psychology from Winston-Salem State University, and holds certifications from both HRCI (PHR) and SHRM (SHRM-CP).

Carlton resides in Durham, NC with his wife, Crystal and 3-year old son, Caden. In his spare time, Carlton enjoys watching and attending sporting events, trying new restaurants, and enjoying the company of friends.

 

Amber Boyles Harrison

Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Lincoln Financial Group

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Amber is Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Lincoln Financial Group where she provides HR support to the Short-term Disability and Leaves Group Protection business and has prior experience supporting a variety of businesses including Consulting, IT, Product & Sales, and Support Services. Amber was a HR Business Partner Director at Premier Healthcare Alliance where she was responsible for talent strategy for Performance Services business including Informatics and Technology Services and Consulting enterprise units.  Amber is a 2008 graduate of IOHRM program at Appalachian State and completed her undergraduate degree at UNC Charlotte. Her favorite aspects of HR are organizational design, change management and employee engagement. She resides outside of Greensboro, NC and enjoys spending time gardening with her husband and two kiddos. 

Shawn Bergman

Kulynych/Cline Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University

Co-Founder and Director of Research at the Vela Institute

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Dr. Shawn Bergman’s work reflects his dedication to use science, psychology, data, and technology to solve organizational problems, help individuals make positive changes, and improve peoples’ lives. He is the Kulynych/Cline Distinguished Professor of Psychology, the founder and co-director of the HR Science Research Team, and the co-founder the Center for Analytics Research and Education at Appalachian State University. Shawn is also the co-founder and Research Director at the Vela Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to using evaluation and data to increase educational outcomes. Dr. Bergman has published 40 academic articles, co-authored over 90 professional and technical reports, and given over 100 keynote addresses, invited talks, workshops, and conference presentations and has consulted a number of public and private sector organizations to address pressing issues using data, analytics, and evidence-based practices.