As CEO of Hire Image LLC, Christine Cunneen sets the company’s vision and strategy while overseeing the operations, finance and business development functions nationwide.

Ms. Cunneen is the past chair of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) and held leadership roles on the Global Advisory Council, Government Relations Committee, Advocacy Committee, Finance Committee and Ethics Committee for NAPBS. She is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) at both the national and local level. She is a director of the Rhode Island SHRM Board and serves on the Advocacy team, Legislative Committee and Sponsorship Committee. Cunneen served on the Executive Board of Directors and Governance and Finance Committees for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State. She serves on her town’s planning board and is a past Board member of her local Chamber of Commerce. She is proud to have been an Advisor to the Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E. (Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment).

Ms. Cunneen is a frequent guest speaker at business, human resource and background screening association events throughout the U.S., educating employers and other professionals about background screening topics, and is often quoted for her expertise in the news media. On a regular basis, she travels to Washington, DC to meet with legislators and is active in campaigns and advocacy pertaining to laws and regulations that impact the background screening profession, business owners and small business entrepreneurs.

She is a 1990 graduate of Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) where she received a bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting. Prior to joining Hire Image, she enjoyed a 13-year financial career in New York as a certified public accountant specializing in taxation for such companies as Barnes & Noble and ING, and maintains her Certified Public Accountant designation.

Ms. Cunneen is a 2006 recipient of the “Make Mine a Million $ Business™” (M3) award from Count Me In™ and AMEX Open and, when breaking the $1M revenues barrier, credited the program for helping her achieve that goal and contributing to her growth and success. In 2016, Ms. Cunneen participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, as a member of the national cohort based out of Babson College. Ms. Cunneen continues to serve as a mentor to other women-owned business leaders across the country.

Laurie helps employers create a safe and drug-free workplace, and supports laboratories and their sales teams by customizing oral fluid testing to meet their needs. Drug monitoring programs are an additional area of focus. 

Christa Manning is a research-driven thought-leader supporting organizations and helping individuals understand and use the latest technologies to enable workplace productivity and performance.

What brings me the greatest joy in life is helping others by giving them the resources - education, time, compassion, strategy/planning, and more - they need in order to feel empowered and completely confident to pursue their goals in life. To me, healthcare is similar to personal development. It is an industry explosive with performance examination and desire for improvement, with the aim of producing changes that ultimately result in a better, more efficient, healthier population.

My professional career has been centrally focused in healthcare as I have worked with providers, producers, vendors, and sponsors professionally and as a purchaser personally. Whether working in a hospital, a public health agency, an insurance carrier, or a consulting firm, my varied experiences have brought me to a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the work-in-progress that is the complex American healthcare industry.

As a consultant, I have the privilege of working with talented professionals both internally at my company and externally among my clients. Each client has unique service needs and requires a customized approach based on their industry, demographics, geography, finances, culture, key contacts, and more. My role allows me to make a larger scale impact by serving as a resource and advisor to clients on a range of health and benefits topics that ultimately impact thousands of employees.

Tanya is the Senior Vice President, CVS Health and HR lead for Aetna.  She is responsible for leading an HR organization that supports Commercial and Government insurance products, as well as the Markets.  Tanya provides human capital and business consultation to Karen Lynch, President of Aetna, and her leadership team who are responsible for driving the CVS Health strategy to deliver consumer-focused, high-value healthcare to the nearly 45 million people that Aetna serves.  She develops and implements talent strategies required to successfully execute Aetna’s business strategy and goals based on business, industry and market conditions.  Her internal clients have also included Healthagen, National Accounts, National Care Management, Enterprise Sales, Product & Marketing, Specialty businesses and the Integration and Strategy office.

Prior to joining Aetna, Tanya was an independent consultant and coach to entrepreneurs.  In addition to her consulting experience, Tanya worked at UnitedHealth Group in various human resources leadership positions, as well at Asea Brown Boveri Inc. (ABB), a global leader in power and automation technologies.  At both United and ABB, her responsibilities included talent development, succession planning, organization development, business reorganization, and merger and acquisition integration. Tanya holds a bachelor's degree in human resources from Western New England College and a master's in project management from George Washington University.

Daniel Klein is a partner in the Labor and Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw's Boston office. Mr. Klein's practice includes the representation of management in employment and non-competition litigation matters before state and federal courts, at trial and appellate levels, as well as federal and state agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities.

Mr. Klein also counsels national, regional and local employers on a wide variety of employment matters, including disability accommodation, family and medical leave, workplace investigations, wage and hour compliance, commissions disputes, performance assessment and discipline, terminations, reductions-in-force, training, background checks, whistleblower claims, defamation, handbook and policy review, and trade-secrets protection strategies.As a member of the firm's Complex Discrimination Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Klein has defended employers in a variety of complex discrimination cases, including multi-plaintiff discrimination lawsuits, EEOC pattern and practice cases, and collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Mr. Klein also has defended employers against the full spectrum of cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, defamation, and wage and hour violations, as well as representing employers in non-competition and contract disputes.Mr. Klein regularly assists clients in drafting employment contracts, severance agreements, non-competition, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, personnel policies and company handbooks. He has represented employers in a variety of industries, including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality, staffing, professional services, transportation, and technology.Mr. Klein lectures frequently on a variety of employment law topics for human resource specialists and in-house counsel, including regular presentations on behalf of the Northeast Human Resources Association, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.

Mr. Klein served as a legal intern at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. From 2005 through the present, Boston Magazine and Law and Politics have named Mr. Klein one of Massachusetts' and New England's "Super Lawyer Rising Stars." Mr. Klein received his J.D., from Boston College Law School, and his B.A. from Colgate University.

Daniel B. Klein 

Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Phone: (617) 946-4840

Email: dklein@seyfarth.com

Online Bio

Robin Lucier has distinguished herself as an innovative leader in Human Resources through strong perception of organizational culture with a multi-level communication strategy. In addition to HR best practices, her business acumen includes deep knowledge of operations, sales, human relations, and cultural diversity. Above all, her compassion for people guides her to successfully navigate employee lifecycle activities.

Robin has held a number of leadership positions within the retail, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and food production industries. As a strategic leader, she has experience streamlining processes and leveraging technology for employee recruitment, recognition, retention, compensation, benefits & wellness, training, and performance development. This is most recently relevant in her role as HR Director at Injured Workers’ Pharmacy, where she managed a comprehensive compensation analysis to develop a structured pay grade system. Fair and consistent compensation in addition to effective employee engagement practices resulted in the organization outpacing the industry average with a 76% employee retention rate among call center personnel.

Thriving as a member of high-performing teams, Robin brings experience aligning HR missions to meet organizational objectives and has helped drive growth through process improvement while supporting initiatives to increase employee morale and workplace satisfaction.

Robin holds a Master of Science in Training and Development from Lesley University, a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Psychology from Cambridge College, and is certified through SHRM (SCP) and HRCI (SPHR).

Specialties Include:
Strategic Business Partner | Predictive Index Analyst | Employee Relations | Talent Management | Training & Development | Workforce Planning | Benefit & Wellness Programs | Complex Compliance Requirements | Employment Law | Policy Architect | Building & Leading High Performing Teams | Building Internal & External Partnerships 

Scarlett Clarke joined Commonwealth Financial in October of 2020. She was previously at Bright Horizons. Scarlett’s passion for HR began after she graduated college and worked for a staffing agency. In her current role, Scarlett is responsible for aligning business objectives with employees and management. She serves as a consultant and strategic partner to leaders and collaborates with department managers to help fairly implement our policies and to assist them with coaching employees and supporting their development.

Scarlett holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Developmental Psychology from Suffolk University. She and her family live in Hyde Park, MA. 

Scarlett will co-facilitate the session on Social Identities.

Cheryl Jacobs is Senior Vice President, Executive Coach, Leadership Developer & Facilitator at MCG Partners, a consultancy specializing in leadership and talent optimization. With over 20 years’ experience leading teams and organizations to sustainable success, Cheryl develops and delivers a broad spectrum of customized training and development programs. Her program participants span various organization levels, industries, and cultures, and speak to Cheryl’s ability to create personalized learning experiences and transformative and sustainable changes.

A skilled interactive and collaborative facilitator, Cheryl has extensive expertise in solving the leadership challenges of individuals and organizations. She specializes in employee and leadership effectiveness, succession planning, organizational innovation, change and alignment. Cheryl is a Harvard Business School executive coach providing coaching and advisory services to attending global executives. Previously, Cheryl leveraged her passion for developing people and founded Talent Transformation, a coaching, training and talent management consulting firm.

Cheryl also served as the Executive Director of Sales for The Providence Journal Company, a multimedia organization owned by Belo Corporation. At The Providence Journal Company, she oversaw a sales and marketing staff of 60 and drove strategies, revenue, and multimedia product development with a $50m budget. Prior to the Providence Journal, Cheryl spent 10 years in Sales and Strategic Planning at Boston.com and The Boston Globe.

Cheryl holds a BA from Boston College and a MBA from Suffolk University. In addition, Cheryl is a certified Executive Coach through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is a certified Analyst in the Predictive Index^® (PI^®) and DiSC^®. She is also certified in several 360 assessments. She is also a faculty member of the Northeast Human Resource Association (NEHRA), a SHRM chapter.

DIANE MULCAHY is the author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want (Harper Collins). The title is a  best-selling book on Amazon that has been translated into five languages, and featured widely in national media including CNN, Forbes, Huffington Post, NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Oprah.com, PBS, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Worth. Mulcahy is a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, an advisor to startups, a coach to individuals, and a frequent speaker and writer. She is also an adjunct professor at Babson College, where she created and teaches a popular MBA class on the Gig Economy. Her course was named by Forbes as one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Business School Classes in the country. Mulcahy earned graduate and undergraduate degrees from Harvard University.

Nancy Persson is an Executive Coach, Leadership Development Consultant, and Principal of Leadership Growth Solutions, LLC a management consultancy providing executive coaching, leadership development and strategic team solutions. She has significant experience in developing and driving talent and leadership strategies in a variety of business environments, including multi-channel operations, global businesses, and small entrepreneurial ones. Nancy’s 30+ years in business, and her 11+ years as an executive coach have forged a talented leader known for work ethic, versatility, passion, and compassion.

Nancy is an expert facilitator, and sought-after speaker in New England, widely recognized for her authenticity, energy, and creativity. She’s a member of the NEHRA Board of Directors, and a key contributor to the NEHRA Executive HR Women’s Program.

A recognized authority in leadership development and culture change, Lisa Prior has worked for two decades with leaders at all levels, from start-up to Fortune 100 organizations, serving the healthcare, biopharma, biomedical, academic, financial services, asset management, retail, and non-profit sectors. Lisa’s mission as a leadership coach and culture change consultant is to enable leaders to bring out the best in themselves and their people so they create win-win relationships with one another and the organization.

Practical and results-oriented, Lisa works with leaders and teams at all stages of growth and transition, both personal and organizational. Clients say they value the unique combination of Lisa’s powerful questions and organizational experience that leads to useful insights, actionable steps, and measurable outcomes. 

Andy Porter is Executive Vice President and Chief People Experience Officer for Relay Therapeutics.  Most recently, Porter was the chief people officer at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. There, he lead the Human Resources and Facilities Planning and Operations functions and was responsible for creating an organizational environment that fully enables the success of the Broad mission by attracting, developing, and retaining top talent.

With more than twenty years of experience, Porter’s previous roles included Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Merrimack, he served as head of Human Resources at Dyax Corp, worked for several years as an independent consultant within the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and held roles in Human Resources at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Additionally, Porter has spent time outside of his full-time roles teaching as an adjunct professor at MCPHS University, and sharing his views on organizations and talent management as a contributor to the blog “Fistful of Talent.”

Porter holds a B.S. degree in organizational psychology from Bridgewater State University, and an M.S. in organizational development from American University.

Throughout her thirty-year career in Business and Human Resources, Cynthia has served as a trusted visionary, coach/mentor and thought partner to the executive team.  Whether she is serving as an EVP and Chief People Officer or Executive Coach, she is focused on connections and delivering business results. She is passionate about building highly engaged and values-focused organizations and is recognized as a motivational leader committed to collaboration, customer solutions and empowering others to achieve business results. Helping clients through successful business turnarounds, managing through growth & change and achieving a collaborative, results-driven culture is her specialty. Under her leadership, Harvard Pilgrim celebrated seven straight years of achieving a 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign and Corporate Equity Index; ‘Best Places to Work’ designation, and was one of the first organizations in MA to sign onto the Wage Compact; an entity focused on transparency in wage equity. 

Cynthia holds a BA from Framingham State University and an MBA from Bryant University. She is the recipient of the Bob Gatti Mentor of the year award and the HR Leadership Excellence Award. She is a national leader in her practice and currently serves on the Board of NEHRA.

As Vice President of Education and Development at Bright Horizons, Rachel leads the education, curriculum, and field learning & development teams, contributing to the development of young children, and employees who teach early childhood education. Rachel is host of the Bright Horizons parenting podcast, Teach, Play, Love: Parenting Advice for the Early Year

Michael joined The N&D® Group in June of 2017, bringing more than 20 years of experience to his role as CHRO. He provides leadership and subject matter expertise in Talent Management, Business Continuity Planning, and Facilities Management. 

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Management (magna cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School executive education program, Leading Change and Organizational Renewal (LCOR). 

Michael was appointed to the Board of the Norfolk & Dedham Foundation in 2018. He is also the Chair of the Retirement Plans Committee for N&D® and serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA).  

Gina Abudi: As President of Abudi Consulting Group, LLC, a woman-owned business, Gina utilizes her 25+ years of consulting, coaching and executive leadership experience to work closely with executives and Boards of Directors of mid- to large global organizations to lead and support strategic, transformational change initiatives. Her work is focused on coaching leaders on change, providing consulting services and offering training programs related to leading and championing/supporting change.

Gina is active with the Northeast Human Resource Association (NEHRA), frequently contributing to programs for developing HR Professionals and at conferences. She’s also adjunct faculty at several college and university undergraduate and graduate programs and is active with the Association of Change Management Professionals.

Meet Tracy Burns, the CEO behind NEHRA since November 2010. Tracy left a two-decade-long corporate HR career, finding her perfect fit at NEHRA. In her role, she stays closely connected to the HR space, championing and developing those working to meet the challenges in today’s work environment.

Tracy believes in more than just steering the largest HR organization in New England; she sees it as a duty to consistently propel HR professionals forward. For her, that goes beyond making sure HR leaders have what they need to support their own organizations; it also includes providing them with a chance to focus on their own development within NEHRA.

Her passion for women's leadership led her to play a pivotal role in launching NEHRA's first Executive HR Women’s Program in 2017. Recognizing the impact COVID had on HR professionals, in 2022, she collaborated with local business leaders to unveil NEHRA’s groundbreaking Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace resource platform.

Tracy is the go-to expert on "all things workplace," often lending her insights to local and national media outlets. She's been featured on industry-related podcasts like The Hennessy Report, HR Rebooted, and Wellbeing Walks.

Beyond NEHRA, Tracy is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the American Society of Association Executive (ASAE). She's a supporter of fundraising efforts for The Children’s Place, serves on the Work Without Limits Business Advisory Council at UMass Medical School, and actively participates in Boston's DEI community.

Tracy’s HR journey started early, leading her to earn a degree in business/human resources from California State University and later a master’s degree in organizational development from Lesley University. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Tracy has called Greater Boston "home” since 1996. Besides being a certified yoga instructor, she cherishes quality time with friends and family, especially her two fabulous sons. Tracy Burns isn't just a CEO; she's a dedicated advocate for growth, wellbeing, and genuine human connections.

Jane leads the human resources and training function for Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) the largest credit union in New England. Reporting directly to the CEO, she is responsible for overseeing all Human Resources functions including Talent Management, Benefits Administration, Organizational Development, Payroll, Compensation, and Training.

Jane possesses over 25+ years of human resources experience in a variety of organizations including the healthcare, insurance and business services sectors. She holds a BS and MS degree from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI; a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) degree from St. Joseph’s College in Standish, ME and an MBA in Organizational Development from Upper Iowa University. Jane is certified by the Society of Human Resources Management as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and is the Vice President for the Human Resources Association of Central Massachusetts.

Barry has more than 35 years of experience in Human Resources in industries as the diverse as Financial Services, Legal Services, and Hospitality. He was named Chief Human Resources Officer at Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (FHLBank Boston) in 2013. As CHRO, Barry is responsible for the overall leadership, vision, strategic direction, and oversight for FHLBank Boston’s human resources activities and operations, facilities management and administration, as well as the Bank’s diversity and inclusion efforts. 

In his role, Barry provides advice and guidance on strategic and business initiatives to the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership. He serves on various FHLBank Boston committees, including the executive leadership team, providing invaluable guidance by leveraging his expertise, insight, and collaborative approach. Barry also serves as a member of the FHLBank Systems Human Resources Officer and Diversity & Inclusion Groups. 

Throughout his career, Barry has focused on being a valued business partner. He has extensive domestic and international experience working in the Financial Services, Online Publishing, and Professional Services industries where he has delivered effective performance consulting, influenced decision making, and contributed to driving business results in complex environments. Barry is recognized for his commercial orientation, customer centric focus, and exceptional relationship building skills that deliver organizational results. 

Barry earned his B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts.

Kristin joined KGA in January, 2007 and is currently KGA’sVice President of Clinical and Work-life Services. She oversees the daily operations for the EAP team, as well as provides assessment, counseling, and referral services to managers, HR, employees, and their families. Kristin has extensive experience counseling children, adolescents, and adults in various settings. Prior to KGA, she worked as an HR Representative for a Fortune 500 U.S. technology company in Cork, Ireland. Kristin received her BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Bowdoin College and her MSW from Boston University.

Michael joined The N&D® Group in June of 2017, bringing more than 20 years of experience to his role as CHRO. He provides leadership and subject matter expertise in Talent Management, Business Continuity Planning, and Facilities Management. 

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Management (magna cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School executive education program, Leading Change and Organizational Renewal (LCOR). 

Michael was appointed to the Board of the Norfolk & Dedham Foundation in 2018. He is also the Chair of the Retirement Plans Committee for N&D® and serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA).  

Global HR Executive with more than 20 years of combined experience impacting the visibility and performance of Businesses and HR Functions. A strategic business leader with a people focus bringing the human resource challenges of organizations to the business discussions at a senior level. Broad experience from a Silicon Valley Start Up to a $30B Public company currently CHRO of Mercury Systems headquartered in Andover, MA. Provided strategic partnership and direction for multiple businesses, integrated acquisitions and divested businesses. A strong change leader who understands one of the biggest constants in business today is change and has strong background and experience in how to manage organizations in a continuous change environment.

Specialties: Strategic HR Leadership, Business Partnership, Talent Management,