Back to Work Series - Session 2 - 5/26

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).