Program

Header image of Virginia Beach Convention Center with text that reads "dhrm Annual HR Conference. HR Navigating the winds of change: building a resilient workplace. October 28 - October 30, 2025 Virginia Beach Convention Center.

Day 1: Tuesday, October 28th
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration: Vendor exhibits open
8:30 am - 8:45 am	Welcome and Opening Remarks - DHRM Director Janet Lawson
8:45 am - 9:15 pm	General Session, Margaret “Lyn” McDermid, Secretary of Administration
9:15 am - 10:30 am	Keynote Speaker - Emotional Intelligence Reboot: Leading with Care, Teesha Carter
10:30 am - 10:45 am	Break
10:45 am - 11:00 am	Sponsor Spotlight #1
11:00 am - 12:15 pm	General Session – Servant Leadership/When Talent Thrives: Tips from the Big Screen (Serve-Lead-Inspire), Bob Gordon, Radford University and Mount Rogers Community Services
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm	Sponsor Spotlight #2
2:00 pm - 4:45 pm	Concurrent Sessions
2:00 pm - 3:15 pm	Session 1 - Compensation Update Natalie Brannon Session 2 - Retirement Update Andy Feagans, Virginia Retirement System Session 3 - Are You Prepared for Collective Bargaining in State Government? Chris Grab Session 4 - Addressing Compassion Fatigue & Burnout Lori Brown, Transformative Leadership Strategies Session 5 - Charting the Course: Guiding Recruitment Through Changing Tides Kimberly Alexander, Jamie Norman, Ponnette Smith
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm	Break
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm	Session 1 - HR Best Practices - Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) First Level Appeals Madilyn Pierce (VEC) Session 2 - Vital Medicare Pitfalls HR Professionals Need to Know. Bryan Gay, Boomer Insurance Group Session 3 - Live Well, Lead Well: Coaching Leaders to Integrate Self-Care and self-awareness into Core Competency Development Christi Venable, Smile Therapy Services, LLC Session 4 - From Stress to Strength: Mental Health and Resilience Strategies in Times of Change Fred Gatty, Virginia Housing Session 5 - Mitigating Bias in the Selection Process Kimberly Alexander, Justin Shreve, Sandy Phipps (DARS)
5:00 pm	Dinner on your own (restaurant guide provided)

Day 2: Wednesday, October 29th
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration: Vendor exhibits open
8:30 am - 8:35 am	Welcome and Announcements - DHRM Director Janet Lawson
8:35 am - 8:45 am	Sponsor Spotlight #3
8:45 am - 10:00 am	*Keynote Speaker: Thriving Through Uncertainty and Change: Building Mental Resilience in the New World of Work, Christi Venable*
10:00 am - 10:15 am	Break
10:15 am - 11:30 am	*Concurrent Sessions*
10:15 am - 11:30 am	Session 1 - Navigating the Winds of Change: Workers' Compensation & VSDP Kitty Hughes, Mike Pote (VRS) Session 2 - Recharge: Exploring the 7 Types of Rest DHRM CommonHealth Team Session 3 - Cultivating Civility in Higher Education: The ODU Experience Veleka Gatling, Millicent Lee, in partnership with Chris Grab & Justin Shreve Session 4 - HR Management of Transition/Appointees Rochelle Altholz (Governor's Office) in partnership with DHRM Session 5 - Veterans Hiring TBD
11:30 am - 12:45 pm	Lunch
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm	General Session - Employment Law Update - Kaufman and Canoles
2:00 pm - 4:45 pm	Concurrent Sessions
2:00 pm - 3:15 pm	Session 1 - Tips and Tricks on Getting Payroll Processed Correctly Payroll Service Bureau (PSB)/ Department of Accounts (DOA) staff Session 2 - What HR Must Know about Workplace Addiction Andreas Bieneart, Ph.D. and Erick Herrmann, Master Center for Addiction Medicine Session 3 - HR Transformation Starts Here: A Collaborative Framework for Change Kimberly Wilson and Matthew Schenk, Old Dominion University Session 4 - Career Development: Employee Engagement and Retention at its Best Beverly Walker and Bobbi Gouffon, Virginia Commonwealth University Session 5 - Windmills Session Melissa Edmonds, Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm	Break
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm	Session 1 - Safety & Claims Reduction TBD Session 2 - Cardinal Updates TBD Session 3 - Financially Unstoppable: Empowering Resilient Employees through practical financial wellness Breanna Colon, Integrity Financial Solutions, Inc. Session 4 - Leading Others Through Change: Moving Beyond Resistance to Results Jim Davis Session 5 - Navigating through the Leave Alphabet Soup Ponnette Smith, Diane Anderson, Debbie Rigdon
5:30 pm - 9:00 pm	Networking Social - Beachside Social 2728 Atlantic Avenue Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Day 3: Thursday, October 30th
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration: Vendor exhibits open
8:30 am - 8:35 am	Welcome - DHRM Director Janet Lawson
8:35 am - 10:05 am	*General Session - Don't Fear Change: HR Friendly ways to use AI without melting down - Northern Virginia Community College in partnership with VITA*
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Break
10:15 am - 11:30 am	Repeat Concurrent Sessions and HRD Roundtable
10:15 am - 11:30 am	Session 1 - Q&A Session WC/Safety Session 2 - Cultivating Civility in Higher Education: The ODU Experience Veleka Gatling, Millicent Lee, in partnership with Chris Grab & Justin Shreve Session 3 - Compensation Update Natalie Brannon Session 4 - Charting the Course: Guiding Recruitment Through Changing Tides Kimberly Alexander, Jamie Norman, Ponnette Smith Session 5 - HR Director Roundtable led by Director Lawson
11:30 am - 12:00 pm	Pick up Boxed Lunch and Get Ready for Closing Keynote
12:00 pm - 1:15 pm	General Session - Beyond Employee Engagement: The Importance of Social Connection for Today's Frontline Workforce – and Tomorrow’s Candace Nicolls and James Warren
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm	Concurrent Sessions (tentative)
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm	Session 1 - Q&A Session - WC/Safety Session 2 - Q&A Session - Compensation Session 3 - Q&A Session - Employee Relations Session 4 - Q&A Session - Health Benefits Session 5 - Q&A Session - Policy

CONTACT: Jodeci Houston, Continuing and Professional Education, Virginia Tech
Email: jhouston@vt.edu