Board of Directors 

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT 2010/2011: Jennifer Moran, SPHR, Blyth, Inc., (203) 552-6683

Jennifer assumed the role of Chapter President in January 2010 and will hold the office for two years. She will be responsible for the overall management of the chapter and for implementing the new SHRM Affiliate Program for Excellence (SHAPE). We look forward to her leadership.
Following three years as the Co Chair for the Community Affairs Committee, Jennifer served as the chapter's secretary for 2009.

Jennifer moved to Fairfield County in 2004 from Atlanta, Georgia, and has over 13 years of HR experience working in specialist and generalist positions. Currently, she is the HR Manager at Blyth, a 1.2 billion dollar home expressions company, where she is responsible for implementing organizational and management development initiatives. Her responsibilities include succession planning, performance management, coaching, employee relations, compliance and staffing. Jennifer has her Masters Degree in Education from Indiana University, and her Bachelors in Rehabilitation Services.

Michele served as our Chapter President for the 2006/7 term.  Under her leadership, the chapter grew 52% and became the largest chapter in the state.  Michele has been a national member of SHRM for more than 20 years and a member of SOCT SHRM's Board of Directors since 2001.  She has also held Board positions with the SHRM Westchester County Chapter.  Michele is the recipient of SOCT SHRM's CREATIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD for 2005 in recognition of her contributions to the chapter Website and Communications.  She continues as Chairperson of Communications/Website whose charter is to ensure that the chapter's website and communications are "value-added" for our membership.

Michele is currently Director, Corporate Human Resources, for L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., a Stamford-based technology company, providing biometric solutions and services that protect and secure personal identities.  She has also held a variety of HR management positions in FORTUNE 100 companies.  She was the Director, Human Resources, at Vectron  International, Inc/Dover Corp., a hi-tech company in Norwalk in addition to a similar role at Xerox Corp. Michele has leveraged her experience in consumer products, manufacturing, publishing, and communications in HR management positions as well.  She holds a BS degree in Business Administration and was graduated Summa Cum Laude from Mercy College.

This year, we welcome Maryann Donovan to our Board of Directors and to the role of VP Membership. She will be responsible for continued growth of our membership and servicing the needs of members.

Maryann Donovan founded Impact Personnel in 1989. Located in Norwalk, CT the company places candidates in the tri-state area in human resources, marketing, finance/accounting and office administration. Impact Personnel also has a temporary/contract division. Maryann has wide-ranging ties in the Fairfield County and metropolitan New York business communities. She is a graduate of Fairfield University where she has served on the Alumni Board of Directors. She is a member of Who's Who in the East and of the prestigious Women Presidents Organization (WPO).

In addition, Maryann is a member of the board of directors of Dress for Success Mid-Fairfield County, an agency that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women, where she is chairperson of the Human Resources and Corporate Guild committees.

Randy joined the Board in 2008 as VP, Professional Development. His role is to build upon the past years’ success and support our members and the local HR community in their professional development in all HR functional areas. Professional Development will continue to work closely with Programs and the SHRM CT State Council Webinars areas to provide professionally rewarding events for all our members.

Randy is a senior Learning and Development professional currently with UBS AG. He helped establish the UBS Leadership Institute and designed and implemented a number of senior leadership programs initiative over the last eight years with UBS. Randy joined UBS in March 2001 and helped establish the UBS Leadership Institute to support the firm’s top 600 global leaders. Prior to joining UBS, Randy was Manager, Leadership and Professional Development, at People’s United Bank. He joined People’s United Bank upon his retirement in July 1999 as a Colonel after serving 25 years in the United States Army where he served in multiple line and staff (HR and Training) positions around the globe. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Sociology from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

Marlene assumed the role of Chapter Secretary in 2010. Most recently, she was Co-chairperson, Professional Development, in 2009 with Randy Chase. Her worked to identify, implement and coordinate opportunities for professional development programs for our membership and the HR community. Prior to that, she as also a Co-Chair role in Community Relations. She partnered with Tara Berlingo to support community service projects, and provide educational workshops for high school students to support the chapter’s workforce readiness goals. Marlene also served the chapter in the area Special Interest Groups bringing together internal Corporate HR professionals in a forum to share common issues.

Marlene has been a member of the local SHRM chapter since 2001 and a member of the National chapter since 2002. She has been in the Human Resource field for 20 years and has held several HR Generalist positions at companies like GE Capital and Unilever HPC. Marlene is currently a consultant and was, most recently, a Vice President working at RBS Greenwich Capital, a fixed income trading firm. She attended Sacred Heart University for Human Resources Management and holds a certificate of Human Resources Management from Cornell University.

Rich Juliana joined the Southern Connecticut SHRM Board in 2007. He is responsible for encouraging professional certification and recertification of chapter members to promote professional development, improve performance and enhance qualifications for advancement in the Human Resources field. He provides chapter members with advice and information on how to attain or maintain PHR, SPHR and GPHR certification. He has also organized and instructed a review program, which he conducted in 2008 and 2009 to help practitioners prepare for the SPHR and PHR certification exam.

Rich is the Director of Human Resources at Silver Hill Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital in New Canaan. He has over 25 years experience in Human Resources and Training at a number of health care and financial institutions including Citibank, Oxford Health Plans and Lawrence Hospital. He has also done consulting work at marketing, accounting and financial services companies. He earned a BA from the City College of New York and a Masters in Public Administration from John Jay College and a Masters in Social Work from Adelphi University and has been an Adjunct Instructor at Fairfield University and New York University.

Susan joined the board in 2007 and she supports chapter communications with her very creative graphic skills. Susan was recently recognized by the chapter’s Recognition Award for her tireless and outstanding creative contributions to the chapter. Susan also ensures that the chapter’s events and activities have press coverage in Fairfield County media. She is responsible for keeping members informed of chapter projects, and events.

She is currently the Director of Marketing and Public Relations with Applied Psychological Techniques, Inc. (APT) in Darien, CT. At APT, she creates and executes communications programs in the areas of corporate branding, advertising, direct mail, trade shows, Web-based and e-mail promotion, collateral materials and special events. Prior to joining APT, Susan held positions in Stamford and New York City in advertising, public relations and marketing firms. Susan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a member of the Fairfield County Public Relations Society, the American Marketing Association and the Public Relations Society of America.    

Michele continues in this role as well as serving as chapter Former President. See above Officer section.

In her role as Legislative Affairs Chair, Jennifer organizes the Workplace Law Symposiums, which meet to discuss current legal topics important to HR professionals. Jennifer also provides information for the Legislative Update page on our website as well as white papers for the membership. Jennifer joined the Board in May 2010 and is Of Counsel in the Stamford office of Jackson Lewis LLP, one of the nation’s largest law firms dedicated exclusively to representing management in workplace law, including labor, employment and benefits matters. Jennifer’s practice encompasses employment litigation and counseling employers on a variety of employment practices, including employment handbooks and policies.

Jennifer is a Connecticut native. She received her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and her A.B. degree, magna cum laude, with honors in English from Kenyon College. Jennifer is admitted to practice in the State of Connecticut, the U. S. District Court for the State of Connecticut and the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Art joined the Board in 2009 as Chairperson of Media and will also lend his support in the area of Sponsorships. He will serve as liason with Media Relations and Chapter advertising. He will also work in the local business community to identify sponsorship opportunities.

Art is Recruitment Media Consultant for Connecticut Media Group—the four principle daily newspapers in Fairfield County: Connecticut Post, The News-Times in the Danbury area, The Advocate in Stamford/Norwalk and Greenwich Time. Connecticut Media Group is a subsidiary of Hearst Corporation, one of the nation’s largest private companies engaged in a broad range of publishing, broadcasting, cable networking and diversified communications activities. Prior to joining Connecticut Media Group, Art held positions in telecommunications and commercial real estate, serving corporate clients throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. Art is Past-President of The Rotary Club of New Haven, and a member of the Class of 2006 and permanent member of the Advisory Board, Leadership Greater New Haven.

	SPONSORSHIPS: Matthew Fair Pierson & Smith, (203)-854-3419
Matt joined the board in 2006 to lead our Sponsorship efforts and has since formed our Sponsorship committee. This area for our SHRM Chapter provides businesses the opportunity to sponsor programs, special events, meetings and website advertisements. In his role, Matt coordinates the various sponsorship opportunities to the many SHRM member-companies, vendors and friends of SOCT SHRM. One of the main objectives is to introduce the unique “sponsorship exposure” as not only limited to the actual event but the continuous web-site/email exposure for all sponsors leading up to the various programs. Matt joined SHRM in 2003. Matt is a Partner at Pierson & Smith Insurance Agency and leads their Employee Benefits practice. He has been involved in the Employee Benefits field for over 18 years and before joining Pierson & Smith spent 12 years in sales /management with UNUM and Fortis in the New York Metro marketplace. He is a graduate of Williams College with a B.A., New York University, Stern School of Business with an M.B.A., and holds Series 6 and 63 licenses. He currently serves on several insurance carriers’ advisory boards, Healthcare Leadership Committees, and a Board of Directors for a local Non-profit company. His primary responsibilities include new business development, expanding the scope of the P&S administration business, including special projects and strategic business planning.

She served as President of our chapter in 2002 and 2003. Since 2004, she has served on the Board in an advisory role, taking on projects as needed. Kathy joined SHRM in 1998 and was quickly drafted to work on the Program Committee. She served as Program Chair in 1999 and 2000, became Co-Chair of Membership in 2001.

Kathy is VP, Client Services, at Right Management, a career transition and organizational consulting firm; and has been with Right since 1991 in various capacities. Her prior "careers" have been in the relocation industry and education. Kathy has a BA in Psychology, a Master's in Education, an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing and has been an Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University.

Maureen served as President 2004/5 and, most recently, chaired the HR In-Transition Co-Chair. She continues her involvement there. She has held a number of Board positions since 1997. She has also served as Vice President of Programs with the National Human Resources Association (NHRA) and has been affiliated with both the Connecticut Association of Personnel Services, Inc. (CAPS) and The American Staffing Association (ASA) since 1989. In September 2007, Maureen Mackey was nominated as Human Resources Vendor of the Year at the prestigious SOCT SHRM 2007 Annual Human Resources People of the Year Awards ceremony.

Maureen has been in the staffing industry for over 22 years specializing in the areas of Human Resources, Office Administration and Accounting. In 2002, she co-founded Mackey & Guasco Staffing Associates LLC in Darien, CT. She is best known for her uncanny ability to read and expertly match candidates to a variety of corporate cultures. In addition, Maureen has mastered the art of networking while maintaining an empathetic personal approach to both candidates and businesses alike. She earned her BA from Pace University.

STUDENT CHAPTER: Tara Berlingo, Pitney Bowes, (203) 552-6683 Tara assumed this leadership role in 2009 after serving successfully serving as Co-Chair of our Community Affairs committee. The Student Chapter reaches out to the college community in Fairfield County by targeting students in the Human Resources curriculum. This committee sponsors interactive presentations with panelists from our SHRM membership. The goal of the panel presentations is to introduce students to the HR generalist role and other HR subspecialties as career choices, as well as demonstrate how HR furthers organizational and line management objectives. The Committee also facilitates HR internship opportunities with businesses in Fairfield County and provides networking through its SHRM membership and programs. Tara currently works at Pitney Bowes in Stamford, CT in a Generalist role supporting their Corporate Division, working with senior leaders. Prior to that, she worked in Workforce Administration where she gained a specialty in Severance Agreements. She has also supported benefits, payroll and garnishments. Tara holds a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice from Salve Regina University and is currently working on her Masters in Management Communications at Manhattanville College   CHAIRPERSON, WORKFORCE READINESS: Bobbie Lyons, (203) 354-6606 Bobbie joins the Board in 2010 and will be responsible to plan and encourage chapter involvement in Workforce Readiness activities and provide leadership in the development of goals and chapter strategies. This will involve partnering with local schools, serving as an advocate for education programs and providing timely information on education issues to the chapter president and state workforce readiness director. She will focus on programs directed to help new and returning candidates successfully enter the workforce by linking business, education, and worker training efforts. Bobbie is currently a Strategic Sales Manager for the Norwalk, CT office of The Ayers Group, a Human Resource management and consulting services firm. She is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with client companies who seek solutions to a wide range of human resource issues, including restructuring, transitioning employees, performance management and developmental coaching. Bobbie’s background includes leadership positions in corporate Human Resources in the real estate, entertainment and telecommunications industries, as well as work with two other global career transition/organizational consulting firms. She has been an adjunct instructor at New York University, Sacred Heart University and Norwalk Community College. Bobbie holds a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University and is certified to administer the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32) for assessment purposes.