Day 1!
Annual Conference
Opening Keynote Speaker
Your Impact is Your Superpower! Julie’s keynotes are fast-paced, high-energy, wildly interactive, and packed with real-world strategies audiences can use the minute they leave the room. Expect big laughs, real talk, and zero fluff. Her philosophy is simple: the more the audience laughs, the more they learn and the more they remember. “Solid Business Strategies. Brilliant Comedic Humor.” It’s not just her tagline—it’s Julie’s promise, every single time. | Closing Keynote Speaker
The Magic of Leaving It Better: How One Simple Principle Can Transform People, Workplaces, and the World Around Us What if the key to transforming your workplace could be summed up in three simple words: Leave It Better? Based on Dr. Daren Martin's bestselling book The Sink, this engaging, story-driven session demonstrates how small, intentional actions can create lasting impact. Through humor, practical examples, and memorable stories, participants will learn how to improve their workplace by taking ownership, elevating others, and committing to continuous personal growth. HR professionals and leaders will leave with a simple, powerful philosophy they can apply every day to strengthen culture, engagement, and leadership. |
5 Concurrent Speaker Tracks to Choose! |
Strategic Human Resources |
Morning Speaker
Better Decisions Start with Better Data - How HR Professionals can utilize BLS Data This presentation will provide New Orleans HR professionals with practical insights from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to better understand today's labor market and workforce trends. Attendees will explore key indicators - including employment growth, local occupational wages, and regional workforce patterns - to support more informed talent decisions. The session will demonstrate how HR leaders can leverage reliable labor market data to strengthen recruiting strategies, benchmark compensation, and plan for future workforce needs. Participants will leave with practical tools and resources to confidently apply data-driven decision-making within their organizations. | Afternoon Speaker
From Payroll to Profit: How HR Leaders can use Financial Strategy to Strengthen their Workforce HR leaders play a critical role in the financial health of an organization, yet many are not equipped with the tools to connect workforce decisions to business profitability. This session will break down how payroll, employee benefits, and financial strategy impact business growth, and how HR professionals can drive smarter decisions that improve both employee outcomes and the bottom line. |
Change Management
Morning Speaker The Mid-Flight Rescue: Turning Project Friction into "People Power" Projects don't always fail at the start—they often stall in the middle, when momentum fades, communication breaks down, and teams lose alignment. Many HR leaders assume it's too late for change management once a project is underway, but it doesn't have to be. In this interactive session, you'll learn a practical 4-pillar diagnostic framework to quickly assess project health, identify the root causes of team dysfunction, and refocus your leadership efforts where they'll have the greatest impact. Leave with a simple, actionable tool to realign teams, restore momentum, and lead struggling initiatives to success. | Afternoon Speaker
How to be Relevant in a Changing Workforce The workforce is changing whether organizations are ready or not. The question is no longer whether change will happen - it is whether HR professionals will remain relevant enough to lead through it. This dynamic and thought-provoking session explores how HR professionals can strengthen their influence, elevate their strategic value, and become trusted advisors during organizational change. An interactive and informative experience for the HR professional. |
Leadership Excellence |
Morning Speaker
Play the Room: Turning Conversations into Opportunity In today's workplace, HR professionals are expected to do more than manage policies and processes. They must build trust, communicate with clarity, and create meaningful relationships across teams, leadership, and employees. In this practical and engaging breakout session, Dagan Martinez-Vargas shares strategies to help professionals become more intentional, confident, and effective in the conversations that shape culture, collaboration, and results. Drawing from his book Play the Room, Dagan shows attendees how to strengthen introductions, navigate important conversations with more confidence, and turn everyday interactions into opportunities for trust, alignment, and impact. Attendees will leave with practical communication tools they can apply immediately in leadership, employee engagement, and workplace relationship-building. |
Afternoon Speaker
Cardozie Jones
Leadership Inheritances: What to Keep and What to Leave Behind Many leaders inherit their leadership style from past managers and workplace cultures without questioning whether those approaches still work. As employee expectations evolve, leaders must rethink how they build trust, communicate, and create healthy, high-performing teams. In this engaging session, executive coach Cardozie Jones will help participants identify outdated leadership habits, embrace modern leadership practices, and develop practical strategies to build stronger workplace cultures where people and organizations thrive. |
Learning & Development
Morning Speaker
The Power of You(th) Young professionals often feel pressured to hide their authenticity to appear credible in the workplace. But what if youth is a strength rather than a weakness? This engaging session explores how imposter syndrome, workplace expectations, and organizational culture shape confidence, communication, and leadership. Through personal stories and practical strategies, attendees will learn how authenticity can become a powerful tool for influence and connection, while leaders will gain insights into creating environments where emerging talent feels empowered to contribute and thrive. | Afternoon Speaker
From Tension to Trust: A Practical Guide to Conflict Management Conflict can feel like chaos. One minute you're addressing a simple issue, and the next you're navigating defensiveness, power struggles, and emotional undercurrents you never saw coming. Feedback triggers "fight or flight." Minor mistakes turn into historical grievances. Certain employees seem drawn to drama like moths to a flame. This session helps attendees pull back the curtain and see what's really happening beneath the surface. You'll learn why conflict escalates, how stress and unseen pressures shape reactions, and how to interrupt unproductive patterns before they spiral. With practical strategies and mindset shifts, leaders will leave with the ability to create calmer, clearer conversations - and transform tension into trust with purpose, not sleight of hand. |
Recruitment and Retention
Morning Speaker
On average interview mistakes cost companies anywhere from $15,000 to $240,000 per bad hire! From wasted recruitment ads and training costs to turnover headaches and legal risks, these expenses are entirely preventable. Take a crash course in interviewing and walk away with a better understanding of what questions leaders should be asking and, equally important, what questions and topics they must absolutely avoid! Turn your interviewing process from a liability into your greatest recruitment asset. | Afternoon Speaker
Stay Awhile: The Real Work Behind Retention Retention isn't driven by perks or pay alone. It's shaped by how people experience leadership every day. This session pulls back the curtain on what actually makes employees stay and what quietly pushes them out. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, attendees will learn how to build trust, strengthen connection, and create a workplace where people choose to stay. |
