About Our Breakout Session Speakers

Dr. Amber Johnson is the founder of Bright Threads Leadership Group. She is an executive advisor and leadership coach who works with organizations of all sizes to enhance collaboration, shape culture, improve communication, and drive results.

Previously, Amber spent 11 years with the Center for Values-Driven Leadership at Benedictine University, including six years as the Chief Communications Officer. She worked in marketing for World Vision, was a US Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga, a public relations consultant, and a university editor.

Amber is a TEDx speaker and an author – you can find her work at Forbes.com, Psychology Today, Smartbrief, and in her newsletter, Better Than Fine. She holds a PhD in leadership, two degrees in communications, and (relevant to today’s group) is a Central Illinois native and a graduate of Warrensburg-Latham High School.

If the word “feedback” makes you groan, this session is for you.

Participants will learn the “Find It, Flip It, Elevate It” methodology for delivering constructive feedback that inspires rather than deflates, and explore Karpman’s Drama Triangle to understand how to receive feedback without falling into victim, villain, or hero roles.

Through practical examples and roll-up-your-sleeves application, you will gain concrete tools you can use and teach within your organization to foster a culture of learning, healthy conflict, and continuous improvement.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Articulate the business case for encouraging healthy conflict and feedback in the workplace.
2. Apply the “Find It, Flip It, Elevate It” framework to transform problem-focused conversations into motivating feedback discussions.
3. Identify and interrupt drama triangle dynamics (victim, villain, hero roles) when receiving feedback.
4. Design feedback conversations that reduce defensiveness.
5. Train and coach others in these feedback methodologies, serving as internal champions for healthier conflict resolution and performance conversations within your organizations.

Annie Monyok is the Founder and CEO of Monyok Leadership, a consulting firm focused on smart strategies, strong teams and standout brands. With nearly 15 years of experience, Annie partners with organizations to solve complex challenges, strengthen teams, and drive meaningful results. Known for blending practical strategy with a people-first approach, she is a trusted advisor, facilitator, and executive coach for leaders navigating high-stakes decisions.

Jerk at Work is a candid and practical session designed to help teams clean up the small communication habits that damage trust. From short replies to sharp tones, we’ll take a closer look at how everyday interactions shape your culture. Participants will build self-awareness, strengthen accountability, and leave with simple ways to communicate with more clarity, respect, and impact.

Julienne Shields is the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and a Clinical Instructor at Millikin University, where she returned in 2025 after serving as President and CEO of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). In this role, she led national efforts to advance entrepreneurship education through bold teaching, scholarship, and practice.

Shields previously served as Director of Millikin’s Center for Entrepreneurship from 2015 to 2020, where she built innovative programs bridging arts and entrepreneurship. She has authored and edited books on arts entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, advocating for safe spaces where educators can infuse entrepreneurship into diverse disciplines.

Her entrepreneurial journey includes launching a technology startup at the University of Illinois’ EnterpriseWorks incubator, pioneering educational innovation in K-12 settings as Extended Learning Coordinator for Decatur Public Schools, and working in computer software consulting. She holds a B.A. in Classics (Archaeology) and History from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Millikin University which is foundational to her belief in the value of humanities and history as part of the entrepreneurial experience.

Most recently, Shields founded Silver Uprising, a movement redefining life after 50 through an online support and positive image venture, demonstrating that entrepreneurial reinvention knows no age limits.

A mother of four, Shields brings her passion for reimagining possibilities to every endeavor, whether leading global entrepreneurship programs or breaking barriers in the modeling industry.

The data‑based reality is that many companies are using AI to reduce headcount rather than rebuild people into new roles. In this session you will learn about carefully contrasting the “AI‑ready workforce” rhetoric with real‑world layoffs in tech, education, and customer‑facing roles. Discuss when to retrain, when to let go, and the ethics of potentially being used as a cost‑cutting tool rather than a human‑capital steward. Finally walk through a decision‑framework (e.g., “toggle between retrain vs. replace”) that HR can bring to the executive table.

Heather Acerra is an Employee Benefits Consultant with Cottingham & Butler, bringing five years with the firm and more than 25 years of business and human resources leadership experience. Before transitioning into benefits consulting, Heather served as a head of HR, giving her a practical, employer‑side perspective on the challenges colleges and organizations face in designing competitive, sustainable total rewards strategies. She has extensive experience developing and harmonizing compensation and benefits programs, including for acquired entities in both manufacturing and insurance environments. Heather supports a diverse book of clients ranging from 45 to 800 employees, helping them balance financial stewardship with people‑centered outcomes.

Heather holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and holds professional designations as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) through WorldatWork.

In addition to her consulting work, Heather demonstrates a strong commitment to the professional development of Illinois college students. She serves as the College Relations Director for the Illinois State Council of SHRM (ILSHRM), where she leads statewide initiatives that connect students with HR practitioners and emerging industry trends. In this role, she organizes the annual Illinois Student HR Conference, bringing together students from community colleges and universities across the state to support career readiness, mentorship, and applied learning in the HR field.

This combination of real-world HR leadership, benefits consulting expertise, and active engagement in higher‑education talent development allows Heather to bring a uniquely aligned perspective to institutions like Joliet Junior College—one that values both fiscal responsibility and the student‑centered mission of Illinois community colleges.

In 2026, employees expect more personalization, flexibility, and whole-person support from their benefits — all while employers face significant cost pressures and rising healthcare trend. In this session, Heather Acerra will share practical, data-informed strategies to design benefits that meet today’s workforce expectations without driving unsustainable spend. HR leaders will learn how to optimize their benefit offerings, strengthen perceived value, and create a supportive work environment where employees are more likely to stay.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the key benefits trends shaping employee expectations in 2026.
2. Understand the primary drivers of rising benefits costs and strategies to manage them.
3. Recognize how benefits support — but do not solely drive — employee retention.

As Co-chair of Amundsen Davis LLC’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, Jeff oversees a team providing comprehensive counsel to employers across the country. His practice emphasizes all aspects of management side labor and employment litigation in addition to traditional labor matters. His practice focuses heavily on advising employers on how to effectively manage and avoid problems. However, he is also an accomplished litigator, taking several prominent cases successfully through arbitration, trial, and when necessary, appeal. Jeff is a prolific author and speaker. He often creates presentations on trending topics in labor and employment at the request of clients and various educational services. He is also regularly recognized by his peers as one of the leading management-side attorneys in the country.

Understanding and Implementing Legal Updates: What HR Professionals Need to Know

Katherine Del Rosario is an Immigration Attorney at Davis & Campbell’s Chicago office. Born to Filipino immigrants, Katherine carries a deep respect for the culture, history, and dignity of her clients. Her experience includes both employment and family-based immigration matters. She has represented a diverse range of employers, from new start-ups to established multinational corporate clients, and helped families stay together to build a brighter future in the United States.

Katherine earned her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and her B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Washington. During law school, she co-founded Alliance for Immigrant Neighbors (AIN), which provides direct service representation and community education to low-income families in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Before joining Davis & Campbell, Katherine built her career at several leading immigration law firms and non-profit organizations in Chicago.

This session will provide a practical overview of I-9 compliance obligations and how they are enforced through ICE worksite inspections and audits. We will review the lifecycle of I-9 compliance, including proper completion, maintenance, and correction of Forms I-9, as well as strategies for conducting effective internal self-audits that demonstrate good-faith compliance and mitigate penalties. Attendees will also learn what to expect when responding to an ICE Notice of Inspection, the range of outcomes (from warning notices to fines), and current enforcement trends.

Learning Objectives
•Explain the basic rules for filling out and keeping Form I-9, and how mistakes can lead to fines or other penalties.
•Set up a simple internal I-9 review process to find and fix problems before ICE does.
•Build or improve your I-9 system, including clear written procedures, HR training, and decisions about using paper or electronic I-9s.
•Describe what happens during an ICE I-9 audit, from the first Notice of Inspection through possible outcomes, and outline key steps to respond.
•Understand how internal audits, timely corrections, and proper use of any remote I-9 options can reduce fines and help show the employer acted in good faith.

Michael is involved in all aspects of negotiations, plan architecture, contribution strategy, carrier selection, employee communication, and ongoing support. His clients appreciate his high attention to detail, responsiveness to issues or questions, and his ability to provide reliable data to make informed decisions. Michael’s creative and progressive ideas have helped many employers save millions of dollars while maintaining a rich benefit offering.

Attendees will hear topics that will support making the business case for investing in workplace mental health and give HR teams actionable strategies to build healthier, more resilient organizations.”

We Will Cover:

• The Business Case — Concrete financials regarding how the untreated mental health, costs employers billions
• What Leading Employers Are Doing
• The 90-Day Action Roadmap — A practical, phased plan HR teams can immediately apply to assess, plan, and activate mental health initiatives.

Tami Ireland, MA, SHRM-SCP is currently the System Director, Colleague Relations, Health and Compliance at Memorial Health. Her entire career has been in healthcare human resources; prior to Memorial she was on the startup team that brought Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Healthcare Center to Springfield, Illinois. Tami earned her Masters of Arts in human service administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield and her Bachelors of Sciences in Business Administration from Illinois State University. She has maintained professional certification since 2008 with her current SHRM-SCP certification. Tami has spent several decades volunteering on both local and state SHRM boards.

HR is running on empty — overwhelmed by rising demands, nonstop crisis response, and the invisible emotional load of supporting every corner of the organization. This presentation uncovers the systemic forces driving burnout, the business risks of an overextended HR function, and the leadership actions needed now to restore capacity, trust, and sustainable ways of working.