Los Angeles HR Star Conference Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Speaker Information Amy B. Shannon is both the President of Pinnacle Leadership Solutions based in Cleveland, Ohio as well as a Partner in Your Partner in HR. She has specialized in organizational development, human resources and training for over 25 years. Amy’s past roles include 15 years as Director of Human Resources with Western-Southern Enterprise and Kendle International. In both organizations Amy built nationally recognized corporate universities. Kendle College served 1300 employees in 8 countries taught in 3 languages. She has also served as Executive Director of Corporate College where she built leadership training curriculum for her clients. Today Amy currently works in varios roles ranging from executive coach to strategic planning expert to facilitator and trainer. She holds certifications from several national training vendors and is a certified mediator. In addition Amy was a featured speaker at The Corporate University Week at Disney Institute and has been a regular presenter at the HR Star Conference. Allison West, Esq., SHRM-SCP, AWI-CH is the Managing Principal of Employment Practices Specialists and holds a simple approach to employment practices: be proactive. Using her employment law background, coupled with her sound knowledge of human resources practices, Allison provides proactive risk management services aimed at helping companies both prevent and resolve employment claims. She is a top-rated speaker at the annual SHRM conference as well as other HR conferences speaking on employment law and human resources topics. Allison specializes in delivering customized in-house training programs to companies of all sizes, serving a wide variety of industries. Her expertise also includes delivering one-on-one sensitivity training to executives, managers and employees concerning harassment, discrimination, and disciplinary and/or behavioral issues as well as conducting workplace investigations, providing expert witness assistance and other HR consulting. Allison is a member of the State Bar of California and holds an AWI-CH credential. Debbie Birndorf, Esq., MBA is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. She has practiced law for 30 years at firms in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Debbie represents employers in all aspects of employment law, including defense of harassment and discrimination claims, wage claims, wage and hour class actions, wrongful termination, disability claims and misappropriation of trade secrets. She also provides preventative counseling and drafts and reviews employment contracts, severance agreements, employee handbooks and policies. Debbie has been named a 2022 Super Lawyer in Employment and Labor. She was previously awarded the Super Lawyer honor in 2013 and 2015-2021. She was also named one of the 2022 Women of Influence: Attorneys by Los Angeles Business Journal, named one of the Top Employment and Labor Attorneys in Los Angeles and one of the Top Women Attorneys by Los Angeles Magazine. Birndorf Law Offices was also recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of the Best Law Firms in Los Angeles. Debbie serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Labor and Employment Section and Co-Chairs the Saturday Seminar Program Committee. Debbie earned her B.A. from UCLA, her M.B.A. from NYU and her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where she graduated at the top of her class. In addition to her full-time practice, Debbie frequently speaks on a variety of employment law topics and teaches Legal Aspects of Employee Relations at UCLA Extension as part of the HR Certificate program. Dave Collins is the Founder & CEO of Oak and Reeds - a corporate training firm dedicated to using the tools of improvisation to train clients on everyday soft skills. Dave is an award-winning improvisor, speaker and corporate strategist with over a decade of experience performing and coaching improv. Along with his teammates, Dave won the National Collegiate Improv Tournament. He has headlined shows across the United States and individually has coached hundreds of students and professionals in the art and practice of applied improvisation. Prior to founding Oak and Reeds, he worked as a change management expert at AECOM. As part of AECOM's workplace strategy team, Dave helped clients to examine the relationship between workspace and productivity, enabling people to break old habits and embrace change. Dave holds a B.A. in Communication and Economics from Northwestern University with a specialization in Team Leadership. Phyllis H. Sarkaria is the Founder & CEO of The Sarkaria Group based in San Diego, CA. With more than 30 years of corporate leadership experience, Phyllis is a certified executive coach, facilitator and trusted adviser. She has held executive roles in government affairs and human resources and has had responsibility for functions as diverse as strategic planning, merger integration and team effectiveness. Before founding The Sarkaria Group, Phyllis served as an internal adviser and coach to C-level executives and other key employees at Quidel Corporation (now QuidelOrtho), a leading multinational medical diagnostics manufacturer. As head of HR, she was responsible for the company’s global HR strategy and people programs for more than a dozen years. Phyllis is the author of Courageous Clarity: Navigating the Way Forward on Your Leadership Journey, the essential guide for leaders who want to inspire, influence and engage their teams for greater results. She currently works with clients in a wide range of industries, serving as a catalyst to help individual leaders and leadership teams gain fresh perspective, communicate more clearly and elevate their performance by increasing their leadership effectiveness. Lauraine Bifulco is the President & CEO of Vantaggio HR - an HR management and outsourcing firm that serves the HR needs of small and large companies across a wide variety of industries. With over 35 years of HR experience and a strong passion for HR and training, Lauraine leads her team at Vantaggio HR to deliver high-level HR consulting services to companies across the U.S. with a boutique and customized approach to each client’s unique HR requirements. Lauraine has been a regular speaker at the SHRM National Conference for over 13 years as well as at the CAHR/PIHRA conference and numerous other HR groups around the country. She is often asked to co-present with prominent employment attorneys and is recognized as an industry expert in compliance issues. Ms. Bifulco is a founding member of one of the Orange County chapters of WPO (Women Presidents' Organization) and has served for many years on the board of the California Small Business Association where she also chairs a committee on labor issues. Lauraine received her Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and conducted her graduate-level studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. Liliana O. Salazar, Esq. is the Chief Compliance Officer for the Pacific Region for HUB International and is responsible for addressing employers’ health and welfare responsibilities under federal and state laws and city ordinances. She works closely with HUB’s service teams and clients to develop short-term and long-term strategies that allow clients to remain in compliance while addressing clients’ financial and human capital needs. Liliana interacts with regulatory agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state insurance departments to discuss the applicability of laws and regulations to group health plans. Liliana possesses 25 years of experience in addressing the compliance and regulatory needs of employers and their group health plans. She actively worked with carriers and clients in ensuring their compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and HITECH Act rules, GASB 45 obligations and more recently the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Prior to joining HUB, Liliana was National Practice Leader for the Employee Benefits Compliance Practice of Wells Fargo Insurance Services and Vice President of Compliance for ABD Insurance Services. Liliana is a regular speaker at national and state conferences sponsored by employers, employee benefit chapters and HR associations, including ISCEBS, SHRM, CALPELRA, PERLA, NAFOA and others. She is also a regular contributor to national and regional employee benefit publications. Due to her many industry contributions over the years, Liliana was the recipient of the Women to Watch Award from Business Insurance. Candice Gottlieb-Clark, MS, CRC, BCE is the Founder & CEO of Dynamic Team Solutions as well as a Business Advisor, Coach and Conflict Management Specialist. Candice founded Dynamic Team Solutions, to help businesses strengthen their leaders and employees through enhanced conflict management, communication, teamwork and leadership. Dynamic Team Solutions provides executive and leadership coaching, team building and development, and conflict management and resolution to positively transform business functionality in terms of employee relations, morale, turnover, culture and productivity. Candice is a sought after speaker and writer on the topics of leadership, teamwork, communication and conflict management and is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Candice holds a Master's degree in Counseling from San Diego State University, is a Certified Mediator of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is a Board Certified Executive Coach. Aaron Robbins is the President and Co-Founder of Intrinsic First, where he helps organizations improve performance, culture and well-being by applying the science of motivation and leadership. Aaron is an executive leader, speaker and organizational consultant with over 20 years of experience across HR, operations and leadership. He is also the developer of ProACTr, an AI-powered leadership conversation practice tool grounded in motivation science. Aaron has held senior leadership roles, including VP of HR and Operations Director, bringing a practitioner’s perspective to evidence-based organizational change. He is a PhD candidate in Organizational Behavior Psychology, holds graduate degrees in Organizational Behavior and Industrial-Organizational Psychology and is SHRM-SCP certified. Bryan Barlow, CFI®, MBA, MJ is a Senior Instructor with Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. (WZ) where he focuses on trauma-informed interviewing, workplace investigations, evidence-based interviewing techniques and the law. He joined the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in 2002 and was promoted to Detective in 2008 where he conducted a wide variety of investigations around the city. In 2015 Bryan became an instructor for the CPD's Bureau of Detectives where he researched, wrote curriculum and delivered training to new officers, newly promoted detectives and department members on investigatory topics and methodologies. After retiring from the CPD in 2023, Bryan began conducting seminars as an instructor for WZ. Trying to gather information from traumatized individuals can be difficult, especially when regular information-gathering does not allow for a complete picture. The difficulty stems from the effect trauma has on the brain of a survivor. But interviewing in a victim-centered, trauma-informed manner allows for the best information available to aid in the conduct of a workplace investigation. Bryan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Loyola University Chicago as well as a Master of Jurisprudence degree with a concentration in Criminal Law from DePaul University. In addition, he is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Amy Sanchez, MBA, PCC is an Executive Coach and Founder of Swim Against the Current, a leadership development firm dedicated to helping high-growth companies strengthen leadership and team effectiveness in preparation for market leadership, a high-value acquisition or an IPO. Amy is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation, and she holds an MBA from the University of Southern California. Over her two decades in leadership, she has worked with over 1,000 leaders from companies such as Google, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Bogle Family Vineyards and Stanford University as well as numerous growth-stage companies across a variety of industries. Amy's thought leadership has been featured in top-tier publications like Fast Company, Glassdoor, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global and The CEO Magazine. Adal Padilla is a Senior Consultant at TIAA and a ScholarShare 529 representative. His geographic area of influence includes Los Angeles County, Ventura County and Santa Barbara County. A firm believer that education is one of the most valuable treasures we can provide to our future generations, Adal focuses on helping employers enhance their benefits packages by incorporating the free and valuable financial wellness benefit of the ScholarShare 529 Workplace Savings Program. Employers increasingly have become interested in understanding the growing need for their employees to support financial issues beyond the paycheck, including health care benefits, retirement savings and college savings. Doing so connects the company to the employee’s family, reduces employee financial stress and helps foster loyalty and retention. Adal Padilla joined TIAA in 2018 and brings with him over 10 years of financial services experience. He has worked with some of the nation's top employers and major universities. In addition Adal is an active member of the TIAA Business Resource Groups, volunteering for different projects to make a positive impact in area communities. Adal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at La Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico and holds FINRA series 7, 6, and 63 licenses as a financial professional. Braden Albert is the Founder and President of the HR Star Conference and its parent company, Abbington Court Media. A graduate of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Braden began organizing job fairs and trade shows in the mid-1990's. Intrigued by the idea of bringing people together for a shared, learning experience - and impressed by the impact such an experience can provide - Braden organized his first HR Star Conference in 1999. Today the scope of the HR Star Conference includes annual events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Cleveland, Ohio where he is based. Over 1,725 HR professionals attended an HR Star Conference in 2025.