Speakers

Thomas H. Wright
James H. Johnson Jr.
Robert Lavigna
Willow Jacobson, PhD
Joseph A. Smith Jr.
Dr. John Sullivan
Master Burnett
Ben Zenick
Greg Henderson
Nigel Leeming

Thomas H. Wright
State Personnel Director
NC Office of State Personnel

Thomas Wright initiated his state government career as a personnel analyst in the Office of State Personnel (OSP) in 1976. Since then he has held multiple analyst positions within the state system. In 1997, he became the Personnel Director for the North Carolina Department of Justice and remained in that position until February 2001, when Governor Michael F. Easley appointed him State Personnel Director. His extensive experience in state government makes him uniquely qualified to provide leadership for the state’s complex human resources system.

Driven by an unrelenting dedication to abandon the status quo in managing the state’s work force, Wright is recognized across the nation as a groundbreaking strategist in the field of human resources. He has worked tirelessly to develop and implement an innovative talent management initiative that is shaping the future of human capital management in North Carolina state government.

His progressive efforts led the National Association of State Personnel Executives to recognize the state of North Carolina as a public sector pioneer in strategic human resources. In 2007, Thom was awarded the Eugene Rooney Award for his innovative efforts.

Thomas Wright is from Southern Pines, NC. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and received his masters degree from East Carolina University.

James H. Johnson Jr.
Distinguished Professor of Management
Kenan-Flagler Business School
UNC-Chapel Hill

James Johnson is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds degrees from North Carolina Central University (BS, 1975), the University of Wisconsin at Madison (MS, 1977) and Michigan State University (PhD, 1980).

Selected by Fast Company magazine (September 2000) as one of the "17 … brightest thinkers and doers in the new world of work," Johnson’s current research and consulting activities focus on the workforce and workplace implications of post-1990 demographic changes in the US, and on how to create highly competitive and sustainable business enterprises and communities in the current era of economic uncertainty and global insecurity. His research on these and related topics has been widely cited in a number of national media outlets, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, and BusinessWeek.

He has also appeared on a number of national television shows, including The Today Show on NBC, CNN Headline News, the CBS Evening News, ABC World News, CBS News Sunday Morning, Inside Politics on CNN, and Week in Review on NBC.

Robert Lavigna
Vice President of Research
Partnership for Public Service

Robert Lavigna joined the Partnership for Public Service as VP of Research in August 2006. The Partnership is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing public service by inspiring a new generation to serve, and helping to transform government. Lavigna designs and directs research projects that focus on finding new ways for public sector agencies to attract, develop and retain talent.

Before joining the Partnership, he was Senior Manager of Consulting Services for CPS Human Resource Services, a self-supporting public agency that provides HR consulting services to federal, state and local government agencies. Lavigna directed consulting projects in a 36-state region. From 1991-2001, he was Administrator of the state of Wisconsin civil service system and also directed a statewide labor-management cooperation program. Before being appointed to his Wisconsin position by the governor, he served with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Lavigna’s awards and honors include selection as a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine, the highest individual awards from both the International Public Management Association for HR (IPMA-HR) and the National Association of State Personnel Executives, and the Henry Toll Fellowship from the Council of State Governments.

He is a past national President of IPMA-HR and the American Society for Public Administration Section on Personnel and Labor Relations. Bob has written many articles for journals and other publications and is the author of two book chapters on HR best practices. Lavigna has also spoken at conferences throughout the US and in Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa, and has done Web seminars and media interviews.

Lavigna has a BA in public affairs from George Washington University, an MS in HR from Cornell University, and has done PhD work in HR at the University of Wisconsin.

Willow Jacobson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Government
UNC-Chapel Hill

Willow Jacobson joined the School of Government faculty in 2003. Prior to that, she taught in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Connecticut and worked on the Government Performance Project and the New Jersey Initiative at the Alan K. Campbell Institute at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She has also assisted with strategic planning for community collaboratives in California and Oregon state governments.

Currently Jacobson teaches in the Master of Public Administration program, and she was integrally involved in the 2005 inaugural session of the Public Executive Leadership Academy. Her research has appeared in Public Administration Review and Public Personnel Management. Jacobson holds a PhD from Syracuse University.

Joseph A. Smith Jr.
NC Commissioner of Banks
NC Office of the Commissioner of Banks

Joseph Smith is North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, an office he has held since June 2002 and for which he has just been confirmed to continue his service through March 31, 2011. As Commissioner, he heads an agency charged with the supervision of banks and thrift institutions having aggregate assets in excess of $190 billion; the licensing and regulation of over 1,600 firms and 18,000 individuals engaged in mortgage banking and brokerage; and the regulation of a variety of consumer finance enterprises including finance companies, check cashers, money transmitters and refund anticipation lenders.

He is the author of a number of articles on banking and financial services issues, including: "Savings for the Poor: The Hidden Benefits of Electronic Banking: A Review and Response," 5 NC Banking Inst. 1 (2001); "The Federal Banking Agencies’ Guidance on Subprime Lending: Regulation with a Divided Mind," 6 N.C. Banking Inst. 75 (2002); "Federal and State Regulation of Financial Services: Competition and the Search for Comity," Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report , Vol. 57, Nos. 2-4 (Spring – Fall 2003) and "Financial Literacy, Regulation and Consumer Welfare," 8 N.C. Banking Inst. 77 (2004).

Commissioner Smith is a director of the Conference of State Banks Supervisors and has served as Chair of that organization’s Legislative and Regulatory Committees. He is an organizing manager of the limited liability company established to implement the CSBS/AARMR National Mortgage Licensing Initiative.

Commissioner Smith is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Virginia Law School and is licensed to practice law in New York and North Carolina.

Dr. John Sullivan
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. John Sullivan & Associates

Dr. John Sullivan is renowned the world over as a provocateur and strategist in the field of human resources and talent management. For more than 30 years he has offered his critique and insight to professionals seeking to develop a true competitive advantage for their organization through strategic talent management planning and practices.

As an author, corporate advisor, public speaker and educator, Dr. Sullivan has established a body of work including numerous books and more than 700 articles that serve as a key resource for functional leaders and line managers when developing and implementing best practices. In addition, his thought leadership has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, FORTUNE, Fast Company, Business 2.0, The Economist, The New York Times, HR Magazine, and Workforce Management.

Dr. Sullivan’s work is driven by a relentless dedication to do away with the status quo and drive the development of world-class practices that demonstrate the impact of talent management on an organization’s financial performance. His approach, while thought-provoking and somewhat controversial, has been engineered to force practitioners to think about why they do things the way they do and how their work could be elevated to a world-class level.

Master Burnett
Managing Director
Dr. John Sullivan & Associates

Master Burnett currently serves as the managing director of Dr. John Sullivan & Associates, where he advises 2,000 companies worldwide on the implementation of world-class HR programs.

Prior to joining Dr. Sullivan, Burnett served as the director of client services and corporate marketing for the Silicon Talent Corporation, a professional recruiting services and advisory firm focusing on early-stage ventures in biotechnology, telecommunications and Internet/new media.

Master Burnett has also served as an adjunct professor of management at San Francisco State University, where he taught courses on managing technology in human resources. His views on human resource management can be found in articles appearing in the Electronic Recruiting Exchange, Workforce, IHRIM Journal, and the VP-of-HR Newsletter.

Ben Zenick
Vice President, Consulting Services
Zencos Consulting

Ben Zenick is vice president of consulting services and co-founder of Zencos Consulting. With more than 12 years of experience, he is a leader in the development and deployment of business intelligence solutions for FORTUNE 500 companies. His experience has allowed him to design, build and deploy extensive data warehousing and online analytical processing (OLAP) architecture.

During the past five years, Zenick has built and established his company as an elite SAS^® Gold Partner and Inc. 500 Company. He has been instrumental in the design and development of SAS software such as SAS warehousing and Web analytics tools. Zenick has taught his methodology, execution and best practices to SAS employees and partners in areas of OLAP, data warehousing, and e-Intelligence.

His wide range of experience has given him the opportunity to present and speak at national and international conferences such as SAS^® Global Forum, formally SEUGI (SAS European Users Group International) and SUGI (SAS Users Group International), in areas such as data warehouse integration, OLAP, and Web channel customer analysis.

Prior to starting Zencos Consulting, he was a solutions integration specialist for SAS. Zenick is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Greg Henderson
Solutions Architect, State and Local Government
SAS

Greg Henderson is a Solutions Architect in the State and Local Government business unit at SAS. In his current role, Greg is responsible for determining how to creatively apply SAS technologies to solve customer business challenges for the State of North Carolina and local government within North Carolina and Virginia.

During his 10 years at SAS, Greg has worked in various sales, marketing and technical roles. His background includes extensive experience helping customers design and deploy data warehousing, business intelligence and analytic solutions. He has authored several papers and presented at industry events on these topics. Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Bowling Green State University and resides in Raleigh, NC, with his wife and two children.

Nigel Leeming
SVP, Public Sector
Human Capital Institute (HCI)

Nigel Leeming is a founding director of the Human Capital Institute and presently serves as Chief Development Officer with responsibilities for growing HCI through partnerships and alliances with market-leading corporations, distinguished business schools, and professional organizations. In addition to his HCI duties, he is also chairman of Silver Fern, a restaurant and hospitality organization.

Leeming, a New Zealander by birth, moved to the US in 1971 and graduated from Boston College in 1978. He began his talent management career as an executive search professional in the Boston area. He soon migrated to the hospitality industry and served in general management at Barnsider Corporation and as director of human resources at the fast-growing Back Bay Restaurant Group, today a $100 million organization.

In 1989, Leeming left Back Bay to found Silver Fern, with which he has opened and grown eight successful restaurants across New England. Today, Silver Fern operates restaurants, catering facilities, and provides consulting services to the hospitality industry.

Speakers

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