Social Security / How to Address HR Headaches (E1710899)

Ash is the head of Social Security planning at OneTeam Financial. With nearly thirty years of experience, he is one of the nation’s foremost experts on Social Security and oversees the development of Social Security claiming strategies to maximize retirement income benefits. Ash is the former president and founder of National Social Security Partners, LLC (NSSP). He has two certifications in Social Security planning: National Social Security AdvisorSM and Certified in Social Security Claiming Strategies (CSSCS). Ash was recognized with the “National Social Security Advisor of the Year” award in 2016 from the National Social Security Association. He obtained his Chartered Accounting degree (a Canadian CPA.) and Certified Financial PlannerTM designation. He then went on to obtain an MBA from Wharton Business School. Ash has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines.

Gillian Florentine has over 15 years of HR generalist experience in the publishing, consulting, manufacturing, security, and staffing industries. SPHR certified, Gillian’s expertise is comprised of Employment Law & Legal Compliance, Recruitment/Retention, Employee Relations, Training & Development, and Benefits Design & Administration.

Gillian began her career as a Corporate Recruiter. Within two years, she was promoted to HR Manager. Beginning as an HR department of one, Gillian developed HR policies, procedures, and best practices. During her time as HR Manager, she grew the department by adding four Recruiters across three cities and a second HR Manager.

Gillian honed her training and development experience by co-authoring a formal sales training program, Critical Path of a Sale (CPS). Created in 2005, she partnered with the firm’s Corporate Trainer to deliver CPS to an entire sales team through a series of small-group sessions. Today, CPS continues to function as the backbone of the sales department within several client companies. In 2011, Gillian authored and taught a management training series to coach supervisors on the basics of the job, as well as how to develop and advance direct reports. The actions learned from that training series are still in use at various client companies today.

Through the years, Gillian developed critical legal expertise by successfully defending against wage & hour lawsuits, multiple Non-Compete Agreement violations, EEOC claims, and an FMLA/gender discrimination suit. In addition, Gillian is an expert in health and welfare benefit design and administration. She helped reduce client expenses by successfully transitioning to a self-funded health insurance plan that was in place for five years, and then shifting back to a fully-funded health insurance plan.

A member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (PHRA), Gillian resides in Pittsburgh, PA.

Deana Marcello has over 10 years of experience in various HR leadership roles in industries including manufacturing, services, technology, and retail. Her employment experience includes General Electric, PPG Industries, ARAMARK, The Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and IKEA. She started her HR career as an HR Coordinator and quickly progressed to a Senior HR Manager. She has a proven ability to balance employee advocacy while accomplishing business objectives.

Deana has experience dealing with mergers and acquisitions at multiple organizations. She has been on both sides of an acquisition, leading organizational design and effectiveness, talent management and retention, benefits and compensation alignment, and cultural integration.

Leveraging her knowledge in human resource information systems (HRIS), Deana directed a global HR team in consolidating regional systems into one global HRIS platform. She led two successful SAP enterprise-wide implementations as the functional HR expert and participated in performance management assessments and implementations. She managed company resources to ensure the performance objectives were achieving company goals, deadlines were met, and that proper training was in place for both management and employees.

Deana holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of New Haven in Connecticut and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Saint Vincent College, in Latrobe, PA. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Deana resides in Wexford, PA with her husband and two children.

Cara Zibbell has over 10 years of experience in various HR leadership roles in industries including staffing, government contracting, finance, and consulting. Her employment experience includes Thomson Reuters, Z2 Technologies, Federal HUD Programs, and consulting. She started her HR career as Recruitment Coordinator and quickly progressed to a managing a University Relations and Recruitment Team. Cara’s analytical and resolution driven objectives allowed her to progress to a Director position, even after a hiatus from the field, to raise her children.

Cara has experience in worker’s compensation risk mitigation, extensive employee relations experience and vast knowledge of organizational psychology. This, along with an understanding of generational behavioral nuances, has allowed Cara to be a valuable contributor to increase employee productivity and reduce turnover.

Leveraging her knowledge in recruitment and human behavior, Cara directed a global HR team in creating a University Relations, Recruitment and Retention program for Thomson Reuters. Cara’s experience within the Staffing industry allowed her to work across multiple industries, nationally, remaining compliant while supporting a 10,000-person contingent labor population. Additionally, Cara has created a Performance Management Process and managed its implementation. Cara has worked to defend multiple EEOC claims as well as reducing Workers Compensation exposure by 45% in one year.

Cara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in in Business from the Providence College in Rhode Island. Additionally, Cara is OSHA Certified. Born and raised in Monmouth County, NJ, Cara resides in Aberdeen, NJ with her husband and three sons.