Board of Directors - 2024

2024 Board of Directors

President
Friderike Butler, Partnership for Public Service

President-Elect
Janet Brewer, Arcfield


Treasurer
Jason Salamon, Pratum Companies

Officers:

Name & Title: Friderike Butler, Director of Coaching Services at the Public Service Leadership Institute of Partnership for Public Service

Brief Job Description: The Partnership for Pubic Service is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with the mission to build a better government and a stronger democracy and a vision for a dynamic and innovative federal government that effectively serves our diverse nation. In her role as the Director of Coaching Services, Friderike oversees all coaching services aspects at the Public Service Leadership Institute. Friderike brings extensive management expertise, a genuine appreciation for diversity, curiosity around culture and the power of words to all her projects. she applies a heart-centered, practical, people-focused approach, and flexibility to everything she does and loves to connect people with ideas and opportunities. Her superpower is seeing oak trees in acorns.

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Chair of the Town Business Liaison Committee of the Town of Vienna; volunteer coach for Leadership Fairfax

Education: MS in Organization Development and Knowledge Management (George Mason University), Leadership Coaching Certificate (Georgetown University), BIS in Intercultural Management and Communication (George Mason University)

Personal Interests: Hiking, scuba diving, any kind of international food + traveling any opportunity she gets.
 
Name & Title: Janet Brewer, Chief People Officer, Arcfield

Brief Job Description: As CPO, Janet is accountable for leading HR solutions and delivering marketing and communications initiatives to address strategic business imperatives. Throughout her career, her focus has been on maximizing the impact of companies, by effectively leveraging their people, communications and technology. She is passionate about the power of communications, HR and technology to achieve sustainable business results, by empowering their people to perform at their best and love what they do everyday. Prior to Arcfield, which is a government contractor, Janet worked in software and financial services companies, including 40-person start ups to companies processing billions of dollars daily.

She has broad experience in global HR roles leading business transformation and integrating and scaling acquisitions for growth supporting C-Suite executives.  Earlier in her career she was within the consulting departments, and led technical training, the corporate LMS, as well as managed multiple leadership development programs including executive coaching, corporate mentoring, and early talent rotation programs.

Education: Janet earned an BA in Physics from the College of William and Mary, an MS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Marymount University.
 
Subject Matter Expertise: HR Analytics, Workforce Planning, Talent Management, Performance Management, Organization Development, Employee Engagement, Employee Relations, Project Management, Change and Transformation, Mergers and Acquisitions

Personal Interests: Janet loves travel and all things outdoors. She's currently into hot yoga and pilates and is trying to get enthusiastic about running again. She also enjoys reading and watching movies, especially if they are foreign films or about traveling.  She worked at the global SAP headquarters in Germany for two years and now lives in Fairfax, Virginia with her husband and two children. In 2017, she spent a month supporting a Moroccan non-profit focused on social entrepreneurship as part of SAP’s Social Sabbatical program.
 
Name & Title: Jason A. Salamon, SR VP of Human Resources, Pratum Companies

Brief Job Description: Jason has over 30 years of experience spanning all aspects of the Human Resources field in several industries.  After nearly ten years with Hyatt Hotels Corporation and two years with Central Parking Corporation, Jason spent eight years at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) where he served as Vice President/Director of Human Resources for a Business Unit of 3,500 employees. Jason shifted to the real estate industry in 2013 through a role as Vice President of Human Resources for the Washington, DC division of NY-based REIT Vornado Realty Trust.  In July 2017, Jason joined the executive leadership team of Pratum Companies (formerly Edgewood Management), a leading residential property management company, and presently serves as Senior Vice President of Human Resources. 

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Jason holds SHRM-SCP and HRCI-SPHR certifications.

Education: Jason has a Bachelors in International Business and HR from American University, and a Masters in Human Resources from The George Washington University.

Personal Interests: Jason is active on the Board of Directors for both his synagogue and his children's school.  He is an enthusiastic fan of his kids’ team sports activities, loves movies, and is an avid watcher of Seinfeld reruns, Homeland and Survivor.

Directors:
Name & Title: David Bachrach, Principal, Innovation Group, LLC

Brief Job Description: David started his career with the federal government as a grant auditor for the U.S. Department of Justice.  After visiting more than 100 law enforcement agencies from Honolulu, HI to Hammond, IN, he noticed that some police agencies had trouble filling their grant-funded vacancies.  He also saw that some agencies hired more quickly than others, and that different agencies were successful in recruiting using different strategies.  It was this observation that led to David taking up an interest in public sector hiring processes and taking on his first “real” human resources assignment only after leaving the government.  Since then, he has helped the National Gallery of Art, the Hillsborough County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Labor and more than a dozen other public sector employers to build stronger recruitment capabilities through applied operational advice and work products.  Today he runs his own small business with prime contracts with the Smithsonian, the Partnership for Public Service and the Selective Service System, among others.

Subject Matter Expertise: Federal recruitment, federal staffing, federal classification and position management

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: David is a member of SHRM.  He volunteers time providing clothing to the unhoused and promoting equal access to health care for all U.S. residents.  He has also helped two refugee families settle in the greater DC area.  He donates platelets at the National institutes of Health and is an active member of Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County.  HR Alliance is one of the memberships he treasures the most.

Education: B.A. in Criminal Justice Studies from Alfred University (NY) and M.A. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Sam Houston State University (TX).

Personal Interests: David loves poker, long distance hiking, building deep friendships and helping his two children grow up to be two great adults.
 
Name & Title: Trina Fongyen, Human Resources Director, Northrop Grumman

Brief Job Description: Trina is an accomplished senior HR leader with significant experience in developing and implementing human capital talent strategies in the government contracting industry. She has expertise in change management and communication, diversity and inclusion, employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, leadership coaching, and project management. As a HR Director in the Space Systems Sector at Northrop Grumman, Trina provides innovative approaches to all areas of HR to attract, develop, and retain talent. Trina is a strong people leader with a focus on inspiring an inclusive, development-focused and high-performance culture for the organization.

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Trina is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She is also a member of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Education: Trina received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mary Washington College, and a master’s degree in human resources and employment relations from Penn State University.

Personal Interests: Trina enjoys traveling, working out, and most of all, spending time with her family and friends.
 
Name & Title: Dan Glass, Sr Director, Talent Acquisition, ICF

Brief Job Description: Dan Glass is a leader with over 20 years of experience in the talent acquisition space, focusing on government contracting and commercial markets. Dan has held leadership positions at Noblis, STG, and SAIC, among others. Most recently, he was the Director of Talent at Noblis where he was responsible for enterprise talent strategy, talent acquisition, and resource management teams. Noblis focuses on high-level engineering and technical work for the Federal Government Health & Federal Civilian, Department of Defense (DOD), and Intelligence community areas. He has extensive experience as a human resources partner guiding talent management strategy for technology firms. Dan’s accomplishments include recruiting top talent, scaling recruitment teams for high-growth firms, increasing employee engagement, and promoting and establishing a positive culture. He has successful experience leading major change management, employee relations, compensation, HR analytics, DE&I and M&A teams & projects throughout his career.

Associations and Education: Dan has an Executive MBA from University of Maryland, BS from George Mason in Health, and an Advanced Employee Relations certificate from Cornell University. He is on the Board of Directors for HR Alliance DC and is a member of Talent Acquisition Leadership Council (TALC) and SHRM.

Personal Interests: Outside of work, Dan and his wife Lindsay have four beautiful kids. They run the high school and middle school youth programs at church. Dan coaches football and stays active in his children’s’ schools.  He loves to exercise with his local F3 group, read and travel.
 
Name & Title:  Ian Kessler, Strategic Human Resources Leader

Brief Job Description: Ian is currently looking for his next opportunity.  He is a human resource leader with experience in real estate, financial services and technology industries.  He most recently served as the Vice President of Human Resources at Elme, a publicly traded real estate company.  In that role, Ian was tasked with leading the Human Capital component of the transformation, which included building out all human resource capabilities to insource employees, as well as building out the employee brand and operating model. 

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Ian is an active member in Society for Human Resource Management and other real estate industry human resources associations.

Education: Ian has an MBA from The George Washington University and two undergraduate degrees from University of Maryland – a BS in Human Resource Management and a BA in Sociology.

Personal Interests: For the past 10 years, Ian has served on the Ethics Commission for the City of Gaithersburg, with the last two as the Chairman.  Ian’s life has been characterized as a travel baseball dad for so many years that he is now pursuing new hobbies as his sons’ baseball careers transition to college careers.
 
Name & Title: Sam McCarthy, Managing Director, HR Practice – Cordia by Cherry Bekaert

Brief Job Description: Sam leads the Human Resources Practice at Cordia Resources and supports clients in and out of the DC metro area. His focus is on developing new business and managing client accounts, while sourcing and placing qualified candidates. Sam is passionate about networking within the Human Resources community and uses a consultative approach to work with both candidates and clients throughout the search process. Prior to working at Cordia, Sam held operational roles with a strong focus on recruiting, people management and development.

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Allegheny College Alumni Association, MOMS Demand Action of Arlington

Education: Sam is a graduate of Allegheny College with a Bachelor of Arts in Managerial Economics, with a minor in Communications. He also received his Master of Business Administration from Elmhurst College.

Personal Interests: Sam is an avid sports fan who has a passion for staying active and wishes he had more time to golf. He’s a self-described “morning person” and ensures that he gets in his spin class or workout prior to work.  He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, has also lived in Chicago, but now resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife and dog, Lucy.
 
Name and Title: Anja B. Nickel, Founder and Financial Advisor, ABN Financial Strategies LLC

Brief Job Description: Anja is the founder and principal of ABN Financial Strategies LLC, a wholistic financial planning firm that focuses on creating custom solutions to fit client’s needs and goals. Whether employees are adding a new family member, making a career change, or retirement is approaching, questions about what to do with their finances are likely to arise. Anja works closely with HR professionals to provide financial literacy education on these topics for employees through interactive webinars and workshops. She also works with HR professionals to enhance their company’s existing employee benefits while minimizing costs.

Other Accomplishments/memberships: Her first year in the business, she was recognized as Rookie of the Year in 2015 by New York Life's Greater Washington DC office. She is a qualifying member (2017 and 2020) of The Million Dollar Round Table, a global independent association of more than 65,000 of the world's leading financial services and life insurance professionals. Outside of HR Alliance, Anja is a member of the Georgetown BNI Networking group and the Junior League of Boston.

Education: Anja received her bachelor's degree in Business with a concentration in Marketing from Penn State University. She also has Minors in Psychology and International Business. She currently holds a FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 66 securities licenses as well as her Life and Health license.

Personal Interests: Anja is a travel junkie and loves experiencing new cultures. In addition to traveling, Anja loves bringing people together, drawing, being outdoors, and spending time with her family (especially their chocolate lab, Lola).
 
Name & Title: Laurie Price, Senior Client Employee Benefit Advisor, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Brief Job Description: Laurie spent most of her career as an HR professional, working exclusively in employee benefits since 2011. During her nearly 10 years at DAI, Laurie developed her passion and expertise in employee benefits.  In February 2024, Laurie left the HR world and joined law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, working in the firm’s Employee Benefits Practice Group. She works with clients on matters relating to their employee benefit plans and programs, reviewing statutory, regulatory, and governmental pronouncements to assess the impact on clients’ employee benefit plans. She also prepares and amends plan documents and other employee communications to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements and to implement plan design changes.

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Laurie holds the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) credential as well as the PHR and retirement plan audit and SHRM-CP certification. She is a self-described “Benefits Geek” and Open Enrollment is her favorite work-related time of year. She thrives on distilling the complexities of benefit plans into the basics so employees have a solid understanding of their employer provided benefits and can maximize coverage for themselves and their families. Laurie loves excel spreadsheets with VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, and if/then statements.

Education: Laurie earned her MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and her BA in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Personal Interests: Laurie grew up on Long Island and has been living in the DC area since 2005. When not thinking about employee benefits, she enjoys knitting, working on her blog Benefits from a Soapbox, doing yoga, baking, and listening to live music.  Laurie serves as a mentor for Future Link, a non-profit organization in Montgomery County, MD that provides low-income, first generation-to-college young adults with the tools, skills, and resources to achieve lasting economic self-sufficiency. She lives with her significant other, Brian, son, Jeremy, and her pandemic puppy, Magpie.
Name & Title: Neil Sawyer, Sr. Vice President, Human Capital Management, NeoSystems, LLC

Brief Job Description: Neil Sawyer has 25 years of experience as a Human Resources Professional and Executive Coach.  He has been involved in the oversight of HR strategies and administration in a wide variety of industries.  Neil has an extensive background in all areas of HR.  His experience includes (but is not limited to) employee relations, policy creation and enforcement, recruiting, training design and delivery, compensation, benefits administration and State/Federal employment law.

Other Accomplishments/Memberships: Neil has a Certificate in Executive Coaching from Georgetown University.

Education: Neil has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Longwood University and received a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Marymount University

Personal Interests: Neil characterizes himself as a “travel fanatic”.  His goal is to visit all seven continents.  Neil is also a visual artist and composer.

 


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