Meet the Speakers
Jenna Wright
President & CEO, AEDC
Design in the Virtual World
Jenna Wright is the President & CEO of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation where she is responsible for managing and supporting the successful deployment of strategies, programs and initiatives that promote the growth of the Anchorage economy with the goal of making Anchorage one of the top mid-sized cities in America to live, work and play.
Wright earned her Bachelor’s Degrees in Marketing and Investment Finance from the University of Alaska Anchorage as well as a Master’s of Business Administration, with an emphasis in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics. After graduating with her MBA, Wright worked as the Director of Business Operations for a Microcom and later joined the State of Alaska leadership team as the Deputy Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Wright is currently a board member of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Visit Anchorage, the UAA College of Business and Public Policy Business Advisory Board and the Anchorage School District’s Academies Steering Committee. Wright also serves as vice-chair on the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Group.
Cherie Hendrix
Employee Benefits Lead Sr. Consultant, National Accounts
Wilson Alberts
With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Chérie leads our teams for large groups and self-funded plans—providing benefits program strategy, healthcare reform guidance, financial analysis, and account management. Certified as an Advanced Specialist for self-funded plans by the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), she works with clients including native corporations, public employers, nonprofits, professional firms, and many others.
Before joining Wilson Albers in 2015, Chérie spent 16 years at Mercer as a principal and senior consultant. There, she focused on mid-sized to large employers in a variety of industries, with benefit plans ranging from 200 to over 15,000 employees.
Chérie, who holds life and disability insurance licenses in several states, is a member of the Employee Benefits Planning Association, International Foundation of Employee Benefits, NAHU, Alaska Association of Health Underwriters, Western Pension & Benefits Association, the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM), and other professional organizations. She has presented at the State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Anchorage as well as events for the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association, SHRM, and the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.
A graduate of Seattle University, Chérie has a degree in French with a minor in business, and volunteers for the French American School of Puget Sound.
Jessica Wobick
PHR, SHRM-CP
Manager of HR Services
Jessica supports Alera ConnectHR clients with knowledge in strategic management conversations, employee relations, system implementations, troubleshooting, and other administrative functions.
An HR professional for over 15 years, she is known for her professionalism, organizational skills, and creating rapport with employees and managers at all levels.
Collaborating with her fellow team members to find solutions for a diverse selection of clients, each with their own distinct needs, is one thing Jessica enjoys about her role—it’s both gratifying and
provides opportunities for growth.
Jessica is a Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP®) and holds the Professional Human Resources (PHR®) certification as well. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned an associate degree in culinary arts and restaurant
management. (As you might expect, she loves cooking and baking.)
Born and raised in Anchorage, Jessica and her husband have two kids and often can be found camping, exploring, and traveling within Alaska and beyond.
Christine
Brown
SHRM-CP
Lead Recruiter & HR Services Partner
After more than 15 years as a human resource manager with Nordstrom, Christine joined Alera ConnectHR in 2019. She has strong knowledge in recruiting, staffing in large organizations, talent
management and acquisition, training, and development, as well as employee engagement.
Christine loves helping her clients and their people thrive, and particularly relishes tackling challenging situations by using positive communication and developing plans for success.
A graduate of the University of Alaska with a degree in political science, she is a regular volunteer with the United Way of Anchorage and served on the steering committee for the Day of Caring for seven years. Christine also has volunteered with Junior Achievement, which inspires and prepares
young people to reach their potential. She has also earned the Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SRHM-CP®) designation.
She and her husband have three children and a chocolate lab—they often can be found exploring nature and enjoying a variety of outdoor activities.
Diane Decker & Darci Ahlin-Stieren
Diane Decker Coaching
Darci and Diane met while working in corporate Human Resources and re-connected after both becoming certified as professional coaches with the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. They formed Integrated Coaching so they could put their mutual passion for coaching into action and boost their impact together. Their first group coaching initiative, Align: Women in Leadership, continues to expand, as does Integrated Coaching's other offerings.
Darci Ahlin-Stieren holds a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources and maintains designations from HRCI, SHRM, and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC). She has had her own independent consulting business, HR Solutions, LLC, since 2009.
Diane Decker has an M.S. in Industrial Relations and a B.A. in Planning, Public Policy, & Management from the University of Oregon. She is also a Professional Certified Coach via the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) and the International Coach Federation. She has had her own independent consulting business, Diane Decker Coaching & Consulting, LLC, since 2010.
Andrew H. Jacobs
Creative Director, Sharkz
As a Senior Partner at ReZults.net, I leverage my extensive experience in executive leadership, organizational development, and change management to provide innovative and impactful solutions for a diverse range of clients. I am a certified executive coach and a recognized speaker and author on topics such as talent and organization catalyst, inclusion influencer, and wholehearted leadership.
With over 25 years of working in the executive suites of successful corporations, I have delivered honest and hard-earned advice and counsel to leaders of large and mid-sized organizations for various growth and change initiatives. I have also led and directed large-scale organizational change efforts, ensuring they are implemented, optimized, and sustained across the organization. My passion is to help leaders and teams achieve their full potential and create more fulfilled lives.
Hannah Robinson
Distinguished Vineyards
Hannah M.P. Robinson is a Human Resources professional specializing in recruitment for over 10 years. In 2016, her HR career pivoted towards hospitality, working for the city of Austin, TX Convention Center and Palmer Events Center where she was the sole and head recruiter.
Since then, she has found her joy in Napa, Sonoma, and Oregon wine industries working for Distinguished Vineyards, focusing on recruitment and retention for Markham Vineyards, MacRostie Winery, Argyle Winery, and Distinguished Vineyards national sales and operations divisions.
Hannah’s methods and practices are concentrated on transparent recruitment strategies that integrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D, E, &I) and high-impact interviewing, in order to obtain dedicated top talent suited for the industry. Hannah’s passion for growing D, E,&I in the wine industry and in HR practices has been her mission – to spread awareness and education in order to nourish and grow D, E,&I ambassadors.
HealthEquity
Janine Wilson
Janine Wilson, Health Savings Guru and Regional Sales Director serves the Pacific Northwest for HealthEquity. She is passionate about helping Americans thrive in today’s health care system by empowering health savings, while helping employers manage benefit costs. Janine is the author and presenter of the continuing education course, The Health Account Alphabet Soup, and has been in the HSA industry for more than fifteen years and with HealthEquity for ten years.
HealthEquity
Janine Wilson, Health Savings Guru and Regional Sales Director serves the Pacific Northwest for HealthEquity. She is passionate about helping Americans thrive in today’s health care system by empowering health savings, while helping employers manage benefit costs. Janine is the author and presenter of the continuing education course, The Health Account Alphabet Soup, and has been in the HSA industry for more than fifteen years and with HealthEquity for ten years.
HealthEquity
Janine Wilson, Health Savings Guru and Regional Sales Director serves the Pacific Northwest for HealthEquity. She is passionate about helping Americans thrive in today’s health care system by empowering health savings, while helping employers manage benefit costs. Janine is the author and presenter of the continuing education course, The Health Account Alphabet Soup, and has been in the HSA industry for more than fifteen years and with HealthEquity for ten years.
Diane Allen
Beyond Engagement (TM)
International Speaker and Violinist Diane Allen is a TEDx/TED Speaker, and Thought Leader who speaks on increasing the meaning, joy and fulfillment in one's work and life by accessing the flow state. Years before neuroscientists discovered the positive impact the flow state has on
achieving peak performance, Diane had already experienced the power of flow in her own career as a violinist. It was her unique approach to getting into flow, on demand, that landed her a spot on the TEDxNaperville stage as well as features on TED, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Associated
Press, Boston Herald, Authority Magazine, and Thrive Global. Today, Diane is known for her experiential Keynotes, Training and Coaching programs that go Beyond Engagement™ featuring her three-step Flow Strategy™ system which empowers people to get into their flow state, be in
their genius, and love their job.
Andrew Kupperman
Acrisure
Andrew joined Acrisure (formerly RISQ Consulting and Northrim Benefits Group) in November 2014 as an Administrative Assistant with our individual division, Enroll Alaska, before transitioning to the Employee Benefits division. In late 2015, Andrew helped to launch our Employer Services division, where he has primarily been working ever since. Coming from a background in administration, customer support, and building workplace efficiencies, Andrew strives to help our clients in finding streamlined solutions to administer various workforce areas such as Benefits, Payroll, and Human Resources. In helping clients assess adopting a new technology to help in these areas or figuring out the best approach to get things done, Andrew always takes a systematic and thought out approach to design a solution that fits a client’s needs and culture. After all, this is the most effective way to help an organization grow.
Andrew earned his Bachelor’s degree in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. After discovering the beauty Alaska has to offer while on their honeymoon, Andrew and his wife decided to make the permanent drive from their home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the Spring of 2014. Now their family of 3 love to explore and hike new places and are striving to visit each US National Park.
Amy Robinson
JD, SHRM-SCP, SPHR
Miller Nash LLP
Amy Robinson, a partner with Miller Nash LLP and the co-chair of the firm’s employment law & labor relations team, represents public and private employers throughout Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. She advises on a broad range of workplace-related issues and provides experienced counsel on compliance challenges and disputes covering the entire employment life cycle from hiring to separation. Before becoming an attorney, Amy was in the trenches as an HR professional, so she knows first-hand how workplaces function and the daily pressures and many responsibilities that fall to HR. Amy is also a past president of Southwest Washington SHRM, past Southwest Region Director on the Washington State Human Resources Council, and has held leadership positions in both legal and HR professional organizations.
Andrew earned his Bachelor’s degree in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. After discovering the beauty Alaska has to offer while on their honeymoon, Andrew and his wife decided to make the permanent drive from their home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the Spring of 2014. Now their family of 3 love to explore and hike new places and are striving to visit each US National Park.
Lana Williams
SHRM
Lana Williams is a Program Manager with the SHRM Foundation where she manages The Foundation’s initiatives to support students and emerging professionals, as well as their efforts to expand and diversify the HR sector. She brings a wide range of expertise in social impact and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) from her experience within the nonprofit, advocacy, and corporate sectors.
Prior to this role, she was serving as the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Project Manager for NetApp where she managed the employee business resource groups and evolution of diversity and inclusion programming, as well as increasing employee engagement and belonging initiatives. She also held roles at the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sodexo, and the Human Rights Campaign where she was responsible for the oversight and coordination of the daily activities for the annual Corporate Equality Index and Buying for Workplace Equality Guide.
Lana graduated from The New School in New York City with a MS in Nonprofit Management and a BA from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.