Our authorsThe Top HR and Government experts

Mike Podesto is a former recruiter and current Founder & CEO of Find My Profession, a leading resume writing and career coaching company. Mike’s career advice has been featured on sites like Inc., Zety, Motherly, Fast Company, and more. His viral posts on employment have been seen by millions on LinkedIn. He’s even been featured in a variety of career-related podcasts such as the Hired podcast Talk Talent to Me, Strong Suit, and Authors Unite. Mike is passionate about helping jobseekers find fulfillment in their careers by breaking down the tedious job search barriers.

Tom LaForgia is a Master of Public Administration candidate concentrating in nonprofit management and serves as the graduate assistant for the MPA program in the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Seton Hall University. His thesis, Changing Nonprofit Mission Statements: Examining the Nation’s Top Liberal Arts Colleges analyzes the shifting of missions at the nation’s top undergraduate liberal arts institutions toward a professional-orientation and calls for a renewed dedication to the true components of liberal education. Tom has worked in the nonprofit sector for five years in both higher education and public media and has experience in admissions, financial aid, development, and academic program management. For the time being, Tom resides in Northern New Jersey.

Milena Gallo is the resident editor at The Negotiation Experts, with more than five years of experience. Milena has a master’s degree in writing and has been creating and editing online content ever since. She is passionate about clear messaging, helping business professionals continue learning, and the Oxford comma. Milena also loves to write in her free time. A member of a creative writing club, Milena and her friends have authored several science fiction novels, which they hope to one day have published.

Mohamed Markar is the founder and President of The Center for Professional Education, Inc., an acclaimed provider of continuing education programs for financial professionals. For more than three decades, Markar has initiated cutting-edge courses for a wide range of industries, employing the best speakers and instructors from the worlds of accounting, tax, and business to ensure the latest knowledge and updates are always available. His company offers thousands of webinars, self-study programs, seminars and conferences annually, and hosts events nationally and internationally.

MyCareer@VA is a program that helps you build the career you want at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. With expertise brought to you by a team of career development specialists who understand the Federal workplace, MyCareer@VA is the place to set and achieve your career goals.

William Vanderbloemen is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and CEO and founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group, an executive search firm serving churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. He is a regular contributor to several major publications including Forbes where he covers topics about having a strong faith and building a business, Fortune, and Outreach magazine. He has also been published through Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Inc. Under his leadership, Vanderbloemen has won several culture awards and was named one of Forbes 2018 Small Giants companies. Vanderbloemen was also named #24 on Forbes’ Best Executive Recruiting Firms in America. In 2015 and 2016, the company placed in the top 5 of Entrepreneur.com’s Top Company Culture – Small Business Category in the nation and top 6 of Houston’s Best Places to Work by Houston Business Journal. Culture Wins is William’s third book following NEXT: Pastoral Succession That Works (2014) and SEARCH: The Pastoral Search Committee Handbook (2016). William holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Nafia Khan is currently working as Senior Management Fellow with the City of Fort Lauderdale, FL. She was recruited for this position through the ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship program. This position will allow her to develop a platform on which to launch her career in local government. Khan has previous worked in Illinois state government, having previously served as a James H. Dunn Fellow for the Governor's Office of Communications. She has also interned with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Prior to joining the City of Fort Lauderdale, Khan worked at a local performing arts venue in Springfield, Illinois. A Chicago native, Khan received her Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication from Bradley University in Peoria, IL. In her free time, she enjoys participating in races and is currently training for her first half-marathon this coming February.

Scott Mautz is a passionate expert on employee engagement/motivation/inspiration, workplace fulfillment, and others-oriented leadership. Scott is the CEO of Profound Performance – a keynote, workshop, coaching, and online training company that helps you “Work, Lead, & Live Fulfilled.” He is also a Procter & Gamble veteran who ran several of the company’s largest multi-billion-dollar businesses, including its single largest, a $3 Billion Dollar division. At P&G, Scott consistently transformed business results and organizational/cultural health scores along with it. Scott is also an award-winning keynote speaker, and author of Find the Fire: Ignite Your Inspiration and Make Work Exciting Again (October 2017), as well as Make it Matter: How Managers Can Motivate by Creating Meaning, a book that was named “The 2016 Leadership Book of the Year – First Runner Up” by Leadership & Management Books and a “Best 30 Book of the Year” by Soundview Business Books. Scott’s been named a “CEO Thought-leader” by the CEO Executive Guild and a “Top 50 Leadership Innovator” by Inc. Magazine, where he writes a weekly column for the national publication on topics such as employee engagement, others-orientated leadership, meaning in and at work, workplace culture, the how tos of motivation/inspiration, success, and entrepreneurship. Scott also teaches leadership and employee engagement/motivation at Indiana University. He’s appeared in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur and many other national publications and podcasts. Scott was born in Central New York and has an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University (1991) and an MBA from Indiana University (1994). He lives in Cincinnati with his wife and daughter.

Sarah Wilson is the community manager for TheLadders. TheLadders is a career resource dedicated to helping to professionals at all stages in their career market, move up, and manage. A New York native, Sarah spends most of her time outside of work pursuing hobbies such as cooking, photography and hiking.

As the Associate Director of Admissions at Florida Polytechnic University, Tonya Chestnut actively recruits students and conducts group tours, in addition to traveling throughout northern and central Florida to meet students and guidance counselors in person. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Keiser University in Lakeland, and has also attended a one-year program on leadership and management at Saint Leo University.

The Mayor has a combined 39 years in public safety, municipal government and education. He holds a Bachelor of Science (California State University at Los Angeles) and a Masters Degree in Business Administration (California Polytechnic University at Pomona). Mayor Butts has served as a general manager or assistant general manager of large and complex municipal organizations for the past 27 years.

Matt Parks is VP of Product and Strategy at Software Solutions Inc. (SSI). Having worked in the software space for over 10 years, he has a proven track record of driving customer success and organizational growth through innovative product strategies. He also received a Master of Public Administration from Wright State University, giving him a unique perspective on ERP software for local governments.