Our authorsThe Top HR and Government experts

Valerie Chua is a Content Specialist at Manila Recruitment. We are recognized as the leading recruitment firm in the Philippines for headhunting, executive search, expert, technical, and IT recruitment. We share an unrivaled passion to help your business succeed by understanding your goals, then sourcing and providing you with your number one asset - driven, dedicated, and exceptional people!

Matthew J. Paese, Ph.D., is Vice President of Succession and C-Suite Services for Development Dimensions International (DDI). Matt’s work has centered on the application of succession, assessment, and development approaches as they apply to boards, CEOs, senior management teams, and leaders across the pipeline. He consults, coaches, speaks, and conducts research around all those topics and more. Audrey B. Smith, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President for Global Talent Diagnostics at DDI. Audrey’s customer-driven innovation and global consulting insights have helped shape DDI’s succession, selection, and development offerings, from the C-suite to the front line. She has been a key strategist and solution architect, encompassing technology-enabled virtual assessments and development aligned to current business challenges. William C. Byham, Ph.D., is Executive Chairman of DDI. He cofounded the company in 1970 and has worked with hundreds of the world’s largest organizations on executive assessment, executive development, and succession management. Bill authored Zapp!® The Lightning of Empowerment, a groundbreaking book that has sold more than 3 million copies. He has coauthored 23 other books, including seminal works on the assessment center method.

TopResume is the largest resume-writing service in the world, and writes and analyzes resumes, CVs, and LinkedIn profiles. Job seekers work directly with professional writers and industry experts to redefine their personal brand and stand out from the crowd during the job-search process. Request a free, confidential resume review, and follow TopResume on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Shaun Conrad is a CPA, author, and finance instructor. When he’s not helping students, you can find him thrill seeking on his longboard or motorcycle.

Valerie Alvarado is a graduate student at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy, and is a Human Resources Manager for USC's Office of the Senior Vice President, Administration. Valerie is a Trojan through and through and is proud to be the first in her family to attend college. Obtaining her undergraduate degree in business administration was only the starting point for her career in higher education. After spending seven years working at USC and one year into her graduate program, her passion for education only continues to grow and she can't wait to see her two small children grow up to be Trojans, too.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Washington DC, GovLoop's mission is simple: connect government to improve government. The goal is to inspire public sector professionals to better service by acting as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop serves a community of more than 100,000 government leaders by helping them to foster collaboration, learn from each other, solve problems and advance in their government careers. The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across the public sector -- federal, state local, industry and academia -- as a leading site for addressing public sector issues.

Tulsa Welding School was founded in 1949 by two welders who recognized a strong demand for skilled tradesman in their industry. Over 60 years later, TWS has evolved into an educational institution that prepares students for various skilled trade careers with a multitude of specialties and applications. We train our graduates for the skills, knowledge, and the workplace attitudes that are essential when entering the professional world. Graduates who put forth the dedication, commitment to excel, and workplace experience in their welding, HVAC/R or electrical education, have the potential to obtain a lasting and rewarding welding career.

Scott is a graduate of St. Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and a Certified Human Resources Professional. (CHRP). His HR experience has come within the fields of marine engineering, contact centre, gaming and hospitality, retail and information technology. Scott has had the opportunity to provide HR solutions to organizations ranging in size from 50 to 5000 employees (including start-ups), all of which gives him a unique perspective on what it is like to manage in a myriad of environments and organizational structures. He has also held roles recruiting in the agency world, working as a sole HR practitioner and as the Manager of a large HR department – all of which has allowed him to experience the challenges and lessons learned that each of these roles presents! When he isn’t spending time being a Human Resources Manager or blogging, Scott enjoys coaching his daughter's basketball team, mountain biking and traveling to warm places with his family. You can find Scott on Twitter at @HR_ScottBoulton, or on his leadership and HR blog - The Armchair HR Manager.

Matt Glodz is the Founder and Managing Partner of Resume Pilots, an award-winning resume writing service that works with clients pursuing roles in the government and public sector as well as clients making military-to-civilian career transitions. Matt, a Certified Professional Resume Writer and Certified Professional Career Coach, graduated from Cornell University, where he studied business communication with leading professors in the field. He served as a Communication Consultant in Cornell’s Communication Center and is a former writer for a Chicago Tribune publication. At Resume Pilots, Matt applies his journalism background to powerfully convey his clients’ work experience, where he and his team bring writing excellence, superior service, and market expertise to applicants who are looking for job-search services beyond mere resume assistance. The Resume Pilots team leverages an unparalleled combination of writing and coaching expertise and in-depth understanding of today’s recruiting environment to support you in your career growth.

Sharon McCoy is currently a writer for GovLoop. It's mission is simple: connect government to improve government. GovLoop aims to inspire public sector professionals to better service by acting as the knowledge network for government. Sharon graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in International affairs. As an undergraduate, she studied in Chile and worked as an intern at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. With its ideal location near the U.S.-Mexican border, regionally-based curriculum and numerous opportunities for research and internships, IR/PS was an “excellent choice” for Sharon to prepare for her professional ambitions. After her first year at IR/PS, Sharon accepted a 3-month internship from the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. serving the Front Office of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA). The staff advises the WHA Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretaries on regional policy and management considerations and is responsible for managing the flow of information within the Bureau. Sharon’s was one of the few State Department internships to require a Top Secret security clearance due to the level of exposure this position has to a higher level of personnel and information.

Shannon Burns is a community manager by day and aspiring writer by afternoon, evening, and night. As much as she loves discovering and publishing pieces about unique brands doing worthwhile things while changing the business industry one idea at a time, she also loves binge watching Netflix series with her two dogs even more.

Diversity and inclusion strategist, renowned for her visionary work in culture competence, nationally recognized speaker, and best-selling author Sara Taylor is dedicated to changing the world through the workplace by making organizations across the globe more effective and inclusive and their leaders more culturally competent. She founded deepSEE Consulting in 2002 to provide insightful consulting and strategic diversity training, paired with measurement tools to build individual and organizational cultural competence. In her deepSEE Consulting role as President, Sara has worked with hundreds of national and global companies and their executives, including Chief Diversity Officers, Organizational Development and HR leaders as well as staff at all levels throughout the organization. She helps them to understand the full complexities of today's diverse workforce and to build the competencies necessary to create inclusion and equity. Her clients over the years have included reputable companies such as Walmart, 3M Company, AARP, Cleveland Foundation, Coca-Cola, Marriott International, General Mills, United Way Worldwide, National Credit Union Administration, Ingersol-Rand, Seagate Technologies, Thompson Reuters, Thrivent Financial, among others. Prior to deepSEE Consulting, Sara was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Ramsey County, Minnesota, where she established a new department to lead D&I efforts for 5,000 employees. She began her career as a Leadership and Diversity Specialist at the University of Minnesota, where she developed state-wide diversity and leadership programs, created and managed a grant program to fund community-based diversity initiatives, and directed the activities of diversity and leadership educators. On July 9, 2024, Sara will launch Thinking at the Speed of Bias: How to Shift Our Unconscious Filters (Berrett-Koehler) to help individuals tackle their unconscious bias and empower organizations to scale cultural competence to transform their structural and systematic landscapes to become more effective and equitable. She previously authored the 2017 best-selling book Filter Shift: How Effective People See the World, which is used by numerous individuals and organizations across the globe to increase success and create greater effectiveness. She has been an active member of the Society of Human Resource Management, Twin Cities Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practitioners, Human Resource Professionals of Minnesota, Minnesota Society for Human Resource Management, Twin Cities Human Resources Association, Association of Talent Development, and Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research. She’s been featured in and quoted as an expert in Upsize, Twin Cities Business, and HR Magazine and has had several articles published in Forbes and Diversity Woman magazine. Sara earned a master’s degree in Diversity and Organizational Development from the University of Minnesota. She and her husband, Miguel, split their time between their home in the Dominican Republic, close to Miguel’s family, and their home in Minneapolis, closer to their children and grandchild.