Workforce Names Its Class of 2019 Game Changers

A strong international contingent leads the Class of 2019 Workforce Game Changers.

This marks the ninth year of the Game Changers, an awards program designed to recognize those in workforce management under 40 years old who are pushing the field forward with innovative people-management practices.

Read more about all the winners here! 

For the first time in the program’s history, judges selected 40 Workforce Game Changers. While the majority plies their trade in the United States, numerous winners also span the globe, from Nigeria to Norway to Bahrain, as well as several winners from across India.

The thread that ties them together, no matter the nation, is that their efforts engage employees and help their respective companies succeed.

“It’s important that HR not only changes along with the times, but also leads the way — recognizing that any organization’s strongest asset is its people. We applaud these HR professionals for taking the initiative to advance workforce management practices around the world,” said Rick Bell, Workforce editorial director.

Judges selected the Game Changers in part based on the nominees’ ability to drive measurable results within their organizations.

Much like past winners, this group of workforce management practitioners and strategists in human resources-related fields — all under 40 years old — didn’t focus their efforts on a single industry trend. In each instance, the Game Changer worked to incite change in a field that is often bogged down by protocol and leaders content with the way things have always been done.

Congratulations to all the winners. In alphabetical order the 2019 Workforce Game Changers are:

Bilal Ali
Head of HR, Sharif Group, Manama, Bahrain

Alycia Angle

Senior Talent Management Consultant, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans

Ebru Arslan

HR Business Partner, Continental Europe, Kronos, Brussels

Temitope Azeez
People Director, Jumia Global, Ikeja, Nigeria

Patricia Bagsby

Vice President, Organizational Consulting, Psychological Associates, St. Louis

Samina Banu
Specialist HR Senior Manager-TCS Research & Innovation, TCS, Mumbai, India

Valentina Baratta
Senior Manager, Human Resources, Kronos, Montreal

Rebecca Bettencourt

Corporate Workforce Planning and Training Senior Program Manager, E & J. Gallo Winery, Modesto, California

Jennifer Beyer

Global Employer Brand Manager, MicroStrategy, Tysons Corner, Virginia

Courtney Bigony

Director of People Science, 15Five, San Francisco

 Andrea Black

Senior Consultant, Organization & Talent Management, Airlines Reporting Corp., Arlington, Virginia

 Sean Cain

VP of Career Development, 21^st Century Fox, Los Angeles

Vincent Cavelot
Director, Talent Management, TechnipFMC, Paris

Samik Chakraborty
Senior Manager HR, TCS, Kolkata, India

Rebecca Chung

Program Manager, Online Campus, Columbia University School of Social Work, Los Angeles

 Stefanie Coleman

Director, PwC People & Organization, PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York

Megha Das

HR Specialist-Talent Analytics and Branding, TCS, Mumbai, India

Rachel Druckenmiller

Director of Wellbeing, Alera Group, Baltimore

 Martell Dyles

Workforce Development Manager, Triunity Engineering & Management Inc., Denver

Kerri Gaouette

Manager, HR Programs and Operations, Blueprint Medicines, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sara Hopkins

Vice President, Custom Design and Consulting, Paradigm Learning Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida

Jonathan Hulbert

Director, Leadership Organizational Development,, SUNY Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York

Nikki Larchar
Co-Founder of simplyHR, LLC and of Define the Line, Fort Collins, Colorado

Roger Lee

CEO and co-Founder, Human Interest, San Francisco

 Rachel Light

Director of Global Employee Experience, Cornerstone OnDemand, Santa Monica, California

Diana Lopez

Human Resources Manager, Pegasus Building Services, San Diego, California

Kelly Lum

Complex Director of Talent and Development, Highgate, Boston

Carly Lund

Director Global Head of Organizational Leadership, YSC Consulting, London

 Angelo Markantonakis

Associate Vice President of Academic Programs, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Concord, North Carolina

 Italo Medelius

National Director of Recruiting, BlueCrew, New York

Kassy Morris

Manager of Construction Education Programs, Procore Technologies, Carpinteria, California

Pritika Padhi
Team Leader — Talent Management, L&T Financial Services, Mumbai, India

Dharshana Ramachandran
Lead – HR Measurement, Analytics & Technology, TCS, Mumbai, India

Rachel Richards

Talent Acquisition Manager, George P. Johnson Experience Marketing, Torrance, California

Maria Roots Morland
Talent Acquisition Manager, TechnipFMC, Kongsberg, Norway

Nathan Shapiro

Senior Manager, Digital HCM Platform Strategy, Paychex, Webster, New York

 Aaron White

Workforce Reporting Analyst II, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, Tennessee

Dave Wilson

Senior Director, IT Infrastructure and Architecture, Paychex, Webster, New York

 Loreli Wilson

Director of Inclusion & Impact, Veterans United Home Loans, Columbia, Missouri

Colin Yamaoka

LLESA Program Coordinator, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California