About Event

Traditional hiring is a thing of the past. In the innovation economy, success belongs to organizations that can identify, develop, and deploy skills-not just fill positions. But with great opportunity comes great complexity, especially when legal compliance meets rapid organizational change.

Our expert panel unites strategic workforce planning expertise, legal counsel, and practical implementation experience from an innovation industry VP of HR. Together, they'll show you how to build a skills-based talent strategy that's both agile and legally sound.

Transform Your Approach:
• Design skills-based hiring processes that unlock diverse talent pools while ensuring fair assessment
• Build internal talent marketplaces that accelerate career growth and retention
• Navigate legal complexities around skills assessments, AI tools, and internal mobility programs
• Create upskilling strategies that anticipate future needs and drive engagement
• Balance workforce agility with compliance accountability

Stop reacting to talent shortages. Start building the workforce of tomorrow with strategies that work in the real world and stand up to legal scrutiny.

Event Agenda:
8:30 a.m. Check-In/Registration
9:00 a.m. Welcome & Introductions over Breakfast
9:15 a.m. Panel Discussion
10:15 a.m. Q & A
10:30 a.m. Networking
11:00 a.m. Adjourn

Location: Nova Place Conferenec Center, 100 S. Commons, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Cost: This event is Free to PTC members and $75 for non-members

*SHRM Credits awarded post event.

In the ever-changing landscape of HR labor laws, regulations, and compliance requirements, it is essential for HR professionals to stay informed and proactive.

Featured Speakers:

Dori Armstead | VP of People, Softwriters

Dori Armstead is an innovative People & Culture executive who specializes in designing and deploying comprehensive people strategies that accelerate customer success and enable organizations to navigate meaningful change. At SoftWriters, Dori has built a highperforming People & Culture function and strengthened the company’s talent acquisition, performance management, talent management, and talent development capabilities. Over the past two years, she has embedded practical and forwardlooking changeleadership principles into the company’s culture—driving greater alignment, adaptability, and business impact across the organization. Her work directly supports the full customer lifecycle and advances SoftWriters’ position as an emerging AInative industry leader. Dori is most passionate about creating peoplecentric, scalable solutions that empower teams, elevate performance, and help growing technology organizations thrive through mission-critical transformation.

Shelly Bloom | Director of Legislative Awareness & Training, Emerson Rogers

Shelly Bloom currently serves as the Director of Legislative Awareness and Training at Emerson Rogers, LLC. We are a wholesale General Agency with offices in 36 states. Shelly’s role is to monitor changes in laws related to employer-provided health and welfare programs. She communicates them to staff, brokers, and clients in the form of webinars, podcasts, seminars, guides, as well as responses to specific questions. She likes to stay on top of the new developments; particularly those related to the Affordable Care Act, communicating them effectively to staff, brokers, and employer groups. Shelly enjoys being able to distill a complex issue, empowering one to make an informed business decision.

Shelly is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). She is a former president of the Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters and former state legislative chair. Shelly resides in Harrisburg, PA.

Lindsay M. Buchanan | Counsel, Dentons

Lindsay’s practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling clients on key employment law issues. Lindsay defends companies and non-profit organizations against employment related claims, including claims brought pursuant to Title VII, the Americans with Disability Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She also regularly defends clients against administrative charges and complaints before federal and state agencies.

Lindsay works on behalf of her clients to negotiate and draft employment, severance, and restrictive covenant agreements. She also counsels clients as to hiring, performance, and conduct issues, accommodations and leave, WARN Act compliance, reductions in force, background checks, and drug and alcohol policies and testing. Lindsay conducts investigations into and provides advise regarding alleged employee misconduct, and provides supervisory and employee training as to various employee matters.

Ben Kopel | Director of Business Agility, Project Brilliant

Ben Kopel is the Director of Business Agility at Project Brilliant. He is a curious learner who coaches teams and Leaders, and enables adaptive organizations to thrive through increased alignment and transparency.

He has helped hundreds of people, teams and organizations of all sizes turn their goals into real results—improving collaboration, driving meaningful impact and creating more engaged workplaces.

Ben was the second person in the world to become a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), Professional Scrum Trainer (PST), Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) and Certified Team Coach (CTC). He is also a Certified Agile Leadership (CAL) educator and Agile Leadership Journey Guide.

Ben serves on the Scrum Alliance CEC Review Team and the Guides Advisory Team, as well as Illinois State University’s College of Business - Information Systems board.

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Thank you to our Partners:

Programming Questions: Marie Pelloni, Senior Director of Talent & Workforce Development Initiatives, mpelloni@pghtech.org
Registration Questions: Lauren Lowen, Event Coordinator, llowen@pghtech.org
Sponsorship Questions: Ashley Steckel, Vice President of Business Development and Advertising, asteckel@pghtech.org
Membership Questions: Brooke Wozniak, Membership Development Manager, bwozniak@pghtech.org