Event invitations are typically sent to all alumni as Google calendar invitations from hello@peopleleaderaccelerator.com and are hosted on Zoom.
If you missed an invitation or would like it to be resent, please email hello@peopleleaderaccelerator.com. Thank you!!
Navigating People Tech with Emily Chardac
We all agree there is SO MUCH people tech out there. But what is good? Or, what is good for YOUR company - but perhaps not another? We will discuss with Emily Chardac how various HR tech products fit together, and when it’s time to move on. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilychardac/
PLA Year in Review 2024
Join us in reviewing the state of the PLA program, celebrating recent graduates, reviewing key activities from 2024, and discussing upcoming opportunities to engage more closely with our PLA community in 2025. Hope to see you all here!
PLA Propel: An Alumni Retreat
Save the date for our first PLA alumni retreat! We have reserved meeting space at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Rough agenda includes a private group dinner on Wednesday 5/14 near campus, a full day of workshops on Thursday, and a half day on Friday 5/16. Make your overnight room reservations directly from The Graduate Hotel or The Faculty Club.
Building confidence through agency: Taking control of your HR career - with Melanie Naranjo
Many HR professionals wrestle with both personal feelings of imposter syndrome as well as power & status imbalances in the workplace. (How hard should you REALLY push back on your CEO?) During this PLA workshop, we will speak with Melanie Naranjo, VP of People of Ethena (an HR tech startup), about how to overcome these challenges successfully. As a pre-listen, be sure to check out her appearance on the Modern People Leader podcast here: https://www.modernpeopleleader.com/137-handling-nos-from-your-ceo-reminding-fellow-execs-what-hr-is-optimizing-for-melanie-naranj/
Learn more about Melanie and follow her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-naranjo/
Changes in Control with Maggie Ruvoldt
What do HR leaders need to know - and need to DO - related to a change in control for their organization? This might include an IPO or any type of merger & acqusition activity. What are the issues and what are the steps? We will speak with Maggie Ruvoldt, multi-time CHRO/CPO, educator, and advisor. https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretruvoldt/
Design and Pitch L&D on a Budget - with Lucy Georgiades (Elevate Leadership)
In today's economic environment, L&D offerings have been tightened by many employers. We will speak with Lucy Georgiades, cofounder of Elevate Leadership (a beloved vendor of many PLA alumni), about what L&D offerings are most likely to be critical to the success of early/mid-stage venture-backed technology companies, how to estimate anticipated ROI, how best to resource these critical L&D offerings (internal vs. vendor support), and how to position requests of time or budget with your CEO or CFO. Learn more about Lucy and Elevate Leadership here:
PLA Summer Garden Party @ Marie Szuts' Home
Join us for a summer gathering of the People Leader Accelerator community in Marie's lovely back yard garden! Refreshments will be provided. Families and pets are welcomed. There will be no formal program - just drop in to say hello and meet with other members of our PLA community!
For privacy reasons, we won’t publish Marie’s address on our website - only on the calendar invite. Let us know if you missed the invite and would like to join us! (FYI, it’s in the Lake Merritt area of Oakland, CA)
Executive Presence with Hope Timberlake
Executive presence is essential for leaders, though the term can be subjective and elusive. In this interactive session, we will explore how to connect with internal and external stakeholders, practice exercises for commanding virtual and in-person rooms, and learn how to captivate your audience and listeners. To prepare, please think of a scenario where you would like to demonstrate better executive presence and achieve a successful work outcome.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopetimberlake/
https://www.fortesf.com/
Hope Timberlake empowers leaders and teams to drive high performance with masterful communication and influence skills. She is the acclaimed author of the book Speak Up, Dammit! How to Quiet Your Fears, Polish Your Presence, and Share Your Voice. Her speaking programs range from persuasive messaging, executive presence, influence skills, and working well cross-functionally.
For nearly 20 years, Hope has been an in-demand speaker and advisor to global companies, including Airbnb, Autodesk, Dropbox, Gap, Intel, PlayStation, Williams Sonoma, and many smaller, rapidly growing companies.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and completed a Master’s at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, teenage children, and two dogs.
Career Exploration & Job Search w/Rachel Serwetz
Particularly in today's environment, with so many HR tech leaders looking for a new role...
We are very pleased to partner with Rachel Serwetz, CEO & Founder of Woken. Rachel is an expert on guiding professionals to clarify their ideal career path through learning & reflection. From there, she helps clients to select upskilling opportunities, improve their personal branding materials, and pursue an efficient, strategic, job search to land a role they will thrive in.
People GPT with Q Hamirani
Accelerate your understanding of Artificial Intelligence tools for HR professionals, with PLA alum Q Hamirani
Excel Workshop with Recalc Academy
Elevate your Excel skills with a private interactive workshop with long time friend of PLA, Recalc Academy founder Katie Fifer.
HR Transform Conference
The People Leader Accelerator community shows up in force for this conference at the Wynn in Las Vegas, which includes a unique collection of venture capital investors, People Tech founders, and progressive HR leaders of tech companies. We will have a private dinner for our alumni and a few select guests on Monday evening (3/11) from 7-9pm.
How to Build a Creativity Culture
In this 60-minute interactive workshop, “Born to Create” author (and PLA SME) Anne Jacoby will reinforce key themes in the book to ignite your creative mindset, develop your creative leadership, and activate a plan to build a creativity culture.
How to Elevate Your Professional Profile as an HR Leader
With our guest, Modern People Leader podcast host, Daniel Huerta!
Cohort Reunions
Reconnect with your cohort virtually. Dates and times will be announced throughout the month of November, hosted by a faculty member.
Goal Setting
Annual goal planning and OKR best practices, facilitated by Andrew Bartlow from Series B Consulting
HR Transform Conference
Many, many IRL meetup opportunities! And, come see PLA community members on stage!