CHRO Luncheon

Dr. Jessica Salyers is the Chief Learning Officer for the Veterans Health Administration, encompassing the Employee Education System and VHA Healthcare Leadership Talent Institute (HLTI). In her role overseeing 400 employees and a $100M budget, she is responsible for providing the right learning, anytime, anywhere, to all VHA employees in the areas of clinical care, health care operations and administration, as well as leadership development, talent management and succession planning. Dr. Salyers serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary for Health for the analysis, development, delivery, implementation, and evaluation of education, learning, development, and training programs, products, and services that support workforce development and continuing education for the Administration’s more than 377,000 health care professionals and staff, as well as 120,000 residents and trainees at over 1,255 sites, caring for 8.92 million Veterans. As an advocate and champion for transforming VHA into a learning organization, Dr. Salyers works with VA and VHA leaders to identify requirements and leverage collaborative and innovative education, training and development opportunities in support of Department and Administration goals and objectives. Dr. Salyers is also responsible for developing and implementing a VHA-wide comprehensive leadership development, talent management and succession planning strategy to ensure a steady leadership pipeline, guiding a collection of multi-dimensional talent assessment information on executives across VHA to identify those in the pipeline for key leadership positions and ensure they receive the work experiences, assignments, coaching/mentoring and training necessary for building executive leadership skills. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Executive Director for HLTI in VHA. Her previous positions in the Air Force include Chief Talent Management Officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB); Deputy Executive Director, Chief of Staff and Chief Learning Officer at the Air Force Research Laboratory; and others. She has 18 years of experience in industrial/organizational psychology, organizational consulting, change management, leadership development, organizational development and strategic planning. Dr. Salyers’ major awards include the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Exemplary Civilian Service Award (2013), Special Act or Service Award (multiple), Dayton Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award, and Leadership Dayton graduate. She holds a doctorate in business/consulting psychology; a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology; and a bachelor’s degree in general psychology, criminal justice studies and sociology. Her specific areas of research interest and experience include survey assessment and design, information overload and future of work.

Lin Burton, Ed.S, has been a learning professional since 1980. During her years of service with the federal government, George Washington University, in local government and private industry, she has served as the Chief Learning Officer for Federal Prison Industries, Associate Professor in the George Washington University Graduate School of Education & Human Development, School Administrator in Alexandria City Public Schools, NSTEP National Training Program Coordinator for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, and teacher/professor in both public and private settings. Lin possesses strength in working with individuals' diverse learning needs/strengths and excels in defining blended resources and developing specialized techniques. She effectively uses technology and alternative resources to reach participants thus developing timely and cost effective best practices. Her research has focused on policy impacts of comprehensive school models designed with multi-agency service delivery on site. In practice, Lin uses 30-minute conversations with managers and leaders when designing training programs. And has written, instructed and facilitated on topics including: Speed of Trust, Effective presenting, Building an Enterprise-Wide Vision for Training, Creative Strategies for a Positive Learning Environment, Learning Styles, Technology use in Conference Evaluation, Curriculum Development, Education Law, Interagency Transition Models, Group Facilitation Skills for Effective Group Processes, LSS Process Mapping/ Root Cause Analysis, and Coaching. Specialties Learning Technology, Staff Development, Individuals with Disabilities, Executive Management Development, Lean Six Sigma Basics, Speed of Trust Facilitator

Melissa Bonner serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Prime Trust. Prime Trust provides tech-driven financial infrastructure to Fin Tech innovators by being the rails for many banks, financial institutions, exchanges, and Fin Tech firms. Melissa has over 15 years of experience in Human Resources and 14 years within the banking industry. Prior to joining Prime Trust, Melissa served as the Human Resources Manager for Slater Hanifan Group, a Las Vegas engineering firm now known as Westwood. During her tenure with Slater Hanifan Group, her primary role was to establish the Human Resources department and plan, lead, develop, and coordinate policies, activities, and ensuring legal compliance and implementation of the organization’s mission and overall business plan. Melissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources Management from University of Phoenix, and a Master’s Degree in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.

Sonali Y. Damle is the Chief People Officer at Innovaccer and an international business leader with extensive experience in building and leading new business ventures and high-growth global organizations. She likes to think of herself as a “dreamer and doer” with a deep interest in understanding the unmet customer need and developing “the mechanism” that catalyzes hyperscaling organizations. Her expertise lies in translating ideas into scalable, highly resilient businesses that successfully navigate and operate in dynamic, fast-paced global economies. She is passionate about building sustainable organizations by developing a depth of talent and inspiring leadership to lead both the financial and non-financial goals of dynamic high-growth organizations. As the CPO of Innovaccer, Sonali plays a crucial role in supporting Innovaccer’s rapid growth and is responsible for overseeing the company’s people strategy. Before earning her MBA in Finance at Wharton, Sonali founded her first startup in New York, early in 2000’s, which focused on geospatial mapping of survey and aerial photography data to inform construction at major infrastructure hubs such as ports. Outside of work, her interest lies in mentorship and expanding worldviews through conversation and curiosity. She enjoys exploring new places with her family through history, art, music, and food.