The HR Leadership Forum upcoming events

HRLF Career Accelerator – How to Position Yourself for Your Next HR Opportunity (Virtual Event) (Tuesday, October 27, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

This is a complimentary event for HR practitioners.

How to Position Yourself for Your Next HR Opportunity

Get Clear. Get Noticed. Get Connected.

Take a more strategic approach to your next career move. This interactive session will help HR leaders in transition clarify what they want, confidently communicate their value, and tap into the hidden job market.

Through practical exercises, peer discussions, and networking, participants will sharpen their professional introduction, build meaningful connections, and leave with actionable steps to move their job search forward.

Come ready to engage! This is an interactive, camera-on session designed to encourage meaningful conversation, active participation, and connections with fellow HR leaders. We ask all participants to have their cameras on and be ready to contribute.

About the Speaker: Ellen Barker Dunagan

Ellen Barker Dunagan is the Founder and President of Traverse Career Solutions, a career strategist, executive coach, and facilitator with extensive experience in HR leadership and career development. Drawing on her background in HR and expertise in personal branding, networking, and career transitions, Ellen has helped hundreds of professionals clarify their value, navigate career changes, and position themselves for new opportunities. Her practical, engaging approach empowers individuals to take ownership of their careers with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.

About HRLF Career Accelerator

The HRLF Career Accelerator is a high-impact, 60-minute virtual session designed just for HR professionals. Learn learn practical career skills, share experiences, and expand your network. Whether you’re actively in transition or simply exploring possibilities, this session gives you the tools, insights, and connections to move your HR career forward with confidence and momentum. Attendees join on camera for greater impact.

Resilience by Design: Engineering an Employee Lifecycle Where People Thrive (Friday, November 06, 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

What if the key to a resilient workforce isn't asking employees to be more resilient, but designing an organization that enables people to thrive?

In today's environment of constant change, disruption, and increasing complexity, organizations cannot rely on individual resilience alone. Culture, leadership, talent practices, and the employee experience all shape an organization's capacity to help people grow, adapt, and perform at their best.

For CHROs, this creates a critical opportunity: to step back and examine the entire employee lifecycle and ask whether the systems, practices, and culture are creating the conditions for people to thrive, or unintentionally creating barriers to growth, engagement, and resilience.

In this interactive session, HR leaders will take a systemic look at the employee lifecycle; from attraction and onboarding through development, leadership, retention, and transition—to identify where organizations can intentionally design for resilience, growth, and organizational health.

Key Focus Areas

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding: Discover how to identify candidates with the capacity to navigate change and uncertainty, and orient new hires to the relationships, resources, and tools they need to fully tap their capacity for resilience.

Employee Development: Learn targeted strategies for helping your workforce cultivate a “purpose hierarchy” and develop the skills and mindset necessary to adapt, grow, and perform through change.

Retention & Culture: Identify structural ways to address toxic elements and organizational barriers that can undermine resilience, while creating an environment that supports engagement, performance, and long-term success.

The PUSH Framework: Utilize a prescriptive model to systematically assess and strengthen resilience across your organization’s existing talent practices.

The CHRO Takeaway

Leave with a systemic lens for evaluating your employee lifecycle and organizational culture along with a practical approach for identifying where you can redesign the employee experience to foster greater resilience, adaptability, growth, and performance.

Because thriving isn't an employee benefit. It's an organizational outcome, and CHROs have the opportunity to design the conditions that make it possible.

Speaker: Stacy Cook, Principal at Perception Learning

Stacy is a dynamic speaker, trainer, and organizational development consultant who currently serves as a Principal at Perception Learning. With over 4,000 hours of classroom training experience, she specializes in helping individuals and organizations close challenging soft skills gaps through customized programs in leadership development, resilience, and performance management. Her diverse professional background includes leading the Learning and Development Center of Excellence at FMP Consulting, serving as a Program Manager for a Department of Defense Task Force in Baghdad, and working as a trainer and performance coach for The Alexander Company. A recognized thought leader who has presented at major events such as the ATD International Conference and the SHRM Annual Conference, Stacy focuses on delivering practical value and immediately applicable tools to her audiences. She holds an MA in Adult Learning and Leadership from Teachers College of Columbia University.

Event Details:

8:00am - 8:45am - Registration + Breakfast + Networking

8:45am - 9:00am - Interactive Team Building Activity

9:00am - 10:30am - Program

Location: Maggiano's Little Italy - 1961 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, VA 22102 (Maggiano's moved to a new location at Tysons Corner Center located next to Costal Flats and Cheesecake Factory by parking garage E).

HRLF is proud to support Dress for Success Washington, DC with a Winter Clothing Donation Drive at our November 6 program!

Please consider bringing gently used, clean, contemporary women's winter clothing (no more than 3 years old), including sweaters, cardigans, coats, and winter accessories.
Your generosity will help empower women in our community as they work toward economic independence and career success.
Let's make a difference together!

HRLF's Federal Contracting Forum (Virtual Event) (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

This is a complimentary event for HR practitioners.

Come ready to engage!

Please join with your camera on and be prepared to actively participate and contribute your perspective. This is an interactive discussion designed for peer conversation and sharing.

HRLF’s Federal Contracting Forum is a dedicated peer network for HR practitioners operating in the federal contracting space. This forum brings together HR leaders to share insights, discuss challenges, and explore best practices unique to the complexities of federal contracting.

Members engage in meaningful dialogue on topics such as compliance, workforce planning, talent acquisition, retention strategies, and organizational development—all within the context of federal regulations and contracting requirements. Through interactive discussions, collaborative problem-solving, and peer-to-peer networking, participants gain practical strategies to drive HR excellence in their organizations.

Whether sharing lessons learned, exploring innovative approaches, or building relationships with fellow HR professionals, the Federal Contracting Forum provides a trusted space to connect, collaborate, and stay ahead in the ever-evolving federal contracting environment.

HRLF's Nonprofit HR Forum (Virtual Event) (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

This is a complimentary event for HR practitioners.

Come ready to engage!

Please join with your camera on and be prepared to actively participate and contribute your perspective. This is an interactive discussion designed for peer conversation and sharing.

HRLF’s Nonprofit Forum is a peer network for HR professionals working in the nonprofit sector. This forum provides a collaborative space for HR leaders to share experiences, exchange best practices, and discuss challenges unique to nonprofit organizations.

Participants explore key topics such as talent acquisition and retention, workforce planning, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and compliance—all within the context of mission-driven organizations. Through interactive discussions, peer sharing, and networking, members gain practical insights and strategies to strengthen their HR impact and support organizational success.

The Nonprofit HR Forum fosters meaningful connections among HR practitioners, offering a trusted environment for collaboration, learning, and advancing the effectiveness of HR in the nonprofit sector.

HRLF's Executive Skills Accelerator: Build Trust Across the Enterprise (Friday, December 04, 2026)

Fri, 04 Dec 2026 13:00:00 GMT

This event is exclusively for HR practitioners.

HRLF's Executive Skills Accelerator: Master Influence, Presence & Impact

Build Trust Across the Enterprise

December 4, 2026 | 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Forge strong executive relationships that accelerate results.

Identify, engage, and manage critical stakeholders effectively
Navigate conflicts and competing priorities with ease
Takeaway: Strengthen collaboration and gain support for your strategic initiatives.

Timeline

8:00 am - 8:30 am - Registration + Breakfast + Networking

8:30 am - 10:30 am - Program