The HR Leadership Forum upcoming events

HRLF's Executive Skills Accelerator: Influence & Persuasion: Elevate Your Executive Impact (Thursday, September 10, 2026)

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

This event is exclusively for HR practitioners

Timeline:

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

8:30 am - 10:30 am - Program

Location:

Maggiano's Little Italy (Tysons Corner Center)

1961 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, VA 22102

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

Influence & Persuasion – Elevate Your Executive Impact

To drive meaningful organizational impact, today’s HR executives must move beyond a purely functional lens and operate as enterprise business leaders. This interactive workshop is designed to help you do exactly that.

Key Focus Areas:

Decoding Stakeholder Motivations
Understand what truly drives decision-making across the business by identifying and leveraging the distinct priorities of your stakeholders.
Framing the “Why”
Translate HR insights into strategic, operational, and financial language that resonates with senior leadership.
Securing Alignment & Buy-In
Build the skills to navigate resistance, align competing priorities, and create consensus around your initiatives.
Expanding Your Executive Footprint
Position yourself as a trusted, enterprise-wide advisor—not just a functional HR leader.

Walk away with practical tools to influence across functions, secure executive alignment, and drive decisions that move your organization forward.

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.

HRLF Networking Reception (Thursday, September 17, 2026)

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:00:00 GMT

HRLF Networking Reception

Great HR leadership is strengthened by connection - to peers, ideas, and the broader HR community.

Join the HR Leadership Forum (HRLF) for an evening of conversation, connection, and community with HR leaders from across the Greater Washington region.

This reception is an opportunity to:

Connect with fellow HR leaders and professionals
Build and strengthen relationships across the HR community
Exchange ideas, experiences, and perspectives
Expand your professional network
Enjoy an evening of meaningful conversation in a relaxed setting

Whether you’re reconnecting with longtime colleagues, meeting new HR leaders, or looking to expand your circle within the HR community, this is a great opportunity to come together and celebrate the profession we share.

Bring your perspective. Make new connections. Be part of the HR community.

Date: September 17, 2026
Time: 5 pm to 7 pm

Location: Maggiano's Little Italy - 1961 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, VA 22102 (Maggiano's moved to a new location at Tysons Corner Center)

HRLF | Connecting HR Leaders. Building Community. Shaping the Future of HR.

Building Tomorrow’s Leaders: Designing Leadership Development Programs for Your Organization (Friday, October 02, 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Developing future leaders is a strategic imperative for any organization, and HR executives play a critical role in designing programs that identify, nurture, and accelerate leadership talent. This interactive session is designed specifically for senior HR leaders seeking to create or enhance leadership development initiatives within their organizations.

Participants will engage in a dynamic mix of expert insights, peer discussions, and practical exercises. The session includes a panel of HR executives sharing real-world approaches and lessons learned from implementing leadership development programs in their organizations. A case study exercise allows participants to apply these insights to a practical scenario, designing a leadership development program tailored to their organization’s unique needs.

By combining strategy, peer learning, and hands-on application, this program empowers HR leaders to build a sustainable pipeline of high-potential talent and ensure their organization is prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.

Learning Outcomes:

Assess organizational needs and identify high-potential employees for leadership development.
Design a structured, scalable leadership development program aligned with business strategy.
Apply coaching, mentoring, and experiential learning techniques to accelerate leadership growth.
Learn from peers about successful approaches and common pitfalls in leadership program implementation.
Translate insights from a case study into actionable steps for their own organization.

Key Takeaways:

A framework for creating a high-impact leadership development program.
Practical strategies and tools for identifying and developing future leaders.
Peer insights and examples from real-world organizational programs.
Actionable ideas to implement immediately in your organization.
Enhanced understanding of how to measure and communicate the impact of leadership development initiatives.

Timeline

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

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

9:00am - 10:30am - Program

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR 1.5 HRCI + SHRM CREDITS

PROGRAM ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED

HRLF Career Accelerator – Your Career, Accelerated! (Virtual Event) (Tuesday, October 27, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

This is a complimentary event for HR practitioners.

Looking to make your next career move, explore new opportunities, or strengthen your professional brand? The HRLF Career Accelerator is a high-impact, 60-minute virtual session designed just for HR professionals like you.

Join a dynamic community of peers to learn practical career skills, share experiences, and expand your network—all from wherever you are. 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.

Why Attend:

Boost your career-ready skills and personal brand
Learn from and connect with peers navigating similar journeys
Access actionable strategies to accelerate your next career step
Feel supported, connected, and inspired in a thriving HR community

Your career doesn’t wait—why should you? Join us and accelerate your next move!

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

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR 1.5 HRCI + SHRM CREDITS

PROGRAM ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED

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