Events

Six Degrees of Insight - Session 2/6 - March 5, 2026

Join us for Six Degrees of Insight - a webinar series brought to you by six local SHRM chapters.

Kicking off on Thursday, February 5, 2026 with How to Make Difficult People Disappear...Without Going to Jail presented by Summer Jelinek.

Session Description: Have you ever wondered why people won’t listen to you? Or found yourself surrounded by those jaw-clenching, nerve-fraying, challenging personalities? As an HR Professional, you’re expected to walk a tightrope; strong, but not aggressive; polite, but not a pushover. It’s exhausting!

This high-energy session based on the True Colors Personality Assessment will help you decode behaviors, adapt your communication, and transform difficult relationships, all while keeping the experience fun, engaging, and full of laughs.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the Trick of Self-Management...because the first step to handling difficult people is managing yourself.
• Uncover the 4 Types of Difficult People—and how to work with them instead of against them.
• Walk away with actionable strategies to improve relationships with clients, teams, and even family.

Speaker Bio: Do you find yourself wondering if people are intentionally being difficult or if they just have a special skill?

Do you wish that there was something you could do to make the difficult people in your life disappear that wouldn’t get you arrested?

Does it sometimes feel like your job would be so much easier if it weren’t for the people?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are in the right place!!!

Our next speaker has over 25 years’ experience leading with companies such as Walt Disney World, The Disney Institute, the Center for Creative Leadership, and even a dude ranch.

When she is not transforming leaders, she is chasing her 9 year old daughter, determining which Disney villain has the greatest redemption arc, and studying neurodivergence in the organization for her PhD.

Thank you to our sponsor, Pixel Leadership Group!

April 22, 2026 | Focus on Business Owners and Organization Leaders

Join us for our Focus on Business Owners and Organization Leaders

Tommie Jo Brode will be presenting We Know What To Do, But We Do Not Do It

There is no charge for this event, but registration is much appreciated!

Agenda:

• 4pm - Networking
• 4:45pm - Presentation Begins

Note: Appetizers & dessert will be provided. Drinks will be available for purchase.

Session Description: Take a look at how your organization really measures up: Human problems and culture disruption in the workplace escalate due to poor communication, inconsistent leadership and gaps in written policy and day-to-day practice. Most managers/leaders know what to do and how, but take the convenient route instead.

Speaker Bio: President, Venice Solutions Group, LLC. Risk coach. Communicator. Expert process streamliner. Risk management, worker’s compensation, occupational health advisor. Human Resources, ADA, FMLA, workers compensation. Preventing problems for employers- powered by years of experience as an employment attorney and Director of Risk. Providing help to corporations, small businesses, public employers, and non-profits. Tommie Jo Brode is also an author of Authentic Workplaces; A Practical Playbook to Healthy Company Culture.

Six Degrees of Insight - Session 4/6 - May 7, 2026

Join us for Six Degrees of Insight - a webinar series brought to you by six local SHRM chapters.

Join us on Thursday, May 7, 2026 with Civility Unleashed: Turning Chaos into Collaboration presented by Dyann McDowell.

Session Description: Workplace culture is collapsing quietly, not through one big event, but through the normalization of disrespect, avoidance, and inconsistent accountability. HR professionals often become the “cleanup crew” when leaders fail to set and enforce a clear standard for how people treat each other while the work gets done.

This interactive session equips HR leaders and people managers with a practical, repeatable approach to disrupt incivility in real time and rebuild trust through systems, not slogans. Participants will learn a simple in-the-moment tool—L3: Lean-in, Listen, Learn—and how to connect it to leadership standards and follow-through using the AIMS™ Framework (Assess ? Implement ? Mobilize Leadership ? SPARK) and Civility OS™ (Ask ? Implement ? Support ? Enforce).

Attendees will leave with language they can use immediately, plus an implementation path that strengthens accountability without dehumanizing people.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify early warning signs of culture erosion and the organizational risks associated with normalized incivility.
• Apply L3 (Lean-in, Listen, Learn) as an in-the-moment disruption tool to de-escalate tension while maintaining accountability.
• Use the Civility OS™ response loop (Ask ? Implement ? Support ? Enforce) to ensure consistent follow-through after conflict or misconduct.
• Outline an HR-led action plan using the AIMS™ Framework to embed civility standards into leadership routines and workplace expectations.

Speaker Bio: Dyann McDowell is the President and HR Business Partner at Training Marbles, Inc., a workplace culture and leadership firm specializing in civility, accountability, and organizational realignment. With nearly three decades in the Drug-Free Workplace and HR training arena, Dyann is known for helping organizations confront culture breakdowns before they become costly crises. Her work equips HR leaders and managers with practical tools to disrupt disrespect, strengthen leadership follow-through, and build standards employees can trust.

Dyann is the creator of Civility Unleashed™, a framework-driven approach that combines her AIMS™ Framework (Assess ? Implement ? Mobilize Leadership ? SPARK) with Civility OS™ (Ask ? Implement ? Support ? Enforce). She partners with public-sector organizations, municipalities, and service-based companies to improve workplace climate, reduce conflict drag, and restore professionalism without sacrificing humanity. Dyann’s signature message is clear: civility isn’t “being nice”—it’s a standard, and leadership sets the tone.