January Virtual: Benefits & Total Rewards

Christopher Smith is the Vice President, Benefits at Universal Music Group.

Marni McDowell is the Senior Director of Global Health & Wellbeing at Micron Technology leading the wellbeing, experience, and team member advocacy teams. Marni is a Registered Dietitian with a Master of Science in Wellness Promotion, and a PhD in Industrial and Organizational psychology. She started her career working in a variety of health care settings and has spent the past 15 years in corporate health and wellbeing and resides in Boise, ID. Marni is passionate about creating a work environment that enables people to thrive in and out of work.

Responsibilities: Brian Copeland is Fannie Mae’s Vice President of Total Rewards, reporting to the Senior Vice President of Total Rewards and HR Operations. In this role, Copeland is responsible for the leadership of compensation, benefits, promotion, and recognition programs targeted at attracting, retaining, engaging, and rewarding talent in support of Fannie Mae’s Total Rewards strategy.

Experience: Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Copeland was in PwC’s Workforce Transformation practice where he served 100+ clients in global compensation, job architecture, benefits, sales compensation, payroll, talent management, and performance management design across many industries. He advised management and compensation committees on total rewards design, governance, and compliance. He successfully worked with over two-dozen M&A and pre-IPO companies in establishing HR-operating models and total rewards value propositions.

Education: Mr. Copeland has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University and has his Senior Professional in Human Resources certification.

Techy Madrid is the Director of Benefits & Payroll at Bureau Veritas.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Marina is the VP, Rewards & Performance at Schneider Electric.

Jason Fan is an HR technology entrepreneur focused on transforming the way companies provide employee benefits. As co-founder and CEO of Forma, a life benefits platform, Jason aims to revolutionize how companies manage their HR programs and empower employees with the ability to discover and choose benefits that fit their personal lifestyles and needs. Jason started his company in 2017 and since then has grown it to more than 135 employees across 30+ cities. Jason received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and resides in San Francisco, CA.

Brian Wilson is a seasoned Employee Benefits professional with over 20 years of comprehensive experience in the HR and benefits industry. Currently serving as the Senior Director of Employee Benefits at CoreLogic, where he has been instrumental in driving strategic benefits initiatives for the past 6 years. Prior to his role at CoreLogic, Brian spent over 10 years as a benefits consultant at Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Aon, where he developed a deep expertise in crafting comprehensive employee benefit strategies. With a proven track record of developing innovative benefits solutions, Brian is dedicated to helping the organization to optimize its employee benefit programs to attract, retain, and support top talent. 

Julian is Strategy Manager of Meta’s Health Technology group, focused on building next-generation products that empower people to improve their health and well-being. Julian has been at Meta for 11 years where he most recently served as Chief of Staff to Meta’s health and innovation leadership. Previous to Meta, he founded a community non-profit, led investor relations and media affairs at a national advocacy firm, and worked as policy staff for mayors of Sacramento and Washington, DC. Julian holds a BS in International Relations from UC Berkeley.

Katie Wallace is a senior leader on the Client Success team at Maven, joining the company in 2018 and working closely with Maven’s largest employers to ensure a seamless implementation and successful adoption of Maven by their workforces. Prior to joining Maven, Katie spent 15+ years working in media and publishing, partnering with Fortune 500 companies on multi-channel marketing campaigns. Katie lives on the North Fork of Long Island and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Boston University. She is a mother of two young daughters.

Michael is the Senior VP, Total Rewards & Wellbeing at  Assurant

Sonya is the Director of Total Rewards at ZS.

Julie is the VP of Consumer Marketing North America and Global Head of Acquisition for Prezzee, a global digital gifting company. Julie has held marketing leadership positions at several noteworthy companies including Hagerty, Fortune Magazine, Time Magazine, ASMALLWORLD and Condé Nast. In addition, she has developed an influential network of partners across industries from Exxon Mobil and Porsche to JP Morgan Chase and Google. Julie holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from New York University and is fluent in Mandarin. Outside of work, Julie enjoys raising her two daughters and traveling the world to gain new experiences.

Britt Barney is the Manager of Client Success of Northstar, the financial wellness platform for employees. With 10 years of experience in fintech, Britt has had a hand in all areas of the space from working as a financial planner to managing financial planning and customer success teams. Inspired by mission driven startups with a focus on DEI and serving traditionally underserved communities, Britt has traveled the country giving seminars on financial wellness. Previously at LearnVest and Northwestern Mutual, Britt has always had a passion for building relationships and helping her clients drive engagement and utilization while providing education and guidance for employees to reach their personal goals.

Jonathan Fox is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, recognized for his ability to lead commercial healthcare organizations to success. Currently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at Nox Health, a global leader in sleep diagnostics and value-based sleep care management, Jonathan is focused on expanding the company’s value-based sleep care management business in the U.S. benefits space. 

Before joining Nox Health, Jonathan was an influential leader at Marwood Group, where his deep insights into the healthcare benefits space helped guide and accelerate the growth of many clients in the healthcare sector. As Executive Vice President at Nimble Health, a Marwood subsidiary, Jonathan played a pivotal role in growing the company from a startup to an industry leader. He oversaw sales, account management, partnerships, and strategy, working with employers, labor unions, municipalities, third-party administrators, and health plans.

In addition to his executive roles, Jonathan is an investor and advisor to management teams and investors, leveraging his extensive experience to provide strategic guidance and support for emerging healthcare ventures.

Jonathan holds a wealth of expertise in healthcare benefits, sleep care, musculoskeletal management, and value-based care, and he is a driving force in shaping the future of healthcare innovation.

As Founder and CEO of ThinkHuman, Meredith helps transform businesses via services including culture building, CEO coaching and leadership development. Meredith and her team work with fast-growth, entrepreneurial-spirited organizations that are making things that are good for the world. Companies Meredith works with include SoulCycle, Betterment, Spotify and Flatiron Health to create thriving people-centric cultures.

Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. She is a contributing columnist for Harvard Business Review and her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

Rebecca frequently appears on national television and radio and as a moderator at conferences. Originally from Maine, she's a graduate of Wesleyan University. She lives in Boston’s South End with her family.

Shyamali Choudhury is the Vice President of Partnerships at Pomelo Care, where she leads the growth and success of partnerships with health plans and employers seeking to improve maternal and infant health. Under her leadership, Pomelo has expanded its services nationally, delivering measurable improvements in access, quality, and outcomes. Pomelo now covers over 15 million lives, including more than 1 in 6 Medicaid beneficiaries across the United States, and has recently acquired The Doula Network, the largest network of credentialed, in-network doulas in the country.

Before joining Pomelo, Shyamali was a Senior Director of Business Development at Flatiron Health where she led strategic partnerships to drive growth. She has a background in public policy having spent time at the Brookings Institution and global health nonprofits. Shyamali holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown.

Andy Rosa is the vice president of care, supporting customer service delivery across the Accolade product and solution suite. He joined Accolade in 2019 and previously led the large strategic/enterprise account management team. Before Accolade, Andy led various HR functions at AmeriGas and Comcast, buying and enabling Accolade solutions for both organizations. Outside of work, Andy enjoys spending time with his family and traveling. He is also a passionate sports fan and coach.

Carla Zaldua is a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of transforming cutting-edge R&D projects into successful market innovations. She is the CEO of Emotional Hub, where she leads pioneering work at the intersection of voice technology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence. Her mission is to empower companies with tools that cultivate healthier, more motivated, and emotionally intelligent workforces—laying the foundation for happier, more productive workplaces.

In addition to her leadership at Emotional Hub, Carla is a founding team member of Code4Jobs, a forward-thinking startup focused on delivering essential digital skills training to unemployed individuals. 

Carla holds an MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics. Her contributions to innovation and entrepreneurship were recently recognized when she was named one of the most influential women entrepreneurs by the Spanish government

Jess Brown is the Vice President of Marketing at Cariloop, a comprehensive caregiving solution for employees. With a decade of experience in employer-sponsored caregiving benefits, Jess, has served on the front lines of advocating for working parents and senior caregivers during the most critical waves of change in this industry. Previously at LearnLux, and Care. Com, Jess has demonstrated experience in supporting employers and employees with solutions that both support working families and corporate strategies.