Advisor and Angel investor

Dr. Aaron Kay, Dr. David Sherman and I co-lead the Veteran Transitions Research Lab at Duke University’s Fuqua School of business. Our mission mission is conducting, inspiring, and communicating transformative research that seeks to illuminate the unique challenges military veterans face when transitioning to the civilian workforce.

I have the pleasure to work as an advisor with Mohit Bhende, Karat's CEO, and Jeffrey Spector, Karat's co-founder on our shared passion for leadership, culture, scaling and changing lives. Karat is making every technical interview predictive, fair and enjoyable addressing one of the most challenging early phases of the recruiting process - the technical phone screen. I'm excited to bring my experience as a Talent Acquisition leader to Karat and to be a part of a truly game-changing organization.

Disclo is the first software for employers to collect, verify, and manage health disclosures and employee accommodation requests (HIPAA and SOC2 compliant, of course). We help employees secure the enhancements and protections they need to succeed in their careers without having to disclose their underlying medical condition to their employer.

Chronically Capable is a platform that connects chronically ill professionals to inclusive employers. We're on a mission to build a better workplace for chronically ill professionals and the businesses they support.We’re eliminating the economic, educational and communication barriers so that all companies can become inclusion champions.

Guild Education's mission is to unlock opportunity for America's workforce through education, with a double-bottom line business model that does well by doing good. I'm 100% mission aligned and thrilled to be bringing my experiences to support the leadership team as they expand their impact in the world. It's awesome to have the opportunity to share insights from personal experience building the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy, collaborating on Amazon's military pathways programs and always championing innovative approaches to building talent pipelines through skill bridges. As a TA leader, the future is upskilling and reskilling talent for the Future of Work. So thrilled to be a contributor to this great organization!

Led an inspired team of 1000+ recruiting and technology professionals in 15 countries serving North America, EMEA and parts of Asia. Created a culture of inclusion and belongingness with a shared dream: #wechangelivesCross-company sponsor and driver to build Military Affairs organization which enhanced talent pipelines at all levels and positioned the company as a global leader.Innovative talent management and acquisition integration transformed talent channels securing critical pipelines to drive growth and delivery.Drove scale while maintaining grace and a human lens, hiring tens of thousands of new leaders for Amazon Operations globally in nearly 400 job codes.

In this role, reporting to the Vice President of Military Affairs, I led strategic program design and delivery, focusing on leading the IT industry in creating opportunities for military veterans, reservists and their families. My efforts included identifying strategic partnership opportunities with Veteran-Service Organizations and NGOs, government agencies, and technology industry participants.I've been on a passionate pursuit to make a difference in the lives of transitioning military service members and their families for over a decade. I believe that the under- and unemployment of military veterans is a significant social justice issue, an American competitiveness opportunity and should be considered part of the ongoing diversity opportunity in the technology industry. I had the good fortune to testify before the House Veterans Affairs Committee in early 2014 (https://veterans.house.gov/witness-testimony/mr-sean-kelley) which allowed me to reflect deeply on areas I think are important to this effort - STEM education, a 21st Century approach to job fairs, trusted access to data for use in data-driven career management and talent acquisition leadership and commitment to open doors more broadly to new talent pools. In my testimony, I proudly shared the success story for our signature program, the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy (http://military.microsoft.com/training/mssa/), which I created and championed within our company, and Microsoft's sustained history of efforts to support military veterans and their families.

Lead talent acquisition for the newly formed Cloud and Enterprise group (prior role plus new groups including Global Foundation Services, MSFT's Datacenter organization), chartered with delivering the “Cloud OS”, Microsoft’s next generation backend platform and continuing to support rapid growth of Azure, Big Data and Data Center strategic initiatives. Team leadership for 5 Director/Managers of Managers and 50+ recruiting professionals as well as responsibility for Microsoft's Military Recruiting organization (company-wide).

Accountable for client ownership of 3 direct reports to the CEO of a $70 Billion dollar business managing critical corporate functions - Chief HRO, CFO and Chief Legal Counsel. Cracked the code on diverse talent acquisition delivering year-over-year-over-year improvements. Innovative data-driven and strategic talent acquisition approaches.

Responsible for leading and executing the diversity and inclusion strategy for over 26 client organizations and 40,000 employees worldwide.

Accountable for integrating diversity and inclusion principles across the HR function including Leadership and Management training, Succession planning, Compensation & Benefits and Staffing. Chief of Staff for Chief Diversity Officer and organization. This was my masters class in all things HR and the nuance and intersections of Diversity & Inclusion in every process across the company. Developed and launched first company-wide diversity scorecard.Developed and implemented critical changes in Succession Planning to bring diverse talent from the appendix to the first page of discussions. Successfully advocated to include Veterans in the definition of diversity at the company, beginning a decade long pursuit of full inclusion for veterans at Microsoft and in the technology industry. Led a six-month project with Catalyst to understand the experience of senior women at Microsoft and implemented impactful change outcomes from those learnings. Represented Microsoft on the industry advisory board for the National Center for Women & Technology, including playing a critical role in negotiating our strategic partnership.

Leadership responsibility for project managers and analysts chartered with managing worldwide operational product launches for Microsoft’s seven customer segments. Led development of operational product release strategy and evangelized services to worldwide business partners, internal and external to Microsoft. Major product launches included: Windows XP, Office XP, first Xbox project leader for global shared services launch

Starting with Starbucks when the company had about 200 stores, I was just finding my passion for coffee and doing the hustle while translating my Navy experiences into the civilian world. I had a vision to work at Starbucks dating back to an article I read about Howard Schultz in Inc magazine titled, "Into the Black" which detailed his background and being a leading company offering benefits for part-time workers and Bean stock. It was still a start-up environment when I joined and was an amazing experience. I'm proud to have been a Starbucks partner.

Acquired operational leadership experience aboard nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine, completing two deployments as Supply Department Head, and running a customer service organization for Bangor, Washington, Trident submarine fleet. Supply Excellence Award recipient. Military awards include Navy Commendation Medal (2), Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Expeditionary Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.