WSHRMA 2025 Q1 Newsletter 
President's Report
Hello HR Professionals,
Can you believe we’re already almost through March? Spring is in the air, bringing fresh energy and new beginnings!
Our Board of Directors met in January for our annual strategy session, and we’re excited to share our goals for 2025:
- Increase community involvement
- Grow membership by 5%
- Boost event attendance by 10%
As the HR landscape continues to evolve, we want to ensure our chapter remains a valuable resource. That’s why we’ve introduced a new segment in our monthly meetings: HR Hot Topics—a quick discussion on trending HR issues to spark ideas and connections.
We’re also shaking things up this year! What’s new?
✅ The return of our monthly non-profit focus
✅ A mix of morning breakfast meetings to accommodate different schedules
✅ New event formats to engage more members
Heads up! Our April meeting will be on the first Wednesday of the month (not the second). Mark your calendars—you won’t want to miss it!
And looking ahead—September’s meeting will be “on the road”! Stay tuned for more details.
Thank you for your continued support of the HR profession and our local chapter, WSHRMA. We appreciate each and every one of you!
Wishing you a fantastic rest of the month!
Your WSHRMA Board President,
Kirsten Yunuba
In Case You Missed It!
Being a SHRM member + a local chapter member provides you with exclusive resources you can rely on to advance your career. Join or renew today and experience the best of both worlds!
Meet your Board!
Board President, Kirsten Yunuba, is originally from Kansas and moved to Washington to be close to grandchildren. She says that her expertise is being very organized and being able to meet deadlines. When asked what in the HR field is she most passionate about, Kirsten says that she enjoys coaching others and loves to see her team develop and grow professionally. When it comes to WSHRMA this year, Kirsten is most excited about the new board members and the development of the Chapter, including its reach across the Hood Canal Bridge.
Calendar of Events
***Our monthly luncheon is one week earlier this month! Please note the April 2nd date!***
Join us for WSHRMA’s April Lunch & Learn on April 02 at Skookum Contract Services from 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM. This session, “DEI Backlash and the New Rules of the Road for Employers,” will explore the evolving landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace and provide practical strategies for navigating challenges.
📅 Date: Wednesday, April 02
📍 Location: Skookum Contract Services
⏰ Time: 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
🍽️ Lunch provided
Don’t miss this important discussion! Reserve your spot today.
As an employer, it’s easy to feel paralyzed from the whiplash of the last decade. From #MeToo to COVID. From the great DEI awakening to the great resignation, it feels impossible to keep up with the pace of change. Now, with the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on DEI and major corporations dropping their DEI initiatives like a hot potato, we appear to be on the front end of a major backlash. How are employers supposed to navigate executive orders threating federal investigations into DEI practices after spending the last four years convincing their employees and customers of their commitment to DEI? We are now in a world where the only thing employees seem to agree upon is their right to sue their employer.
Join us for a webinar where we discuss where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, and what the new lessons are for employers plunging headlong into the DEI backlash. In a world where employers face more contradictory demands than ever, they must double down on their commitment to their employees’ success.
Presenter: Aaron Goldstein
About the Presenter: AARON HELPS HIS CLIENTS FIND THE QUICKEST AND MOST COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO THEIR TOUGHEST EMPLOYMENT AND TRADE SECRETS PROBLEMS.
Aaron advises businesses and provides litigation expertise on all employment and trade secret related matters, from non-competition agreements and data theft, to discrimination and harassment claims under Oregon, Washington, and federal law. Aaron represents clients before the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, the Washington Human Rights Commission, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Aaron represents companies in a wide variety of industries including, banking, financial services, computer software, semiconductor fabrication, retail, and medical supplies.
Tickets
$30.00 Member Ticket
$40.00 Future-Member Ticket
Upcoming Conferences
Don't miss out on attending this year's annual WA SHRM Conference! Register today! Rates & Registration | Washington State SHRM Conference
2025 Springing Ahead HR Conference
2025 Springing Ahead HR Conference | South Puget Sound Chapter
| Organizer: |
SPS SHRM & WSHRMA
|
| Location: |
Emerald Queen Casino & Hotel
2920 East R St. Tacoma, WA 98404 Park in the east/hotel parking garage, and take the elevator up to the 4th floor (casino). When you get off the elevator, the hotel front desk will be off to your left and concierge will guide you to the event space. |
| Price: |
EARLY-BIRD PRICING (through 4/11/25): $119 for Members, $139 for Non-Members, Regular Pricing (beginning 4/12/25): $139 for Members, $159 for Non-Members
|
| 11:30 AM (PST) | Doors Open & Lunch Served |
|
12:00 PM (PST) |
Kickoff & Introduction |
| 12:15 PM (PST) |
Predictive Index (Interactive) with Zach Adams |
| 1:45 PM (PST) | Break |
| 2:00 PM (PST) |
Optimizing Recruitment with Phoebe Ingraham |
| 2:50 PM (PST) | Break |
| 3:00 PM (PST) | HR Executive Discussion with Special Guest |
| 3:50 PM (PST) | Event Wrap-up |
| 4:00 PM (PST) | Happy Hour |
Summary:
Are you feeling the pressure to hire better, do more with fewer resources, and solve attrition problems? The solution, relevel the playing field using psychometrics and AI. With unbiased data and technology in your hands, you can hire more effectively and stop the cycle of attrition. In this fun and highly interactive workshop participants will learn practical real-world solutions to improve hiring practices today and how to level up recruiting processes for tomorrow.
Prior to our session together, all attendees will need to take a brief survey on basic human motivation (only takes about 6-minutes to complete) to fully participate in our session. Upon registration you will receive a link to the survey entited "Predictive Index Assessment". The results of the surveys will be used in our session. After you complete the survey, you will be emailed your individual results to review. A printed copy of your results will be furnished to you at the event.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will leave energized with these key takeaways.
- Understanding Hiring Challenges: We will explore the complexities involved in the hiring process, including common hiring traps and how to avoid them.
- Cost of Turnover: We will learn how to quantify the actual cost of turnover impacting an organization.
- Peter Principal: We will explore this principal in depth and why it’s important and incomplete.
- Utilizing Psychometrics: Participants will explore the use of psychometric assessments to enhance the objectivity and effectiveness of the hiring process.
- Upgrading your recruiting processes: We will inform participants on current trends in recruitment processes and provide insight and recommendations into ways to amplify their practices with a focus on using AI and psychometric analysis tools.
- Learnings from a Peer: We will pull all the elements together by hearing from an HR professional who has implemented the recommendations we’ve discussed. Learn from their experience and discover how to take these learnings back to your organization.
This program is pending approval for 4.0 PDCs toward SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification and 4.0 General Credit pending approval through HRCI.
About the Speakers:
Zach Adams, CEO & Chief Problem Solver at GENESIS Consulting Group
Zach Adams is the CEO and Chief Problem Solver with GENESIS Consulting Group, a Seattle-based talent optimization & business operational consulting firm. Zach is a certified partner with the Predictive Index and a professional business speaker who is excited about sharing his passion for talent optimization (TO) to bring teams of people closer together and ensure the right people are in the right seats to achieve their best results.
Zach started his career following his love for architecture, rising to Chief Operations Officer for a large national architectural and engineering firm. He was responsible for all day-to-day operations while translating strategic vision into reality. In his COO role he was exposed to the world of psychometrics. Zach understood intuitively that people are the key to unlocking an organization’s potential and with the insights of psychometrics he found his true calling as a talent optimizer. His revelation inspired him to leave the COO role to establish and grow GENESIS Consulting Group—solving business problems with people solutions.
Phoebe Ingraham, SHRM-SCP, Director of HR Consulting at OneDigital
Phoebe Ingraham, SHRM-SCP is a dynamic leader with expertise in recognizing and developing business solutions resulting in high quality performance. As OneDigital’s Director of Human Resources Consulting in the Pacific Northwest, she leads her team of consultants to effectively deliver expertise spanning the full spectrum of HR, from recruiting and compliance to compensation and benefits, employee relations, leadership training and development, and HR technology. She drives progress through research, problem solving, getting things done, and asking the hard questions, including "why not?" She thrives when working with clients who care about making a positive impact for their employees, customers, clients, and their community.
During her career, Phoebe has held a variety of business leadership roles across industries including as Practice Manager for a boutique healthcare organization, as Business Manager for a full-service architecture firm, and as Site Administrator for an education company during the development, implementation, and execution of a federally funded research project. In addition to her business management experience, Phoebe has experience working as a paralegal for a successful mid-size law firm.