Melissa Cerny is an insurance broker located in Southern California who has worked exclusively with the nonprofit community since starting her career in 2003 with Chapman Insurance. During her 9 years with Chapman, Melissa served as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing both the property & casualty and employee benefits teams, utilizing Lean Six Sigma for Service techniques to increase client retention and employee satisfaction. In September of 2011, under Melissa’s management, Chapman was voted Best Independent Insurance Agency to Work For in the US by Insurance Journal Magazine. That same year, Chapman was awarded the Pinnacle Award by MarshBerry, for being in the top 1% of the highest performing insurance brokerage firms in the United States.

In 2012, Chapman was acquired by Gallagher Insurance and Melissa was asked to serve as Area President over the Nonprofit and Education Team. In her current role, Melissa oversees client management, strategic management and operations for all services offered through Gallagher’s Nonprofit Team. Responsible for the program direction for all property and casualty clients, Melissa focuses on the continual improvement in the delivery of Gallagher services and new program development. Under Melissa’s management, the Nonprofit Team at Gallagher has more than doubled in size over the last 5 years.

Workforce strategist, author, and speaker - Eric Swenson is acknowledged as a leading expert on leadership and the workforce. His work has led to improved performance, stronger employee engagement and greater customer satisfaction for businesses throughout North America.

His first book, Managing People in the 21st Century (2004) and was updated 16 years later. His second book, The 5 A’s of Great Employees, argues that experience and education are far less important in today's workforce than intangible attributes.

A sought-after speaker, he speaks frequently to organizations and conferences on topics ranging from leadership and management, to workforce trends and issues. He has conducted seminars for professional organizations and is a popular keynote speaker at conferences and conventions.

Eric oversees two companies he founded: Tanzanite Leadership Development and Symmetry HR Outsourcing. Since 2003, these brands have provided leadership training and human resources oversight for more than 300 businesses and nearly 30,000 client employees representing virtually every industry from start-ups to major organizations.

To learn about membership engagement opportunities with the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce schedule a call with Edward directly at https://calendly.com/edwardornelasjr/meeting

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