How it Works
Getting the Most Out of Your Academy
The journey of a high potential HRBP can span from 1 to 15+ years. So, how does one academy deliver quality discussion and cater for the development of people within the room who are at different points in their careers?
90 minute meetings are run monthly, giving you the opportunity to learn from experienced and established HR experts, connect with your peers and develop crucial skills you need to tackle key challenges and deliver impact within your organization. After an introductory presentation, HRBPs are organized into breakout working groups based on their years of experience, creating a collaborative environment where they challenge one another, develop ideas, and coach each other to foster innovative thinking, before then returning to the plenary and Q&A.
See who you'll be sharing a breakout session with and the challenges these HRBPs face that the academy is helping them to overcome.
Emerging HRBPs
Typically 2y-10y experience
Established HRBPs
Name: Kathy Francini, Senior Director, HRBP Commercial and R&D
Company: Corium
Location: Greater Boston, United States
Years of HR experience: 8 years
Name: Grace Geyer, Director, Human Resources
Company: BioNtech
Location: Novato, California, United States
Years of HR experience: 20+ years
Value from the Academy: “The LEAP HRBP Searchlight academyis a safe space to ask any questions that I couldn’t ask elsewhere. I am learning how to influence without authority at a high level, I am becoming a coach who creatively reinvents employee engagement. “
Name: Lisa Siskey, Senior Manager, People Operations
Company: KCAS BIO
Location: Olathe, United States
Years of HR experience: 8 years
Name: Robb Anderson, Executive Director, Human Resources, Organizational Development
Company: Assembly Biosciences
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Years of HR experience: 20+ years
Value from the Academy: “LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy helps me to pave the way forward. I am getting to understand the full picture of the future of HR in the life-sciences landscape. As a result, I gained confidence in making difficult decisions, because I understand what others have done in similar situations and why. “
Name: Caryn Crasnick–Maloney, Executive Director
Company: Mersana
Location: Cambridge, MA, United States
Years of HR experience: 7 years
Name: Buki Adeyinka, HRBP Director and an HR leader
Company: Precision BioSciences
Location: Cary, North Carolina, United States
Years of HR experience: 18 years
Value from the Academy: “The LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy makes me more knowledgeable and offers practical support to help me coach and influence my work environment. I’m developing greater business acumen and it’s helping me address imposter syndrome. I’m hoping the experience I gain here will help me add more value, develop my career and eventually become a CHRO myself.”
Name: Hilary Herndon, Associate Director, People Operations
Company: Senti Biosciences
Location: San Francisco, United States
Years of HR experience: 7 years
Value from the Academy:"Being a part of the LEAP HRBP Searchlight program is a wonderful opportunity where growth and development meet engagement and networking. It is great to be able to learn from some of the top industry leaders as well as connect with your peers to ensure that the content can be applied for the expansion of my career. I have been challenged and accepted for my thoughts as I pursue my path towards People leadership."
Name: Amanda Malec, Senior Director, Human Resources
Company: BioMarin
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Years of HR experience: 17 years
Value from the Academy: “As an introvert, going to a conference and having feeling like I always have to be connecting and energetic is the bane of my life, with Searchlight I can focus on having unforced in-depth conversations without this challenge.”
Name: Diana McCormick, Senior Director, HRBP - Commercial and Operations
Company: Insmed
Location: Somerset, New Jersey, United States
Years of HR experience: 6+ years
Value from the Academy: “Thanks to our LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy I gained really useful contacts within the industry. Setting up purposeful mentor calls to help each other is very valuable. My role is supporting people and it leaves me with little time for strategy, being a part of the academy gives me a chance to focus on me, and this.”
Name: Chiara Bustamente, Executive Director, People & Talent Strategy
Company: Sumitovant Biopharma
Location: New York City Metropolitan Area
Years of HR experience: 15 years
Value from the Academy:“LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy offers one of the very few opportunities to meet HR professionals from the bio-tech space. It’s not just networking but learning what other progressive health-tech companies are doing. It’s a space where we can share policies, engagement programs, or cultural experiences that we’re doing to enhance the workplace experience.”
Name: Joseph Picon, Senior People Business Partner
Company: Recursion
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah, United States
Years of HR experience: 6+ years
Name: Nicole Williams, Senior Human Resources Business Partner
Company: Grunenthal (Averitas Pharma)
Location: New York City Metropolitan Area
Years of HR experience: 15 years
Value from the Academy:“I have just started my career as an HRBP and LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy helps me understand what I still need to learn. It simply gave me the directory to my potential career path with other people in the academy, improved my own networks and relationship building.”
Name: Lindsay Cox, Talent Partner
Company: Biohaven
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Years of HR experience: 6 years
Value from the Academy: “The topics of our LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy are relevant and meaningful topics, but also actionable. It provided tools and ideas for how to motivate us to action.”
Name: Tristen Sullivan, Director, HRBP
Company: Apellis
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Years of HR experience: 13 years
Value from the Academy: “Our LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy offers an opportunity to address the challenges we face in a safe space which makes me feel more confident and ready to tackle those challenges when I return to my business. Even just reading through the structure of the meeting and what we will discuss makes me feel more prepared to face the upcoming challenges”
Name: Sarah Fulghum, Life Sciences Human Resources
Company: United Therapeutics
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Years of HR experience: 6 years
Value from the Academy:‘’In our LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy, we have great and insightful discussions around employee engagement and tools to equip managers. There is a chance for everyone to share and speak and for us to hear a lot of different opinions and suggestions.”
Name: Jennifer Anderson, Director, HR Partnering & Organizational Development
Company: SpringWorks
Location: Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area, United States
Years of HR experience: 12 years
Name: Carson Burrington, Director, Human Resources
Company: AVROBIO
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Years of HR experience: 3 years
Value from the Academy: “This is going to give me structure and best practices that I don’t have access to right now. Most of my current insight has come from self learning but even hearing from others their insights and knowing what you don’t know is something I'm excited for”
Name: Dawn Losinger, Director, Human Resources Business Partner. Head of Compensation/Benefits, HR Operations, Demand Planning
Company: Precision
Location: Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area
Value from the Academy: “I have a few local networks, but nothing has ever been as significant as LEAP HRBP Searchlight academy. The workshops they provide helped me build a group of go-to peers to connect with and share best practices. I look forward to hearing more about life-sciences specific challenges.”
Name: Callan Carpenter, People Business Partner
Company: Recursion
Location: Salt Lake City, United States
Years of HR experience: 2 years
Critical Member Challenges Being Solved in the Academy (A Snapshot)
- Stakeholder management & balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders
- Influencing effectively at scale & without authority
- Creating and driving strategic initiatives
- Navigating the ambiguity of a new organization without clear expectations
- Leadership development & having difficult conversations
- Eliminating Bias in a workplace
- Building a high-performance organization
- Balancing strategy/tactical/firefighting/ building the future, while managing day-to-day needs
- Leadership pull-through, support & getting leadership to more actively listen rather than talk
- Strategizing development for everyone but in a tailored capacity
- Helping managers to become better leaders
- Tackling organizational change, culture design and development
- Employee Value Proposition
- Applying business acumen as a foundation of internal credibility
- Long-term strategy, given the shifting market perspective
- Getting managers to understand their role vs. our role
- Predictive and robust talent pipelining and engagement and retention during a continuous battle for talent
- Scaling HR services and support during growth and contraction, i.e., scaling up and scaling down
- Being progressive in a heavily regulated industry
- Making sure the org design principles are well tailored for the company
- In a world where everything is due yesterday, slowing down stakeholders so decisions are not made based on emotional reactions
- How to implement leadership skills and recognizing what is outside my ability to influence
- Balancing needs of the business vs. employee engagement
- Partnering with stakeholders when the direction or decision seems to come from a bias perspective
- Having to constantly sell our value as business partners
- Lack of appreciation of people as competitive advantage
- Career ladders for employees
- Balancing supporting our business units and maintaining connection with the HR team
Membership Brochure
For more information on what’s included as part of the LEAP HRBP Searchlight membership, please download the membership brochure.
Here’s what you’ll learn more about:
- The unique mission and purpose of the network
- What membership includes
- How the quarterly cornerstone meetings work
- How bespoke value delivery works
- How we deliver demonstrable value to you
- Annual member investment