Speaker Biographies

Keynote / Lunch Speaker - Tom Colbert

Tom Colbert Thomas Colbert is an expert in human psychology and organizational dynamics, and works with companies to manage the human side of technological and business process change. Through CSS International, Tom implements a methodical change enablement process which mitigates the “change risks” that so often threaten business success. He helps organizations by addressing areas such as: organizational change management and transition, professional development, cultural architecture, communication, team building and performance enhancement.

Tom holds advanced degrees in clinical psychology, developmental psychology and recreational therapy. For the past 23 years he has been educating professionals in settings ranging from international conferences to small management groups, and is a highly sought after speaker.

Session A - Staffing & Hiring the Right Resource

Brenda Goldman
Brenda Goldman has worked in a number of areas at Deluxe Corporation. Her positions have been from Fleet Manager, Recruiter and an HR Manager at a customer care center. Brenda is currently the Sr. HR Manager for Employee Relations at Deluxe. She has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and a Master Degree in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University.

Session B - Escheatment & Unclaimed Property

Valerie M. Jundt
Valerie Jundt is the National Manager for State Relations for Deloitte & Touche LLP's Unclaimed Property Practice. She works closely with clients and states to resolve compliance issues arising from state audits, enforcement actions, and changes in the law.

Val has 20 years of experience in the area of unclaimed property. Prior to joining Deloitte & Touche, she served as Executive Director of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, and produced and edited the NAUPA newsletter. She also served as the Administrator of the North Dakota Unclaimed Property Program, initiating legislation and testifying before legislative committees on the subject of unclaimed property.

Val is a frequent speaker at seminars sponsored by NAUPA and other professional groups. She has been quoted in Money Magazine, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Readers Digest, and has been interviewed for feature stories on Dateline NBC, CNN, Fox News, NBC Nightly News, and the Wall Street Journal Report. Val holds an undergraduate degree from Bismark State College.

Session C - International Assignment Payroll

Chris Clark Chris Clark is the Tax Managing Director in the Minneapolis office IES practice and has over 20 years of IES tax and HR experience. Chris devotes 100% of her time to IES and has extensive experience in transitioning and/or managing international assignment program tax and outsourcing engagements for such companies as Best Buy Co., Emerson Electric, General Mills, Pioneer Hi Bred International, Inc.,Unigraphics, The Valspar Corporation and SBC Communications, Inc. Prior to joining KPMG Chris was a manager at SBC Communications in their International HR group (during a time when their international assignee population increased from 30 assignees to over 100) and was extensively involved in all international assignment aspects related to their expansion into new countries. Chris frequently presents training seminars - related to such topics as international assignment planning and international program administration.

Chris holds a B.S.B.A. (magna cum laude) from St. Louis University. She is a CPA and a member of the AICPA and MSCPA.

Session D - Exempt vs. Nonexempt Classification

Michelle Sether
Michelle Sether is a Senior Compensation Analyst at Land O’Lakes, Inc. She has ten years of HR experience with five of those specifically in compensation. Previous to Land O'Lakes, Inc., she worked for Sathers, The Resource Group, and Datacard Corp.

Session E - Managing Health Care Cost

Andrew McDevitt
Andrew McDevitt represents the American Payroll Association as Manager of Government Relations. He monitors legislation and regulations that may impact employers or increase the administrative burden of compliance. He also serves as liaison with government agencies on behalf of payroll professionals. In that role, he promotes communication about the impact of government policies and programs on payroll operations and about ideas for creating process efficiencies and cost savings.

Andrew speaks regularly at local APA chapter meetings and vendor conferences on legislative and regulatory matters, and is a regular contributor to the APA membership publications Payroll Currently, PAYTECH, and ePayXpress. In 2004, he appeared before a Senate subcommittee to testify on the controversial Department of Labor revision of the white collar exemption regulations. He is currently focusing on regulatory compliance issues in connection with the use of payroll cards.

Before coming to the APA, Andrew was Program Director, Government Affairs, for ProBusiness, Inc. During his tenure with ProBusiness, he traveled to 49 states and four U.S. territories to meet with tax and labor agency officials. He also worked with the California legislature and the California Department of Industrial Relations to promote the idea of paperless payroll. Andrew holds a B.A. from California State University (Hayward).

Session F - Panel Discussion on PA and OH Local Taxes

Robin A. Murphy, CPP
Robin A. Murphy is the Corporate Payroll Manager for Deluxe Corporation, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Deluxe has facilities in the United States and Canada. Deluxe Corporation serves the following markets: Check printing and EFT for financial institutions, business forms and related products for small business and professional practices, and consumer specialty products.

Robin has 27 years with Deluxe and has experience in implementing many new systems (i.e. accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, time and attendance and payroll). Her experience includes: Staff Specialist in Accounting, Regional Accountant, Accounting Manager, Regional Accounting Manager, Regional Operations Manager and Corporate Payroll Manager.

Robin currently serves as Government Liaison for the Northstar Chapter of the American Payroll Association (APA). She has also held the positions of Historian, Secretary, Director of Communications, Vice President and President. She facilitated a CPP study group and received her credentials as a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) in the fall of 1995.

Robin was named 2002 Member of the Year by the Northstar Chapter Board. Robin is currently on the Board of Advisors for Region 2 with the National American Payroll Assocation.

Marnee R Kugler, CPP
Marnee Kugler is the Sr. HRMS Tax Representative for Land O'Lakes, Inc., headquartered in Arden Hills, MN. Land O’Lakes is a farmer-owned cooperative that offers farmers, local cooperatives, and customers across the nation an extensive line of agricultural supplies, as well as state-of-the-art production and business services. Also, is a leading marketer of dairy-based products for consumers, foodservice professionals and food manufacturing.

Marnee has been in payroll and human resources for over 5 years. Prior to working in payroll Marnee worked in law enforcement and the juvenile probation system. She received her credentials as a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) in the fall of 2004. In addition, she has a BA in Criminal Justice from Hamline University.

Session G - Outsourcing & Your Families

Barb Muellerleile, CPP
Barb Muellerleile, CPP has over 18 years of payroll, payroll tax, Human Resources and benefits experience. She has an accounting background from Minnesota State University- Mankato. She is a member of our North Star Chapter Board, serving as the Program Chair.

Barb currently is the Director of the Payroll team at Regis Corporation, to service over 57,000 employees in over 11,000 locations. She has worked with payrolls of multiple Federal ID numbers, payrolls in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, Payroll system set-up and implementation, extensively with year-end tax reporting, acquisitions and much more. She has extensive benefits experience in managing health and welfare plans, working with multiple vendors, networks and plan design, and all aspects of benefits. She has held previous positions as the HR Operations manager at Land O’ Lakes and as the Payroll & Insurance Plans Manager for Taylor Corporation.

Session H - Payroll & Account Reconciliation

Rick Seifert
Rick Seifert is a HR Operations Senior Analyst at Deluxe Corporation. HR Operations oversees all the HR systems and processes including payroll, benefits, compensation and time. He has been employed by Deluxe for over 26 years. Rick has been performed probably every function in payroll over the last 16 years. He also has experience in converting payroll, time, and HR systems.

Rick has held several positions in the Northstar Chapter including Government Liaison and Treasurer. He has presented several times at the annual conference. Rick is currently on the APA Hotline Referral Service. Rick is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BS degree in Accounting. He earned his Certified Payroll Professional designation in 1992.

Session I - Compliance 2005: Staying Ahead of the Curve

Jim O’Connell
Jim O’Connell is Vice President, Government Relations & HR Policy, Ceridian Corporation. With over twenty-five years experience in federal legislative and regulatory affairs, Jim focuses on HR and payroll policy issues, keeping customers informed about fast-changing and complex compliance regulations and workforce trends.

Jim is a frequent participant in national and chapter HR and payroll industry meetings, including the American Payroll Association, the International Association of Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM) and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). Jim has spoken recently to American Payroll Association chapters in Dallas, San Diego, Detroit, Baltimore, Honolulu and St. Louis and at the biannual California Payroll Conference, the Rocky Mountain Regional Payroll Conference, the Northwest (Seattle) Regional Payroll Conference and the Texas Payroll Conference. His article, Flexible Spending Accounts: Reducing the Regulatory Burden, appeared in the March-April 2005 issue of Compensation & Benefits Review.

Jim is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC, specializing in International Business-Government Relations. He serves on the board of trustees of Corporate Voices for Working Families, an organization that supports work-family public policies. He has been with Ceridian (formerly Control Data Corporation) since 1982. Prior to being named Vice President in 1991, he was Director, International Trade & Policy, based in Washington, DC. Before coming to Ceridian, Jim served in the U.S. Senate as chief legislative assistant to New York Senator Jacob K. Javits, who was ranking republican on the Committee on Labor & Human Resources, and later with Connecticut Senator Lowell P. Weicker. Jim holds a Ph.D. in economics from New York’s Fordham University.