Our Collaborators

Attorney

Wendy Araten, Esq.

Wendy Araten participates in all aspects of workplace investigations for Tribu Partners. In addition to conducting fact-finding investigations, she assists with witness interviews, drafts and reviews reports, collects and examines documents, and conducts legal research. Additionally, Wendy participates in conducting pay equity audits and provides compliance consultations and advice.

Prior to joining Tribu and transitioning to employment law and workplace investigations, Wendy was a commercial litigator. Wendy received a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where she was the Senior Editor for the Journal of International Business Law.

Compliance & Ethics Specialist

Lisa Schor Babin

Lisa Schor Babin helps organizations build strong ethical cultures through the building blocks of an effective ethics and compliance program, including strategic compliance program planning and execution, speak-up culture solutions, and impactful messaging.

A passionate advocate for fostering a speak-up, listen-up culture, Lisa has extensive experience partnering with global leaders to promote and reward integrity, ethical leadership, transparency, and risk intelligence. Lisa has recently published several timely articles, including on the unique role of the compliance professional, the significance of the “ethics czar”, and the place of truth, respect, dignity, and compassion at the foundation of ethical culture.

Lisa spent 17 years at Dun & Bradstreet, most recently as a Global Compliance & Ethics Leader reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer where she built and branded the Compliance and Ethics program framework including the organization’s Code of Conduct and other policies, training, communications and awareness, and a modern speak-up program. Lisa is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional – International (CCEP-I) and Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP) since 2014.

Workplace Culture Visionary

Poyee Chiu

Poyee Chiu works with clients across a wide-range of industries to generate positive and transformational workplace change. Poyee helps companies build and deploy strategies that drive leader development, build critical experiences, and energize the workplace with purpose, creativity and inspiration. Poyee leverages her extensive background in talent management, leader development, organizational development and employee engagement with large organizations like Chubb, AllianceBernstein and Johnson & Johnson to design, prototype and facilitate innovative and powerful learning journeys for clients of all sizes.

Poyee received her Doctor of Psychology degree in Organizational Psychology from Rutgers, Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology and is insatiably curious about new discoveries in the areas of positive psychology and neural science.

Areas of Focus:

Interactive leadership program design and facilitation (in-person and virtual), Survey design and analysis, Organizational Development, 1:1 leadership brainstorming and coaching for aspiring leaders and current leaders, human resources, organizational psychology, positive psychology, leadership development, change management, fluent in Cantonese

Certifications:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Education:

• Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Organizational Psychology, Rutgers, Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology

• M.A. in Experimental Psychology, Brooklyn College, CUNY

• B.A. in Mathematics & Psychology, Brooklyn College, CUNY

Work Experience:

• Co-Founder, UpSpiral Leadership

• Succession & Talent Planning Manager, Assistant Vice President, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (May 2012 to March 2016)

• Assistant Vice President, Talent Management, Human Capital, AllianceBernstein, October 2010 to March 2012

• Adjunct Instructor, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Fall 2010 Semester

• Succession Planning Manager, Global Talent Management, Johnson & Johnson, 2007-2009

• Manager, Knowledge Management, Global Talent Management, Johnson & Johnson, 2006-2007

• Sr. Organizational Development Specialist, Johnson & Johnson Consulting Group, Johnson & Johnson, 2002-2006

Speaking Engagements:

• Featured Speaker on leadership at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Global conference in NYC in 2017 and Chicago conference in 2018

• Featured Speaker at the Diversity & Inclusion Festival of Insurance (Dive In) in Chicago – 2018

• Panel Speaker for UpSpiral Leadership’s Leading with Families Virtual Chat, 2020

Professional & Community Involvement:

• Somerset County YMCA Career Forum Speaker 2018 – present (presented six times so far and still going; also currently support the Y in taking the Career Forum to a virtual format using Zoom)

• Leadership Forum Community, Board Member and Secretary, January 2020 – present

Workplace Culture Visionary

Sue Covelli-Buntley

Sue Covelli-Buntley is consummately devoted to co-creating a better future collectively. Sue works with clients to achieve conscious and transformative change across their organization. Her diverse background combines extensive business and human resources senior leadership positions along with research into leadership development and positive psychology. Sue’s integrative background provides her with a holistic perspective making her uniquely qualified to align success across leaders, organizations and society. Sue is an avid researcher on the future of leadership and is known in the leadership community as an innovator in providing progressive points of view and creatively designed leadership experiences.

Prior to launching UpSpiral Leadership, Sue was the Global Head of Talent Development for Chubb Insurance and while there received the Lifetime Achievement Award (“Be The Change”). She is expert in designing leadership development ecosystems and is a frequent speaker on the Leader Mindset and the Future of Leadership.

Sue lives in Michigan with her husband and a house filled with 5 kids. There is chaos, but much love and joy.

Areas of Focus:

Leadership Coaching for Current & Aspiring People Managers, Facilitating Leadership Development Workshops for Current & Aspiring People Managers, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Organizational Psychology, Positive Psychology, Leadership Development, HR Compliance, Change Management, Leader Mindset, Positive Psychology, Future of Leadership, Pursuit of Change, Integrating Personal, Organizational & Societal Success

Certifications:

• MBTI
• DiSC
• CPCU
• Trust Edge
• Smith College – Senior Women in Leadership Program
• Executive Networks Leadership Collaborative

Education:

• M B A – Business / Leadership Development / Human Resource Concentration, De Paul University – Chicago, IL
• B A –  Economics, University of Illinois – Champaign, IL

Professional Or Trade Affiliations:

• CPCU
• Leadership Forum
• Dive IN (Diversity & Inclusion in Insurance)

Prior Work Experience:

• Global Head of Talent Development, Vice President Chubb Insurance (April 2014 – December 2016)
• Regional Human Resources Manager, Vice President Chubb Insurance (2008 – 2014)
• Human Resources Generalist, Assistant Vice President Chubb Insurance (2002 – 2008)
• Manager, Call Center Operations (1996 – 2002)
• Underwriter, Sr. Underwriter, Underwriting Supervisor (1989 – 1996)

Honors & Awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award (Be The Change) from Chubb Insurance
• Chubb Board of Directors Award for Breakthrough Program
• Best Place to Work in Chicago for Chubb 7 years in a row

Speaking Engagements:

• Silver Bay Global Leadership Forum Key Note Address 2019
• WPO – Women President’s Organization 2019
• UpSpiral Leadership Collaborative Chats 2020
• UpSpiral Leadership Public Programs 2018, 2017 & 2016
• Zurich Women’s Innovation Network (WIN)
• COO Forum
• APIW Conference (Association of Professional Insurance Women)
• AED Summit Annual Conference

Community Involvement:

• IICF (Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation)
• Operation Hope
• Girls on the Run
• Sports Coach

Human Resources Consulting

Glory DeSimone

Glory brings more than 30 years of experience working with business and Human Resources executives and their teams to enhance their effectiveness and achieve strategic goals. She helps organizations in transition align their people plans and practices with business priorities.

Glory has extensive experience in change management and organizational design. She also has led global human capital strategy and execution for companies during periods of growth and transformation. She brings a practical and client-driven approach to people challenges in the workplace, and she is a creative and action-oriented problem solver. Areas of expertise include: leadership team alignment and effectiveness, business-driven talent and succession strategy and execution, HR organization strategy and operational effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, and enhancing corporate culture.

Prior to consulting, Glory was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase, holding key HR leadership roles in Investment Banking and Corporate HR functions. While there, she led major HR integration efforts for global capital markets divisions following the mergers of Manufacturers Hanover/Chemical banks, Chemical/Chase and Chase/JP Morgan banks, as well as HR policy integration company wide following the merger of JP Morgan Chase and BankOne in 2004. More recently, she served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for E*TRADE Financial Corporation and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., where she led change initiatives across HR, optimizing HR operational performance and impact with the business. In these capacities, she has successfully partnered with senior leaders to address management and organizational challenges, helping them maximize team performance and develop their bench strength.

Glory is known for her ability to assist leaders in devising and implementing strategies that improve operating results and enhance cultures.

Glory holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Douglass College of Rutgers University and an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Digital Forensics

Rob Kleeger

Rob Kleeger is a subject matter expert on digital forensics, cyber security, and electronic discovery. He has overseen several leading digital evidence matters cases of first impression.

Rob has been involved in this emerging field since its inception in the private sector. He was a Senior Partner in a leading Digital Forensics firm managing strategic relationships and directing case management teams, sales teams until the firm was acquired by a global business risk advisory and compliance firm in early 2006.

Rob collaborates with investigators, IT professionals, financial executives, human resource and compliance leaders who need a reliable partner to systematically identify, preserve, extract, analyze, and interpret digital evidence.

Rob regularly provides lectures on issues regarding cyber security, digital forensic investigations, and the production of electronically stored information to law firms, litigation professionals, business executives, various industry organizations and many other conferences and seminars in the New York Metro area as well as nationally, and has been featured on WNBC/NBC 4 News Channel.

Kleeger ce’s tech team has the following certifications: Certified Computer Examiner (CCE); Certified Forensic Examiner (CFE); Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH); GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN); Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP); Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

Attorney (CA licensed) & Internal Investigative Teams Expert

Cara Panebianco, Esq., AWI-CH

Cara Panebianco, Esq., AWI-CH, works with Tribu clients to build and sustain a corporate culture of integrity and compliance by evaluating their organization’s current investigative practices and developing customized training programs for internal investigative teams.

For nearly a decade, Cara has focused her practice in workplace investigations and training. During this time, she has conducted hundreds of investigations and supervised hundreds more. She has also led hundreds of hours of training others in conducting workplace investigations. Her experience spans roles as in-house counsel, external counsel, and internal HR. Most recently, Cara built and managed the internal conduct and ethics team within the legal department of a publicly-traded company with offices across the U.S. In this role, she supervised all investigations conducted by the team, provided cross-functional education to those conducting HR-driven investigations, and led company-wide communications and education initiatives related to the company’s code of ethics. Her team consisted of both attorney and non-attorney investigators.

Cara is actively involved in the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI). She serves as faculty at the AWI Training Institutes and is a member of the AWI Board of Directors. She has co-chaired the AWI annual conference and was a key contributor in the effort to earn ANSI-accreditation for the AWI Institute.

Cara is a member of the California Bar and received her Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University. She began her legal career in employment law, representing plaintiffs in litigation and administrative proceedings, before transitioning to advise employers on workplace compliance.

Legal Assistant

Samantha Silberberg

Samantha graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2019 with a dual degree in Public Health and Women’s Studies. After working for a year with underserved populations in Jerusalem, Israel through the Joint Distribution Committee, Samantha joined Tribu Partners as a Legal Assistant. Samantha is currently in her first year of law school at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Samantha is focusing her studies on public interest law and plans to pursue a career in the public sector.

Employee Relations Executive & Workplace Investigator

Kathryn Wikman

Kathryn works with Tribu clients to identify and analyze workplace conflicts to help drive strategic organizational change. As a trusted advisor to senior leadership on sensitive matters, Kathryn leverages her legal and ER background to conduct investigations, evaluate issues and provide comprehensive action plans. She has deep experience helping organizations build leaner, technology-driven teams and eliminate redundancy expenses while managing litigation and reputational risk.

Kathryn is the former Global Head of Employee Relations for UBS where she managed a 20-member global ER team supporting 60,000 employees across 50+ countries. Prior to UBS, Kathryn served as Managing Director, Employee Relations at JP Morgan Chase. While there, she oversaw all phases of the internal investigations process and developed and launched their online harassment-free workplace training model completed by over 210,000 employees.

Before moving in-house, Kathryn was an attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and served as a Law Clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, her M.A. from Hofstra University, and her B.A. from Molloy College. Kathryn is a licensed attorney in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire and is a Certified Mediator from the Harvard Mediation Skills Program.