Who's Who

Stephanie Dorning, JD
Employment Law Counsel
HR Source

Stephanie’s interest in employment law began when she joined the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. In more than nine years with the department, she acted as lead investigator in over 120 investigations and helped employers across northern Illinois come into compliance with laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Davis Bacon Act, and more. Stephanie uses her first-hand agency experience to help employers navigate complicated legal issues and avoid potential violations.

Mary Lynn Fayoumi, CAE, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
President & CEO
HR Source

Mary Lynn Fayoumi, CAE, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the President and CEO of HR Source, a Chicago-based employers’ association with over 1200 member organizations. She is a highly respected writer, presenter, and advisor and an accepted authority on a variety of workplace and HR issues including engagement, culture, employment trends. 

Mary Lynn currently serves as the Lead Director of the World at Work Board and is also the Board Treasurer of the Employers Association of America.  She is the Past Chair of the Board of the Association Forum of Chicagoland and currently serves on the Board of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation. Mary Lynn was honored by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Leader in HR in 2020 and was named the 2021 Woman of Influence by the Association Forum.   

Mary Lynn is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Industrial Relations/Human Resources. She also holds an MBA with honors from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.    

Kelly Hayden, JD
Chief Legal Counsel
HR Source

Kelly Hayden is Chief Legal Counsel for HR Source, a professional organization providing human resource solutions for member organizations for more than 100 years. In her role, Kelly provides representation to employers before the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Labor, the US Department of Labor and other state and federal agencies. She also assists employers with hiring, discipline, and termination procedures; preparation of employment agreements; and the drafting and reviewing of employment policies and handbooks. She provides employment law compliance training for managers, supervisors, and HR professionals covering many topics including harassment, discipline and discharge, the FMLA, ADA, social media, employee handbooks, interviewing and hiring and drug and alcohol testing. As a representative of HR Source, Kelly frequently lectures to professional organizations on numerous employment law topics and contributes to the association’s website and has authored articles in numerous trade journals.

Kelly has a J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a B.A. in English and psychology, also from Indiana University. Kelly is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois and before the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.  Kelly came to the Association from a large Chicago law firm where she practiced for nine years defending employers in employment discrimination trials. Kelly is a member of the American Bar Association and its Section on Labor and Employment Law. Kelly has also served as a fire commissioner for the Village of Frankfort Fire Protection District for more than 10 years.

Jody LaVoie, ACC
Founder, Trainer & Coach
The Grief Company & Widows in the Workplace

Jody LaVoie is a certified grief coach and workplace resilience expert specializing in supporting organizations and employees through loss and bereavement. With over 20 years of professional experience as a business operator and executive, Jody brings a unique perspective to her work training companies on understanding the impact of grief and implementing effective strategies to support grieving employees.

Unexpectedly widowed at 47 after her husband's tragic workplace shooting, Jody navigated the challenges of solo parenting three young daughters while managing a business and grieving. This personal experience, combined with her professional background, led her to transform her journey into a mission to empower others.

As the former CEO of Female Strong and Chairman of ArrowStream, Jody has firsthand experience in leading organizations through crisis and change. She successfully guided ArrowStream to sustainable profitability and oversaw its sale to a private equity firm in 2017.

Today, Jody works with Human Resources executives and corporate leaders to develop comprehensive grief support programs, fostering resilient and compassionate workplace cultures. Her approach combines evidence-based strategies with practical insights, helping organizations navigate the complex intersection of grief, productivity, and employee well-being.

Jody holds a BA from the University of Chicago and is an ICF Certified Coach. She is committed to transforming how companies address grief in the workplace, ultimately leading to more supportive, productive, and empathetic work environments.

Ben Opp, SPHR
HR Hotline Advisor
HR Source

Ben Opp, SPHR, serves as HR Hotline Advisor at HR Source, an association of employers in the Chicagoland area providing comprehensive and thoughtful HR support. Ben advises HR teams and executives regarding compliance, leading practices, difficult employee relations situations, and every other imaginable topic in the HR field.

A California native, Ben began his career as a professional classical musician and has since held leadership roles in sales, accounting, and human resources. His 19 years working in small business, including arts organizations, an engineering firm, and an industrial service company, lend him empathy toward the unique challenges of small and growing organizations and a holistic understanding of integrated business operations.

Ben holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific, a Master of Music from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, and the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Elise Powers
Founder, Eleview Consulting

Elise Powers has specialized in making communication skills and emotional intelligence concrete and actionable for over a decade. She founded her first company while in college to help students secure internships through networking. After working at Kimberly-Clark and in management consulting, she founded Eleview Consulting. In founding the firm, she interviewed hundreds of partners and executives to understand what qualities make someone a superstar. This insight is the foundation of the firm’s programming. Eleview Consulting helps law firms and companies harmonize communication and understanding across their organization through interactive professional development workshops and resources. Their most popular workshop topics include personal branding, navigating critical conversations, improving communication, and strategic relationship-building.

Elise has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and ABC News. She is LinkedIn’s leading expert on career acceleration and networking. Elise is a sought-after speaker at universities, companies, and conferences.

Sonal Shah, JD
Assistant Director, Employment Law Services
HR Source

Sonal Shah is Assistant Director of Employment Law Services for HR Source, a professional organization providing human resource solutions for member organizations for more than 100 years. As part of her practice, Sonal has represented employers against wrongful discharge and discrimination claims in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Sonal also has significant experience counseling employers on properly complying with the law and managing their workforce; preparing employment and severance agreements; drafting/revising disciplinary and termination notices; and crafting employment policies and handbooks. In addition, she provides employment law compliance training for managers, supervisors and HR professionals. Sonal also contributes to the Association’s monthly newsletter and website.

Sonal came to HR Source from a large Chicago law firm where she represented public and private employers, from the smallest private companies to corporations exceeding 10,000 employees, on a broad range of labor and employment law matters arising under federal and state law.

Sonal has a B.S. in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Amy Sneirson
Equal Pay Act Manager
Illinois Department of Labor

Amy Sneirson serves as the Equal Pay Manager with the Illinois Department of Labor. Prior to that, Amy was the executive director of a state agency enforcing anti-discrimination laws and practiced law with a focus on employment and civil rights issues in private firm, nonprofit agency, and state attorney general settings in Maine and Missouri. Amy received her undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester in New York and her law degree from the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Allison Sues, JD
Senior Employment Law Counsel
HR Source

Allison works with employers to proactively ensure compliance with the law, including revising employee handbooks and policies and counseling employers on legal or management questions. She is a member of the HR Source Hotline. As part of her practice, she also represents employers against charges of discrimination at the EEOC, IDHR, and other administrative agencies. She also conducts in-depth investigations into claims of workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Prior to coming to HR Source, she was in private practice and litigated employment matters in state and federal court, giving her great insight into important ways that employers can best navigate complex personnel matters and protect themselves against legal liability.

Bob White
Principal
Masuda Funai

Bob White is a partner in the Immigration Group of Masuda Funai in its Schaumburg, Illinois office. Bob has been practicing exclusively in the employment-based immigration area for more than 30 years. Bob was previously Chapter Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Chicago Chapter. He was also a member of AILA National’s Verification Committee and SSA Taskforce. Bob is currently Chair of the AILA National’s DOL Liaison Committee. He is also a member of the Leadership Team of NAFSA: Association of International Educator’s Region V as Chair for Region V. Bob was selected as 2022 Lawyer of the Year for Immigration (Chicago) by the Best Lawyers publication.