2022 Fall Nubiz Symposium - Overcoming the Great Resignation

Overcoming the Great Resignation: How to Find and Keep Employees

The Northern Utah Business Symposium is a half-day conference to help people rub shoulders with business leaders who are challenging traditional practices and setting new standards. The symposium is intriguing, inspiring, and educational. It will start your creative engine and provide you with practical and innovative ways to grow your business.

Program Schedule

7:30 - 8:00 am Breakfast & Networking
8:00 - 8:05 am Welcome: Chuck Leonhardt, President & CEO, Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce
8:05 - 8:10 am Remarks: Doris Geide-Stevenson, Interim Dean, WSU Goddard School of Business & Economics
8:10 - 8:30 am "The Power of Recruiting" - Presented by Ron Zarbock, Owner, Spherion of Utah
8:30 - 8:50 am "Hire Refugees & Keep Them in the Workplace" - Presented by Gayane Manukyan, Workforce Development Specialist & Refugee Employment Coordinator, State of Utah Department of Workforce Services
8:50 - 9:10 am "Retaining Top Talent During the Storm" - Presented by Clint Halverson, Chief People Officer, Becklar LLC
9:10 - 9:40 "Impactful Staffing Solutions: High School Internships" - Interview with Heather Gerrard, Pathways/CTE & Secondary School Supervisor Executive Director, Ogden School District & Cory Ortiz, Utah State Professor and OSD Work-based Learning Coordinator, Utah State University
9:40 - 10:00 am Refreshment Break
10:00 - 10:20 am "Employee Retention: Strategies for Keeping Your Best People" - Presented by Jessica Dixon, Chief Human Resources Officer, LSI
10:20 - 10:40 am "People Come First" - Presented by Maury Chambers, Chief Operations Officer, JD Machine Corp
10:40 - 11:00 am Introducing the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce Committees
11:00 - 11:35 am Moderated Presenter Panel Discussion
11:35 - 11:45 am Conclusion, Chuck Leonhardt, President & CEO, Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce





Jessica Dixon, Chief Human Resources Officer, LSI

Jessica Dixon is a dynamic HR professional committed to growing people and business. She has extensive experience in all HR functional areas including talent operations, total rewards, performance management and engagement strategy.

She joined LSI in 2021 as the Director of HR, and previously managed talent operations at a sales & marketing company. She earned her bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management from WSU's Goddard School of Business and holds various HR certifications.

Jessica is a native Utahn and enjoys spending time outdoors, camping, golfing, and attending farmer's markets and local sporting events.





Ron Zarbock, Owner, Spherion and Tifie

Ron Zarbock is the owner of Spherion, a national recruiting and staffing enterprise that brings the power of local to you through a network of empowered franchise owners.

Ron opened his first Spherion staffing office more than 15 years ago in Orem, Utah. Spherion has since expanded to six locations from Ogden to Spanish Fork, that provide staffing services along the Wasatch Front and Back – from Logan to Nephi and Heber City to Tooele.

As a founding member and the current director of Tifie Humanitarian, a nonprofit organization committed to finding resources and creating jobs for those in need, Ron is dedicated to serving others in our community. He uses his skills and experience to provide a platform for others to create their own successes.




Maury Chambers, Chief Operations Officer, JD Machine Corp

Maury Chambers is the Chief Operations Officer at JD Machine. After graduating with honors from Weber State University's Mechanical Engineering program, he worked for 10 years as an aerospace engineer specializing in complex manufacturing programming and operations.

For the past 12 years, he has led frontline manufacturing teams in various roles including program manager, business unit manager, and COO.




Gayane Manukyan, Workforce Development Specialist & Refugee Employment Coordinator, State of Utah Department of Workforce Services

For the last 19 years, Gayane Manukyan has dedicated her time and efforts to helping the refugee and asylee population in Utah. She has held multiple positions within several different agencies that provide services for refugees and asylees including Catholic Community Services of Utah, the Asian Association of Utah, and the Department of Workforce Services, where she has been for the last five years.

As a United States immigrant originating from Armenia, Gayane relates to many of the problems that newly arrived refugees struggle with daily. Consequently, her main focus is to help refugees and asylees be able to support their families and become self-sufficient through finding and keeping a job.




Clint Halverson, Chief People Officer, Becklar LLC

Clint Halverson is Becklar's Chief People & Administrative Officer. Clint has extensive experience leading organizational design and effectiveness, human resources, culture and engagement, talent acquisition, total rewards, and talent development. Prior to joining the Becklar team, he spent 15 years with a publicly traded real estate company serving in various management positions including internal audit, operations, investor relations, public relations, and ultimately spending his last six years as their head of people.

Clint began his career as a consultant with Ernst & Young in Seattle, Washington. He holds a BS in Finance degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Weber State University. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for EMI Health, one of the U.S.'s longest-standing health insurance carriers, offering medical, dental, and vision products. He serves as EMI's Audit Committee Chair and is a member of their Executive Committee.




Heather Gerrard, Pathways/CTE & Secondary School Supervisor Executive Director, Ogden School District

Heather Gerrard has worked in education since 2005. She earned a bachelors of Teaching in History, English and English Language Learner Instruction, and a masters in Educational Administration. Her professional experiences also include facilitating adult instruction to Utah educators for adopting the Common Core in English, ELL endorsements and ELA accreditation courses.

She coordinated bringing the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) Program to Ogden High School in 2013 and worked as the AP and IB coordinator, growing both programs, and earning Ogden High a spot on the AP Honor Roll for high schools for increasing the amount of minority students taking AP classes and exams.

Heather's passion for education revolves around closing the achievement gap through college and career readiness programs and supports. She was also teach of the year for The Utah Council of Teachers of English for 2013, was Utah's Secondary Assistant Principal of 2021, was one of three final National Secondary Assistant Principals of the year for 2021 and was Ogden's 2022 Administrator of the year. Heather is currently serving as Ogden School District's Personalized Pathways/CTE and School Supervisor Executive Director.

Cory Ortiz, Utah State Professor & OSD Work-based Learning Coordinator, Utah State University

Cory Ortiz is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Utah State University, Brigham City in the Department of Technology, Design, and Technical Education. He is also supporting Ogden School District in an official capacity part-time with Work-based Learning. Cory holds a Master's and a Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education. He is a national fellow for the Association for Career and Technical Education, representing engineering and technology education.

In the classroom, Cory has taught robotics, manufacturing, and engineering courses and is researching teacher retention in Career and Technical Education.