Please register online by Sunday, October 26th!

7:30am – 7:45am: Registration, Networking & Buffet Lunch

7:45am – 8:00am: Announcements & Sponsor Spotlight

8:00am – 9:00am: Presentation

9:00am – 9:30am: Q&A, Networking

Leading Through Crisis: A Formula Built for HR Leaders

Kaitlyn Perez

Founder/CEO, KPC (Kaitlyn Perez Communications)

When crisis strikes, employees feel the impact first. In these defining moments, HR leaders play a critical role in helping organizations respond with care, clarity, and confidence. This session explores practical communication strategies that support leadership decision-making, stabilize teams, and reinforce trust during periods of uncertainty. Through real-world case studies and guided discussion, participants will examine how thoughtful, human-led communication can reduce confusion, strengthen culture, and help organizations move forward when stakes are high.

Learning Objectives 

• Learn a practical formula for navigating crisis communication that helps leaders respond with care, clarity, and commitment.
• Explore real-world case studies that demonstrate how communication decisions influence trust, morale, and organizational stability.
• Gain confidence in supporting leadership teams when information is incomplete or rapidly evolving.
• Leave with actionable strategies to deliver timely, human-centered messaging that reduces confusion and reinforces culture.

About the Speaker:

Kaitlyn Perez is the founder and CEO of Kaitlyn Perez Communications (KPC), a Florida-based, founder-led strategic communications firm that partners with leaders navigating moments that matter—when people, trust, and reputation are on the line.

With more than 15 years of experience spanning government, business, philanthropy, and high-stakes public issues, Kaitlyn works closely with senior executives and HR leaders to manage inflection points that directly impact employees, culture, and organizational credibility. Her work centers on helping organizations communicate clearly during periods of pressure, whether responding to workplace crises, navigating leadership transitions, addressing misconduct or investigations, or guiding teams through significant change.

Before founding KPC, Kaitlyn served in senior public-facing leadership roles in Florida government and law enforcement, including as chief spokeswoman during critical incidents, employee-related crises, and moments of intense public scrutiny. That experience gives her a deep understanding of how internal decisions quickly become external narratives and how HR, leadership, and communications must operate in lockstep when trust is tested.

Today, Kaitlyn works with organizations, advising leaders during workplace crises, leadership transitions, and people-centered issues where trust, judgment, and communication intersect. Her approach is practical, people-centered, and rooted in the belief that culture is revealed not only in calm moments, but in how leaders show up in moments that matters most.

Approved for 1 recertification credit:

Charlotte County SHRM is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities and by HRCI to offer Recertification Credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™