You've been called "The Department of No." You've eaten lunch at your desk while answering emails from people who didn't consult you before making decisions that now require your clean-up. You've been told to "be more strategic" while spending 40+ hours a week on transactions that keep the lights on.

This isn't your fault. But you're the one who can change it.

In this keynote, Tracie Sponenberg — former Chief People Officer of a large, multi-state distributor who spent decades living this exact reality — breaks down the three structural design flaws that turned HR into a reactive, under-resourced, blame-absorbing function. More importantly, she'll give you the exact language, scripts, and action plan to start changing it.

This session is built for HR professionals who are tired of being under-resourced, excluded from strategy, and blamed when things go wrong. Whether you're a solo HR practitioner, an HR director managing a small team, or an HR leader in distribution, manufacturing, or any organization with a deskless workforce — you'll leave with tools you can use immediately.

By the end of this session, what you’ll walk away with:

The language to name what's broken. Most HR professionals feel the frustration but can't articulate the structural problems to business leaders. You'll leave able to clearly explain the three design flaws that created "The Department of No" — in language your CEO will understand.

Word-for-word scripts for three critical conversations. Not theory. Not frameworks. Actual language you can use in real meetings, including how to handle the pushback you'll get.

1. The Workload Conversation — How to show leadership the math behind your impossible workload and make them choose between resourcing you properly or accepting transactional HR.

2. The Employee Experience Conversation — How to shift your organization from chasing engagement scores to designing the moments that actually drive retention, especially for deskless workforces.

3. The Risk Conversation — How to name the blame dynamic that's making you say no to everything and get the support you need to start saying yes strategically.

A 30-day action plan you can start Monday. Week by week, step by step — from diagnosing your current system to making one visible change that business leaders can't ignore.

Tracie Sponenberg | Tracie Sponenberg has spent 30 years in HR, 25 of them leading it. She was most recently Chief People Officer of The Granite Group, a wholesale distributor with more than 700 employees across 60 locations in six states, where she partnered with the executive team through four acquisitions, a global pandemic, a technology transformation, and the rebuild of the HR department into an award-winning People Team. 

In 2024 she launched Tracie Sponenberg LLC. She now works with CEOs and owners of distribution, manufacturing, and other frontline businesses on people strategy, and with the HR leaders inside those companies who are trying to move from the compliance-and-culture version of the role to the business role their CEOs are asking for. She is the author of The Frontline People Strategy (2026), a practical guide for distribution and manufacturing leaders. 

Tracie is a global speaker on HR, leadership, technology, and business issues, and has delivered keynotes to audiences across the distribution and manufacturing industries and beyond. She began her HR career while in college, interning with a global public transportation company. Before The Granite Group she led HR at an award-winning multi-state professional services firm, a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper and publishing company, and a national private equity owned wellness distribution and technology company. She found her professional home in midsize businesses, where she could have the most impact. 

She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with a focus on industrial/organizational psychology from the College of the Holy Cross and a master's degree in HR management from Framingham State University. She is SPHR certified and is a co-founder of DisruptHR NH, a founding member of the Hacking HR Experts Council, and former Chair of the ASA Women in Industry Executive Council. Her work has appeared in The Wholesaler, Supply House Times, ASA Review, and HR Tech Outlook, and her expertise has been featured on the BBC, NPR, and in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. 

A bookworm and introvert who never spoke in class until college, Tracie now speaks for a living. She still hates parties and crowds. She loves espresso, movies, Disney World with her family, and hiking with her husband. This summer she crossed off a lifelong dream and worked as an extra on a film shot in New Hampshire.