I am a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) and an active member of the NASPP.

As an Equity Compensation professional for over 20 years, I am called upon to provide equity information to multiple departments within the organization, provide equity education across all employee levels, and maintain data integrity within internal and external tracking systems.  

I was introduced to equity compensation in 2003 via a position at a brokerage firm. As the assigned administrator for several companies, I was able to learn about the different forms of equity, recordkeeping processes, equity grants, stock purchase plans, and various reporting requirements.

After spending time at 2 different brokerage firms, I moved to the issuer side. As an equity administrator, more often than not as a team of 1, I am tasked with supporting global equity compensation plan design/updates/changes, managing policies, processes, and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, understanding tax rules, verbal and written communications to employees, and cross-collaboration with several departments.

As I work with all levels of employees, it is imperative that I have a full understanding of equity related topics and can explain information in a way that everyone can understand.

My career as an equity compensation professional has led me to receive several accolades. I was a recipient of the 2023 DEI Scholarship to attend the NASPP Conference. I served as a panelist for the NASPP webinar “Reporting Up: Gaining Visibility for Your Work” in December 2021. I reviewed conference proposals as a member of the NASPP Speaker Proposal Review Task Force 2021 and 2024. I participated on speaker panels at the NASPP Conferences 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Being an equity compensation professional is a rewarding career choice because I get to help people understand how fascinating equity compensation is and how equity can provide for them in the future.

My commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts include being a member of a couple of Employee Resource Groups at my company. Our Employee Resource Groups work to elevate, empower and engage employees by building a culture that is representative of our communities.

Galahad Dong is currently the Director, HR Systems and Total Rewards for Simpson Strong-Tie, a global manufacturing company focused on creating structural products that help people build safer and stronger homes and buildings. Whether it’s working with senior executives, individual contributors, or on cross-functional teams, Galahad provides practical HCM solutions in a resource constrained world to drive business results.  Galahad has experience in designing, implementing, and administering broad based, cash, and equity incentive plans, as well as health and welfare and retirement plans.  Beyond Total Rewards, he has led and global implementations of HRIS (Workday), timekeeping (UKG Dimensions), and learning (Cornerstone OnDemand) solutions. His team currently provides all HCM analytics to the organization and when he’s not busy designing the next compensation plan or building a business requirements document for a future system enhancement, you can usually find him buried in a spreadsheet trying to find a HCM trend and analysis with the sole intent of using HR data to help push the business forward.  Galahad holds the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP), and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) designations through WorldatWork and is a member of NASPP, GEO, WorldatWork, NACD, and SHRM.

Joanna Deredita, CPA, CEP, is a Director of Global Equity Services at Moloco, Inc. She has over 20 years of experience in the field of equity, accounting and internal controls for both public and private companies. Joanna is committed to programs that raise awareness of the stock plan administration profession and ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute. She currently volunteers as an adult literacy tutor.

Patricia is the Compensation Manager at Kerry. She has over 25 years’ experience in compensation and leadership in the insurance, healthcare and telecommunications industries. She has an MBA from University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and coursework from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Center for Professional and Executive Development as well as executive education from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business. She is also a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

Tommy joined Sealed Air in 2023 as the Executive Compensation & Equity Manager. He is responsible for the equity administration function and contributes to broader executive compensation functions within the department. Prior to Sealed Air, he spent 9 years at PwC as a Workforce Transformation consultant. He worked on a variety of Rewards consulting projects, and he specialized in share-based accounting projects. Tommy is originally from Kingston, Jamaica.

He is a graduate of Bryant University with a bachelor's degree in actuarial mathematics. Tommy holds the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation and is an active member of NASPP. He is currently serving on the GEO Boston chapter's board.

As Head of Inclusion Transformation, Kai ensures that the delivery of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions’ products and services are effective in meeting the needs of diverse clients and communities. In this role, he collaborates with colleagues and partners to enhance employee well-being, foster financial inclusion and address the unique challenges confronting diverse populations.

Kai began his career as an executive in Global Wealth & Investment Management and most recently served as Enterprise Relationships Director. In this role, he was responsible for delivering innovative thought leadership, actionable ideas and relevant solutions to clients as an effective means in attracting, retaining, and motivating employees in an increasingly competitive business environment. 

He also served as the National Director of Institutional Client Relationships where he was responsible for coordinating the service and acquisition functions of the institutional and national client segment with over $200 billion in assets and four million accounts under management.

Kai is a leading industry professional with over 25 years of experience in retirement and financial services. Prior to joining Bank of America, he held a variety of positions with market leading financial services firms where he focused on helping corporate executives meet their fiduciary obligations, and empowered their employees to achieve financial wellness.

Kai holds a B.S. in mathematics from Gordon College and maintains certification in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He maintains the FINRA Series 7, 66 and 24 registrations and is an acting member of the American Economic Association, the Society of Human Resources and the Florida Council on Aging. Kai is also member of the firm’s Black Executive Leadership Council, co-executive sponsor for the Jacksonville Inter-Generational Employee Network and a member of the Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions Operating Committee.

Christine Zwerling is the Head of Stock Administration at Asana. She began working in the equity compensation industry in 1995 and has worked as a consultant and as an in-house stock plan professional. She has extensive knowledge of the rules, regulations, and accounting standards that drive so many stock plan processes. Christine earned her CEP designation in 2000 and was honored with the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) Individual Achievement award in 2007. Christine also serves as treasurer on the executive committee of the San Francisco NASPP chapter. She is also a frequent speaker for various industry events, including NASPP chapter meetings, NASPP’s national conference, the NCEO Employee Ownership Conference, and Global Equity Organization (GEO) meetings.