AGENDA
11:30AM to 12:30 PM - Registration and Lunch
12:30PM - 1:30PM - The Illinois Playbook: Navigating Regulatory Complexity - Rhea Baker-Ipek, Senior Legal Counsel at Staffing GC
1:30PM - 1:45PM - Break
1:45PM - 2:45PM - Grassroots / Legislative Involvement / Q&A - Matthew Furton, Partner at Troutman Pepper Locke
2:45PM - 3:00PM - Break
3:00PM - 4:00PM - Industry Update and Outlook - Brittany Sakata, General Counsel at American Staffing Association
4:00 Wrap up and Cocktail Hour
Attendance at this event earns 3.0 CE Hours toward ASA Certification
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Brittany Sakata serves as general counsel for the American Staffing Association. She is a former labor and employment litigator who advises ASA members on a broad range of legal and compliance matters, including EEO and wage and hour laws, immigration/I-9, OSHA, artificial intelligence in employment, and paid leave issues. She is principal ASA liaison to the formal ASA/OSHA temporary worker safety alliance, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) alliance, and ASA’s Legal/Legislative and Employee Safety Committees. Brittany graduated from George Mason University and earned a J.D. from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Matt Furton is a Partner in the Chicago office of Troutman Pepper Locke, which is a national law firm with offices in 33 cities. Matt is an experienced business trial attorney, known for resolving complex commercial disputes through trials, arbitrations, appeals, and transactions. He is frequently called upon to represent the interests of entire industries that need to challenge the constitutionality of a statute, rule, or administrative ruling. In the staffing industry, he secured a preliminary injunction that temporarily prevented enforcement of certain amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act. He is currently defending class action litigation related to staffing agency compliance with new Illinois employment practices laws.
Rhea Baker is a Senior Labor & Employment Counsel with over a decade of experience navigating the high-stakes intersection of workforce strategy and multi-state compliance. As an MBA-trained legal leader, Rhea is known for more than just managing risk; she is a trusted advisor to executive teams, transforming complex legal hurdles into pragmatic, business-focused solutions. Currently serving as Senior Legal Counsel at Staffing GC, she specializes in helping organizations protect their brand reputation while scaling operational goals.
Thank you to our Sponsors of the 2026 Legislative Conference:
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
The Illinois Search and Staffing Association is proud to present
the next virtual event in our Owners and Executives Series
ACA Compliance for the Staffing Industry
& Update on the Equal Benefits Provision of the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act
March 19, 2026 - 1PM CST
ISSA Members Free, Nonmembers $39
Learn the ACA fundamentals every staffing firm must get right, how subsidy changes impact affordability and employer risk, and what you should be doing to comply with IDTLSA equal benefits provision.
Scott Bast is a Vice President in the Employee Health & Benefits division at Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA). With over 23 years of industry experience, Scott is responsible for conducting market research on carrier options to present to clients to help save them money on their benefits. He uses the leverage of MMA to get the best possible rates on new and renewal business opportunities for his clients.
Prior to joining MMA, Scott was a President at EZ KUT Products. While there, he manufactured and sold high quality outdoor cutting tools.
Scott received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and his Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice and Natural Resources.
Jasmine Piggott is an Employee Benefits Advisor at Marsh McLennan Agency with a focus in Staffing. Her experience working for a Midwest staffing company gives her a competitive edge when it comes to developing high turnover tactics across various industries like manufacturing, transportation and agriculture. She uses self-insured risk management solutions to help her clients with cost neutral ways to achieve ACA compliance and aligns plan designs with business nature in order to enhance the employee experience.
Prior to joining MMA, Jasmine was a Staffing Consultant at a Midwest staffing company. In her role, she helped clients navigate industry trends and compliance regulations in order to develop and execute successful staffing strategies for manufacturing and light industrial employees.
Join us for a replay of March Staffing Madness!
If you're newer to staffing/recruiting, you're invited to attend this fun event at Topgolf in Naperville. This year we're adding a training session--join us in the Signature Room at 4PM to boost your staffing knowledge!
Food, beverages and 2 hours of golf are included in the ticket price.
Thank you to our Platinum Sponsors!
Conference Hosts:
Illinois Search and Staffing Association
Wisconsin Association of Staffing Services
Michigan Association of Staffing Services
This highly anticipated 2-day event is designed for staffing professionals from all over the Midwest to come together and share their expertise, collaborate, and learn from industry leaders.
The Midwest Staffing Conference is an event for your entire team:
Owners / Managers / Sales Team / Recruiters / Emerging Leaders / HR
View the AGENDA for the 2026 Midwest Staffing Conference!
Click HERE
View the SPEAKER LINEUP for the 2026 Midwest Staffing Conference!
Attendance at the 2026 Midwest Staffing Conference
is approved for 7.5CE credits
REGISTER BY MARCH 1st FOR EARLY BIRD MEMBER DISCOUNT!
ISSA Members: Log in and register
WASS and MASS Members: Email your Director for discount code
NAPS Members: Email info@issaworks.com
Book Your Accommodations
The Hilton Chicago-Oak Brook Suites and Hilton Garden Inn Chicago-Oakbrook Terrace are located just steps from Drury Lane while the DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago-Oak Brook offers convenient shuttle service.
Hilton Chicago - Oak Brook Suites
(630) 941-0100 - Check Room Availability
Hilton Garden Inn Chicago-Oak Brook
(630) 941-1177 - Check Room Availability
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Chicago-Oak Brook
(630) 472-6000 - Check Room Availability
From Rockstar to Leader:
Questions That Make or Break the Shift
The next generation of search & staffing leaders is eager to rise. And moving from top performer to effective leader is a high-stakes decision that requires new approaches, skills, and thinking without losing what made someone a rockstar in the first place.
This session distills a decade of best practices and lessons learned from guiding leadership development and succession decisions across 50+ firms in the search industry.
Designed for both emerging leaders and the leaders selecting them, we’ll explore the space between two critical questions: Should I step into leadership? and Should I promote this person?
You’ll will walk away with:
May 21, 2026 - 1PM CST
ISSA Members Free / Nonmembers $39
MEET THE SPEAKER
Annette Wehrli helps search & recruiting firm owners and leaders solve leadership, structure, and people challenges that prevent growth.
With 20+ years prior experience on MRI Network's corporate team leading organizational development consulting, executive coaching, succession planning, and learning development, Annette simplifies what's comlex and builds practical solutions that strengthen leadership, talent strategy, hiring, culture, and performance.
She's known for connecting the dots, asking questions that address and remove obstacles, building practical, relevant programs, and helping leaders be more intentional about their short- and long-term impact on people and business results.
The ISSA is proud to present the next virtual event in our Owners and Executives Series
Why Sales Is Struggling (And It’s Not the Market) Leadership Blind Spots in Staffing
This 45 minute webinar is a straight shot of truth for staffing leaders who are tired of blaming “the market” for flat sales and shrinking pipelines.
Because the market is not the problem. The real issue is leadership.
In this session, Tiffany Scott pulls back the curtain on the uncomfortable realities most firms avoid. Vague expectations. Tolerated underperformance. Managers who coach softly instead of leading clearly. Sales teams with no real ownership, no strategy, and no edge.
You will learn:
This is not a motivational talk. It is an operator’s perspective on what is actually broken inside most staffing organizations and how to fix it.
Attendees will walk away with a new lens on leadership, a sharper understanding of their own blind spots, and a clear framework for building sales teams that perform because they are led well, not just when the market is “good.”
Tiffany Scott is a 20-year staffing industry veteran and former Chief Operating Officer who helped scale a regional staffing firm from $10M to $190M in revenue. With 17 years of hands-on staffing leadership experience, she has built and led high-performing sales, recruiting, and operations teams across multiple markets and verticals. Her career has been defined by building systems that scale, developing leaders from the ground up, and driving growth through disciplined execution.
Today, Tiffany is the Founder and CEO of myScout, a prospect intelligence platform built exclusively for the staffing industry. myScout blends AI and human verified data to give staffing firms accurate, actionable insight into real decision makers inside target companies. Her mission is simple: help staffing leaders stop wasting time on bad data and start having better, faster, more profitable conversations.
Known for her direct, no nonsense leadership style, Tiffany speaks candidly about what it really takes to grow a staffing business in a modern market. She brings a rare mix of operator experience and forward-thinking innovation, helping firms rethink how they prospect, position, and scale in an industry that is changing fast.
In a staffing marketplace where speed, technology, and process are often assumed to be the differentiators, clients and candidates are quietly asking a more fundamental question: Why should I choose you?
This webinar invites staffing leaders, recruiters, and sales professionals to step back and examine what truly drives trust, loyalty, and long-term success. Drawing from decades of business leadership and relationship-driven sales experience, Maureen O’Brien – The Sales Sage™ and CEO of the Global Wisdom & Leadership Forum, explores why the most successful staffing firms stand out not because of what they offer — but because of how they show up.
Participants will be challenged to rethink differentiation through a human lens and to uncover the often-overlooked elements that influence client and candidate decisions in moments of uncertainty, change, and risk. This session moves beyond tactics to help staffing firms clarify and communicate what makes them genuinely choose-worthy in a crowded market.
At the conclusion of this webinar, the participant will be able to:
August 20, 2026 - 1PM CST
Maureen O'Brien is a dynamic business leader, globally recognized keynote speaker, and bestselling author known for helping organizations build high-performing teams through trust, clarity, and human-centered leadership.
With more than 30 years of experience leading a multi-generational, service-based construction business, Maureen understands firsthand what it takes to attract talent, develop people, retain clients, and grow revenue in competitive, relationship-driven industries. She is the founder and CEO of O’Brien & Son, Inc., a company she has successfully led for over 38 years, and the founder and Managing Partner of the Global Women’s Leadership Forum®, where she partners with organizations to strengthen leadership at every level.
Maureen’s work sits at the intersection of leadership, sales, and resilience. Her expertise in Relationship Sales and Point of Light Leadership™ equipping staffing professionals to build stronger pipelines, deepen trust with clients and candidates, and lead confidently through uncertainty and change.
A Stage IV lymphoma survivor, Maureen brings a powerful, real-world perspective on resilience, decision-making under pressure, and what truly matters when the stakes are high. Her message resonates deeply with leaders and sales professionals navigating rapid change while still being expected to deliver results.
Maureen is the author of four bestselling books, the most recent, “26 Points of Light—Illuminating One Cancer Survivor’s Journey from Diagnosis to Remission.” All profits from the book go to cancer research and patient care. She is a recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, and she has been recognized as one of Illinois’ most powerful women. Audiences consistently describe her as insightful, grounded, and refreshingly real — a leader who speaks from experience, not theory.
Email ISSA info@issaworks.com | Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1228, Westmont, IL 60559
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