Here are the bios for the alumni you will be meeting during our trip.
Jennifer Basinger, AM 94, Director of People, Experience & Technology, Amazon
As a Director of People, Experience & Technology (PXT) for Advertising, IMDb and Grand Challenge (AIGC), Jennifer leads a team of Talent, Learning, Change and Org Development specialists who deliver impactful programs for Amazon’s Advertising, IMDb, and Grand Challenge organizations (AIGC).
Jennifer joined Amazon in March 2016 and has held a number of PXT leadership roles spanning across multiple business lines. She started her Amazon career as Director of Human Resources supporting Finance & Global Business Services, and shortly thereafter added Legal and Global Corporate Affairs to her remit, before transitioning to support Operations Technology teams. In 2022, Jennifer joined the AIGC PXT team to lead HRBPs who supported Advertising Product & Tech (AdPT) as well as to lead PXT Research & Analytics. In 2024, Jennifer transitioned to lead a team of HRBPs who supported Advertising Sales and Marketing before assuming her current role in Q4 of 2024. Prior to joining Amazon, Jennifer was an HR Executive for McDonald’s Corporation, where she led the HR aspects of global expansion, worked with the Chief Digital Officer to build the company’s first global technology organization, and helped the company navigate significant organizational redesign efforts during a time of great change and growth.
Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She recently completed six years of service on the Board of Trustees for Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington and was Board Chair in 2022.
Kyle Carmack, MHRIR 18, Human Resources Manager, Zillow Group
Kyle leads people strategy for mergers and acquisitions across all transaction activity. In this role, he has guided organizations through billions of dollars in acquisitions and overseen the integration of thousands of employees. His work has included standing up international operations across North America and Europe and partnering closely with executive leadership to ensure cultural alignment, operational continuity, and long-term performance. During his tenure at Zillow, Kyle has also served as an Human Resources Business Partner, Program Manager for recruiting analytics, and Compensation Business Partner supporting the Chief Marketing Officer.
Kyle is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he pursued doctoral studies in Musicology and Anthropology, with research focused on Hindu–Muslim relations, ecology, and performance studies in India. While at Illinois, he taught courses in both the School of Music and the Department of Economics and consistently ranked in the top tier of instructors, earning repeated designations as “Excellent” and “Outstanding.” He held assistantships across the Department of Economics, School of Music, Writers Workshop, and the Graduate College Career Development Office, and was awarded Foreign Language and Area Studies and Title VI fellowships through the Center for Global Studies and the U.S. Department of Education.
As a recipient of a prestigious American Institute of Indian Studies fellowship, Kyle lived in Jaipur, India from 2016 to 2017, conducting field research and completing intensive Hindi language training. After returning to Illinois and completing doctoral coursework, he transitioned to the School of Labor and Employment Relations, earning a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations following a successful internship at Zillow Group. His academic training and international experience continue to inform his approach to organizational change, leadership alignment, and cross-cultural integration.
Kyle holds bachelor’s degrees in Music and English from Western Illinois University and a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Gentzy Franz, MHRIR 05, PhD 14, Founder and Consultant, Lightly
Dr. Gentzy Franz is an educator, tech leader, and innovative leadership coach. He has a master’s and PhD from the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations,where he remains a member of the Graduate Adjunct Faculty. He has partnered with companies such as Salesforce, Yahoo!, Dude Wipes, Thermo Fisher, Kin + Carta, and Cresset Partners.
Through the executive coaching and organizational consulting practice he founded, Lightly, he works with leaders and teams to instill behaviors and mindsets that lead to increased compassion, high performance and personal well-being. Gentzy lives in Bend, OR with his 4 kids and dog Huxley. He loves everything you might imagine him loving in Bend, and credits his success to Nell Madigan.
Heather Horn, MHRIR 03, Vice President, Human Resources, University of Washington
Prior to arriving at UW in August, Heather served as vice provost and chief human resources officer at Oregon State University. Before that, she worked for the University of Illinois as a human resource professional in both unit HR and central HR offices, primarily focused on employee and labor relations efforts.
She brings more than 20 years of HR leadership at public research universities, where she’s led transformational change, modernized HR systems and processes, and built collaborative relationships that honor individual perspectives and advance institution objectives and values.
Horn earned a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Avi Kopparthi, MHRIR 09, Vice President of Human Resources, Zillow
Avi leads HR functions across Total Rewards, M&A and international expansion, and strategic business partnering. His focus is on building people strategies that enable business transformation, drive inclusive culture, and support long-term, sustainable growth across the organization.
With over 15 years of HR leadership experience, Avi has helped organizations across industries including life sciences, retail, technology, and real estate evolve through scale, complexity, and change. He is known for his people-first leadership style, strong executive partnership, and ability to translate strategy into practical, high-impact programs.
Prior to his current role at Zillow, Avi held increasingly senior HR roles at Life Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Starbucks, where he supported enterprise growth, global expansion, and leadership development across dynamic business environments.
Avi earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication and a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the School of Labor and Employment Relations. He is the co-founder of the Kopparthi Spaulding Mentorship Scholarship, which supports future HR professionals who are committed to service, resilience, and advancing others through mentorship.
Alan May, AM 82, Retired CHRO, HPE; Affiliate Faculty, University of Washington
Alan recently retired as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he led global human resources strategy for more than 60,000 employees. Over the course of a distinguished career spanning four decades, Alan has held senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most respected organizations, including The Boeing Company, PepsiCo, and Caterpillar. Across these roles, he earned a reputation as a transformative leader who aligns people strategy with organizational excellence.
Today, he continues to shape the next generation of leaders as an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, where he challenges students to think critically about leadership, strategy, and organizational performance. Beyond academia, he remains an active consultant and executive coach, helping leaders and organizations elevate business performance through innovative, strategic, and values-driven HR practices.
A proud Illini, Alan credits his time at LER for shaping his leadership philosophy and instilling in him a lifelong commitment to developing people. He draws particular inspiration from faculty legends such as Walt Franke, Martin Wagner, Melvin Rothbaum, and Milton Derber, whose influence and impact he continues to honor through his own mentorship and philanthropy.
Alicia Mohammed, MHRIR 08, Senior Director, HR Business Partner, Salesforce
Alicia Mohammed supports executive leaders across Slack, Salesforce Design/Experience, and Product Operations. She partners with Product, Engineering, and Design leadership teams to strengthen leadership effectiveness, build high-performing organizations, and develop talent.
Over the past ~15 years, Alicia has held business partner and talent development roles at Tableau, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and Yum Brands. Based in Seattle, she spends her off hours trying new food spots, playing video games, and getting outside in the PNW.
Nastassja Rinderle, MHRIR 12, Technology People Partner, Amperity
Nastassja (“Nas”) Rinderle is an HR leader with over 15 years of experience partnering with leaders in fast-growing, global organizations. She currently leads the HR Business Partner function at Amperity, where she supports leaders through growth and organizational change while scaling teams, strengthening culture and leading AI workforce stragtegy.
Previously, Nas held senior HR roles at companies including Amazon (AWS) and AppLovin, working closely with executives across technology and sales. A graduate of the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER), she has built a career spanning multiple industries and organizational stages, from early-stage growth to large-scale global operations.
Dan Spaulding, MHRIR 01, Chief People Officer, Zillow Group
Dan leads the company’s people operations, including human resources, talent acquisition, engagement & belonging, learning & development, organizational & talent strategy, and Cloud HQ experience. Dan oversaw Zillow’s transition to Cloud HQ – a flexible, distributed workforce model that boosts efficiency and innovation by empowering employees to work where they thrive. His focus is on creating programs that not only attract, develop, and retain Zillow’s talented employees while keeping teams inspired, connected and engaged no matter where they are.
Prior to joining Zillow Group, Dan was vice president of U.S. Stores and Operations and Human Resources for Starbucks, where his team drove support and strategy for over 8,000 stores and 140,000 employees nationwide. Before Starbucks, Dan held various leadership roles on human resources teams at Life Technologies and Dell, Inc.
Dan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Knox College and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. He also earned a Master of Science in Human Resources and Industrial and Labor Relations from the University of Illinois. He is also the co-founder of the Professor Wally Hendricks Honorary Scholarship at LER, has served as the 2018 LER alumni convocation speaker, and was awarded the LER Distinguished Alumni Award.