Texas Bay Area SHRM upcoming events

September Breakfast Meeting - "How to Wash Your Ego: Leading with Confidence, Clarity, and Self-Awareness" with Mac Wilhelm (10 Sep 2026)

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:30:00 GMT

Thursday, September 10th from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM

14545 Bay Oaks Blvd, Houston, TX 77059

We will meet at Bay Oaks Country Club, where a full breakfast and coffee will be served.

__________________________________________

The Topic:

"How to Wash Your Ego: Leading with Confidence, Clarity, and Self-Awareness" with Mac Wilhelm

Most leadership challenges aren't caused by a lack of skill. They're caused by unexamined ego showing up under pressure.

Whether it appears as overconfidence, over-functioning, or avoidance, ego quietly influences feedback, communication, decision-making, burnout, and workplace relationships.

In this engaging and practical keynote, Mac Wilhelm Mwengi introduces a memorable framework that helps leaders recognize the "ego" they wear, understand how it affects those around them, and develop greater self-awareness without sacrificing confidence.

Through humor, personal storytelling, and practical tools, attendees will leave with a shared language for navigating difficult conversations, receiving feedback more effectively, and leading with greater clarity, resilience, and trust.

You'll learn how to:

Recognize the hidden ways ego influences leadership and communication.
Navigate feedback and difficult conversations with greater confidence.
Reduce over-functioning and create healthier leadership boundaries.
Build stronger, more trusting workplace relationships.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the three common ego patterns that quietly influence leadership, feedback, communication, and decision-making.

2. Identify how ego contributes to burnout, overfunctioning, avoidance, and difficult workplace conversations.

3. Apply a practical framework to respond to feedback, navigate challenging conversations, and lead with greater self-awareness and confidence.

Meeting Agenda:

7:30 AM - Check-in / Networking begins
8:00 AM - Breakfast service / Announcements
8:30 AM - Speaker Presentation, followed by Q&A
9:30 AM - End of Session

Re-certification credits are available for this event (1 SHRM PDC; 1 hour HRCI) and will be shared with attendees after the meeting.

Registration:

Guests are always welcome and encouraged to attend our meetings!

For on-site breakfast, networking, and presentation at Bay Oaks:

$38 TXBA SHRM Member
$48 Non-Member / Guest
$20 Student

Speaker Information:

Mac Wilhelm Mwengi is a keynote speaker, author, and talent acquisition leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations understand how ego shapes leadership, communication, and team performance.

Drawing on two decades in recruiting and HR, Mac has spent his career observing how ego influences feedback, trust, decision-making, and workplace relationships. Those insights became the foundation of his signature keynote, How to Wash Your Ego, which uses humor, personal storytelling, and a memorable framework to help leaders improve self-awareness, navigate difficult conversations, and strengthen workplace relationships.

Mac is the author of How to Wash Your Underwear: Why Ego Isn't the Problem, Neglect Is and Halfrican American: The Struggle Is Real. He has spoken for ERE Recruiting Conference, HR Houston, Rice University, Texas A&M, and leadership audiences across HR and workplace development. He is also an award-winning Toastmaster.

Mac lives in the Houston area and speaks to organizations across the country.

Virtual Session: Bridging the HR Skills Gap - The Human Resource Registered Apprentice Program (16 Sep 2026)

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, September 16th from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM

No cost to attend | Informational Session | Register to Reserve Your Spot

A link to the Zoom meeting will be included in the registration confirmation email.

About this Informational Session

Today's workforce faces a growing gap between available skills and the complex capabilities employers need. The Human Resource Registered Apprenticeship Program (HR RAP), launched by SHRM Foundation and Apprenti, creates a talent pipeline of qualified HR professionals while offering an accessible pathway into an HR career - without requiring a traditional postsecondary route.

Explore how HR RAP supports workforce development and helps employers build HR talent for the future.

Speaker Information

Cheri Willis | Account Manager, SHRM Foundation-Apprenti Partnership

Cheri serves as the primary liaison for the strategic partnership between SHRM Foundation and Apprenti. She brings deep expertise in adult learning, education, and the apprenticeship model.

HR Professionals Networking Social (24 Sep 2026)

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Join Texas Bay Area SHRM as we celebrate HR Professionals Day!

**Save the date - more details coming soon**

Thursday, September 24, 2026

October - Essential Tools for Managers Workshop (8 Oct 2026)

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Special Event for the month of October:

Essential Tools for Managers Workshop

Please join us for our 2026 Essential Tools for Managers Workshop! Our speakers will provide managers with the tools to run a successful team.

11:30 - 12:30 pm: Check-in, Networking, Lunch, and Announcements

12:30-4:30 pm: Workshop Speaker Presentations

Workshop Topics:

"Love as a Business Strategy" with Jeff Ma & Frank Danna
"How To Beat The Performance Review Blues" with Sherri Osterlund
"The Compliance Playlist: The Greatest Hits (and biggest misses) of Workplace Compliance" with Marina Guerra

Interested in becoming a sponsor for this event? We would love to have you join us! Please contact Renee Ethridge, TXBA SHRM's Sponsorship & Marketing Chair, for more details! rethridge@meador.com

November Breakfast Meeting - "A HumAIn First Approach to AI Transformation" with Mohammad Anwar (12 Nov 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 13:30:00 GMT

Thursday, November 12th from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM

14545 Bay Oaks Blvd, Houston, TX 77059

We will meet at Bay Oaks Country Club, where a full breakfast and coffee will be served.

__________________________________________

The Topic:

"A HumAIn First Approach to AI Transformation" with Mohammad Anwar

Artificial Intelligence is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, yet 95% of AI transformations fail—not because organizations chose the wrong technology, but because they ignored the human element. With over 70% of employees fearing AI could displace their roles, leading through technological disruption requires shifting from a tech-first mindset to a people-first strategy.

In this session, Softway CEO Mohammad Anwar shares a practical, experience-driven framework for leading AI transformation through trust, empathy, and psychological

safety. Moving beyond the hype, technical jargon, and vendor-specific tools, this presentation focuses on how leaders can prepare their workforce to embrace AI as a tool for human empowerment rather than a threat to job security.

Participants will explore how AI can be leveraged to eliminate tedious, mechanical tasks and shift organizational value toward essential human "soft skills"—creativity, empathy, connection, and co-creation.

Learning Objectives:

De-escalate Workplace AI Fear: Understand the underlying anxieties driving employee resistance and learn strategies to build a culture of change readiness and psychological safety.
The Soft Skills Pivot: Recognize why AI taking over technical ("hard") skills elevates the value of human-centric skills, and learn how to foster these critical competencies within your team.
The 3-Part Operational Framework: Master a practical approach to evaluating organizational workflows: Eliminate, Automate, and Augment.
People-First AI Strategy: Learn how to design a sustainable AI roadmap that puts culture, values, and governance before software implementation.

Meeting Agenda:

7:30 AM - Check-in / Networking begins
8:00 AM - Breakfast service / Announcements
8:30 AM - Speaker Presentation, followed by Q&A
9:30 AM - End of Session

Re-certification credits are available for this event (1 SHRM PDC; 1 hour HRCI) and will be shared with attendees after the meeting.

Registration:

Guests are always welcome and encouraged to attend our meetings!

For on-site breakfast, networking, and presentation at Bay Oaks:

$38 TXBA SHRM Member
$48 Non-Member / Guest
$20 Student

Speaker Information:

Mohammad F. Anwar
President & CEO, Softway and Culture+
Co-author of the Bestselling Books "Love as a Business Strategy" and “Love as a Change Strategy”

Mohammad is the youngest of five children and was born and raised in Saudi Arabia by Indian parents from Bengaluru. He graduated from the University of Houston (Go, Coogs) with a BS in Computer Science and started Softway at age 20, where he still serves as president and CEO.

Mohammad lives in Sugar Land, Texas, with his amazing wife, Yulia, a Russian diver and five-time Olympic medalist, and his beautiful children, Sufia and Mohsin. In his spare time, he enjoys fitness, watching college sports, and butchering American idioms.

December Monthly Luncheon (10 Dec 2026)

Thu, 10 Dec 2026 17:30:00 GMT

Thursday, December 10th from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

14545 Bay Oaks Blvd, Houston, TX 77059

We will meet at Bay Oaks Country Club and lunch will be served.

The Topic:

Coming soon!

Session Objectives:

Meeting Agenda:

11:30-12:00 Check-in / Networking / Announcements / Lunch
12:00-1:00 Speaker Presentation, followed by Q&A

Registration:

Guests are always welcome and encouraged to attend our meetings!

For on-site luncheon, networking, and presentation at Bay Oaks:

$38 TXBA SHRM Member
$48 Non-Member / Guest
$20 Student

Speaker Information:

Save the Date! TXBA SHRM's Annual Conference 2027 (8 Apr 2027)

Thu, 08 Apr 2027 13:00:00 GMT

We’re excited to announce the 2027 Texas Bay Area SHRM Annual HR Conference!

Thursday, April 8, 2027
Great Wolf Lodge | Webster, TX

This conference will bring together HR professionals, business leaders, and partners from across the Texas Bay Area for a one-day, high-impact learning experience designed to help HR leaders move beyond support and truly drive business forward.

Don't miss out! Early bird rates will end on February 28th.

✨ Schedule Highlights:

7:00 AM - Check-in begins
7:30 AM - Breakfast begins
8:00 AM - Conference begins
4:00 PM - Conference concludes
4:00-6:00 PM - Post-conference happy hour at Great Wolf Lodge

✨ We’re also:

Actively seeking conference sponsors
Welcoming volunteers to serve on conference committees

REGISTRATION

Details coming soon

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Details coming soon

SESSION TOPICS

Details coming soon

EVENT SPONSORS

Sponsorship opportunities are available for organizations looking to connect with engaged HR leaders and decision-makers throughout the Texas Bay Area.
Please contact Renee Ethridge - Sponsorship & Marketing Chair for more information.

VOLUNTEERS

If you would like to help with the conference, please fill out the Volunteer Interest Form.
Once submitted, a member of our conference team will follow up with next steps and additional details.

SHRM FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER: 50/50 RAFFLE

50/50 tickets are payable by CASH ONLY - $1 per ticket OR $5 for 6 tickets
Proceeds are split between the SHRM Foundation for scholarships and the lucky winning ticket-holder! Winner must be present at time of drawing to be eligible.

SILENT AUCTION

If you would like to participate in the silent auction during the event, please bring cash, check, or credit card for payment.

By registering for this event, you grant permission to all the foregoing to use your name, voice and images of yourself in any photographs, motion pictures, results, publications or any other print, videographic or electronic recording of this event for legitimate purposes.