HR Management Advisory Board

Bradley D. Davidson, Ph.D

Director of Executive Coaching and Development, The Hartford Financial Services Group

Dr. Davidson joined The Hartford in 2002. As the director of executive coaching and development, he coaches the company’s senior executives and is responsible for executive development. Dr. Davidson has been with The Hartford since 2002. Prior to The Hartford, he served in a variety of human resources roles with AOL and The Cendant Corporation. Dr. Davidson earned a doctorate in leadership studies from Johnson University, a Master of Science in industrial and organizational psychology from Kansas State University and a Bachelor of Science in management of human resources from Southern Nazarene University. Dr. Davidson has also earned a graduate certificate in executive and professional coaching from The Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas. He holds the senior-most HR certifications from the Society of Human Resource Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute. He is also a credentialed coach with the International Coach Federation.

Matt Bailey

Senior Recruiter, Mammoth Energy Services

Matt began his professional career in operations working for United Parcel Services and transitioned into recruiting in the Oklahoma City market. He continued his efforts by transitioning into corporate recruiting for APMEX where he recruited for Accounting & Finance, Merchandising, Marketing & Sales. He currently recruits for Mammoth Energy Services supporting industries such as Oilfield Services, Utilities & Infrastructure, Trucking & Logistics as well as Corporate Accounting and Finance.

Melanie Thompson

Vice President, Mosaic Personnel

Melanie has devoted the last 30 years of her career to providing staffing solutions to clients across the U.S. in many different industries – including banking, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, oil and gas, distribution and contact centers. Her successful partnerships have been based on getting to know the client, the company, their industry and local markets. This approach provides the best opportunity for success for the clients, candidates and talent acquisition teams. Melanie spent 18 years in recruiting and management positions with Manpower, a global company based in Mikwaukee, Wisconsin. She served as vice president, then president of HLP Solutions, a specialty recruiting firm based in Dallas, Texas from 2006-2014 before joining Principal Technologies as vice president in 2014.

Melanie has a particular passion for human resources and obtained the Senior Professional Human Resource Management certification in 2007. Melanie is a strong believer in continuing education, networking and volunteerism in local communities and regularly promotes these opportunities to her staff, clients and professional colleagues.

She currently serves on the Human Resources Committee and Board of Directors for the YWCA of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Baptist University Paul Dickinson College of Business Board of Executives and the University of Central Oklahoma HR Advisory Board. In 2010, Melanie was nominated for the Oklahoma City Human Resources Society HR Champion award. In 2011, Melanie was recognized by the Oklahoma HR State Council for excellence in human resource management. In 2016, Melanie was recognized with the HR Legend Award from the Oklahoma City Human Resources Society.

Rachel Karn

HCM Services Manager, Paycom

Rachel Karn serves as Paycom’s HCM Services Manager. During her more than eight years working in service departments at Paycom, she has helped innovate solutions to increase productivity and create more efficient ways to serve its clients. Currently managing a department of more than 200 team members, her passion for leadership aids in delivering the gold standard of customer service while ensuring customers are implemented on the human capital management platform using the business best practices. In her free time, Rachel, a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, enjoys planning outdoor adventures with her husband and three children, diving into a good book, working on her most recent craft project, or hosting family events in her Oklahoma City home.

Summer Aupetit

HR Consultant, Farmers Insurance 

Summer Aupetit has more than 15 years of HR experience, including five years as a recruiter and five years as a generalist. She currently works as an HR Consultant at Farmers Insurance. In this role, Aupetit is able to partner with business leaders to drive an engaged workforce by consulting in matters of employee relations, compensation, performance management, talent, and change management.

Aupetit graduated from UCO with a degree in HR Management in 2013. 

Tracey Hixon

Director of Human Resources, Nextep

Tracey joined Nextep in 2005. Her focus is predominantly on initiatives that foster high performance teams, employee engagement and leadership development. She is actively involved in the human resources community speaking at local universities, workshops and in organizations to promote human resources best practices. She has served as the college relations advisor for the Sooner HR Society in Norman, helping students connect with professionals, and is now serving on the OCHRS Senior HR Business Leaders Council. She is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, has certifications in DISC behavioral assessments and holds professional certifications in Human Resources, PHR and SHRM-CP.

Whittney Hood

Director of Human Resources and Corporate Compliance, Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ)

Whittney has 10 years of human resources administration and strategic communication experience, and building employee-focused, balanced corporate cultures. Whittney’s expertise includes change management, employee engagement, recruitment and selection, benefits administration, performance and compensation analysis, training and employee relations. Whittney is a member of the Dress for Success – Oklahoma City Board of Directors, a non-profit organization assisting disadvantaged populations in Oklahoma City with career mentoring and employment counseling.

Whittney graduated from The University of Oklahoma with degrees in public relations and business administration and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma. Whittney is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (both SPHR and SHRM-SCP).