Speakers

Alana M. Burman serves as the Director of Policy, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Mediation (PIM) for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Burman comes to this role with a wealth of social justice and social equity experience centered around mediation, community relations, and policymaking. She is new to PHRC.

Burman's educational accomplishments include a Bachelors of the Arts in Printmaking and Drawing, summa cum laude, obtained from Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts. She also holds a Masters in Developmental and Abnormal Psychology from Rutgers University – New Brunswick, magna cum laude. Additionally, Burman holds a Certificate in State and Local Government from the Eagleton Institute of Government and Politics. She is a member of several academic honor societies and an alumni of multiple educational equity focused fellowships.

Prior to the PHRC, Burman started her career as a public-school English and Art teacher stationed in the Mississippi Delta with Teach for America. After leaving K-12 teaching, she transitioned first to Government, then Public Advocacy and Government Affairs roles with nonprofits. Burman has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children and on the Essex County LGBQTIA+ Advisory Board, both in New Jersey. She enjoys public speaking and volunteering with Seniors and within her Jewish community.

Much of Burman's professional career has been in roles that include advocating for groups who have difficulty being heard in Government and bringing diverse groups of people together to advance common policy goals. She finds fulfillment in her passions at the PHRC with the ability to assist Pennsylvanians and actively work to build policy that advances eradicating discrimination both inside and outside of the Commonwealth. 

Ms. Jessica S. Palatka is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration (DASA) (Acting) for the Department of Commerce (DOC). Formally, Ms. Palatka is the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) and Director of Human Resource Management and a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), responsible for providing leadership, developing policies, and directing programs in all aspects of human resources and human capital management and administration for all bureaus of the DOC, covering nearly 58,000 employees located in all 50 states, every U.S. territory, and more than 88 countries. Ms. Palatka is a member of the Office of Personnel Management Chief Human Capital Officer Council Executive Steering Committee.

Additionally, Ms. Palatka is an Adjunct Associate Professor for the University of Maryland, Global Campus, where she teaches undergraduate courses in Human Resources and Business. 

Ms. Palatka earned a Bachelor of Science cum laude in Management Science and Statistics, Decision and Information Technology in 2000 and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management in 2006 from the University of Maryland. Additionally, she earned a post graduate certificate from Cornell University in Human Resources in 2007. 

Previously, Ms. Palatka served as the Chief of the Human Resources Operations Center (HROC) for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Ms. Palatka also served as a Senior Leader (SL) while working as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) and Director, Human Resources Directorate (HRD) for the National Defense University (NDU). She also served as the Director of Human Capital Strategy for Sustainment for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). 

Ms. Palatka holds the Human Resources Certification Institutes’ (HRCI) certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) license. Ms. Palatka also holds a Level III certification in Life Cycle Logistics, a Level II certification in Program Management, a Level I certification in International Acquisition, and a Green Belt Lean Six Sigma Certification. 

As Head of U.S. Public Sector, Matt leads Zoom’s U.S. Federal, State and Local governments and Education business segments. He has led Zoom for Government during a period of historic growth from launch to ubiquity. Matt’s leadership has allowed Zoom to provide frictionless communication and collaboration capabilities and continuity of operations during a time unprecedented impact to the Federal and Public Sector mission. Matt has over two decades of experience leading Federal and Public Sector units at Extreme Networks, Check Point Software Technologies, and Cisco.