SHRM CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Appointed Chairman of LifeGuides® Social Impact Council

TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeGuides^® announced today that Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., the President and CEO of SHRM, has joined LifeGuides' Social Impact Council as Chairman. The Social Impact Council will help to advance outcomes for employees participating in LifeGuides Peer Mentoring Services by leveraging his experience in human resources and all things work, worker and the workplace.

For over 75 years, SHRM has remained the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. Together, the two organizations will aim to impact the lives of workers and families, which are designed to: uplift mental fitness, enhance "peak life performance" across all of life, serve underserved and hard-to-serve populations, support corporations conducting "Business as a Force for Good," and accelerate empathetic connection leading to compassionate action in society.

"As a single father with a daughter entering the pre-teen stage, I am constantly in uncharted territory and was recently met with a particular parenting challenge. It was suggested that I turn to someone who had experienced the exact same situation via LifeGuides. Having access to someone – who had recently navigated the sensitive issues we were discussing at home – represented a whole new level of benefit offering. I am honored to help connect others with this revolutionary service and employee benefit" shared Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. 

The Social Impact Council was built to nurture collaboration with innovative non-profit partners and humanitarian relief organizations to magnify positive outcomes of LifeGuides Model, which matches an individual who has successfully navigated a specific life experience to a person facing that same life event today.

Derek Lundsten, President & Chief Culture Officer at LifeGuides, shared: "Johnny is one of the most trusted and respected leaders in the HR world, previously serving in executive leadership roles for over 20 years, and serving as a mentor to all levels of employees. Our teamwork is perfectly timed and will scale positive outcomes for humanity, the future of HR, and the future of work. We look forward to this impactful journey ahead as we build the largest accelerator of empathetic connection to transform organizations, communities and families across the globe."

LifeGuides' Peer Mentoring Services are designed to uplift mental fitness, enhance peak life performance, and support corporations conducting business as a "Force for Good."  The diverse Guides Community shares life experiences and compassionate connections across 400 life events to support the broadest range of employees in their journeys of wellbeing and lifelong learning.

Mark Donohue, Founder & CEO, stated: "Johnny is an authentic leader in deepening empathy and compassionate action within employers worldwide. With his leadership to advance LifeGuides now, we can radically accelerate the impact of our peer-to-peer model, which is modernizing the timeless wisdom of mentoring for personal and professional growth."

"Empathy without enterprise-wide scalability and equal access is not enough. The Peer-to-Peer model of mentorship is common sense and is foundational to human wellbeing. I'm excited to join LifeGuides' advisory council that leverages insightful tools that inspire compassionate action, and make the world of work a better place," Taylor affirmed.

About Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.:

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. Recently named one of the "Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy" in our nation's Capital by the Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor's career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer and an executive, serving at IAC, Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, among other organizations. He is a Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of Miami; a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees; Independent Director of the Flores & Associates corporate board and a member of the corporate boards of Guild Education, and XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO). He previously served as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. Mr. Taylor is a weekly contributor to USA Today, a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and a SHRM Certified Professional.

About SHRM:

SHRM creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. With nearly 325,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally. Learn more at SHRM.org.

About LifeGuides:

LifeGuides^® redefines the Peer-to-Peer learning model of mentorship. The platform offers a community of trained, Certified LifeGuides^®, who provide life guidance in 400+ topics of Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth, Mental Fitness and Life Challenges. These services fill a startling gap and need for personalized human support - within corporate benefits and behavioral health.

The Guides Community provides "Life Experience On-Demand," within a UX that has similarities to a combination of Match.com and Zoom. LifeGuides^® provides a human-centered platform to match employees, or their adult family members, who are going through a specific life event, with trained Guides who have successfully navigated the same or a similar life experience. During one-to-one sessions, a Member receives emotional support, useful life experience and an authentic relationship. Members love their Guides and rebook rates exceed 85%. Through the HIPAA compliant platform, services integrate, and cross refer, with other benefit offerings, so that each service can excel in its area of unique value - such as with other providers in: clinical therapy, crisis & addiction, and executive coaching. Employees have the ability to interact with Guides through a call, video chat, text, plus through personalized content collections.

As one member stated: "More casual than therapy, more qualified than a Friend™"

LifeGuides^® mission is to grow a platform and community to modernize the power of Peer-to-Peer mentorship to share life experience, wisdom and empathy. The goal is to positively impact the lives of 1 Billion people within 15 years.

For more information, please contact Amy Klewiec at [email protected].

SOURCE LifeGuides