Summary

What if the real job of benefits is to remove stress—and create relief—when life happens?

Serena Filson, Vice President of Global Total Rewards and HR Operations at Certara, shares how she architects compensation, benefits, wellness, and HR tech to be both fair and deeply human.

With 25+ years in HR, including taking Certara public in 2020 and leading M&A integrations, Serena explains why structure is an expression of empathy: it enables equity, signals culture, and helps people navigate hard moments with confidence.

She opens up about her own parenting journey—from stepping out of corporate to consulting, to a pivotal missed-Halloween moment stuck overseas—and how modeling flexibility out loud changed how her team shows up.

Expect concrete strategies: upgrading parental leave in the U.S., adding global EAP with childcare concierge, treating “supplemental” benefits as standard, and evaluating programs market-by-market through real parent scenarios.

Serena closes with a practical challenge to leaders: build your “kitchen table” of diverse voices and design systems that truly care.

Timestamps

[00:45] – Guest intro: Serena’s remit at Certara and the architecture of HR

[02:52] – Designing for relief: structure as equity, process, and culture

[06:25] – Global lens: supporting employees through disasters and rapid change

[08:13] – Serena’s parenting journey and identity as a working mom

[11:08] – The missed-Halloween moment in China—and why openness matters

[13:02] – Modeling flexibility out loud to normalize being human at work

[14:33] – Upgrading benefits: parental leave, EAP concierge, and “supplemental” as standard

[27:49] – One piece of advice: build a diverse “kitchen table” for benefit design

Takeaways

- Design for worst-case moments to reduce stress—structure is empathy in action.

- Treat supplemental benefits (legal, pet, critical illness/accident) as standard to compete for talent.

- Elevate parental support: strengthen leave where state protections lag and add global EAP with childcare concierge.

- Evaluate benefits locally and annually for major markets; map scenarios for birth, adoption, and different caregiver paths.

- Model transparency: state needs (“I’m at a PT appointment”) and pair with clear commitments to outcomes.

- Build a diverse internal sounding board so programs reflect real lives—not assumptions.

Sponsor

Parenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. 

Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. 

You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠junokids.com⁠.

Summary

What does people-first leadership look like when most of your workforce can’t work from a laptop? Jason N. Lioy, Chief People Officer at Dawn Foods and member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, leads 3,500 team members across plants, distribution centers, and offices worldwide. He shares how parenting—especially raising a son with special needs—shapes his “lead with heart and ears” philosophy and turns belonging into daily practice. Jason blends empathy with data discipline, from setting personal non-negotiables (like school drop-off) to building role-based flexibility for frontline teams. He details how Dawn achieves 80%+ participation in engagement surveys globally by making them accessible to non-desk workers and acting publicly on the results. He also unpacks how leaders can normalize vulnerability, apply the “oxygen mask” rule, and use listening—not policies—as the foundation for trust. Expect stories, playbooks, and practical steps any people leader can use to better support working parents and build a culture where everyone belongs.

Timestamps

[00:40] – Guest intro: Jason’s path to CPO at Dawn Foods and Parenting at Work’s mission

[02:55] – Non-negotiable: leading with heart so people know you care

[04:45] – A mentor’s legacy: why one CHRO changed Jason’s leadership forever

[07:35] – Parenting’s imprint: special needs, empathy, and adaptable leadership

[12:10] – Belonging in practice: schedule non-negotiables, neurodiversity, and modeling openness

[20:40] – Making vulnerability normal: the “oxygen mask” rule and post-COVID connection

[27:45] – Frontline flexibility: equitable policies, listening first, and positive team member relations

[32:40] – From heart to head: biannual surveys, pulses, 80% participation, and acting on data

Takeaways

- Model vulnerability: share appropriate personal context and open meetings with quick personal check-ins.

- Define role-based flexibility: set clear non-negotiables and find practical give-and-take for frontline schedules.

- Train leaders to “lead with heart and ears”: treat listening and empathy as core operating skills.

- Measure what matters: run biannual engagement surveys with targeted pulses; ensure access for non-desk workers and compensate for time.

- Act on feedback: use comments, skip-levels, and local action plans to close the loop and build trust.

- Live neuroinclusive values: support and hire neurodiverse talent, pair high expectations with the right accommodations.

Parenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. 

Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. 

You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at junokids.com.