Fortune 500 CHROs Join Parentaly’s Advisory Board, Back Company Reimagining Parental Leave In The Workplace

The Parentaly Team

Sep 29, 2025

Top HR executives sign on as advisors to help advance Parentaly’s mission: to drive business continuity & accelerate productivity during parental leave while delivering a strong employee experience

September 24, 2025 - Parentaly, a leading provider of parental leave career support and business continuity programming, today announced the launch of its CHRO Advisory Board.

The advisory board brings together some of the most respected C-level HR executives in the world, including:

Bevin Desmond - Retired Chief Human Resources Officer, Morningstar
Michael Fraccaro - Former Chief People Officer & Senior Fellow, Mastercard
Suzan Morno-Wade - Former Chief Human Resources Officer, Xerox
Susan Podlogar - Retired Chief Human Resources Officer, MetLife
Kim Sullivan, Chief People Officer, Proofpoint
Tiffany Stevenson - Former Chief People Officer, WeightWatchers

These accomplished HR executives, many of whom are newly retired, are dedicating their time and experience to support Parentaly, underscoring just how urgent and important parental leave business support has become. Their decision reflects a growing recognition that parental leave is not just a personal milestone, but a business-critical transition that directly impacts retention, productivity and leadership pipelines.

Longer paid leaves have become the norm across leading employers, but many companies have yet to fully address the downstream impact. Without formal coverage planning and re-onboarding, research shows parental leave can quietly derail careers, stall team and business performance and drive regrettable attrition.

Parentaly exists to solve that - ensuring companies can offer generous leave while protecting the business outcomes that matter most. This CHRO advisory board will help advance that work at the highest levels of HR and broader C-level leadership.

“Welcoming a new child is one of life’s most profound and joyful milestones. It’s a time filled with excitement, change, and the need for real support - both at home and at work. That’s why having a thoughtful parental leave isn’t just a policy - it’s a reflection of how much we value our people,” said Michael Fraccaro, former Chief People Officer and now Senior Fellow of Mastercard. “Too often, organizations focus on the rules and miss the human side: the guidance, the preparation, and the care that make leave truly work. Parentaly gets this right. Their approach brings together expert planning, compassionate support, and smart tools that help employees feel confident and connected - while also helping companies maintain momentum and build a stronger culture. I’m proud to support their mission and excited to help them grow through my role on the board.”

“With the rise of AI and growing pressure to operate with leaner cost structures, doubling down on retention has never been more critical,” said Tiffany Stevenson, former Chief People Officer at WeightWatchers. “Holding on to top talent requires a long-term view - supporting their success both on and off the court. That means being intentional in how we approach key life moments like parental leave. Parentaly is tackling this head-on with solutions that help companies retain their best people while protecting performance and continuity, which is why I’m proud to join their board.”

Parentaly partners with companies like Atlassian, Zoom, PwC Canada, Hershey’s, Heidrick & Struggles and many others, providing pre-leave coverage planning and transition support, as well as return to work re-onboarding for both new parents and their managers. Their expert career guidance and manager enablement through parental leave ensures leave transitions are properly supported across the business.

As a result of the program, clients report stronger team performance, improved retention/promotions of new parent talent, and dramatically improved employee engagement: 73% of new parents say they’re more likely to stay with their employer because of Parentaly, and 98% of teams report better performance during leave transitions.

“We are thrilled this incredible group of CHROs have joined our advisory board,” said Allison Whalen, Founder and CEO of Parentaly. “These are leaders who have shaped some of the most respected workplaces in the world. Their decision to support Parentaly speaks volumes - not only about the quality of our work, but about the urgency of solving this long-overlooked business problem. Their insights will help accelerate our impact so more companies treat parental leave as a workforce issue worth investing in.”

About Parentaly
Parentaly provides global programming that supports employees and drives business continuity through parental leave transitions. The offering includes 1:1 expert guidance for expecting and returning parents, manager training for people leaders, and a self-serve toolkit to build effective coverage and re-onboarding plans. The program supports both birthing and non-birthing employees across all paths to parenthood - including birth, adoption, surrogacy, and foster care. While longer paid parental leave policies are well-intentioned, they often create unintended challenges - namely career and work disruption - that impact employees, managers and teams. Parentaly helps companies solve these problems with a structured approach that improves retention, reduces risk and ensures smoother transitions. Contact us to learn more.

To celebrate all we’ve accomplished, our team shared what they’re most proud of since joining the team:

I'm most proud of how much we have done to improve the single hardest moment for women's careers (going on parental leave) ... one that is often shrouded in insecurity and fear. We've been able to help advocate for so many women (and men!) in a way that is empowering and truly life-changing.

Allison Whalen, CEO & Founder

What am I most proud of? Growth! Growing a category of support that didn't exist before Parentaly. Growing from a one-woman bootstrapped operation to a global team of 25+ employees and coaches. Growing our overall impact for working parents, with companies investing in our parental leave programming to support employees all over the world. And growing as humans: new babies, new friends, new life experiences... all while tackling new and exciting work challenges together.

Rich Burke, Head of Growth

When I reflect on what I am personally most proud of during my time here, it's working alongside a team where we constantly evolve and optimize everything that we do in order to deliver the best possible experience for the folks going through our programs. It sounds cheesy, but there are processes that my team and I used to do 100% manually that are now completely automated and systems in place that have become second nature to how we operate. Working with such thoughtful, smart, and creative people is incredible.

Sara Ophoff, Senior Program Manager

I’m most proud about doing work that makes parents feel confident and empowered about their careers during a time that can be overwhelming and challenging – not only for our clients and users who go through Parentaly’s programs, but also with our advocacy work on LinkedIn, through our podcast and other big campaigns that make a difference. It’s been pretty rewarding to build a brand people know and love because what we’re doing resonates with so many employees’ experiences in the workforce.

Jenna Vassallo, Head of Brand & Marketing

I am so proud of the way we've approached growth with such care and intentionality - with every adjustment we've made to our offerings, we've never lost sight of our goal to provide the most supportive and valuable experience for our users. I love looking back on the early stages of conversations and building that have led us to the experience we offer today. Personally, I am extremely proud of the work I've done to scale and automate our backend!

Rachel Andes, Program Associate

I am most proud of the work we do every single day to make a positive impact on working parents! Everyday I get to work with an amazing group of people…we work hard but we also have fun.

‍Sarah Gruber, Client Partner

I'm proud of scaling an employee experience that consistently delivers positive outcomes for new parents and their organizations. Our north star has always been the user, and we never sacrifice our high quality bar!

Mansi Kothari, VP of Product & Experience

I feel a sense of pride that I get to work behind the scenes supporting everyone. I’m proud to see all of the collaboration between the team and how Parentaly positively impacts employees.

Leo Manalo, Executive Assistant

I'm most proud of going through the Parentaly program myself! I'm so proud to work for and promote this company in a time where parental leave and supportive policies are at the forefront of a national conversation. But beyond this, I'm most proud to call myself a participant.

Emmy Carragher, Enterprise Partnerships

I’m really proud of the work I did to expand our coaching bench globally at Parentaly. It was so rewarding, not to mention insightful, to connect with talented coaches from around the globe. This expansion not only enriched our coaching offerings but also strengthened our commitment to making a meaningful impact on families all over the world.

‍Nicole Hagemann-Bex, Senior Coaching Operations Manager

I have tremendous pride in the knowledge that what I am doing will change the career landscape for new parents, particularly mothers. This will make it more likely that my daughter can have a career AND a family without worrying about the unintentional negative impact of taking parental leave. Nothing makes me prouder than that.

Mindy Himmel-Brown, Strategic Partnerships

In my short time at Parentaly, I'm proudest of the work we're doing with our clients' ERG groups to elevate the stories and advice of actual working parents. It's such an impactful way to spread the word about Parentaly as an essential resource for all people growing their families, and the managers who support them!

Alex Diskin, Enterprise Account Manager

I'm most proud about using LinkedIn to connect with others. I was recently able to share a helpful return to work doc with 50+ new people looking to make a difference at their company. Was pretty cool that people from Chewy, McDonald's, Honda, Cisco, AWS, Walmart and more want to integrate just a piece of what we have to offer. Also...I'm so proud of the way I feel as an employee at Parentaly. For the first time in my career my personal interests align with my professional interests and I've never felt more motivated.

Jenny Hurwitz, Strategic Partnerships

I'm really proud of being able to help the Experience team by handling the supportive functions so they can focus on the bigger picture. It feels great to know that I’m making things easier for them and contributing to the team’s success.

James Mango, Executive Assistant

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