Live from the isolved booth at SHRM 2025 in San Diego, William Tincup and Ryan Leary sit down with two sharp, grounded HR pros who lead with both heart and action. Angela Carranza, Controller at NEOpal, and Vilma Brager, Co-founder and CEO of Insight HR Consulting, bring real stories of trust, empathy, and courageous leadership into the spotlight.

Angela talks through how auditing a forgotten PTO error helped an employee feel truly seen—and what that small act says about leading with care. Vilma shares how showing up for an employee during a personal crisis became a defining moment in her career. They both weigh in on what it means to be a “people hero”—and why performative leadership doesn’t cut it anymore. This one’s honest, unscripted, and packed with human-first insight.

Timestamps

00:00 — Live at the isolved booth in San Diego

00:44 — Meet Angela Carranza and Vilma Brager

01:15 — What’s your HR superpower?

02:01 — Vilma on the power of difficult conversations

03:08 — Angela shares why empathy guides her leadership

04:00 — Sympathy vs empathy: how leaders get it wrong

05:21 — Defining “people heroes” in the HR world

06:04 — What it looks like when leaders roll up their sleeves

07:18 — Performative leadership vs authentic action

08:29 — Ryan shares a powerful CEO story from Kenexa

09:40 — Angela’s story: fixing a long-missed vacation accrual

10:58 — “I feel seen”: when small actions make a big impact

11:18 — Vilma on holding space for mental health before it was common

12:46 — Helping employees access resources with compassion

13:29 — Pre-COVID mental health stigma and how far we’ve come

13:56 — Final laughs and a mission to find the Aflac duck

This episode was recorded live with isolved at the SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego.

The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.

Learn more about isolved: ⁠https://www.isolvedhcm.com/⁠

Connect with Us:

William Tincup LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/⁠
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/⁠

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Leaders who show up: Angela Carranza and Vilma Brager on real HR courage and empathy

Leaders who show up: Angela Carranza and Vilma Brager on real HR courage and empathy

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