Recorded live from the isolved booth at SHRM 2025 in San Diego, this episode brings a burst of spontaneity and soul with guest Sabrina S Sakhrani from Merch.com. What starts as a casual riff on cities, nightlife, and favorite TV shows quickly turns into a deeper conversation on transformation, empathy, and identity.
Sabrina shares how she went from painfully shy to confidently appearing live on TV during COVID—then drops a twist about an ex-boyfriend calling in while she was on air. Her take on empathy as both a strength and a challenge hits a nerve, and her belief in astrological compatibility makes for one of the most entertaining detours of the conference.
This one’s part career, part chaos—and completely unforgettable.
Timestamps
00:00 — William and Ryan kick off live from SHRM 2025
00:45 — Sabrina joins and the Vegas vs. Atlanta debate begins
01:50 — Why Atlanta beats LA for food, fun, and affordability
02:52 — The origin of “Sabrina S” and a Hong Kong birth certificate mix-up
03:22 — Working in business development at Merch.com (not Match.com)
04:07 — What a “people hero” means to Sabrina
04:39 — Her TV debut during COVID and how it changed her confidence
07:02 — A live caller twist: her ex-boyfriend crashes the show
08:09 — From shy boarding school kid to confident speaker
08:55 — Sabrina’s superpower is empathy—to a fault
10:21 — Astrology deep dive: sun, moon, rising, and dating compatibility
13:53 — Why she loves Atlanta (and why her Sagittarius is secretly obsessed)
15:59 — Wrapping up with laughs, gratitude, and one unforgettable conversation
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/
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