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

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/⁠ Connect with us on social: Site: ⁠http://www.wrkdefined.com⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/⁠ Twitter (X): ⁠https://twitter.com/WRKdefined⁠ Substack: ⁠https://wrkdefined.substack.com/