Category: Faces of HR

Faces of HR profiles members of the human resources community, sharing their personal experiences, successes, challenges, current practices, aspirations, and opinions on topics impacting the industry and its workforce.

Faces of HR: Niki Hruskocy Talks Intentionality & Paying Attention to the Details

While in undergraduate school, Niki Hruskocy thought she wanted a career in hotel management. However, after a few internships at hotels she realized one crucial thing: they never close. After four years of college and several internships, Hruskocy wasn’t sure what she’d do next. It wasn’t until she took a recruitment job with a small […]

Faces of HR: Kristen Kenny on Empathy, Building Culture & Instilling Values

In undergrad, Kristen Kenny studied teaching and business management. She was still considering her options one summer when she started working as a Recruiting Coordinator at Fidelity Investments. Although she had found the role via a temp agency, Kenny would soon find out that there was nothing temporary about her serving in HR. Suffice it […]

Faces of HR: Donna Flynn on Reimaging Work & the Employee Experience

Donna Flynn never imagined that she would call herself a designer. At the time, she had earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University. Prior to that, she had not only received a B.A. in Anthropology/African and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Colorado but was also a Fulbright Scholar. Flynn would go on to […]

Faces of HR: Sharell Thomas-Hodge on the Value of Intentional Relationship Building & Buy-in

Sharell Thomas-Hodge is an accomplished HR leader with more than 20 years of experience. She got her start in retail, serving as a HR manager for Target. At the time, she was responsible for the management of all HR functions at her location and, according to Thomas-Hodge, was “instrumental in the successful opening of a […]

Faces of HR: Holly Grogan Talks Building Empowered Teams, Positive Workspaces & Leading with Empathy

For more than 20 years, Holly Grogan has worked in a myriad of Human Resources (HR) roles with the goal of driving growth and profitability through strategic employee initiatives. While her first job out of undergrad was in recruiting, Grogan has spent majority of her career specializing in creating and building HR and talent strategies […]

Faces of HR: How One HR Pro Navigates the Muddy Waters of HR to Create Positive Possibilities

Although Cassandra Margolin has worked in the HR industry for nearly a decade, she didn’t find her true passion for the field until five years ago. At the time, she was working for high growth, quickly scaling, start-up tech companies. According to Margolin, her growth was slow and steady until she segued into the tech […]

Faces of HR: Erin Dertouzos on the Value of Pivoting, Psychological Safety and Probity

Meet Erin Dertouzos, Chief People Officer at strongDM – a people-first access platform that gives technical staff access to the infrastructure they need to be productive. Erin believes that recruitment is about having the right people in the right roles at the right time and leaders are responsible for creating a North Star with clear […]

Faces of HR: Gianna Driver on a Passion for People, Purpose & Power

Gianna Driver doesn’t think of herself as a quote unquote human resources (HR) person. She thinks of herself as a businessperson who does HR. Driver started her career working in corporate insurance and then pivoted, taking a role at a small startup. Not long after, she gravitated toward many of the functions in HR. “I […]

Faces of HR: Mona Dine on the Power of a Purposeful Approach to HR

Mona Dine, PCC, SPHR, SCP, ODCP, is an accomplished Human Resources (HR) leader with more than 20 years of experience. She got her start in operations leadership at National Bankcard Corporation and then segued into HR. From there, her career evolved as she took on increasingly complex and broader roles – including senior level HR […]

Best of Faces of HR 2022

HR Daily Advisor‘s Faces of HR column is a weekly series, profiling the amazing work being done by members throughout the HR community. Not only do we take a closer look at the successes, challenges, aspirations, and opinions of HR professionals, but we also share personal experiences providing a bit more insight into each individual. This year, […]