Past Projects

One thing that makes my heart happy is when the CEO prioritizes the employees and the CFO allocates funds for some truly innovative programs. I got to co-build, lead, and maintain an award-winning workplace. During my tenure, I got to us to #1 place in Best Places to work in SoCal. Second place for Best Places to Work in San Diego and #2 spot for Best Places to Work in FinTech. Other places, I've done GPTW and various wellness awards. 

It is rare that you have an opportunity to do a complete overhaul of the compensation and benefit plans. However, in preparation of divesting Ashford University (AU) from Zovio (fka Bridgepoint Education), AU converted from a for-profit university to a not-for-profit university. With this change, we put in new comp and benefits plans and programs that are aligned to the not-for-profit higher education sector. This included things like a new comp philosophy, retirement plan match and vesting schedule, STI, LTI pay, perks, and remote workforce philosophy. 

I've had the pleasure of working on quite a few acquisitions as well as spin-offs and mergers. 

What you don't see here are all the companies that I've done due diligence on that did not come to fruition. Below are some examples:

• Zovio spins off Ashford University and sells to University of Arizona. 
• Rady Children's acquires Scripps' NICU and Allergy & Asthma Group
• Ascent Funding acquires Ampersand and College Confidential and more.

Implemented an Incentive Stock Options (ISO) and Non-qualified Stock Options (NSOs) plans for a start-up company. Conducted a full compensation review of all employees, which included base, bonus, and LTI pay. Provided recommendations on options granted by role type and level.

Not publicly traded, but want to step-up your Long-Term Incentives (LTI) game? Consider implementing a phantom equity plan. 

I've implemented and maintained several plans. I can help you choose the right Equity Management Platform (i.e. Carta) for you, plan doc attorney and comp tools to put together a relevant and valuable plan that incentives your employees to grow the company.

Did you get a scary notice from the Department of Labor that they have selected your plan for audit? Not the kind of lucky letter you want, trust me. 

I've been through several of these and can help you through the enitre process from start to finish, including doing a full mock audit to identify your errors before the DOL does. 

Strategically aligned the organization's current workforce with their future needs to meet business objectives. This included: 

• Hiring new employees
• Upskilling or reskilling the existing workforce
• Implementing succession plans
• Improving employee retention
• Adjusting staffing levels, including reduction in force (RIFs)

I've worked on many HRIS/ERP implementations over the years, but recently implemented Workday. I also did configurations for the following within the HCM side of Workday:

• Benefits, including open enrollment
• Compensation, including bonus runs
• Talent Mgt/Learning Development
• LOAs/Time Off
• Report writing and more

While I cannot share details, I can share that I've conducted many sensitive workplace investigations involving executive conduct, harassment, theft, workplace threats, and other high-risk employee relations matters. 

My undergraduate degree is in Criminology, and I briefly worked at my local county DA's office before transitioning to Human Resources. This experience has helped me with conducting fair and defensible investigations over the years.