Features March 2023

Nichole Hahn had more than 20 years of experience leading human resources, 16 of them supporting more than 3,000 employees in the government services division of engineering giant AECOM when she was recruited to join Valiant Integrated Services in January 2019.  Her experience made Hahn a good fit for Valiant, which provides services such as […]

One of Juana Gomez’s most vivid childhood memories is of crouching in a field at dawn, shivering, as she picked lettuce with freezing fingertips. Her father was then a farm manager at a lettuce company, and he needed extra help in the fields.  Fast-forward a few years: Gomez, at 16, was still helping at the […]

Jeff Beckmann had a straightforward, comfortable life ahead of him. He was working at the big four accounting firm KPMG, and he was about to be promoted to manager. It was an enviable position; no one could have accused him of settling if he stayed.   But Beckmann couldn’t forget a lesson someone had taught him […]

In 1914, Philadelphia-based Day & Zimmermann designed the machine used to wrap the foil around Hershey’s iconic chocolate Kisses. Just three years earlier, the company had set records hauling the concrete to build the Panama Canal’s Gatun Locks. Then, in the 1930s, it was part of the effort to bring electricity to America’s rural areas.  […]

Chefs often use particular language to describe their work, especially when conversing with their suppliers, teams or others in their specialty. Vegan or farm-to-table chefs tend to use different terms than steakhouse or barbecue-focused chefs.   This parallels the approach Haymarket Media Inc. brings to its target audiences, which are highly specialized. Within the spectrum of […]

From when she was a girl hearing her dad talk about his work arbitrating labor disputes, Laurel Timmins knew she wanted to work in human resources.  But not because she wanted to resolve issues after they occurred—she wanted to help provide solutions while being part of an HR department that’s integral to a company’s operations […]

When Susi Takeuchi was interviewing to be chief human resources officer at UCLA Health, her husband needed a second opinion due to complications from a kidney transplant.  She approached the chair of the UCLA Health search committee, a former kidney transplant surgeon. He referred her husband to Dr. Jeff Veale, who was able to see […]

Chris Lehman grew up watching his father, a Church of the Brethren pastor, following his calling. The younger Lehman, who launched his career as a stockbroker, took longer to find his path. But once he got into human resources, he knew it was special.  “My mom and dad kind of thought I would get into […]

After a geriatric patient undergoes a surgical procedure like a hip replacement, physical therapy is just one part of recovery. The other is growing comfortable with daily tasks, such as dusting or grocery shopping. Since 2014, Jason Bush has been helping the skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities associated with the Diakonos Group offer both types […]

Lawson Horton has worked for Vital Records Control for 25 years, but he didn’t experience his biggest challenge until 2017.  That’s when VRC, which manages and stores paper and electronic files and data for businesses and provides IT consulting services, was acquired by a private equity group.   As senior vice president of human resources, Horton […]