Debbie is a 30-year Human Resources consulting professional. She is driven to ensure government classification and compensation systems reflect an agency’s operational goals and objectives and are administered fairly and equitably for all employees.
She began her career in the private sector and later transitioned to the public sector. She began her consulting career as a Project Consultant supporting classification and compensation projects and then moved into a Project Manager role. Her work with a diverse range of local government organizations, both large and small, in California and other states involved strategies and methodologies for evaluating, designing, and developing classification and compensation systems, along with associated deliverables that clients ultimately manage and administer. As a Project Manager, prior to beginning work, she was responsible for gathering data from Human Resources and client management to evaluate “what’s working/what’s not working” with either system, always bearing in mind that any recommendations made in the study may impact other human resources programs including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, training, and development. For study deliverables, analyses, and reports, she was responsible for ensuring the study process was followed and that the work of project teams met professional standards by conducting a rigorous quality control review.
Working with public sector clients involves a high degree of scrutiny in the process and study deliverables from multiple stakeholders, which may include Human Resources, governing boards, study committees, management, employees, and labor groups. Debbie advocates for client self-sufficiency once the project is complete by encouraging Human Resources staff involvement in the study process to the extent the client deems possible. She has worked with colleagues to develop consultant training in classification and compensation, and when requested by clients, prepares and delivers training programs specific to their systems.
Debbie has also presented on the methodologies, principles, and practices of classification and compensation programs at various conferences. In 1993, Debbie achieved Certification as a Compensation Professional (CCP) from WorldatWork (previously the American Compensation Association); she continues to maintain this certification and membership in WorldatWork to stay current with compensation practices in the public and private sectors. Earlier in her career, she completed a number of UC Davis extension programs in Human Resources Management, including those related to employment laws and labor relations practices.
