Denese Edsall

DENESE EDSALL --• 1625 N 58th Ave, Hollywood, FL 33021 www.linkedin.com/in/deneseedsall PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CITY OF PLANTATION: Plantation, FL- Director – Human Resources Executive leadership role reporting to the Mayor of a mid-sized municipality shaping and directing the human capital strategy for 900 employees including Police and EMS. Manage the full spectrum of human capital planning, human resource policy, employee relations, compensation, payroll, benefits, talent management, leadership development, recruitment, compliance and labor relations and collective bargaining with 2 unions (FOP & IAFF). Revolutionized Human Resources, shifting it from a supportive role to a key strategic partner in managing human capital. Reorganized the human resources team to enhance efficiency, enhanced HR staffing to effectively meet employee needs. Improved talent strategy by streamlining processes through increased automation. Enhanced use of automation in NeoGov, automating workflows and improving recruitment, talent management, benefits, and other processes. Integral part of negotiation team for labor agreements for 2 unions (Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Fire Fighters). Negotiated the inaugural contract between the City and IAFF as well as successfully negotiated successor agreements for FOP and IAFF which minimized costs and enhanced benefits. Work included repeated conferences with the Mayor and closed sessions with the City Council to determine direction for negotiations. Led the City's wellness initiatives to manage and reduce health care costs. Enhanced wellness initiatives and achieved higher participation in the wellness program. Addressed pay inequity by aligning compensation with market rates, enhancing employee engagement. Managed three compensation studies, using findings to influence Council adoption of new pay structures. Boosted employee engagement by designing and executing targeted engagement events. Showcased events that promoted diversity and inclusion, including celebrations of Black History, Women's History, and Pride, to foster a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture. Expanded event offerings from zero to 22 annually. Built a high performing human resources team. Developed and promoted multiple team members through successive leadership roles both within HR. BROWARD COLLEGE: Davie, FL- Executive Director – Human Resources & Equity -) Associate Vice President – Human Resources -) Promoted to an executive leadership role reporting to the Senior Vice President of a top-ranked state college shaping and directing the human capital strategy for 5,000 employees located at 8 campuses. Manage the full spectrum of human capital planning, human resource policy, employee relations, compensation, benefits, talent management, leadership development, recruitment, compliance and labor relations and collective bargaining with 3 unions (UFF, SEIU & FPE). Collaborate on enterprise strategic planning. Lead a 24-person Human Resources organization. Transformed Human Resources from an administrative function to a strategic human capital partner. Rebuilt team, developed policy, and created customer-driven solutions and tools. Improved organization effectiveness and reduced risk. Built C-level alignment and compliance around formal corrective action policies, increasing accountability and decreasing case response time by 84%. Strengthened talent focus via implementation of robust HRIS platforms. Implemented Workday suite, automating workflows and improving recruitment, talent management, benefits, and other processes. Embedded succession planning as a core component of the leadership dialogue. Sold vision for process, led system implementation, and introduced process through 3 levels of leadership to close talent gaps. Decreased financial impact of workers’ compensation by 70%, reducing premiums and generating $3M in cost savings via creation of successful “back-to-work” programs, incentives, and monitoring protocols. Chief negotiator for labor agreements for 3 unions (Federation of Public Employees, United Faculty of Florida and SEIU). Successfully negotiated over 10 contracts to improve college-union relations, facilitating adoption of new tenure and pay-for-performance rules. Work included repeated conferences with College President and closed sessions with Board of Trustees to determine direction for negotiations. Architected the end-to-end benefits strategy. Led market benchmarks and partnered with brokers to build plans aligned with Broward College’s total rewards strategy. Improved employee engagement by forging alignment between pay and market rates. Managed compensation studies, using findings to influence Trustee adoption of new pay structures. Built a high performing human resources team. Developed and promoted multiple team members through successive leadership roles both within HR and across the college. Associate Vice President – Employee Relations -) Recruited to redesign and lead Broward College’s employee relations function handling the development and administration of policy, investigations, discipline, and EEO reporting and responses. Led the creation of team-based culture and collaborative approaches via leadership on internal change management. Sharpened focus on compliance and inclusion. Decreased risk by conducting an end-to-end policy review and working with leadership to drive adoption of ADA, sexual harassment, and other policies. Developed new employee feedback loops. Influenced change by introducing exit interview processes, leveraging newly captured data to improve employee engagement and elevate the culture. NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: Davie, FL- Adjunct Associate Professor – Behavioral Science Managed the instruction of behavioral science classes for undergraduate students of a private university on a part-time basis. Led lectures and class discussions; assigned and graded assignments, papers, and examinations; and advised and mentored students on an individual basis. CITY OF HOLLYWOOD: Hollywood, FL- Human Resources Manager -) Equal Opportunity Manager -) After managing the handling and resolution of EEO complaints and compliance, promoted to oversee a team responsible for employee relations, labor relations and collective bargaining, training and development, and risk management for a workforce of 2,000 employees. Member of small collective bargaining team. In daily collaboration with Human Resource Director and City Manager to determine director for negotiations as well as participated in closed door sessions with the City Commission. Forged a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach to navigate the city through 5 collective bargaining processes, resulting in win-win agreements and stability. Strengthened service delivery and legal compliance. Led diversity and inclusion training, rewrote sexual harassment processes, and redesigned workers compensation guidelines. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: Davie, FL Doctorate (PhD) in Conflict Analysis and Resolution Dissertation on workplace bullying: definition, causes, management Master of Science (MS) in Conflict Analysis and Resolution WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS: St. Louis, MO Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biology – Merit Scholar NPELRA – NATIONAL PUBLIC EMPLOYER LABOR RELATIONS ASSOCIATION: Oceanside, CA CLRP – NPELRA Certified Labor Relations Professional STATE OF FLORIDA SUPREME COURT: Tallahassee, FL Certified Family Mediator Certification number 7508F TRAINING & SEMINARS attended: Gartner – Digitalizing Higher Education Workshop • Workday Project Manager Training • Community College Conference on Legal Issues • HRABC Workplace Bullying Workshop • Implementing a Diversity Initiative • Akerman LLP Employment Law Seminar • Americans With Disabilities Act TRAINING & SEMINARS lead: Resource Management: Managing Financial Resources, Human Resources and Information Technology • Performance Management Workshop • Legal Side of Supervision • Conflict in the Workplace • Cultural Competency/Diversity • Race Discrimination and Retaliation under Title VII Personal interests include playing the violin, adventure travel, kayaking, reading and serving on the Board of Directors for Bit-by-Bit Therapeutic Horse-Riding Center, Camelot Community Cares Advisory Board and a member of Quota International Service Organization Excellent personal and professional references and publications upon request