Through my engagement and volunteerism, I have gained valuable knowledge and experience and have built a network of HR professionals that reaches into multiple countries. I am dedicated to using my experiences and network to put great HR people to work!

For two decades, I have held corporate recruiting and HR roles, and I have been an active member and volunteer with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Twin Cities Human Resource Association (TCHRA). I held several board roles with TCHRA, including President and Past President. 

My human resources and talent acquisition career has spanned across the hospitality, not-for profit, financial services and manufacturing industries and includes publicly and privately held organizations, as well as Fortune 500 companies. 

Director-Elect
Jewel Thurman, SHRM-SCP, SPHR
Connect with Jewel on LinkedIn

Name: Jewel Thurman

Number of Years as a SHRM Volunteer: 15

Home Chapter: Hiawatha Valley SHRM Chapter  

Role (Volunteer): Director Elect

Paid Position and Employer: Human Resources Manager for the City of Red Wing

Leader who Inspired You:  My Grandma Boyum was a successful small business owner who was inspirational with her work ethic and her love of travel as a reward for her hard work. 

Past-Director
Jamie Janezich
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My position at Minnesota State as the HR Service Center Manager is to help administer a systemwide effort to develop a shared services model with common business practices for HR transactional delivery. The overall goals are to create consistent practices and deliver high quality service, mitigate risks & and reduce errors thus creating efficiencies in the statewide Transactional HR Services to Minnesota State Employees.

Treasurer
Christina Hogan
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Christina is the Vice President of V-TEK, Inc. where she plays a key role in the company’s overall performance, leading organizational strategy, promoting operational effectiveness and elevating company performance through innovative leadership. As the Vice President she has corporate oversight of Human Resources, Marketing, Customer Service, Facility Management, Field Service, Safety and Quality, in this role she is responsible for leading the internal processes for promoting and ensuring V-TEK’s compliance with laws, regulations, company policies and contracts, risk management and strategic workforce planning.

Christina has extensive experience leading organizational transformations, driving large scale growth, talent acquisition and retention, leadership development, regulatory compliance and customer management, utilizing her experience she has been a volunteer with SHRM for over 10 years serving in multiple roles at her home chapter SMAHRA located in Mankato, most recently as Chapter President for 2 years.

Christina received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations with an emphasis on Conflict Management & Negations from Minnesota State University, Mankato and is currently completing her MBA. 

Membership Director
Donna Richardson 
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Number of years volunteered for SHRM:  6 years

Home chapter:  North Star SHRM

Role: Membership Director State Council & Communication Director Home Chapter

Paid Position:  Owner/HR Consultant Guiding Strategies LLC  

Leader Who Inspired Me: Don Supalla, President of Rochester Community & Technical College and my teacher while I was there. He inspired me to step out and step up and he gave me the confidence to share my voice and lead others.

Executive Director
Christine Strak, MA, CMP
Connect with Christine on LinkedIn

If we’ve ever met, you will know within 3 minutes how much I love what I do, I am blessed to work with a select group of clients and how my clients’ happiness means the world the world to me. 

That’s how I feel about MNSHRM. I have been blessed to be the Executive Director of MNSHRM since 2016 and this is truly a fantastic group of people. The leadership team is comprised of top-talent individuals who have a passion for their industry and are so willing to share their time and expertise with the HR community.

As the Executive Director, I utilize my skills and experience to manage the daily operations of the growing organization. I am a graduate of Crown College where I received my Masters in Organizational Leadership and have since received my Certified Meeting Planner credentials.

Please feel free to contact me at any time - I look forward to serving you!

Ali McGinty, MHRM, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Connect with Ali on LinkedIn
I love what I do! I find energy in working with managers and employees to help develop, retain and grow talent from recruiting, on-boarding, and guidance, to career development and management. Some might say that I have a unique approach to HR because not only can I get into the weeds of compliance and best practices, but I love developing big-picture strategy!

I have a strong passion for human resources, business, and operations. I'm a continuous learner who seeks to challenge the status quo to meet business objectives. My passion is working with people from all levels of the organization and helping them meet their goals - professionally and personally. I started my career in human resources in the retail industry, moved into software and then consulting where I have exposure to numerous businesses on a daily basis. My energy and excitement is evident to those who meet me. I'm not the "typical" HR - I'm a true business partner and advocate for the employer and the employers. Past objectives and projects include, but are not limited to: career development mentoring programs; new hire onboarding training and mentoring; pipeline development and active recruiting; payroll and benefits administration; manager and employee training; customer success and strategy; culture change; employee well-being and engagement; handbook reviews and development; HR compliance; mentoring HR professionals; account management; working with multi-state employers, servant leadership; performance management, training and development; and employee relations.