Katherine Zager
West Hartford,CT
Summary
Human Resources professional with eleven years of experience in the non-profit and public sectors. Kind, compassionate, and committed to fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Human Resources Manager
Windsor Public Schools
Windsor, CT
09.2023 - Current
- Managed full-cycle HR operations for certified and non-certified employees, including recruitment, onboarding, transfers, and offboarding.
- Oversaw personnel record management, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and compliance with state and federal regulations.
- Served as district lead for teacher certification, maintaining certification databases, ensuring compliance, and coordinating with state education agencies.
- Prepared and submitted state and federal reports, including CRDC, EDS, and OSHA reporting.
- Supported and participated in collective bargaining, grievance administration, and other labor relations matters.
- Oversaw salary advancement, tuition reimbursement, and credential verification processes in accordance with collective bargaining agreements.
- Provided strategic and operational HR support to executive leadership, utilizing strong communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Managed employee relations, grievance resolution, and workplace investigations, ensuring compliance with district policies, employment laws, and collective bargaining agreements.
Senior Personnel Analyst
Town of West Hartford
West Hartford, CT
06.2022 - 09.2023
- Administer town pension plan: enroll and orient new hires to retirement benefits, calculate pension benefits, process pension payroll and staff Pension Board.
- Support the transition from manual calculations to cloud-based actuarial retirement calculator.
Human Resources Specialist
West Hartford Public Schools
West Hartford, CT
04.2019 - 06.2022
- Work closely with school principals and department supervisors to continuously hire and onboard all teaching assistants and tutors; process resignations and leaves of absence.
- Manage substitute teacher program: process payroll, interview, hire and orient substitutes, respond appropriately to complaints, monitor and address staffing emergencies, ensure compliance with state law and district standards, advertise and track attendance incentives.
- Organize review process of all non-tenured teachers annually; manage data and produce accurate lists for this purpose.
- Respond to workers' compensation claims.
Human Resources Manager
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation
Hartford, CT
03.2016 - 03.2019
- Responsible for all human resources functions of 65-person nonprofit organization, including hiring and onboarding, investigations, terminations, unemployment claims and hearings. Worked with legal counsel to respond to challenging employee situations thoughtfully and judiciously.
- Assisted with multiple rounds of layoffs due to funding shortages.
- Oversaw HR aspects of merger with 30-person organization My Sisters' Place and establishment of umbrella organization Community Housing Advocates, Inc.
Grant Writer
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation
Hartford, CT
05.2015 - 03.2016
- Prepared and submitted grant applications to corporate organizations and private foundations to solicit grant money for organization.
- Wrote and submitted grant reports as requested.
- Obtained pertinent organizational financial reports and other data to support grant applications and funding proposals.
Assistant to the Executive Director
Friends Committee On National Legislation
Washington, DC
06.2011 - 05.2015
- Arranged development-related and other travel for executive director, including communicating with major donors to plan fundraising visits, international flights, hotels, car rentals.
- Managed annual application/interview process for competitive fellowship program.
- Produced detailed quarterly report for executive board, with content gathered from colleagues in all departments.
- Scheduled meetings, screened calls, managed email for executive director; processed travel expenses and reimbursements.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Cultural Anthropology
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr, PASkills
- Training and mentoring
- Records management
- HR policies and procedures
- Employee relations
- Recruitment and hiring
- Effective communication
- Organizational skills
- Benefits administration
- Legal compliance
- Leave administration
Certification
SHRM-SCP
Languages
Spanish
Limited Working
Timeline
Human Resources Manager
Windsor Public Schools
09.2023 - Current
Senior Personnel Analyst
Town of West Hartford
06.2022 - 09.2023
Human Resources Specialist
West Hartford Public Schools
04.2019 - 06.2022
Human Resources Manager
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation
03.2016 - 03.2019
Grant Writer
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation
05.2015 - 03.2016
Assistant to the Executive Director
Friends Committee On National Legislation
06.2011 - 05.2015
Bachelor of Arts - Cultural Anthropology
Bryn Mawr College