Hire A Team Of Seasoned HR Professionals

 As the Founder and CEO of Clearwater HR Consulting, Sarah Chang leads the team having spent almost 20 years in HR. After spending years at large global corporations in HR in aerospace defense and public accounting, Sarah spent the last 10 years in HR consulting helping growing companies manage their people operations during their major inflection points. From lightning  paced tech startups with multiple global acquisitions in a single year to long privately held companies that never had HR for 20 years prior, Sarah has helped numerous companies navigate the challenges to build scalable people organizations with best in class work cultures. This means working hand in hand with C-suite leaders to ensure operational efficiency, financial stability, clear and effective team infrastructure, training effective leaders, efficient org design, and competitive compensation to attract and retain top talent and ensure companies have the best teams to ensure the highest possible top-line revenue. Sarah ensures Clearwater only provides the best HR leaders in the industry for companies that want to thrive in their niche industries. 

 Daniela Stokes is a seasoned professional with over 17 years of corporate experience. A proud military veteran in the industry and having led HR in banking, the public sector, non-profits, construction, and healthcare, Daniela’s passion lies in providing strategic HR support with a human-centric approach, recognizing that people are at the heart of any successful organization. Daniela focuses on a holistic team approach to creating solutions that build organizations focused on long-term retention.  

Mendi Bitner has over 25 years of experience leading HR in both large and small organizations. As a former Chief HR Officer, Mendi has built HR functions and led HR teams many times over across a variety of industries including healthcare, IT, real estate, mental health, retail, eCommerce, and hospitality. From leading HR in teams with over 10,000 employees and helping brand new startups grow from their first employee, Mendi has seen it all. Specializing in building scalable processes for growing teams and providing coaching on employee relations issues, Mendi has a proven track record of helping organizations not only stay compliant across all 50 states but also build enduring people cultures for companies on the fast track. 

Stacey possesses an extensive repertoire of strategic and operational human resources techniques, drawn from her distinguished career spanning more than 20 years in the field. As an accomplished former senior HR executive and current consultant and coach, Stacey’s methods are rooted in client partnership and include a comprehensive approach that integrates both strategic vision and operational excellence. She has extensive experience building scalable HR processes and functions, such as talent acquisition and recruitment systems, performance management frameworks, employee engagement programs, and learning and development initiatives. Her expertise also includes developing DEI strategies, implementing HR technology solutions, ensuring compliance with relevant labor laws and regulations, and guiding organizations through change management. Stacey leverages data-driven insights to inform decision-making, ensuring that HR initiatives are both impactful and measurable.

Motivated by a genuine passion for leadership development, Stacey guides individuals and teams by providing them with the necessary awareness, business tools, and clarity to accelerate business growth, even amid rapid change.

Dana brings over 20 years of strategic human capital leadership, having spearheaded HR functions across fast-paced and high-growth sectors such as non-profit, technology, healthcare, energy, and manufacturing verticals. With a background as a Chief Human Resources Officer and a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders, Dana has crafted a career marked by transformative change and operational excellence.

Her expertise encompasses a broad spectrum of HR disciplines, including AI integrations, strategic leadership development, executive coaching, and mergers and acquisitions. Dana is particularly noted for her ability to craft scalable human capital infrastructures that not only ensure compliance across various regulatory environments but also foster engaging, technology-enhanced corporate cultures. Her initiatives result in significant cost savings and enhanced operational efficiencies, with past projects demonstrating savings in payroll costs and vendor negotiations that dramatically improve the bottom line.
Throughout her career, Dana has built and led human capital teams with a capacity to lead through change, and leverage technology like AI to optimize HR functions and drive strategic growth.

A lifelong learner and leader, Dana holds an MBA from Western Governors University, along with certifications in strategic AI leadership from MIT Sloan School of Business, and professional Senior Professional HR certifications with the Society of Human Resource Managers and the Human Resource Capital Institute.

 Melene DeWilde is a business strategist specializing in the Human Resources discipline for 25 years. Melene has worked with hundreds of corporations from startups to struggling companies trying to gain back their momentum, to successful companies catapulting into their next phase of growth. Her clients’ range from a vast array of diverse industries including software, medical devices, construction, trucking, and hospitality including such brands as Clorox, Treasury Wine Estates, Morimoto’s restaurant brand in the US and abroad, Johnson & Johnson, Salesforce, NVIDIA, Wells Fargo and more. Melene’s extensive knowledge of human resources, operations and strategic business consulting has helped these and other companies in achieving positive ROI’s. Melene holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a SPHR certification (Senior Professional in Human Resources). 

 Maria Gurdian is a seasoned HR leader with over 25 years of experience across multiple industries including hospitality, retail, education, and manufacturing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management. Throughout her career, Maria has demonstrated a successful history of providing hands-on solutions in areas such as strategic planning, talent acquisition, and performance management. She has a proven track record of opening HR departments for companies, facilitating growth from 150 to 450 employees. Maria has also excelled in managing transitions for publicly traded companies acquiring privately held ones, ensuring alignment with the new vision. Her expertise in change management and ability to work with employees at all levels makes her an invaluable asset to any organization. 

Katie Burns has over a decade of experience in corporate finance and human resources. After

having spent the first 8 years in private equity, first as an Asset Manager at Royal Bank of Canada and a Portfolio Manager at KeyBank Debt Capital Markets, Katie found her passion for people in HR through some of her responsibilities while she was a VP at Red Stone Equity Partners. For the last 8 years, she has increased her HR focus through HR consulting. Part of that focus included payroll exclusively for several clients, recruiting for 3 years, and additional HR Generalist work with the Clearwater HR Consulting team.

Ness Dean has over a decade of human resource experience spanning over many industries including healthcare, manufacturing, law, and even the armed forces. She has been HR leadership in both fortune 500 companies as well as for small businesses of less than 60 employees. Her HR leadership and generalist experience have only strengthened her passion for people and further driven her knowledge of the human resource field.   

 Bobby Nath is a seasoned talent acquisition leader with over 15 years of experience in the industry. After starting his career at Deutche Bank, Bobby spent part of his career in dual roles of both HR and talent acquisition, refining his skills in not only finding elite talent but ensuring retention of quality candidates is of the highest priority. After more than six years recruiting for startups and elite talent in Silicon Valley, Bobby thoroughly understands that finding top industry talent takes immense dedication, constantly outreaching to the best talent not currently looking for a job, and helping businesses be competitive in the marketplace beyond just the job posting.