Nonprofit HR Staff Story

Samantha L. Justice, PHR, SHRM-CP, CPCC, ACC

What attracted you to Nonprofit HR? Before joining Nonprofit HR, I’d always been curious about being a consultant since I’d only ever worked as an in-house HR professional. I imagined I’d have more autonomy with how I go about my work in support of my client – I was exactly right. Also important: I was drawn to the “feel good” nature of working with nonprofits. What’s your favorite aspect of talent management? My favorite aspect is connecting with & motivating nonprofit leaders, who truly set the tone of the organization. It’s also the reason why I pursued training and certification as a leadership & executive coach. Every leader has strengths and weaknesses and I just appreciate being able to connect with them – and their staff – on a human level. What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now and why? Helping the leadership team at one of my clients with turning their staff’s low morale around and getting everyone re-engaged. We’re supporting staff retreats, more interactive staff meetings, re-educating the team on how compensation decisions are made and on the benefits they can access, and we’re creatively revamping the organization’s policies. Minds are open and the possibilities are endless. It’s a feeling similar to what I experienced as a kid whenever I opened fresh tubs of Play-Doh! “I wake up every day with a heart full of gratitude and learned the importance of this from the women in my family (and my father). They are some of the most peaceful and serene people one would ever meet, so I was determined to learn their secret growing up.”

How do you see HR changing in the 5-10 years?

Technology will help turn our talent management ideas into viable, tangible techniques that we can assess and implement much more quickly. That will apply to so many different functions of HR.

What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
My parents and I would take a week-long beach vacation each summer and various family members would join us including my fun, wise-cracking grandmother. We’d go sometime around my July birthday so there was always a celebration and/or surprises in store. I never knew who was going to show up!

Those trips hold some of my best childhood memories, including how I learned to swim, eat obsessive amounts of ice cream and how to crack crab legs using my teeth (mallets are unnecessary!)

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“In your most stressful moments at work, home or anywhere else, focus on the end goal, do right by others along the way and don’t miss the lessons to be learned in the process.”

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What’s a fun fact about you?
I’m a portrait photographer and have loved the art since I was a teenager. Truly, I love capturing people’s real expressions and authenticity.

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Samantha L. Justice joined Nonprofit HR’s Outsourcing practice in 2013, bringing with her several years’ HR generalist experience. Building upon those years, Samantha is now a creative thought partner in her consulting approach; she supports her clients not only through the essentials of labor law compliance, workforce planning and navigating employee relations, but also through the development of recruiting and onboarding strategies, assessments of health benefit and compensation equity and with managing employee performance and development. Read Samantha’s full bio.

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Browse more staff stories in our archive.