Emily Ellison grew up in Northern Nevada and is a proud graduate of McQueen High School and the University of Nevada, Reno.
Her career in Human Resources began at Hire Dynamics in 2003 when she was hired as a Retention Specialist, focused on helping the firm’s clients understand employee turnover and implement solutions to improve employee retention. Since then her career has included a variety of HR and leadership roles and throughout she and her teams have been successful in building strong organizational cultures and consistently delivering operational and financial results. She is proud to have led an organization that was recognized six years in a row as one of Northern Nevada’s Best Places to Work.
Emily joined the Human Resources team at the Washoe County School District in 2014 as the Director of Talent Acquisition and was named Chief Human Resources Officer for the District in 2018. During the last five years, Emily is proud to have been a part of delivering year over year decreases in the number of first day of school teacher vacancies, implementing a comprehensive alternative certification program, and establishing dual credit opportunities for students interested in pursuing careers in education among other efforts focused on recruiting and retaining highly effective staff in support of the District’s mission to serve the children in our community.
She has served as Board member and past-President for the Northern Nevada Human Resources Association and the Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada. Between her work with the school district and the Girl Scouts, Emily is in a position to make a difference for kids in big and small ways, which is deeply meaningful to her.
Emily and her high school sweetheart husband, Mike, recently celebrated their 23rd anniversary and they enjoy an incredible life with their two amazing boys, Gavin (10) and Oliver (3), and their Bengal cat, Mustang Jim.