Welcome! and thank you for visiting the SBHRA website.          

 
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as President of the SBHRA. I started attending SBHRA programs nineteen years ago. It was at my first luncheon that I realized the power of connections. The Human Resources community in Santa Barbara is strong and growing. This community includes C-level Executives to Emerging Professionals. We have so much to share with each other and we hope to create new opportunities that will bring us all together. 

The SBHRA has an amazing volunteer Board of Directors committed to bringing you outstanding programs and HR solutions. Many of our programs meet the standards for recertification. 

In 2018, the SBHRA held its first ever Solutions Fair. We provided a forum in which business leaders from the Human Resources community and related professions could meet with HR solutions providers. For our event, we welcomed keynote speaker and author, David Swanson, and approximately 20 local and national solutions providers, with expertise in fields including but not limited to: HRIS, Payroll, Benefits, Staffing, Legal Advisors, Recruiting, and Retirement Benefits. Our 2019 Solutions Fair will be held in July. Watch out for more information!

The SBHRA is a great resource for legislative updates and advocacy on critical labor issues. We partner with SHRM and CalSHRM, including advocacy in Sacramento and Washington DC. 

Our College Relations team partners with UCSB’s HR Club, providing HR learning opportunities to college students. Many students have converted to SBHRA and SHRM members after graduation. Some are on our Board! 

We believe our Emerging Professionals are our future HR Leaders. In 2018, we launched a mentorship program pairing mentors with mentees. 

The HR Department of One (HRDO) was created in response to those solo HR Practitioners, Office Managers, Payroll Managers, and others that have HR responsibilities in their organizations.  SBHRA recognized there are many small organizations that have a HR department of one, that are not always aware of the resources available or the changing legislation. Our third session will be offered later this year. 

There are certification options including SHRM and HRCI. If you have not considered HR certification yet, SBHRA offers certification study groups at no cost to members. SBHRA offers solutions to assist in your success – visit our resource page on our website and register for our monthly educational  programs.

We continue to support the greater community with our HR Minute each Wednesday on local KZSB radio at 11:20 am where we talk about important information and issues in Human Resources.

Our association purpose is to advance the HR profession through education, advocacy, and networking. We offer many events that support your professional development, ability to network, meet new friends and make new partnerships as you find solutions to the challenges you face daily. Sign up for our news feed so you don’t miss out. https://www.sbhra.org/page/newsfeedsignup

We invite you to our programs and events, we invite you to volunteer on a committee, and we invite you to join SBHRA if you are new to HR!.


Respectfully,

Andrea Nelson, SPHR
President 2019-20
Santa Barbara Human Resources Association