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💙 20 Experts You’ll Want to Work With in 2025
#48. Find an expert in performance management, compensation, recruitment, DEI, and more.
Jill Felska
March 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Hello and happy Thursday-
Not going to lie - it’s a BIG one over here! Not only have we officially moved to a new newsletter provider (one that allows you to easily find and read all of our back issues), but we’re also launching a project that’s been in the works for a few months now. One that’s near and dear to my heart.
To explain why, a little reintroduction is needed - especially given there are now over 800 passionate culture advocates who receive this newsletter.
 | Hi - I’m Jill! I’m the founder of Want To Work There and the creator of Training for the Modern Manager. I’ve spent the last 15 years obsessed with building better workplaces. While this work has taken a true variety of forms, over half of those years were spent self-employed working as a consultant and advisor for companies across a range of industries. |
I learned MANY lessons during my time as a solo practitioner, but none more deeply than how challenging it can be to find and connect with potential clients, while you’re diligently at work on the projects you are currently engaged in. If you’ve ever been self employed, you can understand the pure anxiety wave that hits when you look up from three months of delivering incredible work only to realize that you’ve completely neglected the sales aspect of your role.
On the other hand, I’ve also experienced what it’s like to be the head of people at a growing tech company who needs a specialist, like… yesterday. Of course, you barely have time to breath - let alone launch a full scale search. In those moments, I would always shoot off a couple quick emails to trusted connections asking for referrals, which varied in its success.
We’re beyond honored to have become one of those trusted connections for many of you - readers looking for help with things like compensation strategies, onboarding, performance management, and more. It recently hit us that we should create a central place to share those recommendations publicly - which is exactly what we’ve done.
Our inaugural list includes 20 exceptional practitioners, all of which I’ve either personally worked with or come at the recommendation of those I trust most. We’ve featured five of them in today’s newsletter, but we HIGHLY recommend checking out the entire list.
We’ll be continually adding to the list, so if you’ve worked with someone phenomenal in the people and culture space, please hit reply and let us know!
To fostering new partnerships,
Jill
Reflect on this…
What project or function would you most love to outsource to a specialist?
What are your deciding factors when considering whether to bring in a specialist or do it yourself?
Who would you nominate for the list? (hit reply and tell us!)
Alistair Fraser (he/him)
Area(s) of Expertise: Compensation Strategies
🧑💼 Works as a Consultant | 🏢 Ideal Clients have 51-250 Employees | 🇬🇧 Based in London, UK | 🏡 Mostly Remote
✈️ Alistair is willing to travel to visit clients on-site.
What is a problem you love solving for your clients?
Pay transparency. I help companies implement clear, consistent pay structures that eliminate bias and build trust with their employees. This includes salary bands, regular reviews, and transparent communication around compensation decisions.
What something we should all know about you?
Married with 2 amazing boys = dedicating as much time to my family as possible.
Christie Hoffman (she/her)
Area(s) of Expertise: Internal Communication | Culture | Talent Acquisition & Retention | Employee Surveys
🧑💼 Works as a Consultant | 🏢 Ideal Clients Have 251-500 Employees | 🇺🇸 Based in Austin, TX | 🏡 A mix of remote & on-site work
✈️ Christie is willing to travel to visit clients on-site.
What is a problem you love solving for your clients?
I make employee surveys less scary‚ both hitting 'send' and figuring out what to do with the responses.
There’s a clear gap in HR training relating to employee engagement, and I’m proud to be helping close it. This summer, I created the Rinse Repeat ASIE Framework‚ a practical approach to driving engagement that works no matter your industry, company size, or stage of growth.
What something we should all know about you?
I’m a daily cold plunger‚ yes, on purpose. It’s both my reset button and my secret weapon for tackling the day.
Kim Minnick (she/her)
Area(s) of Expertise: Performance Management | Compensation Strategies | Organizational Conversations
🧑💼 Works as a Fractional Leader or Consultant | 🏢 Ideal Clients have 51-250 Employees | 🇺🇸 Based in San Francisco, CA | 🏡 A mix of remote & on-site work
✈️ Kim is willing to travel to visit clients on-site.
What is a problem you love solving for your clients?
I curate programs that maximize the performance of individuals, teams and companies!
What something we should all know about you?
Life is a circus, so I practice aerial arts as my work out! 2025 is the year I'll get a handstand!
Katy Stover Fox (she/her)
Area(s) of Expertise: Talent Acquisition & Retention
🧑💼 Works as a Service Provider | 🏢 Ideal Clients have 1-50 Employees | 🇺🇸 Based in California, Texas and Oregon | 🏡 Mostly Remote
✈️ Katy & her team are willing to travel to visit clients on-site.
What is a problem you love solving for your clients?
Recruit. Reskill. Retain.
At HigherPeople, we view talent development as a full-circle journey. Beyond finding great people, it’s about investing in long-term growth and retention. We primarily partner with early-stage startups (Pre-Seed to Series B) to deliver meaningful talent outcomes. Our commitment goes beyond one-off placements—we’re with teams every step of the way to recruit top talent, upskill teams, and build lasting reasons for people to stay.
What something we should all know about you?
I love games and gamifying things! I do it when I’m waiting in line, when I’m in traffic etc. You can really make so many things fun!
T. Tara Turk-Haynes (she/her)
Area(s) of Expertise: Culture | Talent Acquisition & Retention | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
🧑💼 Works as a Fractional Leader | 🏢 Ideal Clients have 251-500 Employees | 🇺🇸 Based in Los Angeles, CA | 🏡 A mix of remote & on-site work
✈️ Tara is willing to travel to visit clients on-site.
What is a problem you love solving for your clients?
How to embed equitable and fair practices into People Operations.
I am really committed to making work work for everybody.
What something we should all know about you?
I am also a playwright and just had two reading this past year in LA at some dream places.
