WORK FRIENDLY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Head of Client Relations and People Expert
Ashley Bernheim has built her sales acumen over the past seven years at a number of start-up organizations. From working in technology sales to making a switch into HR software, Bernheim gained experience in all aspects of the sales lifecycle - and in the process identified her passion for recruiting. She joined the Work Friendly team in 2020 to pursue both of her passions, sales and recruiting, in a fast-paced, innovative organization where she felt she could make a difference. For Bernheim, the beauty of Work Friendly lies in the variety of ways the team can assist any and all HR teams, priding themselves in acting as a true extension of an organization as if they are its own internal resource.
Ashley Bernheim has built her sales acumen over the past seven years at a number of start-up organizations. From working in technology sales to making a switch into HR software, Bernheim gained experience in all aspects of the sales lifecycle - and in the process identified her passion for recruiting. She joined the Work Friendly team in 2020 to pursue both of her passions, sales and recruiting, in a fast-paced, innovative organization where she felt she could make a difference. For Bernheim, the beauty of Work Friendly lies in the variety of ways the team can assist any and all HR teams, priding themselves in acting as a true extension of an organization as if they are its own internal resource.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Human Resources and Recruiting Expert
Born and raised in Chicago, Celia has been working in Human Resources and Talent Acquisition for 7 years. With a BA in Communications, Celia has had the opportunity to partner with publicly traded global companies, early stage startups, and privately owned, mission-driven for profit businesses.
Celia Balson is a seasoned Human Resources and Recruiting expert who has worked with both startups and notable organizations - UniFirst Corporation, Cars.com, Interior Define, AKG (Automotive Keys Group) - throughout her 10+ years in the field. Celia's expertise lies in helping companies develop thoughtful and robust HR plans as those companies are engaged in major periods of growth and transition. Early in her career, Celia experienced first-hand how often businesses place HR and recruiting as a secondary need versus a revenue-driving and profitable area of business. Recognizing the need for a consulting firm to assist companies in strategically solving their people puzzles, Celia founded Work Friendly in 2016.
Work Friendly is a female-founded, people-first consulting agency that partners with clients to recruit, retain, and engage the most important aspect of their business, their people. In her current role as CEO of Work Friendly, Celia supports the company's growing number of agile consultants in providing cost-effective and strategic solutions for companies as small as two people all the way up to Fortune 100 organizations.
Cori Anderson is a seasoned HR professional with a passion for all things people. Beginning her career in Hospitality, Cori "fell into" an HR role 12 years ago while working for a global hotel chain. She quickly realized that HR and hospitality go hand-in-hand, and she applied her love for customer service to serve employees and organizations alike.
Since then, Cori has worked in HR in both Corporate and Consulting environments across a variety of industries and verticals. She has experience supporting organizations from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and loves the variety of work and strong partnership that HR provides.
Cori holds a Master's Degree in Communication and Leadership Studies with an emphasis in Strategic Organizational Communication from Gonzaga University, and she is a Senior Certified Professional through the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP).
Originally from Georgia, Cori now lives in Michigan and has fallen in love with the Great Lakes State. Outside of work, Cori loves spending time outdoors, traveling, cooking, and reading. Her adorable and chatty cat, Darcy, often makes an appearance on video calls to say hello!
Hanna is excited to join the Work Friendly team as their first Junior People Expert!
Hanna's journey to HR is rather unconventional. A musician by trade, she began her career as a music educator, while simultaneously serving in the non-profit space, as Lyric Opera's Manager of Data Analytics + Prospect Research for over 5 years. Hanna discovered that her energy came from all of the people-portions of her roles, whether that was helping a student find their musical confidence, or empowering a colleague to use data for decision making. She made the choice to move her career to HR, where she could experience that positive energy all the time, and she has never looked back.
Before joining Work Friendly, Hanna served as an HR Generalist for an experiential marketing agency in Chicago. Here she was exposed to all pillars of HR, and she earned her PHR in May of 2021. Hanna enjoys HR because it is problem solving with compassion. She is glad to be a part of a team who shares her passion for people and helping others by making a positive impact in the workplace.
Outside of work, Hanna enjoys singing with the Chicago Artists Chorale, exploring bookstores and coffee shops, laughing with her silly pup Esmeralda, and kayaking anywhere she can with her fiance, Ryan.
Job Titles:
- People Expert
- People Leader
Julie Blomsterberg is a seasoned people leader who brings 16+ years of experience in Recruiting and Human Resources to Work Friendly. Julie has spent the past 6 years of her career focused on consulting and coaching with a strong emphasis on strategic initiatives, change management, recruiting, employee experience, and HR technology. She has partnered with both startups and notable organizations on all things people, and she can find a rainbow in just about any storm. Julie serves as a knowledge resource to her clients and provides support in a collaborative environment - equipping clients with tools to make empowered decisions. Julie is a Chicago native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, two kids and two spunky small dogs. Outside of work, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, traveling, and creating time for self care.
Work Friendly is a Human Resources & Talent Acquisition consultancy that partners with companies of all sizes at all stages (3-2000, from seed to publicly traded). We have the flexibility of working onsite, remote, part time, short term or project based, depending on the company need.
Kelly Fitzgerald joined Work Friendly in July 2021, bringing with her 13 years of professional human resources experience. A proud Michigan State alum, her HR career has involved multiple nationwide hotel acquisitions and ground-up builds, where she was able to hone her multi-state compliance knowledge and build HR infrastructure and/or evolve departments. In her role at Work Friendly, Fitzgerald loves the variety of work, tapping into many of her expanded HR skills, and partnering closely with the team's amazing clients.
Lauren is an Oklahoma transplant who has been in Chicago now for over eight years. Lauren has a Bachelors in Psychology from Mercyhurst University and Masters in Community Counseling from Loyola University of Chicago. Lauren began her career in the non-profit mental health field. She transferred her love of helping people to HR and recruitment. Most recently Lauren worked in the Telecom staffing field. Lauren brings experience helping small companies scale their policies as they grow. Outside of work, Lauren loves to run with her two rescue dogs (May & June) and just completed her 4th Chicago Triathalon. Her favorite method of self-care is making homemade pizza with her husband and re-watching Gilmore Girls or Mad Men.