Sheila Esparza is a Human Resources Officer with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) where she serves the Agency in Training and Development, Performance Management, and Employee Engagement focused on providing an engaging employee experience for the Agency team. Before joining IEUA, she served as a Human Resources Analyst with the Port of Long Beach where she provided service in Talent Acquisition, Training and Development, Performance Management, and Succession Planning. She holds a Master's in Industrial Organizational Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. She previously served as a Director at Large and Student Affiliate for SCPMA where she brought back the Developing Competency for HR Success Training to the Chapter and the Train-the-Trainer Workshop.

Sylvana is a Human Resources Professional with over 15 years of experience in the areas of recruitment & selection, compensation and benefits, workers' compensation, training & employee programs, onboarding/offboarding, COBRA and leaves, HRIS implementation and process improvement.  Sylvana is currently working as a Personnel Analyst in the Recruitment & Outreach with the Civil Service Department at the City of Long Beach, where she is sharing her wealth of knowledge in recruitment & selection to tap into talent in today's job market to assist with filling vacancies. 

Prior to working with the City of Long Beach, Sylvana held numerous human resources positions in the public sector and private sector.  

Sylvana delivers critical support and solutions to her clients that deliver creativity, efficiency, cost saving, and promote compliance. Sylvana prides herself on achieving goals through ethical practices and creating lasting diverse working relationships with those she crosses paths with in her everyday life.

Sylvana holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Dominguez Hills.  She is also certified as IPMA-SCP and is SHRM-CP certified.  

Sylvana enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and colleagues, reading, and learning new concepts on working more effectively in the ever-changing workforce environment.  Sylvana enjoys mentoring up-and-coming HR professionals where she shares her knowledge, lessons learned, and passion for service. Lastly, but not least Sylvana enjoys giving back to the community through volunteer work.

Harvie Kaur is an HR Business Partner with the Port of Long Beach currently recruiting for the Engineering Bureau and assisting with Employee Engagement. Harvie has over 12 years of human resources experience from the private and public sectors that started with a training position, and lead to several different areas of recruitment & selection, onboarding/off boarding, compensation and benefits, employee relations including a background in operations.

Prior to joining the POLB Team, Harvie was also part of the City of Long Beach’s payroll team in the HR department where she reviewed all personnel transactions, Livescans clearances and leave requests citywide. With her knowledge and areas of expertise in policies and procedures, Harvie ensured compliance for city processes and provided her input in designing and personalizing the city’s new Enterprise Resource System for payroll needs. Harvie also worked with the City of Los Angeles assisting with recruitment and selection processes for the Bureau of Engineering in the Public Works department.

Cynthia Stafford has worked in the field of human resources for over 30 years. She was most recently the Director of Human Resources & Risk Management for the City of Lynwood, where she oversaw a staff involved in recruitment and selection, benefit administration, classification and compensation, EEO, training, labor and employee relations and risk management, including workers’ compensation, general liability, and contract risk transfer. After leaving Lynwood, Cyndi formed Stafford HR Consulting and works with public sector agencies on a variety of HR projects.   

Before joining the Lynwood team, Cyndi worked for the City of Long Beach as the Deputy Director of Human Resources overseeing the benefits, training, EEO, classification and compensation, and employee relations functions. Before joining Long Beach, Cynthia worked for the City of Los Angeles in various human resources positions for LAPD, General Services, City Clerk and Sanitation departments.  

Cyndi holds dual Bachelor Degrees from the University of Southern California in Political Science and International Relations and a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach. As a life-long HR professional, Cyndi was one of the first in the country to achieve her Certification of IPMA-CE (Certified Executive) through the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. With Cyndi’s extensive human resources experiences, she is frequently asked to speak and presents at conferences on a regular basis. Cyndi truly enjoys mentoring new female professionals in the workplace. 

Married for over 25 years, Cyndi has two teenagers who keep her personal time very busy.

Russ has been in the field of Human Resources and recruitment for over 16 years. He is currently a Senior Human Resources Analyst at the City of Glendale.  Russ has also worked at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.  Russ earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He holds a professional Human Resources Certification (IPMA-SCP) from IPMA-HR.

Karina Rueda is currently the Human Resources/Risk Manager for the City of Baldwin Park.  With over 20 years of cumulative municipal government experience in Human Resources, Risk Management, Administration, City Clerk, and Finance, Ms. Rueda is responsible for managing  the areas of health benefits, worker's compensation, recruitment and selection, labor relations, training and development, as well as other intricate areas of Human Resources. A graduate of the University of La Verne with a Bachelor's of Science in Organizational Management with a concentration in Human Resources, Karina continues to further elevate her education by pursuing a Master's degree.

Before joining the City of Baldwin Park, Karina worked for the City of Rosemead and the City of Vernon, for which she served over 20 years in supporting organizational efforts to be an employer of choice.