Program Details

Rachel Jessen, SHRM-CP

Employee Experience Specialist at Walton Arts Center and Wal-Mart AMP

Rachel Jessen is strategic HR leader with over 15 years of diverse experience in Human Resource and Workforce Development. Rachel’s education foundation started out with a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and ESL from John Brown University in Siloam Springs and she spent her early career years teaching in these fields in Rogers, Arkansas. In addition to raising her 4 children, she then spent nearly 5 years living and working in non-profit cross-cultural engagement initiatives in Turkey before moving back to the U.S. This experience allowed her to cultivate a wealth of experience and knowledge in global HRD as she learned more about how other people process and interpret the world and interact with others. She spent 6 years working as a Community Business Development Manager with Barnes & Noble before spending time working in adult education at the Northwest Arkansas Community College. After graduating with her master’s degree in Human Resource and Workforce Development from the University of Arkansas, she gained her SHRM-CP and aPHR certifications. She had the privilege of helping found and launch the University of Arkansas’ HRD program’s now annual HRD Summit, a student-led virtual and in-person conference designed to foster collaborative learning experiences through valuable education from leading HRD professionals. She now specializes in talent development, change management, and organizational growth. Her focus is on designing and implementing effective employee engagement strategies and driving Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives. She currently serves as an Employee Experience Specialist at the Walton Arts Center & Arkansas Music Pavilion in Northwest Arkansas. In this role and as NOARK’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee Chair, she develops training and professional development programs for diverse and cross-functional workforces and spearheads DEIB initiatives, fostering cultural transformation and a more inclusive workplace. She brings expertise in conducting needs assessments, delivering leadership training, and offering expert HR guidance to support holistic business success. This past year she has enjoyed building NOARK’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee and writing a monthly blog post highlighting a diverse array of DEIB topics and spotlighting Northwest Arkansas HR professionals and organizations working to foster inclusion and belonging. Some of her work has included highlighting Arvest Bank’s Associate Impact Groups, investigating the effects of classism and socioeconomic disparities, spotlighting the nuances of lookism in the workplace, and sharing strategies and resources for how HR professionals can support employees who belong to protected classes. She helps identify unique challenges and the vast array of nuances that exist in today’s complex and diverse workplace. Rachel’s greatest desire is to empower individuals and organizations aiming to develop, whether in training and learning initiatives, organizational effectiveness, change management, or DEIB initiatives.