Everything below is something I conceived, designed, executed, or owned end-to-end. Going by a traditional HR org chart, this was several jobs — but at Selecta and Cartesian, it was one role, and it turned out to be the best leadership training ground I could have asked for. Samples available upon request.
Total Rewards · Benefits & 401(k)
Benefits Administration & 401(k) Oversight
Owned benefits open enrollment and renewals end-to-end — coordinating with brokers and carriers, communicating options to employees, and managing all enrollment data. Served as the 401(k) Plan Administrator for the company's Fidelity retirement plan, which included executing plan document amendments, managing the ADP-to-Fidelity transition, conducting employee information sessions on plan mechanics and account setup, and ensuring DOL compliance.
Coordinated 401(k) information sessions for the full employee population post-acquisition, organized equity grant distribution and E*Trade activation, and executed plan document amendments with Fidelity directly.
Leave Management · Compliance
FMLA & Parental Leave Administration
Managed FMLA administration from initial request through return-to-work certification, including coordinating concurrent STD and parental leave, tracking eligibility, requiring medical documentation, and advising managers throughout the process. Authored Cartesian's complete Parental Leave Policy and Manager Guide — covering paid leave entitlements, FMLA interplay, pay and benefits continuity, and a six-step framework for managers on handling parental leave with empathy and compliance.
Policy and manager guide completed April 2025; covers 12 weeks paid parental leave at 100% wages, FMLA eligibility, documentation process, and manager preparation steps from planning through return.
Manufacturing HR · Workforce Restructuring
7-Day Manufacturing Shift Buildout
When Cartesian needed to expand to 7-day manufacturing production, I led the full HR side of that buildout — redesigning the team structure and org chart in partnership with Manufacturing leadership, running end-to-end recruitment to hire the additional staff needed for new shifts, and building the shift work framework from scratch in both the HRIS and payroll systems to ensure accurate scheduling, compliance, and compensation processing across all shifts. Delivered expanded capacity without disrupting existing operations or team continuity.
New shift structure operational with compliant HRIS and payroll setup — all hiring, onboarding, and compensation frameworks delivered without production disruption.
Compliance · Payroll · Benefits
Compliance Remediation & Cost Recovery
Brought back to Cartesian specifically to restore a People Operations function following a high-stakes compliance failure. Remediated an SEC-reportable payroll violation and rebuilt the HRIS to full SEC/SOX compliance standards — correcting data accuracy across 60+ employee records with speed and precision that rebuilt trust across Finance, Legal, and the executive team. Simultaneously renegotiated the benefits renewal, reducing projected cost growth from 13%+ down to 3% through broker negotiations and market analysis.
SEC-reportable violation remediated. HRIS rebuilt to SOX compliance. Benefits cost growth cut by 10 percentage points — protecting significant projected spend for plan year 2026.
Crisis Operations · Workforce Reduction
RIF Execution — End to End
When Selecta conducted a targeted workforce reduction, I was the HR person in the room — delivering the news to impacted employees directly, alongside their executive team member. Before that day, I built every separation package, engaged outplacement services, organized a Lunch & Learn on resume writing and job searching for departing employees, drafted manager FAQs, and coordinated 16 exit discussions across a two-hour window. After, I stabilized communications for retained employees. The people who left were treated with dignity. The people who stayed had clarity.
"Catherine will put these invites on your calendars accordingly." — CPO Kristen Baldwin, in materials sent to Selecta's Executive Team the morning of the RIF
Systems Strategy · Cost Management
HR Systems Centralization — No New Budget
Identified that employees were navigating four separate HR platforms, creating friction and administrative burden. Rather than proposing new software, I recognized that iSolved — the system already in place — could be expanded to cover the full employee lifecycle at lower per-user cost than the fragmented status quo. I built the business case from scratch, ran the cost comparison, presented it to leadership, and managed the vendor relationship with iSolved that made expansion possible.
Proposed consolidating from $7/user/mo (fragmented tools) to $6/user/mo (unified HCM), saving money while improving employee experience — by using what we already had, creatively.
Policy Design · Compliance
Policy Suite: Authored from Scratch
Wrote the policies that governed how Cartesian's employees worked — not revised templates from counsel, but substantive, employee-facing documents I authored and owned. Included: the Flexible Vacation Policy (with manager and employee guidance, blackout period rules, and abuse frameworks), the Parental Leave Policy and Manager Guide, the Travel & Expense Policy Guidebook, the Tuition Reimbursement Program, and the Time Reporting and iSolved implementation policy for multi-state and NIH grant compliance.
Policies ranged from operationally complex (multi-state sick time compliance, NIH grant time tracking) to culture-forward (flexible vacation with no accrual cap, parental leave at 100% wages for 12 weeks).
Culture · Performance · Employee Experience
Culture & Performance Programs
Co-ran the Culture Ambassador program across four workstreams at Selecta — including launching the company's first annual Pioneer of the Year recognition award at the all-company kick-off meeting. At Cartesian, designed and delivered the company-wide performance management rollout, introducing a quarterly check-in cycle through Small Improvements and coaching managers through the process. Also authored the company's integration communications newsletter (INFORM) during the post-acquisition period, coordinating equity sessions, 401(k) onboarding, and IT office hours.
Performance management launched Feb 2024 across the full organization; culture ambassador program ran for the full 2022–2023 calendar year with structured roadmaps and four active workstreams.
Employer Brand · Creative Direction
Employee Spotlight & Brand Rehaul
Conceptualized and produced an employee spotlight video series in partnership with the external creative firm I hired to lead Selecta's brand and website rehaul. I identified the need, sourced and selected the vendor, directed the creative brief, and shepherded the project from concept through final production — giving the organization a visual identity and narrative that could attract talent and reflect the culture we were building.
One of several deliverables from a full brand and website refresh I led. The spotlight series brought employee voices to the forefront as a recruitment and culture tool.
