People stay where they feel seen, supported, and safe.



I'm an HR leader with a master's in industrial-organizational psychology and a decade of combined experience in HR leadership and applied research. I lead people experience strategy at HeartShare Human Services of New York, a large multi-site organization with a frontline-heavy workforce. There I build partnerships from the C-suite to frontline supervisors, advise the CEO and COO on workforce risk, and turn stay, exit and engagement data into retention strategy.


I started in research. At the University of Nevada, Reno, I led most participant recruitment and interviews for a published social network study on health outcomes in underserved communities. That work taught me to let evidence lead, and I went on to earn my M.S. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology with distinction.


At HeartShare, I started as an onboarding specialist leading the organization-wide Paycom HRIS rollout. As Employee Engagement Manager, I cut voluntary attrition 9% (about $250K in annual savings), built the pulse-survey system, and launched the organization's first ERGs and inclusive-leadership training. As Director of Employee Experience & Safety, I also led workplace safety, fleet safety and compliance. Since July 2026 I've been Director, People Experience & Culture, leading a team and reporting to the VP of Talent, People Experience & HR Compliance.


Outside my day job, I served as Communications Chair and board member for Blacks in I/O Psychology.


How I work

  • Partnership first: from the CEO and COO to frontline supervisors, I build the relationships that turn people strategy into something leaders own.

  • Evidence first: listen through stay, exit and engagement data before designing a fix.

  • Managers matter most: exit data keeps pointing to management quality, so I equip supervisors with retention and recognition skills.

  • Every day, not once a year: recognition, growth and communication work best as habits, not events.

  • Safe and supported belong together: psychological and physical safety are part of the same employee experience.


My method

  1. Measure: What are people experiencing? Validated stay, engagement and psychological-safety surveys, benchmarks, and HRIS and claims data. Deliverable: a baseline scorecard.

  2. Diagnose: What is driving it? Stay and exit themes coded into risk categories, with driver analysis by department, role and tenure. Deliverable: a quarterly people-risk review.

  3. Design: What will move the number? Targeted retention plans, manager effectiveness, recognition and career pathways, built with the leaders who will own them. Deliverable: a phased roadmap with KPIs.

  4. Brief: Is it working? KPI dashboards, quarterly executive briefings and early-tenure attrition flags. Deliverable: an executive briefing.

Each brief feeds the next measurement cycle: a quarterly loop, not a one-time project.


Education and credentials

  • M.S., Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Capella University (Distinction)

  • B.S., Business Marketing, University of Nevada, Reno

  • 30-Hour OSHA · OSHA Safety Standards & Compliance · Mental Health First Aid · SHRM-CP (in progress)

  • Member, SIOP and Psi Chi



Corinthia Crawford, M.S. Industrial-Organizational Psychology

© 2026 Corinthia Crawford