Taryn Erkelens serves as the Head of People at Grayce since February 2024 and has been a People & Talent Consultant and Executive Coach at Melon since 2021. Previously, Taryn held the role of Head of Portfolio People & Talent for Octopus Ventures from October 2021 to December 2023, where strategic partnerships were fostered with founders and executive leadership to enhance global people and talent functions. Taryn's experience also includes serving as a Strategic People Business Partner at Cityblock Health, where operational infrastructure for talent acquisition and management was developed, and leading a team at Addison Group as Director of Executive Search. Early career roles include positions in talent acquisition and human resources, supplemented by research assistant roles focusing on gender roles in male-dominated work environments during time spent at New York University. Taryn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from New York University and an Associate of Arts from Miami Dade College.