Karen L. Thomas

Bureau Director Karen Thomas is a career Human Resources professional with more than 30 years of experience. She currently serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer and Bureau Director for the Personnel Services Bureau. In her role as CHRO, Karen is a member of the Executive Staff and responsible for leading the Personnel Services Bureau, which encompasses Employment, Labor Relations, Classification & Compensation, Benefits and Risk Management. A total of 56 employees are currently assigned to these specialty areas to support approximately the 4,000 employees within the agency.

Bureau Director Thomas joined PBSO in 2015, responsible for the Human Resources Division. Prior to 2015 Bureau Director Thomas served as the principal consultant in a human resources consulting firm she founded, which specialized in compliance, planning, and directing the administration of all HR functions for client companies. Ms. Thomas also served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, for a prominent private bank, responsible for the strategic planning and execution of all human resource functions on a national level for more than 1,000 employees, including recruitment and staffing, compensation and benefits, training, talent management and development, diversity, employee relations, organization development and employment compliance.

Bureau Director Thomas holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Master’s of Science in Human Resource Management. Ms. Thomas is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).