Pam Tanase. Courtesy photos
SANTA BARBARA – Pam Tanase, co-founder of the coworking space Workzones in Santa Barbara, and John Nelson, chief administrative officer of Prolacta Bioscience, Inc., in Duarte, have been named co-chairs of the Santa Barbara Human Resources Association (SBHRA) for the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year.
The SBHRA is a membership association for human resources practitioners focused on advancing the human resources profession. Its mission is to elevate all human resources professionals in the community through learning, advocacy and connections, and to be a local connection for all things human resources. A local affiliate of the nationwide Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it received the society’s Platinum Excel chapter award in 2022.
The association offers educational programs and networking opportunities for human resources professionals, as well as advocacy resources that are available to the greater business community. Recent educational programs have tackled the California pay transparency law, cybersecurity and leadership. SBHRA also recently hosted a roundtable discussion with California Sen. Monique Limon in which members shared their views on how childcare, housing and commuting are impacting employees and businesses.
John Nelson.
With over 150 members, the association represents a wide variety of organizations, primarily within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Industries represented include financial, legal, manufacturing, consulting, HR services, municipal, retail, academic, tech, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, engineering, nonprofit, and agriculture. SBHRA members also mentor the UCSB Student Human Resources Club, and have helped three of its teams place 1st, 5th and 7th in the California SHRM Student Case Competition.
Tanase is certified as a Senior Certified Professional through SHRM. Prior to being named co-chair of the SBHRA, Tanase served as the organization’s emerging professionals chair. She also serves as the advocacy chair for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Santa Barbara board and as a board member for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce and the Laird Norton Family Foundation. She’s also part of the League of Extraordinary Women supporting Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV).
Tanase is chief operating officer and one of the original four co-founders at Workzones. She has over 20 years of team building and operations experience handling all aspects of human resource management. She holds a master’s in education from Claremont Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Claremont McKenna College.
John Nelson leads the human resources, administration, information technology, and legal functions for Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. The privately held life sciences company manufactures human milk-based fortifiers and supplements for premature infants. Prolacta is the world’s leading hospital provider of 100% human milk–based nutritional products.
Nelson has over 35 years of leadership experience in human resources, working for both public and private companies in a variety of industries including insurance, education, manufacturing, and retail. Before joining Prolacta in 2019, Nelson served as the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Employers Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded worker’s compensation insurance carrier based in Reno, Nevada. He holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in organizational management from Antioch University. He is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.
As a former president and board member of the SBHRA, Nelson is pleased to be involved with the organization again in 2024.
Other SBHRA board members are Sharon Brown, Susie Couture, Sandie Wilkes, Danette Estrella, Chery Cerise, Peggy Stevens, Kim Andrade, Carolyn Gamberutti, Gary Caesar, Joseline Guzman, Christina Stowell, Rob Jupille, Devyn Duex, Corinne Santini, and Brian Daly.
The SBHRA is currently offering a spring membership promotion. Join SBHRA or renew your membership before May 31 for $116. That’s 20% off the regular membership rate of $145. Visit sbhra.org/general/register_member_type.asp to join. Contact the membership team at membership@sbhra.org or 805-259-3033 if you have questions.
— For more information about Workzones visit workzones.com, email host@workzones.com or call 805-966-3722.
— To learn more about Prolacta Bioscience visit prolacta.com or call 626-599-9260.
— Information about the Santa Barbara Human Resources Association is available at www.sbhra.org. To contact the organization email info@sbhra.org or call (805) 259-3033.