Clarissa A. Peterson is an executive coach, author, speaker, and senior human resources executive with deep experience across all areas of HR. Her work centers on executive coaching, leadership development, board and team effectiveness, and cultural transformation.

She is the President of Ohana HR, where she partners with leadership teams across legal, government contracting, nonprofit, and healthcare organizations.

Throughout her career, Ms. Peterson has held senior executive leadership roles, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of People at The Obama Foundation. Previously, she was Chief Human Resources Officer at Sophos, a global cybersecurity company, Chief Human Resources and Ethics Officer at Abt Global, a global consulting and research firm and Chief People Officer at DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest law firms.

Clarissa is the past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), the global certifying body for the HR profession, representing more than 500,000 certificants worldwide. She also hosts HRCI’s live weekly global webinar, Alchemizing HR: Navigating What’s Next, and previously co-hosted the podcast Inevitable: The Future of Work.

She is a graduate of the University of Maryland University College and holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certifications, along with advanced credentials in executive assessment and leadership development, including Hogan, DISC, MBTI, and Korn Ferry methodologies.

Clarissa is a co-author of Maximizing Your HR Efforts and contributor to The Rise of HR: The Wisdom of 72 Thought Leaders and Alchemizing HR – Your Formula for the New Era. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Dinte Executive Search.