Turkessa has a solid and diverse background in all aspects of human resources, including policy design and implementation, compensation and benefit administration, performance management, recruiting, labor relations and more. She joins us from the state Office of the Chief Public Defender where she served as Chief Human Resources Officer.
Turkessa has held several leadership positions in non-profit and healthcare organizations, consistently focusing on creating strong organizational cultures and positive work environments. For six years, she was Vice President, Human Resources for the Village for Families and Children where she led organizational culture initiatives that resulted in a “Top Workplace” designation for three consecutive years. Prior to her work at the Village, she was HR Director for Masonicare. Before relocating to Connecticut, Turkessa served as HR Manager at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she also earned her MBA, and is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management and an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford.