Jennifer has spent 20 years practicing Human Resources working in tandem with business leaders and senior leadership building successful teams, introducing innovative ideas to bring out the best in employees, and laying the foundation for highly functioning HR departments. A desire to help others, problem solve and find opportunities that increase employee/employer engagement and what makes employees tick, drew her into the HR world. She specializes in upporting small employers and non-profits to implement and improve their current HR practices, build strong teams and cultures that support employees. Jennifer is a supportive and empowering team player who believes that your human talent is your best and most unique asset and strives to find opportunities to help them shine.
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Prior to starting her consulting business, Jennifer spent over nine years working in the nonprofit world. Much of her time was spent building and improving the Human Resource department of one; overseeing the hiring, onboarding and employee lifecycle, performance management, employee professional development, compliance, and policy creation and implementation. She also focused her time on helping the Board of Directors manage their governance duties, including Board recruitment and onboarding, updating and following bylaws, implementation of best practices, and policies.
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Since founding Essential Operations in 2020, Jennifer has had the privilege of working with awide variety of clients across diverse industries — an experience that has continuously expanded her knowledge and skill set. Each engagement brings new challenges and perspectives that deepen her expertise and strengthen the solutions she brings to every client. In addition to her HR work, Jennifer has developed deep expertise in nonprofit board governance. She works with Boards of Directors to establish strong governance policies, procedures, and practices that set organizations up for long-term success. From training new and existing board members on their roles and responsibilities to developing governance frameworks, bylaws, and board handbooks, Jennifer helps boards operate with clarity, accountability, and confidence. Her firsthand experience serving on multiple boards gives her a unique perspective that resonates with the leaders she supports.
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Jennifer is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She currently serves as Secretary of the Human Program Foundation and has previously served on the boards of Parker's Animal Rescue, Durango Area of Human Resource Management and the Women's Resource Center. Jennifer also works as a consultant for Durango's Small Business Development Center.
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Jennifer enjoys reading, paddle-boarding, playing in the snow and a good tequila to cap off a day after enjoying the outdoors. Time with family, her dog, Bob, and cat, Jeff, help her stay rounded and remind her of the best parts of life.

Katie McCullough serves as Board Chair of the Human Program Foundation, bringing more than 20 years of experience in charter school development, governance, and innovative education model design. As Founder of Growing Minds and former Head of School, she has successfully led the design, launch, and improvement of schools across diverse settings, including microschools, hybrid models, and culturally responsive programs. Her work with state agencies, including the Colorado Department of Education, and her leadership in developing statewide initiatives and charter networks position her with deep expertise in compliance, accountability, and strategic oversight.
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In her role as Board Chair, Katie provides governance leadership that ensures the Human Program Foundation remains aligned to its mission while maintaining strong fiduciary responsibility, policy oversight, and performance accountability. Her experience leading cross-functional teams, developing standards-aligned curriculum systems, and overseeing school performance and improvement planning directly supports the unique design of the Human Program school model, balancing innovation, personalization, and measurable outcomes. She brings a strong ability to guide leadership teams through complex decisions while maintaining clarity, alignment, and focus on student impact.
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Collectively, the founding team of the Human Program Foundation brings complementary expertise across school design, instructional innovation, technology-enabled learning, and organizational leadership. Katie’s governance experience, combined with her background in board development, financial oversight, and strategic planning, ensures that the board operates with clarity of roles, strong accountability structures, and a commitment to continuousimprovement. Together, the founding team is well positioned to responsibly steward the development and growth of the Human Program model, ensuring it meets both innovative goals and rigorous public accountability standards.

Dr. Lisa Riegel has extensive and varied educational experience. Over the past twenty years, she has taught at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level. She has effectively brokered partnerships at the local and state level between business and education leaders. She has also helped schools improve their student performance by developing parent partnerships, improving internal and external communication, empowering staff, and delivering high-quality and sustained professional development. Her strategic counsel on program improvement, communication, and evaluation has been sought internationally.

Lisa serves as the regional mental health coordinator for the Mid-Ohio region and helps schools establish strong PBIS systems and develop a deeper understanding of how the biology of the brain impacts behavior and the role stress plays in interrupting executive functioning and social development.

Lisa is passionate about helping organizations understand and develop positive contextual and system-wide factors that lead to strategic outcomes, job satisfaction and engagement. She especially enjoys helping organizations establish a culture that promotes belonging and positivity. Her leadership coaching focuses on the reduction of training, enthusiasm, or logistics gaps that prevent positive and research-based improvements. In all aspects of her work, she strives to help organizations transition from a compliance mentality to a collaborative culture.
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Dr. Riegel earned dual bachelor's degrees in English and Secondary Education from Kent State University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Otterbein University and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University. Her work on community-school partnerships and value-added data has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and she has authored four books.