BOSTON - Friday, February 14, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced Joanne Wisniewski will join the City of Boston, serving as the City's Human Resources Transformation Director. Wisniewski will lead Boston's work to transform its human resources (HR) services, to better manage, train, recruit, and retain the City's workforce, made up of over 18,000 employees in over 60 departments serving the people of Boston.
"The City of Boston's greatest resource is its people, and in order to deliver the best services to our residents, we must hire and retain the talented, hardworking people who create the programs and run the departments that truly make a difference in Bostonians lives," said Mayor Walsh. "I'm excited to have Joanne join the City to transform how Boston delivers HR services, creating a stronger environment for Boston's employees, and improving services for all of Boston."
Last year, Boston retained the services of Deloitte Consulting to advise Boston on strengthening its HR services, and offer solutions to ensure the City is meeting the needs of its employees, and allowing them to deliver the best work and services to the people of Boston. Since the start of the work, a City-wide HR governance board has been established, which will identify and set priorities for the City's HR transformation; finalize its future HR operating model; and develop a multi-year transformational roadmap. As part of that work, Wisniewski has accepted the City's offer to lead this HR transformation work.
Wisniewski is an accomplished HR professional who has led and supported similar HR transformations in other public and private sector organizations. She comes to the City from Deloitte Consulting, where she was a senior member of the team advising and supporting the City on its HR transformation. Prior to joining Deloitte, she held senior roles with Fidelity Investments and Revlon.
"To me, it seems every experience I've had during my career has led to this opportunity," said Wisniewski. "I thank Mayor Walsh for this opportunity, and know that in this new role, together we can make a lasting, positive impact on the City of Boston, its employees, and all those who rely on the City for services and programs."
Wisniewski is tasked with driving HR performance improvement across the City's departments and agencies. Earlier this year, in her role as a consultant, she helped establish the HR governance board comprised of a representative mix of leaders from across City Government. She will now lead that board in its efforts to address the City's most immediate HR goals and establish an updated means for delivering critical services to the City's workforce through changes in process, technology, and organizational design.
Joining the HR Transformation project as Project Manager and Policy Analyst is Erin Santhouse, who recently served as Executive Director of Scheduling and Advance in the Mayor's Office. Erin previously directed SparkBoston (formerly ONEin3), the City's outreach to millennial residents designed to engage young people with the City of Boston's programs and services.
"We are delighted Joanne has joined our City team and know she's the right person at the right time to lead our HR transformation initiative," said Emme Handy, Boston's Chief of Administrative and Finance. "Working closely with leaders at City Hall, both Joanne and Erin will improve the employee experience and better enable employees to serve the missions of Boston's agencies."
Wisniewski is a resident of the West End, and Santhouse is a resident of Dorchester.
