HR Executive of the Year - Medium Company: Award Recipient & Finalists

The DallasHR HR Executive of the Year award recognizes an HR executive who has exemplified the strategic role of human resources in the past 12 months and who is an outstanding leader within the HR community. Awards will be given in two categories based on company size; Medium 51-499 employees and Large 500+ employees.  

The Award committee for the DallasHR Executive of the Year is chaired by the 2018 President of DallasHR and includes four current DallasHR members and/or previous award winners, and the DallasHR Executive Director​.






Award Recipient

 

Lety Yanez, CEBS, PHR, SHRM-CP - City of Wylie, Texas 

Lety Yanez is the Human Resources Director for the City of Wylie – a role she has served in since February 2017.  Prior to joining the City of Wylie, she was the Human Resources Manager for the City of Mesquite for one and a half years and served in other HR roles for the City of Mesquite for more than 11 years.  Lety received her Bachelor of Arts from SMU and is also a certified employee benefits specialist and holds her PHR and SHRM-CP.  She is a long-time member of SHRM and the DallasHR Chapter and is a past Conference Director of the HRSouthwest Conference.  Lety is also an active volunteers for a variety of industry related organizations. 

Award Finalists


Pamela Daniel, PHR, SHRM-CP - Boss Fight Entertainment


Pamela has over 15 years in Human Resources. Before coming to Boss Fight Entertainment, she was the HR Manager for a high-tech company that developed software for online trading platforms, after which she took a break from high-tech to work for the national retailer JCPenney. She made her way into the entertainment industry when she became part of HR management for a commercial and animation studio that worked with clients such as Gold Bond, Dodge and The Home Depot, in addition to co-producing animated films such as Free Birds and Book of Life.  She received her  bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico, and her master's degree in Human Relations & Business from Amberton University in Dallas. 

Donna Gerdes, SPHR, SHRM-SCP – Sendero


Donna Gerdes is the Senior Human Resources Manager at Sendero, a Dallas-headquartered management consulting firm with expertise delivering strategic planning, technology enablement, and organizational effectiveness solutions. 

Donna brings over 20 years of human resources experience to Sendero, which has nearly tripled in size since she joined the firm in 2014 to more than 185 employees. She is a member of the Talent Management team that is dedicated to recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent. Prior to joining Sendero, Donna was a Sr. Human Resources Specialist with Insperity, where she provided strategic and best practice HR guidance to small and medium sized businesses. Her background and industry experience includes non-profit, retail (automobile dealership sales and service), and human resources outsourcing.

Donna earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Northern Iowa and currently holds SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. She and her husband Kent have one son.
 

Rita King - Lone Star Analysis


Rita is Director, Human Resource for Lone Star, serving full time since June 2012. Previously Ms. King worked as a consultant with Lone Star and most recently comes to the firm from the City of Tyler Information Technology department. She functions in full cycle human resources, contract compliance, and business development, bringing more than 20 years of broad-based business experience to the organization. 

Recently Ms. King returned to college earning an Associates of Business Administration summa cum laude and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management and Human Resource Development, also summa cum laude. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Kappa Phi Kappa honor societies, as well as American Association of University Women, American Management Association, SHRM and active in the local Dallas HR SHRM chapter, including two appointments to the Board of Directors.