Laura Donohoe, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is a seasoned human resources leader with over 21 years of experience driving people strategy, organizational effectiveness, and cultural transformation. She is known for partnering closely with leadership teams to align talent strategies with business goals and position HR as a strategic driver of success.

Laura brings deep expertise across the full employee lifecycle, including HR operations, talent management, employee relations, organizational design, and large-scale change initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions. She holds an MBA, multiple bachelor's degrees, and is dual-certified as an SPHR and SHRM-SCP. An active HR community leader, Laura has served in volunteer leadership roles within local SHRM associations.

Passionate about supporting the HR profession, Laura co-founded HR Connected, a community built to foster meaningful connection, shared learning, and peer support for HR professionals navigating complex challenges.

Amber Trail, MBA, SHRM-CP has spent over 15 years working in and alongside HR functions, where she consistently saw the same challenge: HR professionals were expected to support everyone else, often without the support, mentorship, or community they needed themselves.

Early in her career, Amber witnessed firsthand how outdated and ineffective HR practices negatively impacted both employees and HR leaders. After finding mentors who showed her a more people-centered, strategic approach to HR, she built deep experience leading HR transformation, developing foundational systems, and supporting leaders through complex people issues.

Through that work, it became clear that HR professionals needed a space to connect, learn, and grow without isolation or pressure to "have it all figured out." HR Connected was created to meet that need — a community grounded in real experience, practical conversation, and support for HR professionals doing challenging, often unseen work.