STRATEGIC HR CONSULTING & FRACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
People systems that still make sense when you double in size.
I’m a strategic HR leader, and my roots are in science, data, and strategy rather than compliance. Most growing organizations run on people practices built in a hurry, by whoever had time. I help you replace them with human-centered, data-informed systems – ones your people trust and your next hundred hires won’t break.
Hannah Yung-Boxdell, MPSIO, CEC, CDP
Founder & Principal Consultant
15+
years of progressive experience – internal consultant, manager, and people-and-culture leader on an executive team
20+
programs, policies, and systems custom designed or rebuilt, for organizations of 25 to 2,500 people
I-O
scientist-practitioner by training and by habit – I start with the evidence, then work out what will fit your organization.
CEC
certified executive coach, with the education and the experience to develop functional managers, effective teams, and a real leadership bench
This is probably a fit if some of these sound familiar.
You’ve outgrown founder-built or scrappy startup HR, but a full-time senior people leader isn’t in the budget – or you’re not sure yet what that role should be.
Big people decisions – promotions, restructures, who leads what – are made on instinct, guess-timations, or consensus of a small group.
Your policies and performance practices exist on paper, but managers apply them five different ways.
You collect people data – surveys, HRIS reports, exit interviews – and very little of it changes what anyone does.
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
A seat at your table, a number on speed dial, or a defined project. Whichever works best for your current situation.
Project-based consulting
A defined problem, a defined scope, a defined finish line. You get the thinking and the build, and you keep everything when we’re done.
The Listening Culture Assessment – a diagnostic of how well you hear your people, plus design of the listening program that follows
Organizational network analysis – to find and develop informal leaders, or to strengthen collaboration inside your organization and with partners
Organizational coaching – serving as an on-call career and executive coaching resource open to anyone in your organization, or as built-in coaching support for a specific leadership, talent-development, or training program
People analytics function design – evaluating what you have, then designing and standing up the function, program, or business-outcome analytics you need
Standalone projects drawn from anything on the fractional side – a career model, a succession plan, a policy overhaul
Typical shape: most projects run three to six months, with a fixed project fee and a scope agreed before any work starts.
Interested in coaching for yourself or one of your leaders? → See coaching services or People Developer Peer Circle for managers.
Fractional strategic HR leader
Senior, strategic people leadership without the full-time hire. This is the work I did for years as an internal consultant – now on your side of the table.
People strategy and strategic workforce planning – critical roles, succession, and leadership or legacy transitions – tied to your business plan
People policies and practices designed to be clear, fair, and applied consistently – built alongside your employment counsel or compliance partner
People data infrastructure and capability, including metrics for your strategic plans and programs
Science-based talent processes across the employee lifecycle: hiring, onboarding, performance, career pathing, promotion, and exit
Talent development: career and competency models, mentoring programs, and manager development
Culture strategy and change: employee listening, DEIB, and evidence-informed decision making
Manager effectiveness and team functioning
Executive coaching for your leaders and career coaching for employees at all levels
TWO WAYS TO STRUCTURE IT:
Embedded
A set number of days each month. I join your leadership rhythm, own the people agenda, and build the infrastructure. When you’re ready, I train your next full-time leader or team and hand the function off – documented, running, and theirs. Usually 9–18 months, or shorter as interim coverage during a leave of absence or a gap between leaders.
On retainer
A monthly block of advisory hours. You keep a senior people advisor on call for the decisions, drafts, and hard conversations, while your team handles execution.
A note on fit: strategic, not general
I’m not a “traditional” HR leader, and I’ve never pretended to be one. I’ve overseen HR functions, but my expertise are in the strategic and scientific layers – the science of how people and organizations work, the data to see it, and the systems to act on it. Payroll, benefits administration, and employment-law compliance belong with traditional HR generalists and specialists; if you don’t have those partners yet, I’ll help you find the right ones and make sure what we build works alongside them.
Three threads, one idea: build it so it works for the people inside it.
02
Data-informed decisions
You probably have more people data than you think, and less than you’d trust. I help you decide what’s worth measuring, clean up how it’s collected and governed, and turn it into reporting your leadership team will read – so headcount, retention, equity, and engagement conversations start from evidence instead of anecdote.
01
Human-centered systems that scale
Policies, performance practices, career paths, and processes designed around how your people actually work – not copied from a template built for a company ten times your size. The goal is something a new manager can follow on day one and a long-tenured employee will recognize as fair.
03
Leaders and managers who can carry it
Systems only hold if the people running them can. I build leadership and mentoring programs, manager training people stay awake for, and – using network data rather than gut feel – help you find the informal leaders your org chart doesn’t show.
BACKGROUND
I’ve personally done and led this work from the inside, not just conceptualized the ideal or advised on it from the outside.
I’m a scientist and I-O psychology practitioner by training and an operator by experience. For nearly a decade I sat on a firm’s leadership team running administration and people strategy; after that I led people analytics and data governance for a large public agency. I started The Alignment Lab to bring that same mix – rigor and practicality – to organizations that need senior people expertise without the full-time overhead.
Administrative Director & Chief of DEIB · W-Trans
2016–2025
I started in organizational operations, leading process improvement and SOP development, then moved into strategy and policy work – and, by way of organizational strategy and development, found myself moving steadily into people and culture. As a member of the firm’s executive team, I oversaw employee listening and led a multidisciplinary team spanning HR, accounting and administration, marketing, and production. My favorite work was the custom builds and redesigns that tied the firm’s talent strategy, systems, and practices together – including career pathing and legacy planning, leadership and mentorship development, and redesign of a central project manager training program. As Chief of DEIB, I championed equitable policies and practices across the employee lifecycle, and externally in the firm’s professional services work.
People Analytics & Data Governance Manager · SFPUC
2025–2026
I led people analytics and data governance, building analytics as a capability across the department. I developed and piloted new demographics to help the organization see and understand groups of employees that are often overlooked; new analysis packages for HRBPs and other analysts, and served as a subject matter expert to bring more strategic analytics into organization-wide policy (such as strategic plans) and programs (such as employee listening, performance, and mentoring). I also developed frameworks and a maturity model for data governance and HRIS modernization. As the department’s Racial Equity Lead, I collaborated with leaders, advocates, and equity analysts across the agency and the city.
Credentials
MPS, Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology, George Mason University · Certified Executive Coach (CEC) · Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) · BS, Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior, University of California Davis
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Visibility Committee, White Paper Subcommittee Lead
HOW WE START
No presentation. A conversation, then a plan.
01 | A 60-minute consult
You tell me what’s going on – what’s working, what’s creaking, what’s keeping you up. I ask a lot of questions. No charge, no obligation.
02 | A short proposal
Within a week you get a plain-language proposal: fractional or project, scope, timeline, and fee. Nothing hidden in the fine print.
03 | We get to work
We start with the problem that matters most right now, and build from there so each piece sets up the next.
Your people practices should be an asset, not a patch job.
Every organization has people practices. Few have ones they designed on purpose. That gap is what differentiates the most competitive organizations from the rest. It shows in who they attract, who stays, and how well they adapt.