Ms. Contacos-Sawyer also served as an Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Professor for Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA (2004 – 2019).

Ms. Contacos-Sawyer has specialized expertise in the areas of strategic planning and organizational development and from this expertise aligns business strategies and objectives with customized performance management systems that result in improved individual, team, and organizational performance. She also specializes in HR audits, HR policies and procedures, HR compliance and training, job analysis, strategic compensation, managerial communications, human resource infrastructure assessment, training design/development/delivery, DiSC facilitation, and mitigating employment practice risk. By establishing performance measures and mapping workflow to organizational goals, quality processes, and customer service standards, Jonna has assisted many organizations to achieve a greater return on their investment in human capital. The firm has provided creative human resource solutions to over 1,000+ organizations in the private and public sector with employee sizes ranging from 5 to 17,000 and revenues ranging from $250,000 to $10 billion.

Through her innovative leadership and business acumen, Ms. Contacos-Sawyer has enabled sustainment and growth of HR Consultants, Inc. She prioritizes hiring and retaining highly competent staff and investing in her firm’s human capital to create an engaged workforce. HRC’s consultants deliver best practice professional services to influence firm growth and long-term client retention.

Ms. Contacos-Sawyer has extensive experience in the development and delivery of both custom curricula and off-the-shelf training solutions. She has trained 15,000+ professionals in 500+ organizations and developed and delivered Train-the-Trainer programs for in-house delivery. She has assessed performance and behavioral traits and developed and delivered specialized coaching and training services to improve performance and productivity, increase collaboration, and enhance communications to better enable achievement of client corporate goals. She has coached numerous Executive-level and Leadership-level members of multi-million-dollar organizations. Jonna is a dynamic and highly rated presenter and certified trainer able to motivate audiences with her enthusiastic personality.  Since she takes continuous learning and improvement to heart, and she influences these traits in others.

Jonna’s educational credentials include:

• Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) with a concentration in Human Resources; Northcentral University
• Master of Arts Degree in Personnel Administration/Industrial Relations – Saint Francis University (SFU)
• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management/Economics – University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ)
• National recognition as a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the Human Resource Certification Institute
• National recognition as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)
• Certified Management Development Trainer
• Certified Professional in 360 Task Cycle Surveys and Feedback on Leadership Development and Coaching through Clark Wilson Group

In addition to her educational credentials, Jonna is also an active member of the following associations:

• WorldatWork Society
• National Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI)
• Human Resource Association of the Alleghenies (HRAA), Former President and Community Outreach Chair
• Delta Epsilon Iota Honor Society, UPJ, Lifetime National Honorary Membership

Jonna has a strong commitment to her community that she demonstrates personally and through her firm. In recognition for her contributions to the community and the Pennsylvania economy, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development chose Jonna as one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business for 2003.  Jonna was also chosen as 2003’s Pennsylvania Entrepreneur award winner in the small business category. This award is hosted through Pennsylvania Business Central and sponsored by Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers.  Additionally, Jonna was named HR Person of the Year in 2004 and again in 2007 by Cambria-Somerset HR Association.  Jonna was also selected and served as the Executive in Residence at Saint Francis University in 2008.   Marcellus Business Central announced HR Consultants, Inc. as a Women Owned Business 50 to Follow in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Women Making a Difference in 2018 and 2019, Top 100 Organizations in 2019, and Top 100 People in 2020.  Jonna’s HR firm provides annual donations and in-kind services to community and non-profit organizations.  

Jonna’s past and present community leadership roles include:

•  Johnstown Industrial Development Corporation
• University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Advisory Board to the President
• President/Board of Trustees for the Christian Home of Johnstown and also serves on the Human Resource and Finance Committees
• Business Advisory Council – Goodwill Industries
• Cambria-Somerset Human Resource Association
• Chairperson of REACH Out Youth Ministry Community Service Program for St. Michael Catholic Church
• Mentor for the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission – Entrepreneurial Assistance Network.

Jonna continually influences professional growth and achievement through presentations and published work and provides mentoring services to individuals enrolled in human resource programs, advancing careers, or entering the field of human resources.  Jonna models the qualities of integrity, innovation, and service, using these ethical principles to guide her firm.  The nature of her work, her community involvement, and her personal values influence positive change in the organizations to which she serves as well as to those individuals she interacts with on both a professional and personal level.

Ms. Contacos-Sawyer’s past publications include:

• Dissertation: CEO Leadership Styles, Labor Productivity, and the Moderating Effect of Performance Management Systems: A Correlation Study in Pennsylvania’s Small Manufacturing Sector; Jonna Contacos-Sawyer, Proquest, 2017
• High Performance Work Systems for Online Education; Jonna Contacos-Sawyer, Northcentral University; Mark Revels and Mark Ciampa, Western Kentucky University, Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume XIII, Number III, Fall 2010
• Business Compensation Design Plan; Jonna Contacos-Sawyer, Northcentral University, Mark Revels, Western Kentucky University, and Mark Ciampa, Western Kentucky University. Business Journal for Entrepreneurs, Volume 2011 Issue 4, Franklin Publishing Company
• The ROI of Training; Jonna Contacos-Sawyer.  Pennsylvania County News, September/October 2011