Our HR Consultants | Fractional HR Experts

Liana Mickens

Liana is a global payroll and benefits leader with 18+ years of experience helping organizations get one of the most sensitive parts of the employee experience right: paying people accurately, compliantly, and on time, everywhere they operate. Her work spans North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC, where she has led payroll operations for international workforces of thousands of employees across multiple countries.

Liana is known for her white-glove, detail-obsessed approach and her ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into clean, repeatable processes that teams can actually run. She believes payroll isn’t just a back-office function, it’s a trust-building engine, and when it works, everything else works better.

Alana Fallis

Alana Fallis serves as VP, Head of HR Consulting, where she leads HR Kickstart’s consulting practice and partners with organizations to build and scale modern People strategies. With over 12 years of experience in tech and startup environments, she brings deep expertise in aligning talent strategy with business performance.

A true builder, Alana specializes in building and scaling People programs that align with business priorities, combining strategic leadership with hands-on execution. She is known for her authentic, relationship-driven approach and her ability to develop high-performing teams and organizational infrastructure.

Her leadership style emphasizes authenticity, accessibility, and strong relationships. Alana is a certified NeuroLeadership Institute coach and holds sHRBP and SHRM-CP certifications. Alana is passionate about helping organizations invest in their people as a driver of long-term success. She lives in NYC with her husband and their trouble-making French Bulldog, Pepperoni.

Jim Camic

Jim is a Principal HR Consultant and business-focused people leader with over 20 years of experience helping organizations use HR as a lever to drive growth, performance, and enterprise value. He works with founders, CEOs, and executive teams to align people strategy to business outcomes and to build systems that scale. His expertise centers on supporting organizations through critical inflection points, including rapid growth, private equity investment, organizational restructuring, and exit readiness.

With a Master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Jim brings a structured, data-driven approach to leadership and organizational effectiveness. He is known for his direct, pragmatic style and his ability to quickly diagnose issues and implement solutions that stick. He operates as a true partner to the business, translating strategy into execution and ensuring the people side of the organization accelerates, rather than limits, growth.

In addition to his MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology he is certified in multiple leadership and behavioral assessment tools.

Agustín Tomé

Executive Assistant & Sales CoordinatorAgustín Tomé is a bilingual administrative and operations professional with over three years of experience supporting clients and teams in fast-paced, international startup environments.

He has worked across B2B and B2C operations, managing high-volume communication through chat, email, and phone while owning processes end to end and keeping systems organized and reliable.He specializes in executive support, calendar and meeting coordination, and CRM organization, helping leaders reduce administrative overload so they can focus on high-impact work.

Agustín is highly adaptable and anticipates priorities to ensure nothing falls through the cracks, making him a dependable partner for busy executives and growing teams.

Melissa Breault

HR Consultant Melissa is an operations and HR consultant who supports mission-driven organizations by strengthening administrative, people, and operational systems. With 16+ years of administrative experience and over a decade working alongside HR teams, she helps leaders streamline processes, improve employee experience, and build sustainable internal foundations.

She brings a practical, hands-on approach to supporting leadership teams, managing day-to-day operations, and reducing operational friction so organizations can focus on growth and impact. Outside of work, Melissa enjoys spending time outdoors with her spouse and their zoo of animals that includes 20 chickens, 3 dogs, and 2 cats.

Jane Bridgeman

Jane brings over 20 years of global People & Culture experience, helping leaders and organizations thrive through growth, transition, and change. A Certified Leadership Coach, she specializes in talent strategy, leadership readiness, and organizational effectiveness – and is known for bringing clarity, momentum, and practical solutions to fast-moving environments.
She has partnered with C-suite executives, founders, and senior leaders to align people strategies with business priorities, elevate leadership capability, and build talent practices that scale. Jane excels at helping leaders gain clarity in complex situations and guiding teams through high-stakes organizational shifts with confidence, composure, and a grounded, collaborative approach.
Her coaching style is insightful, personalized, and rooted in expanding self-awareness. She leverages tools such as Hogan and the Energy Leadership Index to help leaders enhance their effectiveness and navigate complex dynamics with greater impact.
Jane is a Certified Professional Coach through iPEC and an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner. She holds a Certificate in HR Leadership Excellence from Cornell ILR, is Hogan-certified, and is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Gina Larson

Gina is a results-focused HR professional with extensive experience leading Global HR/People functions. She specializes in leadership and organizational development and is an ICF-certified coach. She has worked closely with C-suite executives, founders, and business unit leaders, aligning people strategies with business goals.Gina excels at establishing and improving HR processes while providing strategic HR guidance. She finds opportunities to modernize and scale people practices to drive business growth and employee engagement, ensuring metrics are in place to measure success.Her passion lies in personalizing development through coaching. She uses data-driven assessments to help leaders gain awareness to be more effective in fast-paced and matrixed organizations.Gina’s approach is collaborative, practical, and hands-on. She is deeply committed to delivering high-quality solutions and building lasting partnerships.Gina holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Kansas State University. She is certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), is a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and credentialed in industry-leading assessment tools, including Myers-Briggs, Hogan, Leadership Circle, DISC, Gallup CliftonStrengths, and EQi/EQi360.

Andrea Infelt Almaraz

Andrea Infelt Almaraz is an organization development leader with 25 years of experience in operations, change management and team development. With experience ranging from Fortune 500 companies in telecom and manufacturing to Inc 500 recognized small businesses and fast-growing startups, she brings practical expertise and a calm, grounded presence to help companies increase their operational capacity and best leverage their team’s strengths.
A lifelong advocate for service and community impact, Andrea serves on the Board of Directors for Global Dental Relief, is a founding member of Rooted RVA, connecting nonprofit leaders in Richmond, VA and is the founder of COO In Your Pocket™. She holds a Master’s degree in Organization Development & Adult Learning from DePaul University and is a Kolbe™ Certified Consultant.

Hillary Lodge

Hillary is a results-driven, empathetic, and impact-focused HR leader with 15+ years of experience scaling and transforming workplaces—from scrappy startups to established enterprises. She specializes in building HR functions from the ground up, fostering people-first cultures, and aligning HR strategy with business growth.
She thrives in fast-paced, remote-first environments where agility, innovation, and culture-building are key. Her expertise spans HRBP, Employee Relations, People Operations, L&D, M&A, leadership coaching, and compliance, always with a focus on growth, retention, and engagement.
Fun facts: Hillary and her husband are building an animal rescue in Costa Rica and love to travel.

George Lu

A seasoned HR leader with over 14 years of experience growing and advising on HR functions for startups and SMBs across a wide variety of industries. With a background spanning talent strategy, total compensation design, organizational development, and performance management infrastructures, he specializes in helping companies build scalable HR systems that support both company and cultural growth. George holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University and a SHRM-SCP certification with the Society of Human Resource Management.

Nissa Booker

With in-house leadership roles at companies ranging from startups to public enterprises, Nissa has built and scaled recruiting functions, developed inclusive hiring and engagement strategies, and partnered with executive teams to fill high-impact leadership roles. As a consultant, she led a top-performing consulting practice, delivering tailored hiring solutions to startups and growth-stage companies. Her expertise spans global TA strategy, talent management and learning and development.

Nissa brings a consultative, systems-minded approach to business transformation, rooted in strong operational acumen, collaborative and aligned coaching, and a deep understanding of talent’s impact on organizational success.

Core consulting competencies include:

● Executive search & leadership hiring
● TA process optimization & workforce planning
● Inclusion strategy & employer branding
● Talent planning & performance management
● Change management & organizational development
● Leadership coaching & engagement strategy

Angela Spisak

Angela is the behind-the-scenes driving force at HRKickstart, ensuring the technology runs smoothly so the team can stay focused on delivering top-tier HR support. With a knack for systems, automation, and digital problem-solving, she manages everything from website functionality to software integration and tech troubleshooting.
Angela is the go-to for all things tech. Her ability to translate technical complexity into simple, reliable solutions makes her an essential part of the team—and a calm, steady presence in a fast-paced environment.
When she’s not optimizing workflows or untangling tech knots, Angela enjoys exploring creative projects and staying ahead of the latest digital trends.

Sean Carroll

Sean is a driven entrepreneur with an insatiable curiosity, and a passion for learning and growth.

After serving as a public school music teacher for 7 years, he built an award winning real estate sales practice from zero to over $5.5 million in sales volume in less than 12 months, all during the “Great Recession” of 2008-2009.

As an early adopter of social media and online marketing, he generated thousands of leads via blogging, email marketing, and social media at a time when many Realtors were leaving the business, and his colleagues were telling him he was “nuts” for wasting his time on Facebook.

Over the past decade, he has built loyal, highly engaged audiences on several social media platforms, including over 20,000 followers on a single TikTok account in less than 6 months.

In 2009, he launched his first consulting company, and for over 13 years, Sean has helped hundreds of small businesses grow their revenue through both “old school” and “new school” lead generation and sales conversion strategies.

In 2021 he finally realized it was time to partner with his wife, Tanya, to bring his expertise and passion for small business to HR Kickstart, where he is head of business development and Chief of Staff. (He’s thrilled she said yes!)

Sean is also a profes

Tanya Carroll

Tanya is a business savvy, results-driven Human Resources Expert, Certified Leadership Coach, and Collaborative Business Partner who has thrived in fast paced, unpredictable and rapidly-changing work environments for over 20 years.

Through innovative and cost-effective ‘people’ strategies, she’s built an unparalleled blend of experience supporting growth-stage companies in several industries in hitting their revenue targets. (Including 2 IPOs)

In addition to her HR expertise, she’s worked alongside legal counsel to negotiate several collective bargaining agreements as a labor relations expert, and coached some of the most influential founders and executives through both rapid growth and challenging reductions in force.

Whether you’re a growing small business, or a VC Backed startup company that needs HR support, Tanya has probably done it!

When she’s not working with her clients, you will most likely find her outdoors. She loves hiking, gardening, and you may see her flying above your head on a trapeze at a class near you.

Karen Weeks

With over 20 years of award-winning HR leadership experience, Karen has focused on building amazing cultures within organizations and coaching individuals to ignite their careers. She is the Co-Founder & CEO of Shine at Work, a coaching business that ignites people’s careers, and the Co-Founder & Head of HR Partnerships at Drop D HR, a consulting practice that plugs in where organizations need to tune their people strategy to their business strategy. As a speaker, author and podcast host, she enjoys sharing stories and actionable advice so that people can shine at work and in life. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and furry babies.

Donna Brown

Donna helps companies drive business growth and overcome complex people & organizational challenges by solving problems at scale.

Her global leadership experience spans HR & Tech – from VC backed start-ups to global enterprises giving her a unique blend of skills & insights to help companies accelerate growth.

Expert in talent & employee lifecycles, business transformation, change management, M&A integrations, restructurings, & operating model changes. Donna is known for her inclusive, motivational, engaging leadership that unleashes maximum performance. She is a trained Agilist, creating bespoke solutions and leveraging relationships, insights and partnerships to implement at scale.

Ruchi Shukla

Ruchi is a Talent Acquisition Specialist with extensive experience in full-cycle recruiting across tech, media, corporate, and DTC industries. She’s had the opportunity to partner with both high-growth startups and established organizations to help them build strong, diverse teams.

She is passionate about sourcing top talent, enhancing candidate experience, and driving efficient, people-first hiring processes. She brings a mix of strategic thinking and hands-on execution to every search, and loves helping companies scale with the right people in place.

Gareth Lewis

Gareth Lewis is a People & Culture advisor specializing in AI-era organizational transformation. With over 25 years of experience spanning both sides of the consulting world, he brings a dual perspective: shaping strategy from the outside as a Management Consultant, where he advised global organizations including BP, Unilever, Thomson Reuters, and the UK Government; and leading it from within as a senior People & Culture executive at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, The News Movement, and Human Rights Watch.

Gareth understands what it means to think strategically about how organizations need to change in the AI era, and what it actually takes to make that change stick when navigating organizational politics, leadership dynamics, and operational constraints.

His experience covers the full People agenda including organizational design, workforce planning, job architecture, compensation, performance management, talent strategy, and HR modernization, across environments ranging from high growth startups to large matrixed global organizations. Gareth works on a fractional and project basis with leadership teams navigating transformation, workforce strategy, and People function modernization.

Aileen Joa

Aileen is seasoned People & Talent leader with over 15 years of experience guiding high-growth startups and global organizations through pivotal moments of scale, transformation, and cultural evolution. She’s led People functions at startups including TubeScience, Videri, and Halo Group, and held senior HR Business Partner roles at larger organizations such as BuzzFeed, Braze, and Ogilvy—supporting a variety of functions including but not limited to Engineering, Creative, Strategy, and GTM teams across the U.S. and globally.

Fluent in Spanish and grounded in a global perspective, she approaches HR with both cultural fluency and business acumen—supporting diverse, distributed teams with solutions that scale across borders.

Her work is rooted in strategic partnership and she serves as a sounding board to executive teams while building people programs that drive engagement, clarity, and business results.

Emile Chung

Emile is a strategic compensation advisor with deep expertise in designing, implementing, and communicating high-impact compensation and benefits programs. He has led compensation and benefits functions across the tech and media sectors, with roles at companies including SeatGeek, BuzzFeed, and Twitch.

Passionate about startups, Emile partners with early-stage and growth companies to build fair and flexible programs that support sustainable scaling. His specialties include compensation benchmarking, career architecture development and equity compensation.
Emile began his career at Willis Towers Watson, advising a diverse range of organizations—from early-stage startups to large multinational corporations—on compensation strategy and best practices. He holds a B.Sc. in Finance from American University and an MBA from Baruch College

Laura Valades

She brings a proven track record of supporting C-level executives with discretion, efficiency, and a strategic mindset. Alongside her executive support expertise, she has valuable experience as a Sales and Marketing Assistant, providing her with a strong understanding of business development, client engagement, and brand positioning.

She excels at managing complex calendars, high-level communications, and fast-moving priorities—helping leaders stay focused on critical decisions and long-term goals. Valued for her integrity and cross-functional insight, she is a reliable and thoughtful partner who contributes business-savvy support to executive leadership.

Meet Our Trusted Experts

Angela Spisak

Angela Spisak
Tech & Systems
Support

Emile Chung

Emile Chung
Senior Compensation
Consultant

Gareth Lewis

Gareth Lewis
People & Culture Advisor

George Lu

George Lu
Senior HR Consultant

Jane Bridgeman

Jane Bridgeman
Principal HR Consultant

Liana Mickens

Liana Mickens
Global Payroll & Benefits Leader

Melissa Breault

Melissa Breault
HR Consultant

Nissa Booker

Nissa Booker
Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant

Ruchi Shukla

Ruchi Shukla
Talent Acquisition
Consultant

Meet Our Trusted Experts

Angela Spisak

Angela SpisakTech & SystemsSupport

Emile Chung

Emile ChungSenior CompensationConsultant

Gareth Lewis

Gareth LewisPeople & Culture Advisor

George Lu

George LuSenior HR Consultant

Jane Bridgeman

Jane BridgemanPrincipal HR Consultant

Liana Mickens

Liana MickensGlobal Payroll & Benefits Leader

Melissa Breault

Melissa BreaultHR Consultant

Nissa Booker

Nissa BookerSenior Talent Acquisition Consultant

Ruchi Shukla

Ruchi ShuklaTalent AcquisitionConsultant

Angela Spisak
Tech & Systems
Support

Emile Chung
Senior Compensation
Consultant

Gareth Lewis
People & Culture Advisor

George Lu
Senior HR Consultant

Jane Bridgeman
Principal HR Consultant

Liana Mickens
Global Payroll & Benefits Leader

Melissa Breault
HR Consultant

Nissa Booker
Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant

Ruchi Shukla
Talent Acquisition
Consultant