Jessie Combre, PhD, has over 20 years of consulting experience in areas of career transitions, executive and management development, strategic human resources management, and organizational transformation. Her clients have included individuals and organizations – corporate, international, and not-for-profit – from The USA, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Applying her expertise in the behavioral and organizational sciences, she has helped clients attain their competitive advantage by aligning individual aims and behavior with a coherent structure of organizational mission, vision, values, strategy and processes.
More specifically, Jessie has consulted on competency-based systems to promote talent development, learning, and performance management and trained/coached individuals in leadership, cross-cultural communications, managing change, and career development/outplacement consistent with strategic objectives. Also, she has assessed and consulted on organizational processes to: lessen workplace stress and improve climate, build teamwork, and promote innovation and quality service.
Previously as an HR specialist with Continental Bank, Jessie coached employees on personal/career issues and consulted with managers on policies related to performance management, disability, and employee relations, as well as a business unit on talent development to achieve its succession plans. Formerly, she received national recognition as a staff editor-writer with IBM-Houston for excellence in spaceflight-related documentation and new business proposals, and as Co-Director of the Minority Leadership Project-Columbia University for her study of US graduate programs for their best practices in the recruitment, retention, and leadership development of persons of color.
Jessie received an A.M. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in occupational-clinical social work, with a specialization in organizational theory. Her presentations and publications include: Critical Leadership Competencies for Managing Change; Handbook on Better Meetings Management; Social Support and Employee Well-Being Following Intra-organizational Career Transitions; Enhancing Minority Recruitment and Retention in Graduate Social Work Education; Downsizing: Crises and Opportunities; Proper Approach and Integration Key to Effective Counseling Programs; The Cultural Confrontation: Minorities and the Workplace.