Sharon Armstrong

Sharon Armstrong began her career in human resources in 1985 as a recruiter/trainer in a large Manhattan law firm. She took over as Director of HR at the DC firm Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge in 1991, and in 1994 became the Director of HR and Administration at the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

In 2000, she opened her own firm, Sharon Armstrong & Associates, and since has consulted with many large corporations and small businesses. She has facilitated training, completed HR projects and provided career transition services for a wide variety of clients in the profit and non-profit sectors. Her firm also serves as a brokerage house for other HR professionals.

Sharon received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern Maine and her Masters Degree in Counseling from George Washington University. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR).

Sharon’s Books

• In 1998, Sharon co-wrote a humor book about her dog Scooter, “Healing the Canine Within: A Dog’s Self-Help Companion.”

• Her first business book, Stress-Free Performance Appraisals: Turn Your Most Painful Management Duty into a Powerful Motivational Tool was published by Career Press in July 2003.

• The Essential HR Handbook – A Quick and Handy Guide for Any Manager or HR Professional was published in August 2008.

• THIS SPRING Sharon will release her fourth book: The Essential Performance Review Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource For Any Manager or HR Professional.

Barbara Mitchell

Barbara Mitchell is a human resources and organization development consultant who is widely known as an expert in the areas of recruitment and retention. She has experience in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors and has consulted to a variety of organizations around the world.

She served in senior human resources leadership positions with Marriott International and several technology firms in the Washington DC area before co-founding the Millennium Group International, LLC (TMG) in 1998, which she sold in 2008.

She recently served on the Society of Human Resource Management as a Special Expert Panel on Consulting and Outsourcing in recognition of her expertise and long service to the HR profession. Barbara is a graduate of North Park University, Chicago, IL, with a degree in history and political science and has taken graduate level courses at UCLA.