Meet the Human Resources Team
Dana Nagengast, SHRM-SCP
Assistant Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer (AVP-CHRO)Kingston Hall909.621.8512dnagengast@hmc.edu
- Lead the Office of Human Resources, delivering innovative and customer-focused HR services related to candidate recruitment and onboarding experience, compensation and benefits, performance management, employee relations, HRIS/payroll processing, HR compliance/policy administration, and professional training and development.
- Advise and partner with college leadership to achieve college and department goals in support of the College’s strategic initiatives.
- Lead and collaborate with the HR team to foster community connections through communication, events, and gatherings to support our staff.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for employees and supervisors pertaining to employee relations matters.
- Act as the College’s Affirmative Action Officer and serves as one of the Workplace Violence Administrators for the College.
- Represent the College as an active member of the Human Resources Committee of The Claremont Colleges and collaborates with colleagues in intercollegiate initiatives and programs.
Patrice Siffert, SHRM-SCP
Associate Director for Human ResourcesKingston Hall909.607.4154psiffert@hmc.edu
- Oversee hiring and onboarding for faculty, including managing HR processes for faculty appointments, in collaboration with the Dean of the Faculty’s Office. Schedule and conduct new hire orientation for the new faculty and staff.
- Partner with the AVP-CHRO regarding staff compensation analysis/programs and faculty and staff immigration requests.
- Serve as the liaison with The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS) regarding benefits administration, questions, and issue resolution for faculty and staff.
- Oversee leave administration, which includes medical and family matters.
- Oversee and facilitate the annual service award program and other HR services for the College.
- Serve as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator for the College and conduct investigations when respondent or claimant is Faculty or Staff.
Marcella Camberos, Ed.D.
Assistant Director for Human ResourcesKingston Hall909.607.4159mcamberos@hmc.edu
- Oversee all staff recruiting needs by collaborating with hiring managers and overseeing the sourcing, pre-screening, interviewing and referral of qualified candidates.
- Partner with the CHRO and department managers to provide guidance on developing and reviewing job descriptions, assessment of staffing needs, and support department employment changes.
- Ensure successful onboarding of all new staff and partners with the Associate Director of HR in conducing new hire orientation and manages all off-boarding/exit processes.
- Provide support for temporary employment, independent contractor employment, and the College Upward Bound Summer program.
- Serve as the liaison with The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS) regarding Workers Compensation claims, ergonomic evaluations, and the college Authorized Drivers program.
Catharyne Magro
Human Resources Generalist Kingston Hall909.607.9700cmagro@hmc.edu
- Provide administrative support to the Office of Human Resources for staff pre-employment actions, onboarding and off-boarding, including background checks and employment verification requests for faculty, staff, and student employees.
- Manage student hiring and onboarding process for student hires in partnership with the HR/Payroll Specialist.
- Provide administrative support for HR such as maintaining and updating employee records through the human resource information system (HRIS). Oversee all HR records management and provide other administrative support for HR.
- Partner with AVP-CHRO to coordinate all HR community connections through communication, events, and gatherings to support our staff.
- Coordinate internal and external HR meetings/appointments and respond to HR-related queries and/or requests.
José Barajas
HR Analyst & AdministratorKingston Hall909.607.6531jbarajas@hmc.edu
- Coordinate the Workday HRIS design/configuration, maintenance, and administration in support of HR strategy.
- Collect and interpret data for HR and compensation surveys and partner with members of HR and the Office of Financial Affairs to perform data analysis.
- Partner with AVP-CHRO to lead the annual performance management and salary increase programs.
- Provide a broad range of support related to compensation and benefits, employee relations, HRIS, payroll, policy administration, training and development, and special projects.
- Support Staff Pilot Remote Work program, including attestation and tracking.
Sophie Hernandez
HR/Payroll SpecialistKingston Hall909.607.2729sohernandez@hmc.edu
- Administer payroll for faculty, staff and student workers, including managing the Special Payment Authorization (SPA) function on campus.
- Process payroll changes related to leave of absences, including FMLA, medical leave, and other types of employee leave, in partnership with other HR team members.
- Coordinate and administer student employment programs, including recruitment and payroll processing.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for Workday Time Tracking and Absence Management system, providing support and troubleshooting.
- Partner with the AVP-CHRO in developing and delivering HR training sessions for the community on HR and payroll compliance requirements in collaboration with HR team members.
Haley Phillips
Assistant Director for Special Projects (part-time)Offices of the Chief Operating Officer and Human ResourcesKingston Hall909.607.4096hphillips@hmc.edu
- Partner with the VP/COO and AVP-CHRO to manage special projects and initiatives, drafting policies, and preparing communications.
- Serve as a backup administrator for the College-issued purchase cards program and providing guidance to departments.
- Partner with the VP/COO and AVP-CHRO for annual programs, such as HMC’s Affirmative Action Plan.
- Provide ad-hoc HR support, as directed by the AVP-CHRO regarding recruitment, employee relations and compliance.
- Collaborate with HR team on strategic projects.