Emily Small
HR Innovator & Influential Storyteller
Experienced HR professional with expertise across several discipline areas:
Project and Change Management
HR Technology
Total Rewards
Strategic Business Partnership
Employee Relations
Talent Development and Training
Talent Aquisition
About Me
Before I was even six, I had already come up with several invention ideas with my family. You see, I grew up surrounded by small business owners, engineers, and people who learned how to make the most of what little God gave them. It’s a feeling really, the understanding that anything you work toward should be treated like your own baby. Cradling an idea, nurturing it, trying to bring it to life with nothing but a scratch and sniff marker and a scrap of bubble gum-colored construction paper.
Some of my earliest memories are filled with fantasies about potential creations, the endless innovations waiting behind a child's imagination. That constant thinking shaped me into the person I am today because my first memories weren’t just of play, but of invention, of figuring out how to make a process smoother, how to solve a problem, how to build something better. I’ve carried that mindset with me ever since. Iterating. Driving change. Developing new solutions to old problems.
This way of thinking also made me good at working with people because to create meaningful solutions, you first need to listen. Really listen. In college, I lived in a house with 24 people. The house was blue, packed with more roommates squeezed into double rooms than the coveted single spaces. Fights were constant. What people don’t always consider is how accustomed you become to conflict when you grow up in a small business household. When two parents have different ideas about how to run a restaurant, when money is involved and they’re juggling coworking and parenting at the same time, things get messy. So when I got to the cooperative, I was already well-equipped to handle it. I knew how to mediate because I had been doing it for years. And once I realized I was good at it, I leaned in, found my footing, built my own consulting firm and trained hundreds of people.
But all of that experience, all that learning, came before I even officially joined the workforce. These were organic lessons, absorbed through life itself, lessons that make me a better HR professional every single day. They’re what make me an excellent strategic partner for any leader in an organization.
Of course, I could talk about my experience in a Fortune 500 company, how I quickly progressed, became a critical pillar in a crumbling team, then helped restore it. I could detail the Talent Strategy guides I built or the coaching I provided for HR directors and C-suite executives. I could talk about the leadership influence I’ve demonstrated, the vendor relationships I’ve managed, the acquisition site I helped integrate, and the training sessions I led to bring people leaders up to speed.
And all of that is important. It’s on my resume.
But the heart of it all? It’s that I do what I do because I was raised in a small business household. I was taught to treat any company I work for as if I own it, to build, to improve, to invest in the success of those around me. I do this because someday, I might own my own company. And every experience along the way is an opportunity to learn, refine, and contribute meaningfully.
I know with each job application I submit, there are likely one thousand others, vying for their chance to demonstrate what they are worth. Layoffs have increased the talent pool, and you may be thinking that it's a safe bet to hire an employee with more years of experience who is willing to take a demotion. None of them will have a work ethic like me. I am creative, strategic, and experienced far beyond a bulleted list written in a Microsoft word document. If you meet with me, you will see it.
Featured Skills
Communication, Story Telling, and Change Management
Technology, Agile Improvement, and Process Optimization
Critical Thinking, Strategic Mindset, and Influential Leadership
Experience
Ford Motor Company
December 2025 - Current
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As a strategic HR leader at Ford Motor Company, I manage complex human resources operations at the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain facility. My work centers on navigating high-stakes industrial transitions, fostering collaborative labor relations, and leveraging emerging technology to ensure organizational integrity and operational harmony.
Labor Relations & Strategic Execution: Directed the strategic execution of an Indefinite Layoff (ILO) for 90 salaried and hourly union employees. By prioritizing transparency and strict adherence to labor agreements, I cultivated high-trust relationships with union leadership that resulted in a significant reduction in formal grievances and escalations.
Systems Innovation & AI: Developed and implemented a custom AI agent designed for non-biased investigation preparation. This tool standardized objective questioning and restored departmental credibility with union officials by ensuring a data-driven, neutral approach to labor relations.
Investigative Oversight & Risk Mitigation: Provide executive oversight for 20+ complex workplace investigations. My leadership in handling high-stakes cases—including those resulting in criminal charges—has mitigated significant organizational risk and reinforced a culture of accountability.
Team Leadership & Development: Manage a multi-disciplinary team of HR Partners and Compliance specialists. I proactively identified and remediated critical skill gaps within the team, successfully resolving long-standing friction with labor partners and improving overall departmental performance.
Industrial Transition Management: Lead HR operations for a high-priority electric powertrain site, balancing the needs of a diverse workforce during a pivotal era of automotive electrification.
Core Expertise: Labor Relations (UAW), Strategic Restructuring (ILO), AI Integration in HR, Workplace Investigations, Conflict Resolution, and Change Management in Manufacturing.
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About My Work in Global HR & Talent Mobility
As a high-impact HR professional and identified High Potential Talent at Dow, I’ve led numerous global projects across Talent Mobility, HR systems, and relocation operations—driving measurable improvements in efficiency, satisfaction, and process sustainability.
Employee Experience: Optimized Dow’s international onboarding process, leading to a 40-point increase in employee satisfaction (50% → 90%) through 13 cross-functional enhancements.
Systems Innovation: Trained an AI agent to code in Workday Extend and led the development of a groundbreaking application projected to save Dow over 3,000 manual hours.
Strategic Process Design: Created Dow’s Global Talent Mobility Guidance, advised 20+ global projects across HR disciplines, and led a major Location Optimization restructure to transition operations to Mumbai.
Sustainability Alignment: Supported Dow’s Path2Zero initiative by redesigning key relocation processes to better align with net-zero goals.
VIP & C-Suite Engagement: Acted as primary relocation advisor for Dow's executive leadership, managing sensitive, high-profile moves.
Continuous Improvement: Led 50+ global Root Cause Analyses, implemented ADKAR and Agile change models, and saved over 900+ hours annually through process enhancements.
Tech & Tools Expertise: Advanced skills in Workday, ServiceNow, SharePoint, PowerBI, Excel, and more—used to create tracking systems, mentor global teams, and deliver results.
Leadership Development: Launched “HR Talks,” a global HR learning series designed to upskill HR staff and foster cross-discipline knowledge sharing.
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HR Leadership Experience: East Texas Operations
As a strategic HR partner supporting Dow’s Orange and Beaumont sites (serving 900+ employees and 52 leaders), I delivered cross-functional guidance, developed scalable tools, and led critical people initiatives:
Leadership Enablement: Designed and facilitated a comprehensive people leader training program covering compensation, payroll, performance, and employee relations—adopted across multiple U.S. sites.
M&A Integration: Created a 373-policy transition tool to align legacy DuPont HR policies with Dow’s, ensuring a smooth post-merger integration.
Compensation Strategy: Built 52 custom compensation projection tools to support fair, data-driven promotion and merit decisions across functions.
Employee Relations & Ethics: Conducted 5 workplace investigations and partnered with HR Legal to lead sitewide Ethics & Integrity training initiatives.
Leave & Accommodation Management: Oversaw FMLA and accommodation processes for 26 employees and contributed to 30+ Medical Review Board cases in collaboration with Health Services and Legal.
Crisis Response: Streamlined the post-severe weather accountability process, saving over 300 manual hours and improving response efficiency.
Labor Relations Support: Stepped in as acting Labor Relations Specialist during union negotiations at the Elizabethtown, KY site, ensuring continuity and collaborative progress.
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Compensation Strategy & HR Technology
With deep experience in compensation systems, policy development, and global HR technology, I’ve led high-impact projects that drive efficiency, compliance, and strategic alignment:
Global Systems Leadership: Led the Global Compensation Technology Audit, establishing tech ownership, streamlining collaboration, and formalizing enhancement approval processes aligned to Dow’s One HR Model.
Market Intelligence & Pay Policy: Contributed to North America’s market measurement strategy by completing 10+ surveys and synthesizing insights across compensation reviews. Authored the “NA Civic Duty and Engagement” pay policy in support of the Dow ACTs initiative.
Union Negotiation Support: Performed pre-negotiation wage analyses for Freeport and Deer Park sites and created detailed training materials for future compensation analysts.
Efficiency Gains: Designed an Excel-based manual compensation statement tool used globally in pay planning, reducing statement creation time by 80% and saving over 220 hours annually.
Workday Expertise: Specialized in Workday’s Mass Load / Electronic Interface Builder integration process—validated 40+ templates and trained regional compensation SMEs across geographies.
Global Communications: Partnered directly with Dow’s CHRO and HR Strategy team to facilitate the 2020 Global HR Webcast, aligning messaging across global HR teams.
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Workday Systems & Organizational Design
As Dow’s global expert in Supervisory Organizations, Position Management, and Succession Planning, I’ve driven large-scale system design, governance, and efficiency within Workday:
Global Subject Matter Expert: Led a team of 6 regional SMEs as the global lead for Supervisory Orgs, Succession Planning, and Position Management.
High-Volume Reorganizations: Executed 200+ reorganizations in Workday, ranging from 5 to 250 employees each, supporting major business structure changes.
Governance & Guidance: Created global guidance for Workforce Administration (WFA) templates and approval workflows, and documented standards for position and supervisory management.
Training & Audits: Designed a global training program for Supervisory Organizations and implemented 10 custom audits to support data accuracy and structural integrity.
Cross-Functional Support: Temporarily supported the Benefits team, assisting with international plan oversight (Cigna) and aging debt reconciliation during a team leave.
Data Integrity: Managed cost center inactivation processes in Workday, ensuring clean organizational and financial data alignment.
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HR Systems Implementation & Inclusion Initiatives
During Dow’s Workday system launch, I supported foundational system setup and drove inclusion-focused enhancements:
Inclusive Systems Design: Developed the initial project outline to implement gender, pronoun, and sex identification fields in Workday, supporting equity and employee self-identification.
Go-Live Support: Created 30+ user scenarios, 100+ test profiles, and 10+ supervisory organizations for Workday Go-Live training; audited 50+ test transactions and provided performance feedback to 20+ team members.
System Transition: Supported dual maintenance between SAP and Workday, ensuring data integrity during the critical launch period.
Additional Experience
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Empowering People Through Conflict Resolution & Consent Education
August 2018 - October 2022
As the founder and lead consultant of this initiative, I facilitated 26 customized trainings in conflict resolution, communication, and consent—while also working and studying full time. Through this work, I helped over 500 individuals build practical skills in mediation, healthy dialogue, and navigating complex interpersonal dynamics with clarity and care.
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Early Experience in Employee Relations & Inclusive Advocacy
May 2018 - August 2018
As an Employee Relations Intern with the Rocket Family of Companies, I supported core HR functions and contributed to initiatives impacting a 17,000-person workforce:
Stay Interview Strategy: Conducted all external research to help design a new stay interview process for a major subsidiary.
Employee Insights: Administered 40+ hours of exit interviews, delivering clear, actionable feedback to stakeholders.
HR Exposure: Gained hands-on experience in investigations, performance management, and the separation process.
Inclusive Storytelling: Invited to speak at a “Q-Talks” event, sharing my experience with an invisible disability with over 200 attendees to promote empathy and understanding.
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Leading with Equity in Cooperative Housing & Conflict Mediation
May 2017 - May 2018
As Executive Vice President and VP of Membership Services, I provided leadership, mediation, and operational oversight for a nonprofit student housing organization:
Conflict Resolution Leadership: Chaired the Grievance and Membership Committees, serving as the organization’s conflict mediation expert and resolving 30+ disputes, often coordinating with specialized community resources.
Contract & Membership Oversight: Managed housing contracts for 263 residents, ensuring equitable, transparent service for all members.
Systems Design: Developed and implemented a membership tracking system for affiliated cooperative communities serving an additional 43 members.
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Scaling Talent in University Residential Life
February 2017 - March 2018
As an HR Coordinator at Michigan State University, I led high-volume hiring for three residential complexes, including a newly developed building:
End-to-End Hiring Management: Oversaw the recruitment and selection process for 300+ interviews, resulting in the successful hiring of 250 residential staff.
Building New Teams: Supported staffing for a new residential facility, ensuring a smooth and timely launch through strategic hiring and onboarding practices.
Volunteer
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Supporting Sustainable and Ethical Technology Evolution
January 2025 - Current
In my newest role, I serve as the Committee Manager for Dow’s HR AI Governance Team, supporting the company’s commitment to responsible, ethical use of artificial intelligence in human resources.
While this work is still emerging, my role is expected to focus on:
Coordinating cross-functional collaboration between HR, Legal, IT, and Data teams to evaluate the design and deployment of AI tools used in talent processes.
Establishing governance frameworks to ensure AI systems are transparent, fair, and aligned with both company values and global compliance standards.
Documenting and operationalizing ethical review processes, including bias audits, data privacy checks, and stakeholder feedback loops.
Driving education and awareness on responsible AI use across HR teams.
As this space evolves, I’m excited to help shape how AI can be used to enhance equity, efficiency, and trust within HR practices.
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Experience in a Start Up Environment
November 2025 - Current
As a volunteer HR advisor for a growing nonprofit, I’ve provided strategic HR guidance and operational tools to support organizational growth and employee development:
Policy & Benchmarking: Partnered with the Board and President to develop HR policies and conduct benchmarking analyses to guide compensation and structure.
Employee Relations: Consulted on performance concerns and promoted initiatives that encourage employee development and engagement.
Organizational Effectiveness: Designed tools to track workflows and identify inefficiencies, enabling leadership to reduce waste and optimize structure.
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Bridging Systems & Impact
June 2023 - Current
As the data owner and integration lead for Dow’s United Way giving campaign, I managed the seamless connection between United Way’s giving portal and Dow’s payroll systems—ensuring accurate data flow and strict adherence to data privacy standards.
System Integration & Governance: Led the technical and process integration, verifying secure, compliant transmission of employee contribution data.
Campaign Leadership: Served on the Global United Way Giving Campaign board, partnering with senior leaders to boost visibility and increase employee engagement.
Employee Education: Championed campaign efforts by educating employees on giving options and relevant tax benefits, helping connect individual generosity with meaningful community impact.
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Amplifying LGBTQ+ Voices Through Storytelling, Strategy & Celebration
February 2021 - Current
As the Content Leader for Dow’s Michigan LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, I craft newsletters and written communications that reach over 8,000 employees—making this the most engaged communication channel within the ERG.
High-Impact Storytelling: Develop inclusive, empowering content that fosters visibility, connection, and advocacy across the organization.
Platform Innovation: Launched a new SharePoint site and implemented Microsoft Sway, significantly increasing engagement and accessibility.
Strategic Leadership: Support broader ERG steering team activities, contributing to organizational strategies, annual planning, and cross-functional initiatives.
Pride in Action: Play an active role in Pride event planning, helping to coordinate campaigns and celebrations that center LGBTQ+ voices and build inclusive culture year-round.
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Driving Change at the Intersection of HR & Technology
January 2022 - December 2024
As the Global HR Tools, Technology, and Processes Track Leader, I led a cross-disciplinary team of 20 HR change champions, ensuring the organization was equipped to adopt and adapt to evolving technology.
Change Leadership: Guided a global network of HR representatives to support system rollouts and new IT tools, enhancing readiness across the function.
Employee-Centered Solutions: Monitored employee survey data and implemented strategies to increase receptiveness to HR technology, addressing friction points in real time.
Process & Experience Improvements: Advocated for updates that directly improved the HR tech experience—including a more efficient laptop restoration process and the creation of "AI Moments" to showcase practical, everyday uses of emerging tools.
Strategic Enablement: Helped position the HR team to lead confidently through change by aligning people, process, and tech across a global landscape.
Dow Chemical
July 2019 - December 2025
HR Leadership Development Program, Dow Chemical
Bachelor of Arts, Human Resources and Labor Relations
Bachelor of Arts, I/O Psychology with Women’s and Global Studies focus
Additional Certifications in Business Ethics, DEI, Six Sigma, Conflict Resolution, and Team Dynamics
Resume
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