Nicole Garcia Joins SHRM EPAC

​Nicole Garcia, SHRM-CP, human capital consultant for Deloitte and CEO and founder of Integrate & Elevate LLC in Los Angeles, is among the five new members of the Emerging Professionals Advisory Council (EPAC) for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). 

She and the other four individuals make up a 10-member council that represents SHRM's five regions—North Central, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Pacific West. Council involvement offers leadership, speaking and travel opportunities, including attendance at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2022.

EPAC members are SHRM members, have held an HR or related position for three to five years, and preferably have experience as a SHRM student chapter leader. They have, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree related to HR.

SHRM Online spoke with Garcia about her HR journey.

Her HR experience: Before joining Deloitte in 2021, Garcia worked throughout California at Cigna Group Insurance as leave of absence claims manager, at National Debt Relief as HR administrator, at Irell & Manella as HR generalist equivalent, and at Farm Sanctuary as head of HR.

Her schooling: Garcia worked full time while studying for her master's degree in human resource management, which she received in 2021 from the University of Southern California (USC) and was awarded The Order of Arete. This award is accorded to graduate students who have distinguished themselves through campus or community leadership roles beyond those required for their programs of study.

She also worked full time while attending Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., where she received her bachelor's degree in business administration in 2016. She earned a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida and is a Latina Professionals national board member.

She is considering obtaining a master's degree in business administration.

SHRM involvement: Garcia is former communications chair for the West Los Angeles chapter of the Professionals in Human Resources Association, which is a SHRM affiliate, and founded and was co-president of the SHRM student chapter at USC.

Why HR? Garcia recalled how her parents, who are Mexican and first-generation working professionals, were treated poorly in the workplace. After her mother earned a promotion to manager, for example, co-workers dismissed her and saw her promotion as simply filling an affirmative action quota, despite her qualifications and years of experience. Garcia, who has past experience of not being heard in the workplace, decided to go into HR to make a positive difference.

"I do believe in SHRM's logo, 'Better Workplaces, Better World,' " she said. "We can make a positive impact on people's lives, inside and outside the workplace."

Is there an HR area you would like to specialize in? "I'm working on specializing now in culture. That's the foundation for the organization to achieve success," she said. "If you want to implement business strategy … everything goes back to culture. It ties in leadership, it ties in DE&I [diversity, equity and inclusion]; if you want innovation, you need to have a culture that says it's OK to take risks, to ask questions."

One of her favorite books on culture is Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace (Grand Central Publishing, 2016), and she enjoys listening to the Brené Brown podcasts.

"To me, culture is underlying everything," Garcia noted. "Being inclusive and asking for ideas; being kind and checking in on the individual, not just the work; … [and] trying to convince leaders of that."

Role of EPAC Members

Committee members meet virtually each month to:

• Provide feedback or suggestions to SHRM on potential and existing services and experiences for the betterment of emerging professional (EP) members within the SHRM community.
• Assist SHRM with identifying strategies for gaining and retaining EP members.
  
• Encourage recognition of EP programs that chapter and state council affiliates lead.
  
• Connect with other EP members using social media and various local events and activities.
  
• Promote and coordinate the establishment and support of activities at the local level, and strategies that help SHRM student members transition from school into the workforce as emerging professionals.