Pam Tanase, co-founder of the coworking space Workzones in Santa Barbara; and John Nelson, chief administrative officer of Prolacta Bioscience, Inc., in Duarte, Califoria, have been named co-chairs of the Santa Barbara Human Resources Association (SBHRA) for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
SBHRA is a membership association for human resources practitioners focused on advancing the human resources profession. Its mission is to elevate all human resources professionals in the community through learning, advocacy and connections, and to be a local connection for all things human resources.
A local affiliate of the nationwide Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it received the society’s Platinum Excel chapter award in 2022.
The association offers educational programs and networking opportunities for human resources professionals, as well as advocacy resources that are available to the greater business community. Recent educational programs have tackled the California pay transparency law, cybersecurity and leadership.
With some 200 members, the association represents a variety of organizations, primarily within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Industries represented include financial, legal, manufacturing, consulting, HR services, municipal, retail, academic, tech, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, engineering, nonprofit and agriculture.
Tanase is certified as a senior certified professional through SHRM. Before being named co-chair of the SBHRA, she served as the organization’s emerging professionals chair.
She also serves as the advocacy chair for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Santa Barbara Board, and as a board member for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, and the Laird Norton Family Foundation.
She is part of the League of Extraordinary Women supporting Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV).
Tanase is COO and one of the original four co-founders at Workzones. She holds a master’s in education from Claremont Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Claremont McKenna College.
Nelson leads the human resources, administration, information technology, and legal functions for Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. The privately held life sciences company manufactures human milk-based fortifiers and supplements for premature infants.
Nelson has some 35 years of leadership experience in human resources, working for public and private companies in various industries including insurance, education, manufacturing, and retail.
Before joining Prolacta in 2019, he served as the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Employers Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded worker’s compensation insurance carrier based in Reno, Nevada.
Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology from UCSB and a master’s in organizational management from Antioch University. He is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.
Nelson is a former president and board member of the SBHRA.
Learn more about the Santa Barbara Human Resources Association at www.sbhra.org.