Carla Elam-Floyd
Bio
Carla Elam-Floyd is a human resources professional with over 30 years’ of experience in managing and directing human resources functions and organizational analyses. She has a comprehensive understanding of employee engagement, employee relations, diversity, inclusion and equity strategies, human resource management strategies, and assessing the needs of work groups to make them more effective.
Education
Carla earned a dual Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Colorado in Boulder. She later earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Professional Background
Carla began her career as an internal auditor for Atlantic Richfield, the United Banks of Colorado, and the Regional Transportation District. In that role she earned certifications as an Internal Auditor and Certified Fraud Examiner. Carla is currently a Human Resources consultant for Kaiser Permanente where she supports the human resources management efforts of Kaiser’s leaders. She previously worked as an independent consultant for clients including Jefferson County, Colorado Springs Utilities, and the City of Colorado Springs. Prior to that, Carla served as the director of Human Resources for Denver Water, Director of Human Resources and Administration for the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Manager of Human Resources Support Services for the Regional Transportation District.
In each of her HR leadership roles, Carla developed and led programs that addressed the health and wellness of the workforce, professional development programs, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has been recognized for her efforts by organizations such as the Urban Spectrum, which presented her with the African Americans Who Make a Difference award. She served for nine years, with four as chair, on the board of the Denver Health Medical Program. She is currently serving as the chair of the board for the Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center.
Motivation for Teaching
Carla’s drive for teaching comes from her own experiences as a lifelong learner at every layer of organizations that taught her skills related to human interactions and what leads to team success. She understands that the lessons we learn in the classroom are made more relevant when we can relate them to the reality of everyday experiences in the workplace. She genuinely loves the interaction with students from other generations and cultures and believes that we all have something to learn from one another. Carla’s experiences in the public, private and nonprofit industries have given her perspectives on how those worlds differ, and how they are very similar when it comes to human resources management and ethical approaches to accomplishing our jobs.
Helping Students Be Successful
Carla’s approach to student success entails relating concepts to real world experiences and helping students to assess their own experiences in light of the lessons studied. She is available through email and welcomes text messages from her students when they have questions or need anything to be clarified.