Consulting with Intention
We partner with companies mindfully and thoughtfully, customizing solutions to fit where you are now and to scale with you while maintaining culture. As your partner, we provide Human Resources expertise on a fractional or interim basis to meet your People goals.
Whether you have an existing HR team member or no HR team at all, we will serve to provide you with full-stack HR solutions, to build the entire foundation, work on a specific project, and/or service as an advisor to you or your team. Whatever your needs, we have your back.
We’re here to help you thrive
Mindful First HR was founded to provide organizations in all industries and sizes with boutique Fractional or Interim Human Resources support. Through this flexible approach to HR, we partner with organizations to solve challenges, build their People framework, streamline People Ops, set People strategy, and provide solutions.
We roll out the red carpet for you. Get in touch, and let us show you how we are exactly what you’ve been needing in your organization.
Our Services
Our Services
Human Resources Strategic Planning & Organizational Design
Employee Relations
Operational Excellence - Process Improvement
Coaching & Mentorship for Leaders and Individual Contributors
Change Management Strategies
Employee Engagement & Retention Strategies
Team Assessments - including HR team design
Policies, Procedure & Handbook Builds
Discipline, Termination, Investigations
Benefits & Total Rewards Strategy, Bidding and Selection
Onboarding & Offboarding Best Practices
Talent Management Strategy & Process
Job Description & Career Mapping Development
HR Technology Strategy & Selection
Compensation Strategy, Analysis & Benchmarking
Training, Development & Group Strategy Session Facilitation
Our Mindful Approach
Introductory Meeting
Tell us all your needs and goals. We will gain insights to begin to craft the perfect solution to fit your needs.
Send a Proposal + Contract
We will outline the solution in a proposal and once aligned, you’ll sign a contract to get started.
Custom Roadmap
We will spend time diving deeper into the discovery of your current gaps and create solutions.
Delivery
As your trusted advisor and partner, we will deliver solutions while staying nimble to your changing needs.
Let’s kickstart your people strategy
We’ll be with you every step of the way.
Fractional HR Executive
CHRO · CPO · Head of HR
For organizations without a dedicated HR executive, I step in as your Fractional CHRO, CPO, or Head of HR — building your People function from the ground up, or realigning what exists with where the business is headed.
This is the deepest level of partnership I offer, and the most popular: dedicated hours every month, embedded in your leadership team, with the same priority and continuity you'd expect from an in-house executive, without the cost or timeline of a full-time hire. I bring 26+ years of People leadership across VC-backed startups, nonprofits, tech, and healthcare organizations, so odds are I've already navigated a version of whatever your organization is facing.
What this can look like:
Building or leveling up People/HR from the ground up — core values, culture, policies, compensation, performance, benefits, employee relations
Building your talent strategy, onboarding, and organizational design through a growth phase
Serving as the executive-level voice for People strategy for leadership
Coaching leaders through performance, culture, and difficult conversations
Best for: small to mid-sized companies scaling without in-house HR leadership.
Advisory
Culture & Psychological Safety
When you need an experienced, trusted advisor rather than a full engagement, I work alongside your leadership team on culture, values, and the people decisions that shape how your organization actually operates — with a people-first approach, even in hard conversations.
This model gives you dedicated monthly hours to lean on as things come up, without needing a dedicated executive on staff. It's a fit for leaders who already have the day-to-day handled but want a steady, experienced sounding board for the harder calls — a leadership conflict, a values question, or a decision that will shape culture for years to come.
What this can look like:
Translating your core values into everyday practice
Building psychological safety into how leadership communicates and makes decisions
Serving as an expert advisor for sensitive people situations
Coaching leaders through the human side of hard business decisions
Best for: leaders who want an expert sounding board and strategic guidance. Those who already have an in-house person dedicated to People Ops/HR day-to-day.
Project
People & HR Projects
When you need extra hands for a defined initiative, I integrate seamlessly with your existing team to get it done — from performance to compliance and benefits, start to finish.
Not every need is ongoing. This model is built for a clearly scoped initiative with a beginning, middle, and end: I join as an extension of your team for the length of the project, then step back out. It's a lower-commitment way to get senior HR expertise applied to a specific gap.
What this can look like:
Standing up or overhauling a performance review process
A compliance audit and remediation plan
Handbook and policy rewrites
Benefits review and vendor evaluation
A defined HR audit with a prioritized roadmap
Employee Relations investigations
Best for: teams tackling a specific project or gap in expertise.
Our Partners
Chris Chuang - Co-founder and CEO of Relay
“It was a pleasure working with Lori on our performance management project. She is clearly an experienced people/ HR leader, bringing a wealth of knowledge and learnings from her various leadership roles in the tech industry. Lori is easy to engage with, friendly, and humble in her demeanor....all of which make her a great choice for a consultant to your organization. Lori is someone who listens well and tailors her recommendations and work to each company's unique culture and DNA. She is thorough and trustworthy and I'd be happy to work with her again in the future.”
Jessica Mitsch Homes - Co-Founder of Momentum
“Lori possesses an extensive wealth of HR knowledge and has consistently been my trusted resource for all HR-related inquiries over the years. Her unique blend of compassion and pragmatism makes her invaluable in understanding business requirements and effectively guiding through complex scenarios. Lori's proactive approach to HR planning has enabled me to anticipate needs and address challenges to get ahead of them. She approaches tasks tactically, emphasizing the tangible value of HR. I highly recommend Lori for her expertise and unwavering support in navigating HR matters.”
J. Porter Durham, Jr - President and Director of National Humanities Center
“Lori has been a terrific partner in assisting us with our human resources needs, always professional and caring in a role that demands both qualities. She also has the rare gift of candor coupled with grace. I count on Lori to “tell it straight” as my grandmother would always say (and she always does). Counsel of this sort for someone in my position is critical for the management of high performing teams.
In Lori, integrity goes all the way down; it is part of who she is and how she operates in the world. That means, in my view, she is a person who actually takes the responsibilities of office and servant leadership seriously. She combines real business competence with authentic compassion and community spirit.”
Susan Horrell - Director of Strategic Partnerships of Rare Cancer Research Foundation
“My organization brought Lori on as a fractional people/HR consultant and she immediately added value to our team. She deeply listened to our needs and unique aspects of our organization and adapted her recommendations to those needs. She has fantastic context and intuition to be able to hit the ground running at any new organization and her work across functions has been uniformly excellent. I have seen her work on a wide variety of needs from developing new policies to ensuring regulatory compliance to creating new organizational systems for performance and it has all been excellent. Most notably, she is proactive in moving things forward and completing work, something I have deeply appreciated during a very busy time in our organization. She is trustworthy, professional, a joy to work with, and I highly recommend her.”
Nicole Bell - Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Diagnostics
“Lori from Mindful First HR provided exceptional HR consulting services to us. She expertly guided us through various HR matters with professionalism, empathy, and a focus on achieving the best possible resolution. Her expertise and guidance were invaluable, and I highly recommend their services.”
Thad Tremaine - Chief Revenue Officer
“Lori is unequivocally the best "people" person I know. She is unwavering in her "people first" approach to every situation, and is an amazing communicator.”
Erin Corr Miller - Chief People Officer of Terra Dotta
“The longevity and retention of your employee base is at her core. She doesn't shy away from sticky situations and is the one you want in your corner when tackling difficult situations. I appreciate Lori's thoughtful approach and her ability to see the larger picture at hand. I highly recommend Lori for managing and directing employee retention strategies.”