Clarissa Peterson

Senior Consultant

Clarissa has expertise in all areas of Human Resources (HR), with special interests in leadership & team development, executive coaching, board development, cultural transformation, succession management, and mindfulness. For more than 25 years, she has helped organizations cultivate diversity, inclusion and belonging, and spearheaded merger and acquisition integrations.

Throughout her career, Clarissa has served in several leadership roles, including Senior Vice President & Chief HR Officer of Sophos, a global cybersecurity company; Senior Vice President – People at the Obama Foundation; Chief Human Resources & Ethics Officer of Abt Associates, a firm that applies systems analysis and social science techniques to social and economic problems; Chief People Officer for DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest law firms. Clarissa directly led the D&I function at these organizations and was charged with creating and implementing D&I strategies globally.

Clarissa has a passion for helping executive leaders maximize their strengths and gain insight into areas needing improvement. She frequently speaks on Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and has a special interest in the intersection of belonging and EQ. She has presented at the Institute for International Education Conference, National Center for Healthcare Leadership, and the National Association for Health Services Executives.

She also co-authored the book Maximizing Your HR Efforts (Thomson Reuters /Aspatore, 2009) and the e-Book The Rise of HR: The Wisdom of 72 Thought Leaders (2015). As past chair of the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) board, Clarissa hosts a weekly webinar for the global HRCI—Alchemizing HR: Navigating What’s Next.

Clarissa graduated from the University of Maryland University College and holds multiple certifications: Hogan Personality Assessment Suite, TalentTelligent, Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Leading Professional in Ethics and Compliance (LPEC), DiSC, Myers-Briggs (MBTI), Mergers & Acquisitions Integration, Leadership & Interview Architect, and 360 Feedback Facilitation and Interpretation.