Clark County School District

Brian Redmond

My path to HR leadership in education was shaped by over a decade of hands-on experience at every level of the schoolhouse. I began as an assistant principal, moved into building leadership as a principal serving underprivileged communities, and later coordinated federal Title I and Title III programs across twelve sites in Southern California. Each role deepened my understanding of what educators need to thrive and what organizations must do to support them. When I joined Clark County School District as Director of Human Resources & Leadership Development, I brought that practitioner's lens with me. My Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University gave me the frameworks, but it was years of working alongside teachers, counselors and support staff that truly shaped my philosophy: HR exists to serve people and when people are supported well, students benefit.

Strategic Hiring and Retention Growth

In one of the most competitive hiring environments in recent memory, we increased hiring at Clark County, the fifth largest school district in the nation, by over 16 percent despite a national teacher shortage. That didn't happen by accident. We optimized our applicant tracking and CRM systems to streamline the candidate experience, and expanded the J1 Visa International Teacher Exchange Program to expand our talent pipeline globally. On the development side, I created two leadership programs targeting both current managers and emerging leaders, because retention isn't just about compensation, it's about growth. When employees see a future for themselves in your organization, they stay. We also implemented a $6 million ESSER-funded tuition program that supported over 600 future teachers, which serves as both a pipeline and a retention strategy for the communities we serve.

Building Sustainable Workforce Systems at Scale

The teacher shortage is real, persistent, and not going away on its own. At the same time, districts like ours are managing the complexity of a workforce of 45,000 employees serving 300,000 students, a scale that demands systems, not just solutions. One of the most meaningful ways I've addressed this is by investing upstream: funding future teachers through the ESSER tuition program rather than waiting for the labor market to solve the problem for us.

“HR exists to serve people and when people are supported well, students benefit.”

Internally, I've focused on governance by creating and overseeing the calendars and committees that structure employee-group workdays because clarity and consistency reduce friction and build trust. As a bilingual HR leader, I also serve as the media representative for both English and Spanish-speaking outlets, which reflects a broader commitment to ensuring all employees and communities feel seen and heard.

The Future of Strategic HR in Public Education

HR in public education is moving from a transactional function to a strategic oneand that shift will accelerate over the next few years. Workforce planning will become essential as districts face demographic shifts, retirementsand evolving community needs. Leadership development can no longer be an afterthought. We need deliberate pipelines that identify and grow talent from within, particularly leaders who reflect the communities they serve.

On the digital side, optimizing HR technology isn't just about efficiency; it's about freeing up human capacity for the work that actually requires human judgment. I also believe data literacy will become a core HR competency, using workforce analytics to anticipate needs rather than simply react to them. The districts that get this right will have a significant advantage in both talent acquisition and organizational culture.

Leading HR with Experience, Growth and Mission Focus

Start in the work itself. The most effective HR leaders in education aren't just policy experts. They understand what it's like to be a teacher, a principal or a support staff member navigating a complex system. If you can, get classroom or school-level experience before stepping into an HR role. From there, invest in your credentials and continue learning. Programs like ACSA's Personnel Administrators Academy and other executive leadership development programs have sharpened my thinking and fueled my desire for continuous growth.

Build relationships across departments and bargaining units, because trust is your currency in this work. And never lose sight of the mission: every hiring decision, every development program, and every policy you shape has a downstream effect on students. Keep that in view and the work will always feel worth doing.