Sarah A. Velez leads learning and career pathways at Peckham

Sarah A. Velez, SHRM-SCP, is spotlighted for her role as director of learning and career pathways at Peckham, Inc., where she builds inclusive training and advancement programs. Her career spans higher education, nonprofit, and financial services, with a focus on workforce development, leadership growth, and people-centered culture.

Why it matters: - Sarah A. Velez is helping shape how employers build talent pipelines, develop leaders, and create internal career mobility. - Her work at Peckham, Inc. connects workforce development with organizational strategy, a priority as employers face restructuring, layoffs, and tighter resource planning. - Her leadership experience also reflects a broader push for more inclusive and accountable workplace cultures.

What happened: - Influential Women showcased Sarah A. Velez, SHRM-SCP, a human resources and learning leader based in Lansing, Michigan. - Velez serves as Director of Learning and Career Pathways at Peckham, Inc. - She is also an Executive MBA candidate for the Class of 2027. - Her profile highlights a career spanning human resources, organizational development, labor relations, and learning and development.

The details: - At Peckham, Velez leads the development of inclusive talent and training programs designed to support both organizational effectiveness and employee career mobility. - She previously spent eight years at Lansing Community College as Human Resources Manager for Organizational Development and Labor Relations. - At Lansing Community College, she supported more than 1,200 employees. - Her work there included performance management, diversity, equity and inclusion training, collective bargaining, leadership development, and Title IX compliance processes. - Earlier in her career, she held learning and development roles at CASE Credit Union. - At CASE Credit Union, she designed award-recognized training programs and leadership pipelines. - Her approach combines instructional design with an understanding of organizational behavior and employee experience. - Velez also serves as President-Elect of the Greater Lansing Society for Human Resource Management.

Between the lines: - Velez frames career growth as a journey, not a fixed path, and encourages young women to learn from failure and take on unfamiliar roles. - She sees disruption as an opening for upskilling, leadership development, and innovation. - She also positions herself as a bridge between frontline employees and executive leadership, sharing operational realities with senior decision-makers. - Her leadership philosophy centers on honesty, integrity, humor, and respect. - She says respect must be non-negotiable, especially after working in male-dominated environments where women were sometimes dismissed.

What’s next: - Velez is expected to continue building training and career pathway systems at Peckham while expanding her leadership footprint in the Greater Lansing HR community. - Her ongoing MBA studies may further shape her approach to strategy, workforce equity, and organizational change. - She is also focused on helping leaders respond to economic instability with more intentional and proactive planning.

The bottom line: - Sarah A. Velez is using HR, learning design, and leadership development to advance inclusive workplace growth from the inside out. - More information is available through Sarah Velez’s Influential Women profile.