Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams.   Ms. Safstrom has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams.  Ms. Safstrom currently serves as Executive Director for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals. The SHRM Foundation is a values-based charity organization whose mission is to champion workforce and workplace transformation. It provides research-based HR solutions for challenging inclusion issues facing current and potential employees, scholarships to educate and develop HR professionals and opportunities for HR professionals to make a difference in their local communities. The SHRM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.

 Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Ms. Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of the Foundation's programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives.  Of particular note, Ms. Safstrom lead the implementation of the restaurant industry's premier high school career and technical education program, growing the program to over 2,000 public high schools, engaging over 150,000 students annually, nationwide.  In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10M contract awarded by the US Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture. 

 Ms. Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois.  Ms. Safstrom has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry.