Stephanie Cantillo

Stephanie is a collaborative and solutions-focused HR leader with sixteen years of experience in Hospitality, Education, and the Non-Profit sector. With a strong background in Operational Excellence, she is recognized for her ability to streamline and improve processes while driving positive organization change. Stephanie strives to influence, lead and deliver exceptional results in Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Continuous Improvement.

Stephanie has held roles including Chief Human Resources Officer, and Human Resources Manager in Education, Non-Profit organizations. In her most recent role as CHRO at Pace Academy, she provided leadership in developing and executing human resource strategy that supported a progressive K-12 independent school with approximately 300 full and part-time employees. In addition to compensation, Stephanie spent much of her time focusing on issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within her school communities.

Stephanie is very involved with the HR and Atlanta business communities at large, with over seven years of volunteer leadership experience with SHRM’s Atlanta Chapter. Her leadership roles have included New Member Orientation Chair, EVP of Special Programs, and now President-Elect for 2022. She loves giving back and received the chapter’s Exemplary Volunteer Award in 2018, 2020, and 2021.

Stephanie served on the NBOA HR Council and has spoken at several conferences including SAIS and MISBO, as well as Teacher of Color Recruiting Fair. In addition, she has led HR training for the National Guard and Volunteer Leadership training for Junior League of Atlanta.

Born in Colombia, South America and raised in New England, Stephanie has lived in Atlanta since 2006. She is a graduate from Florida State University, where she double majored in Multinational Business Operations and Hospitality Administration. Stephanie earned her PHR certification in 2019 and her areas of expertise include: employee relations, recruiting, compensation, benefits administration, compliance, and payroll. Her professional experience also includes time at The Atlanta Opera and Four Seasons Hotels.

Others describe Stephanie as friendly, curious and outgoing. Stephanie builds meaningful relationships through credibility, energy and trust. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family, horseback riding, and being in nature. Stephanie’s son, Sebastian, is entering his last year of middle school, and her husband, Thomas, is a private chef, pastry chef, and chocolatier.