Barr HR Solutions, LLC is led by founder and owner Laurie Barr, an experienced Human Resources executive who is passionate about organizational culture, creating great workplaces, developing leaders, and employee engagement.

Laurie has over 25 years of human resources leadership experience, with a concentration in the healthcare industry. She has held HR leadership positions for Salem Hospital, Salem Health Medical Group, Oregon Health & Science University, Asante Health System (Three Rivers Community Hospital), and Health First Medical Group. 

She has led teams of two to over 200 people, including physician leaders, and has held leadership roles that involved day-to-day management responsibilities, and director-level, and executive leadership roles, including being a member of a senior leadership team, reporting directly to the CEO of a 5000-employee organization.  She has held positions that required interactions with Boards of Directors and has been a Board member herself for several non-profit community Boards.    

In today’s workplace, candidates who are seeking work are interviewing their next employer as much as they are being interviewed.  Employees want employers who can provide them a meaningful work experience.  Helping leaders create a work culture that sets an organization apart from the rest is Laurie's passion.  A big part of doing this is coaching leaders to go from good to great and working with organizations to develop systems that support a high level of employee engagement. 

Laurie's second area of focus is helping HR departments become more operationally efficient, using Lean process improvement methods.

"I understand how challenging it can be for leaders who are constantly under pressure to do more with less," says Laurie. "Budgets are getting tighter and the pressure to reduce costs is enormous. I can come in with a fresh perspective and, working alongside the HR team, identify and problem-solve more efficient ways to do their work. Together, we can find opportunities to reduce waste in processes and gain efficiencies, saving precious time for more value-added work to be done."

Laurie previously served on the Boards of Directors for various non-profit organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Marion & Polk Counties, the Artz Center Children’s Developmental Health Institute, and the Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute. She currently serves on the Board of Commissioners for the International Accreditation Council for Business Education.

She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern Oregon University and a master's degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a SHRM-SCP by the Society of Human Resources Management. She was mentored by a Toyota Production System Sensei/Lean Consultant in Lean Process Improvement.  Laurie has taught various leadership courses in the corporate environment, including such topics as Building Trust and Situational Leadership.  She also serves as an Adjunct Faculty member for Southern New Hampshire University and Ancora Education, teaching Human Resources courses to up-and-coming HR professionals.

Laurie lives in Wilsonville, Oregon with her husband and their two dogs.   She has a 20-year-old son attending Oregon State University (Go Beavs!).  In her spare time, you will find her traveling, delving into all kinds of books, walking her dogs, or exploring her new-found hobby of watercolor painting.