photo by: Courtesy of the City of Lawrence

Shakeva Christian

The City of Lawrence has hired a University of Kansas alumna as its new director of human resources, it announced on Friday.

In a news release, the city said new HR Director Shakeva Christian has more than 30 years of HR experience and most recently served as deputy HR director for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. She will start in her new role on May 4.

“As an alumna of the University of Kansas, I am very fond of the Lawrence community,” Christian said in the release. “It is where I developed my passion for the field of human resources and experienced both personal and professional growth. Serving the City that once served me is a full circle moment.”

The release said Christian has experience in many areas of the human resources field, including leading labor negotiations, overseeing workplace investigations and developing recruitment and retention strategies. She holds a bachelor of arts from KU and a master’s in HR management from the Keller Graduate School of Management.

“Our people are the foundation of everything we do, and building an engaged and empowered team is essential to delivering excellent service to our community,” said City Manager Craig Owens. “Shakeva’s depth of experience in public sector human resources, her ability to align strategy with organizational goals, and her track record of strengthening workforce systems will be critical as we continue to invest in our employees and the culture that supports them.”

Lawrence’s previous HR director, Megan Dodge, left the city in November of last year, as the Journal-World reported.