The Department of Medicine is home to more than 1,500 employees. In addition to the many faculty, researchers, and trainees that make up this group, are our staff. Our staff works diligently behind the scenes to support and further the department’s tripartite mission to enhance research, patient care, and education. In recognition of these individuals, we are kicking off our DOM Staff Spotlight Series, where we will interview staff members who work across all divisions, teams, and mission areas.
First up is the department’s Human Resources Administrator, Aaron Lee, MSHRM, MBA, PHR. Learn more about our colleague below!
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?
I am originally from the very small town of Conway, South Carolina (near Myrtle Beach). I’ve lived in the southeast my entire life, leaving South Carolina to attend college in Durham, NC, and then relocating to the Atlanta area shortly after college graduation. Atlanta metro feels like home now since I’ve been here for most of my adult life, but I’ll always be a South Carolinian!
What is your professional background?
To make a long story short, I stumbled into Human Resources shortly after I graduated college and I’ve been doing it ever since. I started my professional career working for a very small financial services company. The owner of the company needed to hire some new staff and didn’t want to review résumés, so he asked me to handle it. I had zero HR experience, so I researched and learned how to post jobs, screen candidates, and make offers. The recruiting/HR bug bit me after that!
I applied for and was hired into my first real HR job –a recruiter role for a small staffing agency – shortly after completing that brief assignment. While working in that role, I earned my dual degree at Georgia State (MBA and Master’s in Human Resource Management). After completing those degrees, I accepted an HR Generalist position at Whole Foods Market and worked there for a number of years, advancing from that initial role all the way to eventually being named the Executive Director of Human Resources for the South Region. In that role, I led the Human Resources function for all Whole Foods Market stores in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Those were fun but busy times!
After becoming exhausted with the constant travel of the role at Whole Foods Market, I started looking for a position that offered a better work/life balance and thankfully the DOM HR Administrator role at Emory was open. I applied and was offered the role, and I’ve been at Emory ever since!
What is your role at Emory?
I serve as the Human Resources Administrator for the Department of Medicine, the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, and all of the Basic Sciences departments.
How long have you worked in the Department of Medicine?
I have been at Emory for seven years now, all within the Department of Medicine.
What are you currently working on? Any upcoming projects?
At the department level, I have two main goals that I’m working on right now outside of the standard day-to-day HR tasks – the creation of a department-specific new staff orientation program and the development of a library of supervisory training modules. I think both of these projects will add a lot of value to the department.
I have also been given the ability to work on a number of School of Medicine initiatives. I am currently one of the co-Chairs of the SOM Staff Recognition and Engagement Committee (SREC) and we are gearing up for our Health Expo and Development event on August 17. The next major SREC project is the creation of a School of Medicine Staff Awards program, similar to the staff awards that we offer here in the Department of Medicine. We hope to have that program ready for nominations soon and an awards event (likely a luncheon) later this year.
What do you like to do for fun outside of work?
I’m a big sports fan, so I spend a lot of time watching games or checking for updates on my teams in the off-season. My teams are the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and the Duke Blue Devils (NCAA football and basketball). Outside of that, I spend most of my free time on daddy duty, taking care of my five-year-old and two-year-old daughters.
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