Theresa Elliot-Cheslek
Elliot-Cheslek earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Sociology from WSU in 1982. While attending WSU, she was a student-athlete, playing for the WSU women’s basketball program. She did post-graduate study in human resource management at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Memphis.
She began her human resources career in the hospitality industry in 1987, and was personnel director and employment manager for Clarion Hotels from 1988-1990. From 1994-1999, she was a human resources specialist at the Spokane Regional Health District.
She joined WSU in 1999 in Human Resource Services. She held positions as consultant, assistant director, associate director, and has served as vice president and chief human resource officer since 2013. She has served as the College and University Professional Association – Human Resources (CUPA-HR) National Board as the Western Region representative 2020 – 23, Western Region Chair 2017-18 and on the CUPA-HR Western Region board since 2015. She has been a board member of the Washington Chapter of CUPA-HR since 2012 and served as the chapter’s president 2017-18 and as secretary 2013 – 2015.
Elliot-Cheslek’s parents met while undergraduates at Washington State College and several of her siblings and extended family are WSU alum. She is a proud mother to her daughters, Ashleigh and Shelby. Ashleigh graduated with honors from WSU in 2015. Ashleigh received her Master’s in Education with the focus on Special Education in 2018 from the University of Washington. Shelby received her undergraduate degree from Gonzaga in 2015 and her Master’s in Business Administration in 2016. Shelby was a student-athlete, playing on the women’s basketball team from 2011 – 2016. Shelby was named to the DI-AAA ADA Scholar Team and WCC All-Academic team. Shelby currently plays professional basketball overseas.
Elliot-Cheslek is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources with the Society for Human Resource Management and Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources with the HR Certification Institute.
Service Areas
Employment Services
• Classification/Compensation
• Talent Acquisition
• Employee Relations
• Learning and Organizational Development
Employee Records and Compliance
• Administration of personnel records for faculty, staff, student and non-permanent employees. Ensure compliance with state and federal requirements including I-9 processing
• Provide oversight of time, leave and absence processes
Labor Relations
• Negotiation and administration of WSU’s Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Responsible for ensuring program compliance with state and federal labor relations laws and rules
Administration
• Responsible for triaging all general HRS inquiries
• Internal HRS Operations; personnel actions, contract management, purchasing and inventory
• WSU Employee Recognition Program
Disability Services
• Oversee Disability and Leave related programs and services
• Responsible for ensuring program compliance with state and federal laws and rules for associated programs.
Benefit Services
• Implement and oversee system-wide benefits
• Ensure WSU benefits and retirement programs are in compliance with State and Federal Regulations
• Establish and maintain business processes and relationships with benefit vendors, for both services and transactional processes
HCM Modernization
• Streamlines university functions through the implementation of enterprise software (Workday) for human resources, payroll, and finance. Core Human Resource functions include: absence management, benefits administration, compensation, position descriptions, recruitment management, position management, employee performance reviews and time and leave administration