PNNL

April Castañeda is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), serving as a senior executive with deep domain experience and strong leadership in providing strategic direction and oversight for the HR team and its functional areas. April leads the long-term strategic planning and operational HR initiatives that enable PNNL to attract, recruit, develop, and retain the exceptional talent necessary to achieve its vision, mission, and goals. She leads a diverse team of centralized and deployed HR professionals that deliver contemporary HR capabilities across PNNL.

April has held multiple staff, consultative, and executive roles spanning the public and private sector. With more than 25 years of experience, she provides a wealth of expertise in all areas of HR including a rich background in HR strategy and communications, organizational development, employee relations, performance management, learning & development, presentation and facilitation. She delivers strong organizational development skills with a well-developed knowledge base of human systems and workgroup resources and is a recognized leader in addressing areas of discrimination, unlawful harassment, sexual misconduct and investigations.

She is an invited lecturer and panel member, and holds a B.A. in Women’s and Cross-cultural Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters of Industrial/Organizational Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California.