NCTD hires Joy Freeman as chief people officer

Joy Freeman has been named chief people officer by the North County Transit District (NCTD). Freeman will be responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of human resources activities at the district, including compensation, benefits, labor relations and recruitment.

“Critical initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion, learning and development, mentoring and our bedrock responsibility to support world-class employees will be paramount to the future of our agency,” said Shawn M. Donaghy, NCTD CEO. “Joy’s extensive experience is exactly what NCTD needs to build on our foundation of people first – promoting authenticity and opportunities to ensure the absolute best outcomes.”

Freeman brings nearly three decades of experience to NCTD. Most recently, Freeman served as the global corporate employee relations principal for Amazon, where she managed complex employee relations issues on a global scale while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

“I am thrilled to join NCTD to develop and implement human resources strategies to further the district’s goals and objectives,” Freeman said. “Supporting employees while fostering a culture of compliance and accountability is critical to the success of the organization and I’m excited to leverage my decades of experience to advance our mission.”

Freeman also held leadership positions with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and city of San Diego, Calif., working in various capacities in human resources. As the human resources manager at the Airport Authority, Freeman implemented business strategies and best practices among cross-functional teams to establish cohesive workgroups. She developed training and reporting procedures that reduced recordable incident rates by 65 percent in three years.

Freeman obtained a master’s degree in human resources management and holds a bachelor’s degree organizational leadership.