About Us

Leah Jaramillo SHRM-SCP, Certified Instructional Designer (ATD)

Leah Jaramillo is a senior business management and organizational leader with over 15 years of experience utilizing and leveraging information systems to improve operations and client services.

Leah has a proven track record of helping leaders drive for high achieving results through strategy, integration and people relationships with a focus on financial, people service, and enterprising aspects of a business.

As an established business management and organizational leader, Leah teaches leadership teams to get what they want from their businesses. She does this through Strategic Planning, Benefits Administration, Human Resources, and Learning & Talent Development.

Kim Jones, SHRM- CP

Kim is a native of Austin, Texas, has a diverse background in HR, and over 12 years’ experience in the field of Business Development. She has demonstrated success with multiple start-up companies and is excellent at identifying the needs of an organization while linking their business goals and objectives.

In the past, Kim has served as an individual contributor and consultant for small to mid-sized companies based all over the United States, giving her a wealth of knowledge that equipped Kim to be a valuable asset to businesses in both their start-up and growth phases.

While her range of experience is broad, she maintains specific skills in Finance, Accounting, Business Formation and Structure, Payroll, HRIS platforms, and Business Operations.

Tina Cooper, SHRM-CP

Tina Cooper comes to Austin Alliance Group with over 10 years of forwarding-thinking Human Resource experience. Her experience includes the five stages of the employee life cycle, performance management, benefits administration, HRIS management, employment law, and compliance. Her range of industries includes health care, manufacturing, retail, and construction. Her passion is helping others become a better version of themselves, through education. Tina has served as a link between management and employees by handling questions, interpreting and administering contracts and helping resolve work-related conflicts.

Tina earned a bachelor’s degree with a focus in Finance and a master’s degree with a focus in Human Resource Management from Columbia Southern University. She also holds a Professional in Human Resources accreditation (SHRM-CP).

Tina moved to Austin, Texas upon her husband retiring from the US Army with their 3 children. Her two boys are currently serving in the US Army and her youngest daughter is currently attending college in Austin, Texas.

Sue Breland, MSIS, CPM

Sue Breland is a free-lance consultant and facilitator uniquely adept at integrating the art and science of collaboration. Sue holds the national Certified Public Manager designation, a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree from Texas State University, and is on the faculty of the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service and Texas State University. Sue also holds a BA in Speech and Drama, is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, and a local actress & performer. She began working with Austin Alliance Group on April 1, 2019.

Sue has a passion for individual staff development and instructional design, making learning opportunities more engaging and impactful. Learning opportunities that encourage participation, reflection, and meaningful transfer to the workplace are her specialty through the training materials she creates and a facilitation style of teaching that honors the “wisdom already in the room.”

As a meeting facilitator, Sue is effective in working with small teams as well as large stakeholder groups, line employees, executives, and community members. Whether leading clients through organizational visioning, problem-solving or strategic planning, Sue uses a variety of tools and techniques to move groups to their desired outcomes efficiently, with full engagement and fun.

David Hughen

David Hughen, Founder, and CEO of AustinWorkNet, a strategic human capital consulting firm. Most recently he served as Founding Principal of Austin HR and sold that business in 2018. He brings over 25 years of experience as both a business leader and executive coach. Over the past fifteen years, his firms have provided services to over 500 organizations in the Central Texas region adding significant value to their operations and positively impacting their bottom line.

Hughen’s emphasis is on optimizing employee commitment and productivity through highly effective leadership—linked to the organization’s strategic business goals. He has the rare advantage of coaching leaders with a number of early to mid-stage tech companies, a range of larger international firms, and the non-profit, mission-driven sector (notably, St. David’s Foundation and Communities in Schools – among others – see below). In his early career, Hughen led human resource operations of prestigious companies such as Applied Materials, Exterprise, ClearCommerce, NEC Electronics, and HelioVolt and consulted in a variety of industries — including public sector, nonprofit, semiconductors, internet, software, hardware, and clean technology. He holds a number of certifications as well as Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Human Resources and Organization Development.

Jim Kochanski

Jim’s superpower is consulting on improving organizational performance by diagnosing problems, designing organizations that work, aligning leadership teams, and supporting implementation. For 20 years Jim was a Senior Partner in Sibson Consulting, a Division of The Segal Group. During his time with Sibson, he served as Practice Leader for Performance and Rewards, Talent Management, and Organizational Effectiveness. In his role as a Partner, Jim was responsible for understanding client needs, determining appropriate solutions and resources for solving client problems, and leading consulting projects to successful conclusions.

He has consulted with leading organizations in Health Care, Energy, Financial Services, Professional Services, Higher Education, and Technology. He has focused on functional areas including call centers, sales, manufacturing, and Research and Development. Some of the clients he has worked with include Chevron, Disney, Citi Bank, Glaxo, Daichi Sanko, Duke University, University of Tennessee, Smith & Nephew, Avaya, and many smaller businesses and non-profits. His consulting career has focused on jointly optimizing the success of organizations and the people in them. Jim has a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Maryland and a Master’s degree from American University. He is the author of over 40 publications and has been a speaker at many national and international conferences.

Susan Snipes

Susan Snipes is an experienced, certified HR and compliance professional who has provided Global HR and US compliance strategies to companies in a wide variety of industries. She is a published writer who has written expert content for such organizations as SHRM (HR Magazine), PeopleHR, Bonusly, and SmartPTO.

Susan holds her Masters of Science in HR Management and holds the following certifications:

• Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR)
• Global Professional Human Resources (GPHR)
• Certified HIPAA Privacy and Security Expert (CHPSE)
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)

Christa Holmans

Christa Holmans is a central Texas native with a diverse business background. Her passion is helping organizations understand neurodiversity and how to best accommodate neurodiverse employees. She has also served roles in customer service, project management, employee relations, marketing, operations, leadership, and administration. Christa is an out of the box thinker with a proven track record of helping organizations, business owners, and teams to create more efficient and harmonious workspaces.

Always wanting to give back, Christa has sat on advisory boards for multiple nonprofits, including the Foundation for Life Guides for Autism and the International Board of Sensory Accessibility.
Founder of Neurodivergent Consulting and the internationally recognized Neurodivergent Rebel blog.

Rachel Blanton

Rachel Blanton’s superpower is creating relationships and helping solve problems by discovering why people love what they do and helping them do it better. While her love for sports carried her through several job specialties throughout the collegiate and professional sports industry, her passion for helping people and their organization supersedes. Rachel is a certified Everything DiSC facilitator.

She is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a BS in Sport Management and a Minor in Business and found that her passion for helping people was a common thread. Rachel has experienced jobs that make her ability to work with diverse individuals natural; some of those jobs included working in marketing for Texas A&M Athletics and being a community relations ambassador for the San Francisco Giants. Most recently, she interned in the sales department of the Boston Red Sox.