Category: Organizations with fewer than 7,500 employees

Title: Director of Human Resources

Organization: Austin (Minn.) Public Schools

Key HR Challenges: Arriving on the heels of a no-confidence vote for her predecessor, Picha was tasked with mending the rift between management and the six unions that represent the district's 691 employees. 

Key HR Accomplishments: After years of contentious negotiations and ill will on both sides of the table, the district and its unions have signed more than a dozen binding contracts with little disagreement since her arrival in 2002.