People First: How Working Wardrobes Thrives as a Best Place to Work

In a challenging economic climate, how does Working Wardrobes, a 34-year-old nonprofit, consistently maintain its status as a Best Place to Work? This presentation will explore the strategies that prioritize people without increasing the budget, ensuring a supportive and rewarding work environment.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify innovative, cost-free strategies to enhance employee compensation, job satisfaction, and retention

• Understand and articulate how corporate partnerships with nonprofits can enhance employee engagement, drive business success, and positively impact the community.

Speaker Bios:

Bonni Pomush

With much joy, Bonni is committed to putting her strengths to work by being of service to the community.

She developed a great love and respect for research and data-based decision making while earning her master’s degree in Family Resources and Human Development. Bonni brings over 25 years of leadership experience in government and non-profit agencies. Her research- and strengths-based leadership approach has resulted in the national accreditation of centers, turning around budgets from shortfalls to surpluses, and retaining high quality employees by creating and implementing performance-based pay systems. In partnership with board members and volunteers, Bonni has secured over $6 million in capital campaign funds and $1 million from events and annual giving.

Originally from the East Valley suburbs of Phoenix, AZ, Bonni administered programs for 15 years in government agencies (the Kyrene School District, Arizona State University, and the City of Chandler). After making the move to Orange County, CA in 2009, she joined the nonprofit world at Temple Beth El of South Orange County: The Samueli Center for Progressive Judaism. Following Founder and 31-year CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Jerri Rosen’s retirement, Bonni became Working Wardrobes’ second-ever CEO in January 2022 and has focused her leadership on modernizing and preparing Working Wardrobes to scale. Since her arrival, she has been nominated for several awards (LA Times 2023 & 2024 Orange County Inspirational Women, OC Business Journal’s Women in Business 2023) and was touted by the OC Register as one of Orange County’s Most Influential People in 2023.

Bonni revels in creating and implementing strategic plans and sustainable systems, working with boards to accomplish a mission, developing and leading high-performing teams, engaging diverse stakeholders, and producing measurable results.

When she’s not hard at work, Bonni can be found paddle-boarding, walking, playing mah-jongg, hitting balls on the tennis court, traveling, or enjoying quality time with family and friends.

Derek Benson

Derek has worked in the Human Resources/People field for over 20 years, with the majority of his career spent in the financial industry, including eleven years with MUFG Union Bank. In these roles, Derek built a number of successful teams in Talent Acquisition and HR Operations supporting programs and processes that remain today.

After volunteering and then serving on the Working Wardrobes Board of Directors for 6 years, Derek

joined Working Wardrobes as its Chief People Officer (CPO) in July 2020. In the role, he helped the organization rebuild after a devastating fire was immediately followed by a global pandemic which forced the organization to downsize significantly. He came onboard with a vision to rebuild and rebrand Working Wardrobes as a premier nonprofit employer in Orange County. Under his leadership, the organization earned Orange County Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” distinction beginning in 2021, and employee ratings Glassdoor score increased by 80%!

In his role now as Chief People & Operations Officer, he is a member of the organization’s executive leadership team and is responsible for the wellbeing of 40 amazing team members including talent acquisition, engagement, development, and retention, as well as employer brand, culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to his “day job” he is passionate about connecting his personal and professional networks to the mission of Working Wardrobes.

He is a proud native of Orange County, CA having grown up, attended school, and worked his whole life in “the OC”. He currently resides in Costa Mesa, CA and outside work enjoys gardening, travel, and time spent with family, friends, and with his loyal standard poodle Anastasia.

Save