Alma Camarena Joins COD as Director of Human Resoures

Seasoned human resources professional Alma Camarena is the new Director of Human Resources at College of DuPage.

For nearly 15 years, Camarena has provided human resource solutions to organizations in various industries including food and beverage and manufacturing. She has most recently served as the Manager of Human Resources at Grecian Delight Foods where she led three-cross functional teams while implementing human capital systems and key customer-required audits.

COD Vice President of Human Resources Maritza Ruano said Camarena’s breadth of experience is a welcome addition to the College community.

“As an accomplished human resources leader, Alma’s expertise will help the department continue the good work that it already has accomplished, and she will play an integral role in enhancing the College’s reputation as an exceptional workplace,” she said.

From the earliest years of her career, Camarena’s supervisors gave her various opportunities to stretch outside of her comfort zone, experiences she said gave her the initial motivation to advance in the field of human resources.

“My senior-level courses at Northern Illinois University, while I was studying organization management, included several human resources-specific classes, and it was the first time I realized that I could actually pursue human resources as a career,” she said. “Throughout my career, my managers and direct supervisors have mentored me and have given me so many opportunities to develop into who I am today.”

Working at COD allows Camarena to combine her two passions, human resources and education, while also providing her the opportunity to work for and contribute to an organization that impacts the lives of students, families and the community at large, she said.

“Education has always been very much valued in my family and my family’s home country of Mexico,” she said. “Since I was young, I’ve always thrived in that environment and now working in the field, it’s nice way to give back.”

As she continues to acclimate to the College, Camarena is looking forward to gaining a solid understanding of COD’s needs as well as to come up with tangible solutions and initiatives to better support COD with its mission, values and strategic objectives.

“I look forward to contributing to the work of an organization that strives to help students learn and succeed,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to the learning experience that will come from engaging with colleagues across the organization and external partners as we work together to come up with potential solutions to current and future challenges.”

Camarena received her master’s degree from Northern Illinois University in business administration.