About us
Verge Talent Partners came together in 2020 because we saw that even incredible people need help with the people part. Our work is about bringing divergent perspectives together to converge on the path forward — toward growing teams that have synergy, tackle new challenges, and build thriving workplace ecosystems together.
To learn more about our “why” read a message from the founders.
Cofounders Jen Tress and Abdul SmithOur values
The companies, nonprofits, and government teams we work with have one thing in common: they know even the most intractable problems become opportunities when you bring together ambitious people with clarity and intention. Our deep experience in HR, hiring, and change management has given us the tools to help public interest organizations build iterative, people-centered systems, whether they’re making their first big hire or helping an existing team or program shift gears.
Be open. To nuance, context, and all the messy — not to mention fun! — complexity of humanity. Even as we embrace technology and process, we use empathy to keep people at the center of it all.
Harness difference. For ourselves, and other people-focused organizations, one size fits all is rarely ever the appropriate solution; we meet people where they really are and seek opportunities to mind-meld, always with compassion and flexibility.
Be iterative. We’ve seen enough to know that transformation often starts small, and happens incrementally, step by intentional step. Bold outcomes are our north star. The steps we take toward them can be large or small.
Stay present with conflict. We do ourselves a disservice when we don’t wrestle with different perspectives and possibilities in a respectful, curious way. We aim to share how we’re interpreting information, and guide each other through challenging conversations.
Don’t Suffer in Silence. If you’re stuck, or need help - say something. If we are in partnership or community together, we’ll either jump in and listen if you need an ear, or brainstorm solutions if you need a fix.
Build sustainably. The systems and processes we build and implement are designed to outlive the next big hire, crisis, and even our engagement. We want your organization to be capable of great things both with, and after us.
Partnering with Verge Talent Partners has been absolutely transformative for our organization. Their insights and expertise enabled us to rapidly enhance our ability to attract and retain top tier tech and tech-enabling talent, and allowed us to continue sustaining and improving our operations after the engagement.
Chief Operating Officer
Leading Civic Tech Organization
Meet the core team
Jen Tress
PRINCIPAL, CO-FOUNDER, HEAD OF GOV SECTOR GROWTH
Jen is a systems thinker and connection-maker who brings a consultative, collaborative approach to all she does. With 20 years of experience in consulting, strategy, operations, and human resources, she’s guided countless organizations through startup and high growth cycles, problem resolution, and significant change. She knows that work is full of challenging power structures, and aims to keep everyone's humanity in mind by bringing joy and respect to every interaction.
She’s held leadership positions in the federal government and the private sector, and has overseen complex engagements with several federal government cabinet agencies, the State of California, FedEx, Delta Airlines, Nationwide Insurance, the Nature Conservancy, and multiple nonprofits. During her time at GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), Jen led 18F’s Talent Team as the org grew from 60 to 215, then stepped up as the TTS Chief of Staff to help guide the organization through significant change.
At Verge, Jen sets the strategy and practices that drive our consulting engagements and leads growth for our government and government adjacent sector work. Going to concerts, watching prestige and trash TV, and hiking are her favorite ways to recharge.
Abdul Smith
PRINCIPAL, CO-FOUNDER HEAD OF NONPROFIT SECTOR GROWTH
Abdul is a passionate advocate for building meaningful employee experiences. He has worked in deep collaboration with organizations to design and build sustainable and inclusive processes that support talent acquisition, engagement, and retention. He knows that understanding and designing employees' experiences (from posting through employment) can create the belonging and connection that unlock truly creative teams.
He has 20 years' experience in recruiting, hiring, and talent operations, and has helped grow teams across a wide range of disciplines in creative agencies, non-profits, digital consultancies, and grassroots organizations.
At Verge, Abdul sets the strategy and practices that drive our fractional talent acquisition engagements and leads growth for our nonprofit sector work. When he's not thinking about the big picture of organizations, you might find him getting a new perspective through a camera lens or from a bicycle seat.
Eloise Thome
PRACTICE DIRECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR
Eloise is an HR leader who's seen firsthand how people-centered strategy is the best foundation for growth. Over her two decades working in talent and HR, she's created employer brands, built hiring strategies, advised executives and managers, assessed compensation and performance strategies, driven engagement, and mentored HR talent. Her imaginative and creative approach balances qualitative and quantitative stories to approach problems from a fresh perspective.
Eloise has served as an HR leader in a wide range of sectors, from advertising to software to manufacturing. No matter the field, she connects the human side with the business side to help both succeed.
At Verge, Eloise leads our Private Sector Practice, managing fractional HR Business Partner (HRBP) engagements with the civic tech vendor community that helps make mission-driven work possible. Away from work, she's chasing after her three girls, and relishing her time in the garden or kitchen.
Christan (CJ) Johnson
PRACTICE DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT
CJ is a talent strategist and public sector specialist who brings a rare combination of government insider knowledge and private sector agility to every engagement. With a background spanning talent acquisition, people operations, and digital transformation, she's helped organizations at every level — from the U.S. Army to the Department of Defense to high-growth tech firms — build the teams and capabilities they need to deliver.
She's held roles on both sides of the talent equation: as Head of People at Shift5, she led people strategy for a fast-moving software and technical consulting firm; as a Digital Service Talent Specialist at the Defense Digital Service, she supported digital transformation efforts across the DoD. Prior to joining Verge, CJ was the State Partnerships Director at tTech Talent Project. Earlier in her career, CJ served as a Congressional Affairs Contact Officer and Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives — experience that gives her a deep fluency in how policy, people, and institutions intersect.
At Verge, CJ leads the Government Practice, helping civic tech and public sector organizations attract, develop, and retain the talent that makes mission-driven work possible. She recharges by exploring new places and cultures — a habit that keeps her curious and adaptable in everything she does.
Gabby Fulco
ENGAGEMENT MANAGEMENT & ORG STRATEGY LEAD
Gabby is a people-centered strategist and facilitator who helps mission-driven organizations navigate change, build capacity, and do their best work together. With 10+ years leading complex initiatives in human-centered design, organizational development, and change management, she brings empathy, creativity, and a deep conviction that lasting transformation happens when people feel seen, supported, and equipped to grow.
She's worked at the intersection of people and organizational strategy across some of the most consequential institutions around — as a human-centered design fellow at the Lab at OPM, she supported capacity building and change efforts across 20+ federal agencies, and at global design firm IDEO, she led complex organizational change initiatives for clients worldwide. A certified mediator with a background in international relations, Gabby has a gift for helping teams find common ground and build the relational infrastructure that makes great work possible.
At Verge, Gabby leads large-scale org strategy projects and the co-creation of our engagement management practices, helping teams navigate complexity with clarity and confidence. Outside of work, her practice as a print artist keeps her attuned to pattern and possibility, while looking for new ways to help people see things differently.
At Verge we endeavor to create a space for skill and mission-aligned individuals to do meaningful and impactful work in partnership with our clients, whether on a periodic basis, or for longer-term durations. We call it our sandbox model. 🏖️
Through our extensive network, we are fortunate to have access to some of the smartest, human-centered minds in our field whether it be public interest tech strategy recruitment and hiring, HR business partnership, or org development and change management. We know that org and talent and change management strategies often intersect, and these incredible humans have joined our team at various times and in various ways to deliver for our clients.
Our extended team
