Marissa Gray

I started my career wanting to help people, initially pursuing medicine before pivoting to marriage and family therapy. I earned my bachelor's in Marriage and Family Studies, but during my final capstone project, I had an epiphany when nobody showed up to an educational course I had created. I realized that no matter how wonderful of a product you had or how much knowledge you had, if you didn't know how to network or market what you had to give, it didn't matter and would fall flat. I decided I wanted to reach a broader audience through public health rather than sitting in a counselor's chair hoping someone would find me. That led me to human resources, specifically benefits, where I could reach employee populations and help with public health by managing medical, dental, vision, and wellness programs. As I started learning about benefits, I discovered that most people just don't understand how to navigate their benefits and total rewards. It became my mission to make something so complicated and constantly changing as clear as possible for employees. Through a series of jobs, I created programs that earned me both local and national recognitions, and I started public speaking about how to educate employees in ways everyone could understand. I've been very blessed that my last two positions were not ones I sought out, but people sought me out because they heard great things about my work in creating exceptional employee experiences. I help employees understand the value of staying with their current employer - for example, coaching construction workers who might leave for one more dollar without realizing they're losing their fully-paid medical insurance. I've always been able to work for companies where the employee really is the most important person, and helping them make better career moves for themselves has been really rewarding.