Our Team
Shushannah Akin
Shushannah Akin founded Poppy HR after decades of working in California’s unique Human Resources landscape. She started her career in HR in 2005 at a small family bakery, implementing benefits and running payroll. Since then, she has learned and practiced every aspect of People Operations as she navigated HR from a solo practitioner role to a Director responsible for an entire team of employees.
She has worked for multiple Y Combinator companies, including as the first HR Manager at GM Cruise, overseeing hypergrowth as the company grew from under 100 to 1,800 employees in three and a half years, and as the Director of People Operations at Embark Trucks, where she oversaw HR compliance as they went public as a Nasdaq company.
She is passionate about working with smaller companies to create strong, compliant foundations that support long-term success and looks forward to the chance to collaborate with you and help drive your company's growth!
Recommendations from those who have worked with Shushannah can be found on LinkedIn.
Jenny Harris
As a Senior Technical Recruiter with over 20 years of experience, Jenny Harris specializes in providing full-cycle, consultative recruitment solutions to help organizations achieve their business and growth goals. Her expertise lies in recruiting top talent for highly technical and scientific roles, effectively translating complex technical skills into business needs. Trained in AIRS and JobMachine techniques, she focuses on social network recruiting strategies. Throughout her career, Jenny has successfully staffed a variety of industries, including Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Research Labs, and Aerospace.
Jenny recruits for a broad range of positions, from engineering and scientific roles to finance, quality, manufacturing, sales, and IT. Her ability to build strong relationships with both candidates and hiring managers is key to her success, enabling her to efficiently guide candidates through the hiring process. She excels in high-volume, fast-paced environments and is committed to ensuring organizations have the best talent to drive their success.
Janice Ladika
As an HR Operations Specialist with over 24 years of experience, Janice Ladika is passionate about working with companies to drive efficiency and solve business challenges.
She’s worked with a large, multi-state and international corporation as well as several start-ups. Her expertise is in the day-to-day operations in People function including policies, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), employee onboarding, offboarding, benefits, employee changes, and payroll processing.
She has managed over a dozen HRIS platforms, from startup-focused systems like Gusto and BambooHR to enterprise solutions such as PeopleSoft and Oracle HCM.
Sean Berry
Sean Berry is an experienced technology expert who has operated and wound down a number of California and Midwest-based startups, as well as worked within medium and large enterprises with their own interesting challenges.
Maria Zuyeva
Maria is an HR Administrator who has worked in a variety of industries, including tech, construction, and manufacturing.
She is passionate about creating smooth, supportive experiences for every employee — from their first day to their last. Whether streamlining systems, maintaining data accuracy, or managing complex logistics, she brings reliability, empathy, and thoughtful execution to every part of the HR function.