PYLUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources honored for leadership during pandemic

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) Assistant Superintendent Rick Lopez has been named one of this year’s top human resources executives by the Orange County Business Journal.

The 2022 Distinguished Leaders in Human Resources program recently recognized 72 Orange County executives leaders who had to navigate new office environments, the everchanging administration of benefits and policies, and new challenges to recruitment with falling unemployment rates—all as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Lopez leads the district’s Human Resources Department and is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing a comprehensive program including recruitment, selection, classification, wage and salary administration, and employee/employer relations for over 2,800 employees.

Mr. Lopez has diligently served in the role of Assistant Superintendent since 2018 but first began his career with PYLUSD in 1994. During his tenure, PYLUSD has enhanced its competitive compensation package and been identified as a Top Workplace in Orange County multiple times. 

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic posed severe challenges to organizational performance for human resources professionals such as Mr. Lopez, especially when it came to integrating new individuals into the organization. In spite of such challenges, and under the direction of Mr. Lopez, PYLUSD devised dozens of recruitment strategies to hire high-quality professionals in a wide variety of educator, support staff, and management positions. Strategies included innovative recruitment and marketing tactics across multiple platforms, attendance at a wide variety of job fairs in southern California, the creative use of existing resources and personnel, and so much more.

The mission of PYLUSD is the following: “We inspire all students through rigorous and relevant educational experiences that empower them to become responsible, ethical, and contributing citizens.” This mission, the very reason the organization exists, hinges upon Mr. Lopez’s distinguished leadership and would not be made possible without the integration, elevation, and celebration of employees and the district’s first-rate human resources program.  

The Orange County Business Journal’s Distinguished Leaders were selected following a review of nominees serving in senior leadership roles. The full list of winners includes executives from Orange County Department of Education. Coast Community College District, the City of Irvine, and the Boys & Girls Club, just to name a few.