Accelerate Your HR Career

The premier executive education program for HR leaders looking to propel themselves and their organizations forward.

Designed to Help You Level Up

That means a bigger job, higher pay, and becoming a more influential member of a leadership team. We do this by bringing together the content, the strategy, and the connections you need to take your career to the next level.

As Seen In

About the Program

This 16-week transformational experience (offered only twice each year) is equivalent in rigor and intensity to an executive MBA program.

Each cohort is limited to a max of 15 members to ensure there is a lot of personal interaction with peers and faculty. The depth and intimacy of the relationships we develop are different from any other professional community.  

Our results speak for themselves. A typical participant in our Accelerator will receive a major promotion and 30%+ pay increase within 12 months of completing our program.

Exclusive, small-group virtual gatherings over 16 weeks, plus 1-on-1 executive mentoring.

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 Essential content includes:

  • Scholarly Foundations - the most relevant management research 

  • Practical Application - what really works, when to enact changes, how to prioritize limited time and resources on what matters most

  • Core Processes and Programs - what you need to lead an effective People Ops function 

  • Influencing Skills - how to serve as an effective partner to founder/CEOs

Participants in the People Leader Accelerator will:

  • Spend ~5 hours per week engaging with the cohort and curriculum

  • Learn from practical and scholarly readings 

  • Apply principles though weekly homework and writing assignments 

  • Participate in weekly video discussions with your peers

  • Interact socially (in-person if/when health protocols allow) with your peers, the faculty, and outside experts

  • Address real problems in your current organization

  • Develop a trusted network of peers in similar roles at similar organizations

Ready to Join?

Pick your path below:

Sign Up

  • Complete a 2-minute application and take a short quiz.

  • If you’re approved, you’re in!

Best if you already know you want to join.

Schedule a Call

  • 15-min call to get to know you and answer your questions.

  • After the call, if it’s a fit, you’re in.

Best for people who want to learn more.

Being a People Leader Can Be Lonely

We’ve been there too, and we built this program to make sure you don’t have to do it alone. Every member who joins the People Leader Accelerator gets a lifetime membership to our private community.

Inside you’ll find a network of experienced people leaders you can connect with, share challenges, and receive support from those who’ve walked the same path.

Our core faculty has over 60 years of HR experience and has held the top HR job 15 times. Plus, we have a “Who’s Who” list of world-class subject matter experts serving as adjunct faculty.

Lifetime Membership Benefits

In addition to the 16 week program, here’s what you get once you become a member of our community.

Monthly Virtual Workshops

Members-only workshops with the leading experts in the field. Never a presentation. Always interactive.

In-Person Gatherings

Dinners, happy hours, speaker events, and conference meet-ups. We get together in person in multiple venues throughout the year.

Library of Resources

An ever-growing online library full of templates, frameworks, articles, and research studies.

Private Online Community

An active and curated Slack community, just for PLA alumni - to discuss issues that matter to you.

Exclusive Mentorship

Get access to faculty members for ad-hoc advisory support.

Invite to Private Annual Retreat

Each year we gather at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club for 2 days to connect, learn, sharpen our skills, and deepen our relationships.

Don’t Take Our Word For It

  • "PLA gave me what I'd been missing since grad school - real time application of strategic HR concepts with a community that challenges and supports. It's been transformational."

    Emily Sauey, Head of People Operations & Chief of Staff at Verto Education

  • “I’ve worked with a number of rapidly growing companies, and most of them would benefit tremendously from the People Leader Accelerator. Helping HR Leaders better influence business decisions through both academic and practical training will make them more strategic and able to provide better value to their organizations.”

    Saydeah Howard, Chief Talent Officer at IVP

  • “I left the PLA program with several key takeaways. First, the value of making time for your own thoughts. This program was great for structured reflection. Second, don’t over-engineer things, especially in growth companies. And finally, my biggest ‘takeaway’ from the PLA was really the new relationships. I’ve already found myself relying on them!”

    Jessica Tory, VP of People at Qualia

  • "PLA provided me with exactly what I was looking for from this experience - a selection of practical tools, a great network, mentorship, confidence, and exposure to other thoughts, practices and ideas."

    Jamie Thorpe, SVP of People at Pursuit

  • "PLA offers a truly unique learning experience through its emphasis on reflection and practical application. Each week dives into a new People topic, with assignments designed to encourage deep reflection on how you've applied key concepts and how you'll implement them going forward. The assignments are incredibly practical and I continue to find myself revisiting PLA homework to use in my day-to-day. The live discussions provide even more value, by facilitating dynamic conversations around People topics. You're not only engaging with your cohort of experienced People Leaders but also learning directly from experts in the field. These discussions have given me countless actionable insights that continue to shape my approach and perspective."

    Elyse Wolin, Head of People at Future

  • "Every week I look forward to the PLA meetings and even get excited about the homework because I know the readings will provide valuable information to reflect on. What I have learned in PLA has helped build my confidence. It is not just the knowledge I've gained, but the connections I've built that I know will continue to provide support. Everyone in my PLA cohort is smart and has helpful perspective to share - there is so much we can learn from each other and bounce off each other. We are challenged to think critically and be assets to our companies by always thinking about how we can support the business. I approach my work differently because of PLA and am a more effective leader because of the program. I am so happy I decided to invest my own money in this program!"

    Jane von Halle, Director of Talent Development at Strive Health

  • "PLA sharpened my focus on what truly drives business impact through HR - helping me lead with greater clarity, intentionality, and strategic value."

    Ryan MacPherson, Head of People at Stash

  • "PLA made me a better business leader through the people function. It's a must for anyone leading in a high-growth, investor-backed company."

    Sara Mejia, Head of People at CoreX

  • "PLA turned HR from an island into a village - equal parts learning, connection, and transformation. I left every week more empowered and supported than ever before."

    Ryan-Mae McAvoy-Pepin, VP People Operations at Blackthorn.io

  • "PLA gave me the challenge, connection, and real growth I'd been searching for as an HR leader. I came out the other side a stronger, more strategic version of myself."

    Amy Czyz, Head of People at Clubhouse

  • "PLA elevated my approach to People & Culture - helping me align leadership, data, and strategy to drive real impact."

    Brett Brawerman, Head of Culture at FDX

  • “In a period of rapid growth and competing deadlines, PLA forced me to take time for myself every week. I have spent most of my career putting the needs of others above my own. PLA reinforced that focusing on myself will strengthen my organization as well as improve my knowledge, confidence, and abilities. I am so glad to have participated in PLA. The topics were immediately relevant, my professional network has grown, and my confidence is up!”

    Leslie Wilson, People Operations Lead at Outschool

  • “Access to the smart and high impact team behind People Leader Accelerator, and getting time like this to have them help you build out the people function of your company - it’s just an invaluable opportunity.”

    John Lilly, Venture Partner at Greylock

SHRM Recertification Provider

People Leader Accelerator is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.

FAQs

  • Participants will spent ~5 hours per week over 16 weeks engaging with the cohort and the curriculum. This includes 1-2 hours of reading, 1-2 hours of homework and reading / responding to peers, a 30-minute dyad or triad meeting, and a 2-hour live group discussion. That said, you get out of PLA what you put into it. The more you engage with the community, the deeper the learning - and the deeper the relationships will be.

    After the 16-week program ends, there are numerous ways to continue to participate - from virtual workshops, our active Slack workspace, to in-person gatherings.

  • Lifetime membership in the PLA community is an investment in your professional growth. For the intensive program and continued engagement in our community we ask for less than half the size of the raises that most of our participants receive, $12K USD.

    Payment terms are flexible and the cost should be tax deductible (but speak with your accountant as rules can change). Many employers will also help to sponsor your participation, as the program is directly relevant to your work and immediately actionable.

  • Most of our live group sessions are on Thursdays between 9-11:00am Pacific Time, since more than 1/3 of our participants tend to be in California.

    Starting with the Spring 2026 cohort, we will be pushing the time of those live meetings to 12-2pm Pacific Time to accomodate participants in Australia and Asia.

  • We are a niche program, laser-focused on supporting Human Resources leaders of investor-backed, founder-led organizations. While historically serving mostly VC-backed technology companies, we are seeing more PE-backed orgs which are on a major growth journey (not necessarily in tech).

    We focus on HR leaders who want to become more successful, more influential executives, aligning their work with the goals of their business.

    So, the head of the function at a Series A, B, or C company might be a good fit - as well as a direct report to the head of the HR function at a later stage organization who is preparing to be a successor or considering a top job elsewhere.