At last night's Unit 4 Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the appointment of Ms. Jeffonne (Jey) Owens as the Director of Human Resources Development.
Ms. Owens began her career in education in February 2017 when she joined Decatur Public Schools as the Senior Recruitment and Retention Specialist, a position she held for four years. In May 2021, Ms. Owens joined Unit 4 Schools as the Talent Recruitment & Retention Manager, a position that later became the Assistant Director of Human Resources & Employee Engagement.
After a brief break from the education field for a few months in 2023, Ms. Owens rejoined Unit 4 in September 2023 as a Substitute Administrator. Since that time, she has supported multiple departments including Food Service, Kids Plus, Transportation, Operations & Maintenance, and (primarily) Human Resources. She will now transition to a permanent position as the next Director of Human Resources Development.
Prior to her career in education, Ms. Owens served in multiple managerial roles, including Floor Manager at Von Maur (January 2014-February 2017) and Sales Manager at Bergner’s (October 2011-December 2013).
Ms. Owens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Mass Communication (2011) and a Master of Business Administration in Human Resources and Organizational Leadership (2019) from Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Ms. Owens is currently finalizing a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification.
The effective date of Ms. Jey Owens’ appointment is January 28, 2025.