Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc. (CAPSLO) recently announced the appointment of Thomas E. Alvarez to the position of director of human resources. 

CAPSLO is a local non-profit corporation that aims to empower individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency through a comprehensive array of community-based programs and actions,

"Tom comes to Community Action with a strong background in Human Resources from the private, public and nonprofit sectors,” said Elizabeth 'Biz' Steinberg, CAPSLO's CEO.  "He has expertise in all areas of Human Resources and has previous experience with another Community Action agency.  We thank Cathrine Bazzani for her 20 years of exemplary performance, and appreciate the assistance that she and her team have given with this transition."

Alvarez comes to Community Action with 13 years of human resources experience in a variety of fields.

He has served as a private consultant; as the director of human resources at Kern Community College District; the manager of human resource programs at CSU Bakersfield; district captain/human resources manager for The Home Depot; assistant personnel officer of Kern County Economic Opportunity Corporation; human resources manager at Kern county Economic Opportunity Corporation; and employment counselor and career advisor at the County of Kern, Employers’ Training Resource.

Alvarez graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and from CSU Bakersfield with a Masters degree in Public Administration. He earned his Senior in Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certification in 2001 and his California certification SPHR in 2007. 

Community service is also important to Alvarez, and he served as a Kern County Civil Service Commissioner from 2001 to 2005. He served as the president of the American Society for Public Administration of Kern County in 2002, as the vice president in 2001, and was a board member from 1997 – 2002. He is also a member of the Society of Human Resources Management.  Alvarez was formerly an adjunct faculty in political science at Kern Community College, Bakersfield College.

"I have heard nothing but praise about this organization and its leadership,” states Alvarez.  “I appreciate the warm welcome that has been extended to me by the staff and the San Luis Obispo community.  I look forward to making this area my home, and to working here to help the underserved in the community.”
    
In an effort to eliminate the causes of poverty, CAPSLO, a California non-profit corporation, aims to empower individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency through a comprehensive array of community based programs and actions.