Melissa Boillot: Committed to Giving Back to Her Community

Melissa Boillot’s current role as people solutions manager with the Town of Gilbert, Ariz. is a long way from where she started her career.

Boillot has served with the Maricopa County town since November 2022, when she joined the agency as a senior HR business partner. She took on the title of people solutions manager less than a year later, in October 2023.

Boillot is one of roughly 1,700 employees serving the Town of Gilbert. Her previous experience, though, came with some of the biggest companies in the world.

She graduated from the University of Washington, Tacoma in 2009, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management.

Her first job was with retail giant Target, after completing an internship while still in school. That internship saw Boillot take responsibility for establishing a pipeline of intern and executive team leader candidates while branding Target as an employer of choice on the University of Washington, Tacoma campus.

Boillot held various leadership roles during her nearly six years with the retailer, including stints as an executive team leader for guest experience and an executive team leader for human resources.

She moved on to the DISH Network in 2014, holding two HR manager positions before leaving the organization in March 2021.

After more than a decade in private sector HR, it was a desire to “give back to my local community and support a hyper-localized workforce” that brought her to the public sector and the Town of Gilbert, says Boillot.

“I have always been passionate about helping people thrive in their professional lives, and I feel most engaged when the mission has a larger purpose with which I can connect.”

With the Town of Gilbert, “I lead a team that recruits and supports the individuals who maintain our streets, protect our neighborhoods and plan for our community’s growth, as well as every other aspect of local government,” she continues.

“Hiring the best talent and nurturing our current workforce is essential for creating a thriving community where residents can succeed.”

Boillot became a PSHRA member in June 2026, first becoming active with the Arizona chapter. She has since presented at PSHRA26 in Portland, sharing details of how the Town of Gilbert is attracting top talent, particularly Gen Z-age individuals.

“I was excited to join the national community,” she says now, “because hearing from public sector leaders across the country sparks ideas to innovate, improve and elevate government. Public sector HR faces unique challenges, and it helps to learn from people who truly understand them.”

Boillot aspires to lead an HR organization, aligning people, resources and strategy to an organization’s priorities. As people solutions manager with the Town of Gilbert, she’s working toward that objective, helping the agency continue to modernize how it attracts and supports talent.

Her peers in the PSHRA network figure to play a key part in Boillot reaching that goal.

“PSHRA has given me a network of peers that I can call on for ideas, benchmarks and honest advice,” says Boillot, who is also set to speak at the PSHRA Alabama chapter’s local conference in fall 2027.

“Collaborating with peers across the country sharpens my thinking and reinforces that the best ideas in government come from sharing what works.”