In 1986, Cheryl Cepelak was a new college graduate just starting her career in public service, with no idea that public sector HR would be part of her future plans.
“In all honesty, I feel like I fell into it accidentally,” says Cepelak, who is now semi-retired after a decades-long career in public service.
“I had started my career in state service as a 20-something and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” continues Cepelak, who holds a bachelor’s degree in design and resource management from the University of Connecticut.
After working in retail for a few years, Cepelak got her first job with the state in 1988, working with the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services as a career trainee—a “catch-all title,” she says—and moving around a few units before having an opportunity to work in HR in a training capacity.
In the latter role, “I suddenly found my niche.”
Over the next few years, Cepelak had the opportunity to work on statewide workplace violence training, as well as some process improvement initiatives.
“These opportunities,” she says, “led me to realize my passion for being part of a team that embraced learning and growing and continuous improvement.”
Cepelak went on to serve in a variety of roles in organizational development, strategic planning and training; positions that she says “solidified my track on what I always referred to as the periphery of HR.”
Having those experiences opened up opportunities for leadership positions later in her career, says Cepelak, who has also earned a master’s of science in organizational leadership from Quinnipiac University
For example, Cepelak served as interim director for the State of Connecticut from January 2022 to January 2024. She has also served as the director of organizational development for the state’s Department of Corrections for roughly two years. Cepelak finished her state career as interim director of Connecticut’s Department of Aging and Disability Services, assisting in hiring a permanent director for the department.
In addition, Cepelak was a senior consultant with Management Education Group Inc. from January 2016 to February 2022.
She still acts as a consultant for HR-related projects, along with instructing PSHRA’s HR Essentials course.
A PSHRA member since 1999, Cepelak first joined at the suggestion of a colleague at the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services, where she was working as an HR analyst at the time.
She wasted no time getting involved with the organization.
“I leaped right in, attending my first regional conference in West Virginia,” says Cepelak, who also works as a yoga instructor in her (semi)retirement.
“At that conference, a friend and colleague was running for president of the Connecticut chapter, and he asked if I would run as his president-elect. I said yes to that opportunity, and I have not regretted it since.”
Cepelak considers herself “blessed” to be part of the organization in a number of capacities over the past 27 years, including serving as Eastern Region President and as PSHRA President in 2020. She has also helped facilitate PSHRA leadership conferences and plan the organization’s national conference.
“I have always said that, if not for my involvement with PSHRA, I would not have reached the level of deputy commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Corrections,” says Cepelak.
“Having the opportunity to practice so many skills in my various capacities in a safe place with lots of support—running meetings, project management, leadership, facilitating, networking—helped me grow personally and professionally. And I am so grateful to the many friends I’ve met along the way, and who continue to have an impact on my life.”
19 August 2026
Category
Stories of Impact
