Timothy Ezell: Striving to Serve Those Who Serve the Public

Timothy Ezell couldn’t have predicted that a part-time Home Depot gig would spark a passion for the HR profession and public service. But that’s exactly what happened.

Ezell worked as an appliance specialist at an Atlanta-area Home Depot store from November 2006 to July 2010. In that role, his primary responsibilities included providing customer service, assisting shoppers select home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.

He also found himself lending the store’s human resources manager a hand—pre-screening resumes, setting up and conducting interviews with candidates for all store-level positions, and manually developing schedules for more than 300 store associates, for instance.

“I had the opportunity to help with HR-related responsibilities, and I found myself drawn to the people side of the business,” says Ezell, the current chief operations officer and chief deputy clerk with Fulton County Government in Atlanta.

“I enjoyed helping employees, answering questions and seeing how thoughtful leadership and good workplace decisions could make someone’s day or even influence their career. Without realizing it at the time, that experience planted a seed.”

The interest that was nurtured at Home Depot “became a passion” when he moved on to take a position as an HR project generalist with Kaiser Permanente, says Ezell, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Georgia State University.

“I saw firsthand how strategic human resources could strengthen organizations by investing in people, developing leaders and building positive workplace cultures.”

His time at Kaiser Permanente changed the way Ezell thought about leadership, and he decided to pursue a master of public administration degree, with a concentration in human resources management, which he ultimately earned from Clark Atlanta University.

(Ezell also holds a master of business administration degree, with a focus on international business, from Clayton State University.)

While Ezell’s career eventually led him into executive leadership and court administration, “I never really left HR,” he says.

“Instead, I carried those lessons with me. Today, as a chief operations officer, I help lead our organization’s human resources strategy, because I believe the success of any organization begins with its people. Every challenge I’ve encountered, whether operational, financial or strategic, has ultimately come back to leadership, culture and investing in employees.”

Ezell joined PSHRA as a member in June 2026, because he believes that public service “isn’t only about serving the public,” he says. “It’s also about serving the people who serve the public.”

Investing in public servants by developing leaders, supporting employees and building strong workplace culture makes an impact that “extends far beyond the walls of our organizations,” adds Ezell.

“It reaches every resident, family, business and community that depends on government services each day. Many of those lives we’ll never meet, but they’re positively affected by the work we do.”

Connecting to a network of peers who aspire to have that same type of impact is part of what drew Ezell to PSHRA.

“I wanted to be part of a community of leaders who share the same belief and are committed to strengthening the public sector workforce,” he says.

“I see PSHRA as an opportunity to continue learning, collaborate with professionals across government and bring innovative workforce strategies back to the organizations and communities I serve.”