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25th
Anniversary

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Atlanta Mission

As we celebrate 25 years of serving HR, we want to stand alongside our clients and peers to make a real impact in our communities. We marked our 25th anniversary by volunteering at Atlanta Mission – offering mock interviews to empower and uplift our community alongside clients and friends of Talent Connections. We want to thank all those who came out to make a difference!

Cruising Through 25 Years of HR Excellence

To recognize the team for their roles in achieving this milestone, Tom Darrow, Founder & Principal, arranged a cruise for the Talent Connections and Career Spa teams! They set sail for Grand Turk to enjoy the sun and celebrate 25 years of serving the HR community.

Operation Christmas Child

With a goal of 1.4 million boxes from the city of Atlanta, the Talent Connections team volunteered at Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse to help sort shoe boxes to be delivered to underprivileged children all over the world.

Other 25th Anniversary Highlights

Foster Care Support Foundation

Our group worked in the distribution center where they take donated clothes, sort them and hang them by size and type so that foster children and their parents can come to “shop”.

American Cancer Society

Talent Connections partnered with the American Cancer Society to support cancer patients and their caregivers at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Winn-Dixie Campus in Decatur, GA.

Atlanta Community Food Bank

To help with Atlanta Community Food Bank's urgent needs drive, we donated 208 pounds of goods – which provided 173 meals to families in need.

Community Career Bootcamp

Human Resources professionals volunteered with Talent Connections at the CareerWorks Bootcamp. Serve Together volunteers donated their time and expertise in resume writing, interview prep and mock interview sessions.

Our Team

Get to know the HR search experts behind
our 25 years of success.

Get to know the HR search experts behind our 25 years of success.

Tom Darrow, SHRM-SCP

Founder, Principal

Superpower: Connector-in-Chief

Learn About Tom >

Teela Jackson

SVP, Talent Delivery

Superpower: HR Talent Magnet

Learn About Teela >

Jim Hartsook

VP, Augusta, GA Office

Superpower: Captain Coach

Learn About Jim >

Allis Fox

Director, Talent Delivery

Superpower: Relationship Cultivator

Learn About Allis >

Amber Brinkman

Brand Strategy Consultant

Superpower: Growth Compass

Learn About Amber >

Jen Grimes

Onboarding & Payroll Lead

Superpower: Smooth Operator

Learn About Jen >

Tom Darrow, SHRM-SCP

Founder & Principal

With more than 35 years of professional human resources and talent acquisition experience, Tom helps his clients find strategic and impactful HR leaders. Talent Connections has conducted approximately 2000 HR searches across the US since they company’s founding in 1999 and those placed have impressive retention rates. He has built two successful companies himself–the other being an outplacement services and executive coaching firm, Career Spa. His previous work with global professional services firms Price Waterhouse (now PwC) and Accenture shaped Tom with substantial depth and business acumen. His infinite knowledge in human capital, hiring processes, and career management best practices is nationally acclaimed, and he’s often sourced by the media.

With a huge heart for service and a need to give back to the human resources profession he has served nationally as Board Chair for the SHRM Foundation and Inaugural Board President for the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP). In the Atlanta area, he served two years at President of SHRM-Atlanta and is the most recent recipient of the SHRM-Atlanta Lifetime Achievement Award. He is deeply invested in the community as well, serving on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, The Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV), the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and he founded the Atlanta HR Prayer Breakfast ministry. Tom holds an BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

When he isn’t solving people and business challenges, he enjoys travel, concerts, golf, spectator sports, and spending time with family and friends. He is a shareholder and season ticket holder of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Anyone who knows him knows that Tom also loves to make people laugh with his gift of humor. He made his stand-up comedy debut at The Punch Line, the premiere comedy club in the Southeast.

Teela Jackson

SVP, Talent Delivery

Teela has a passion for people, talent and organizational culture. She has partnered with C-suite executives to lead thousands of searches over the course of her 25+ year career in Talent Acquisition. She has a reputation as a trusted partner and leader to support organizational HR and business transformations. Teela has been instrumental in building Talent Connections into the organization it is today and is often referred to as “The HR Talent Guru.”

As Senior Vice President of Talent Connections, Teela has served as a strategic partner to HR executives and collaborated with senior leadership to evaluate and identify key HR talent needs in alignment with company goals and transformations. The leaders that she places have staying power, exhibiting high retention rates. With the multiple repeat clients that result, she has a passion for finding top talent including established leaders, rising leaders, and hybrid or hard to find talent. Prior to joining Talent Connections, Teela held key positions in corporate talent acquisition with Georgia-Pacific, Turner Broadcasting and CIGNA.

Given her investment and success in the human resources industry, Teela has served as a volunteer leader with SHRM Georgia State Council and she’s active in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP) and SHRM-Atlanta. The first African American female President of SHRM-Atlanta, Teela founded their Rising Leaders Community as well as the SHRM-Atlanta Scholarship Fund.

Teela is also an alumni honoree of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 and a supporter of numerous non-profits. She has served as Board Member for the Brian Jordan Foundation (retired Braves and Falcons players) and she has been featured in various news and media outlets.

Teela earned an MBA from Mercer University and a BA in Business/Human Resources that she attended on a full academic scholarship from The University of Tennessee – Martin. Originally from Nashville, Teela has called Atlanta home since 2000.

Jim Hartsook

VP, Augusta, GA Office

Jim provides executive coaching at CareerSpa. He helps individuals think about where they are in their careers or leadership positions, what they want to do going forward, and how to ensure that goal happens with a clear plan of action.

Prior to Talent Connections, Jim served for 28 years in various HR and recruiting roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he developed numerous programs and training sessions that elevated PwC’s profile by being listed on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Place to Work designation for seven years in a row. He expanded PwC’s HR training initiatives internationally to Australia and Canada and co-chaired the team that combined the PW and CL recruiting initiatives during the merger of the two firms.

Prior to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jim spent ten impactful years with Deloitte Touche. His roles included: Director of Human Resources for South Florida; Southeast Region Recruiting Director; National Director of Diversity Recruiting; and member of the National HR Advisory Council.

Jim holds membership in several professional organizations including the Georgia Coach Association and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as well as their Augusta chapter. Jim was also a member of the Aiken, SC Chamber of Commerce.

He received his BA in Education, followed by an MA in College Student Personnel with an emphasis in Guidance and Counseling from Bowling Green State University.

Allis Fox

Director, Talent Delivery

Allis is the Director of Talent Delivery at Talent Connections. In her role, she ensures candidates not only have the skills to thrive but also are a strong cultural match for the company. With a consultative approach, she takes the time to recognize the needs of her clients and candidates and quickly develops trust in order to build valuable partnerships. She masterfully implements effective employee selection and assessments, swift talent delivery, and project management. Superior client service is a foremost goal, and it shows in everything she does.

Allis’s career in HR began as the Personnel Manager for the Indianapolis Indians, which was the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds at the time and is now affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Prior to her current role, she served as the Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at Talent Connections, where she led marketing, event planning, and client engagement initiatives. She also worked as a Consultant at InterSource Executive Search, Inc., further honing her expertise in executive search and recruitment strategy.

Allis stays active within her industry and community as a member of SHRM- Atlanta, Atlanta Area Compensation Association (AACA) College Relations Committee, and Talent Acquisition Leader’s Forum (TALF).

Allis developed her marketing and communication skills at Indiana University, where she graduated with a B.S. in Sports Marketing and Management. Calling Atlanta home since 1995, she has remained deeply involved in the local community and enjoys attending and participating in sporting events with her husband and two sons.

Amber Brinkman

Brand Strategy Consultant

Amber Brinkman is the founder of Brinkman Consulting and serves as Talent Connections’ Brand Strategy Lead, overseeing the strategic development of brand, marketing, and content initiatives.

Her work with Talent Connections focuses on crafting data-driven strategies that drive growth, increase brand awareness, and strengthen client retention. With experience on both the brand and agency sides of marketing, Amber brings a unique perspective, particularly in the recruitment industry, where she has worked with a diverse range of recruiter clients since launching her business in 2021.

Beyond consulting, Amber is actively involved in the Atlanta marketing community through volunteer, board, and mentorship roles—which earned her AMA Atlanta’s Marketing Rising Star award. She holds a B.S. in Social Entrepreneurship from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is passionate about supporting local animal shelters through fundraising and supply drives.

Whether collaborating with clients, guiding teams, or mentoring future leaders, Amber combines her expertise with a genuine passion for helping others succeed.

Jen Grimes

Onboarding & Payroll Lead

Talent Connections partners with FoxHire as our Employer of Record for Temporary/Contract Workers.  FoxHire is an Employer of Record that handles all of the onboarding, payroll, and compliance during each assignment.

As a dedicated partner in providing Employer of Record (EOR) services, Jen is our assigned Representative.  She plays a key role in ensuring smooth operations for Talent Connections. Jen works closely with our recruitment team, guiding them through the nuances of EOR solutions to ensure that companies can expand their workforce efficiently while staying fully compliant with labor laws and regulations.  She also assists the Workers with any questions they may have throughout the entire process while being employed with FoxHire.