Founder & Principal

Tom Darrow, SHRM-SCP

With more than 30 years of professional human resources and talent acquisition experience, Tom helps his clients achieve strategic and operational goals by structuring teams that can deliver results. Talent Connections has conducted hundreds of searches across the US and those placed have impressive retention rates. He’s built two successful companies himself–the other being an outplacement services and executive coaching firm. 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 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, 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, football, and spending time with family and friends. He is a shareholder and season ticket holder of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. It comes as no surprise, that Tom also loves to make people laugh with his gift of humor and made his stand-up comedy debut at The Punch Line.

VP, Talent Delivery

Teela Jackson

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 20+ 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 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.

VP, Houston, TX Office

Susan Kent

Susan is a human resources executive with more than thirty years of consulting and operational experience. As Vice President of Talent Connections, she was strategic in launching Career Spa in Atlanta in 2009, and currently leads outplacement services and executive coaching efforts. She has a unique combination of strengths, exhibited as she supports clients from coast to coast who are embarking on career transition, helping them design resume and LinkedIn presences, and providing professional interview coaching and preparation. Susan also creates solutions for clients facing redundancies due to shrinking budgets and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to her current role, Susan influenced the human resources experience within the energy industry at Southern Company, Georgia Power Company, and most recently at Mirant, a global competitive energy provider. She has designed and led recruiting functions in corporate environments during times of growth and times of downsizing.

Her previous experience as a Principal Consultant in Organizational Effectiveness and Staffing at Southern Company has provided her the skills to design and deliver effective solutions gained by working through start-ups, acquisitions, and bankruptcy or emerging from bankruptcy. Susan also served as Senior Human Resources Generalist and is intimately familiar with the challenges of balancing business needs with employee performance and simultaneously managing budget constraints and executive expectations.

Susan received her BBA in Management from Georgia State University and has held leadership positions in both professional and community organizations. She enjoys golf, pickleball, travel, beach time, and quality time with three wonderful grandkids in Houston.

VP, Augusta, GA Office

Jim Hartsook

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.

Director, Talent Delivery

Allis S. Fox

Allis is currently 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.

Prior to her current role, Allis served as the Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at Talent Connections where she was responsible for marketing, event planning, and community and client relations. She also worked as a Consultant at InterSource Executive Search, Inc.

Allis developed her marketing and communication skills at Indiana University, where she graduated with a BS Sports Marketing and Management. Calling Atlanta home since 1995, she enjoys participating and attending sporting events with her husband and two sons