The American Society of Employers has named Livonia resident Teresa Schwartz HR Executive of the Year in the Health and Human Services category with fewer than 500 employees. The award recognizes the meritorious work by executives in the field of human resources management, and distinguishes those who represent the best in their profession.

Schwartz has more than 35 years of HR experience. For over 22 years, she has directed the HR functions at Southfield-based JVS, which employs 350 full-time, part-time and on-call employees at four JVS offices in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties as well as locations in the community where staff are contracted to work.

Several contracts are with governmental agencies, which have scrutinized JVS’s HR practices during comprehensive audits and lauded JVS for its compliance with best practices.

Schwartz also oversaw the development and launch of HR Solutions Group, a JVS subsidiary which helps other businesses and nonprofits strategically manage their human resource functions while earning income for JVS.

“This business venture brings in revenue to support unfunded or underfunded services that are at the core of the agency,” explains JVS President and CEO Leah Rosenbaum.  “This protects the people we serve while making a critical impact in the HR field in metropolitan Detroit. We congratulate Teresa on being a leader in her field, which ultimately contributes to JVS’s reputation of excellence.”