Director, Benefits Services

John Young is the Director of Benefits Services. He began working for BYU in 1996. For the last 17 years, he has worked in the Human Resources Division at BYU. John has worked in Student Employment, Staff Employment, Compensation, and as an HR Area Consultant before joining the Benefits Service team.

In addition to his work at the university, John volunteers with HR organizations nationally and locally. He is the SHRM Membership Advisory Council member representing the Southwest Central Region and serves as an interface between SHRM members and the SHRM Board of Directors. John is completing his term as the Utah SHRM Director. He served for the 10 years on the board of the Human Resources Association of Central Utah. In addition to his SHRM volunteer service, John has served on the employer advisory council with the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division and joined with other Utah higher education HR professionals to establish a local chapter of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).

John has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University. He has several HR related certifications including SHRM-SCP, SPHR, and CCP.

HR and Training Development Manager, Harold B. Lee Library

Cali O'Connell began working at the Harold B. Lee Library in 1980 and found it too fun to leave. She has held roles as executive assistant to the University Librarian, in human resources, donor relations, promotion and outreach, and special projects including the planning team for the 1999 addition to the Library. Cali obtained a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification and is currently the Library's Human Resources Manager. She enjoys working with employee engagement, culture, strategy, and training and development programs.

Assistant Director, Compensation

Denise has been in the full-time workforce for nearly four decades. Three of those decades have been at Brigham Young University where she currently holds the position of Assistant Director, Compensation.

Denise’s career and educational journey may seem out of order to some. She began full-time work at the age of nineteen and completed an Associate’s degree while working. She continued to take professional development courses, but it would be another decade before she decided to continue her college education. While working for the BYU Police Department, she was accepted into a BYU undergraduate program. She continued to work while taking one or two courses a semester. While still working on her degree she transferred to BYU Human Resource Services (HRS) and a few years (and three HRS jobs later), she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. At HRS, she was fortunate to have a mentor who supported her career progression. Early on, he encouraged her, along with other employees, to visit various HRS areas so they could obtain a broader view of the division and consider future career paths. Once Denise met with the Compensation team, she knew that was the career for her. She attended legal and HR conferences/seminars and BYU training courses and was eventually promoted to Compensation Analyst. She went on to become a Certified Compensation Professional, achieved certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources, and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration. In 2013 she was promoted to Assistant Director of Compensation. As a member of the Human Resource CCP, she is delighted to assist and mentor other employees with their development journeys in the HR profession.