Laura Piel
David Piel
Lauren Crider
Nicole Sollars
Carrie Olson
Renee Ellsworth
Casey Adkins
Fergus
Gary
Administrative, professional, and executive recruiting for both temporary placement and direct hire.
Casey joined the Renaissance team as a Recruiting Resource Coordinator, combining his talents in research and relationship building.
After graduating from ASU with a degree in Business Administration, Casey was initially drawn to sales by its competitive nature and limitless opportunity. Casey worked as a Sales Assistant where he quickly discovered the importance of forging lasting relationships, not just completing transactions. While in that role, he learned to conduct research, identify opportunities, reactivate past relationships, and work collaboratively with a team. Casey loved helping customers solve their problems.
Casey’s passion for recruiting was sparked during his search for a new career when he worked with corporate recruiters to secure interviews at premier Valley companies. Casey was surprised by how much he loved working with the recruiters and the meaningful connections he made with them along the way. He felt great after every interaction and applauded their ability to spur his excitement about certain companies. He then decided to adapt his skillset to join the world of staffing. Casey’s transition was seamless as his main goal was to help shape people’s lives and careers and to feel like his work has a positive and direct impact on others.
Overachiever: While working at a restaurant with predominantly Spanish speakers, Casey took Spanish lessons to be able to better communicate with his coworkers.
Biggest Thrill: Swimming in icy water at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska.
Favorite Place: Sitting on a beach in Maui with friends and family.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: Cornish Pasty Co.
Renee joined the Renaissance team as a Recruiting Manager, primarily responsible for guiding candidates through the interview, offer and hiring process. After spending the last 13 years working for a major corporation, she was ready to transition into a smaller, family-owned company. Renee worked as an Assistant Store Manager; along with handling the day-to-day operations, she also took care of the Human Resources initiatives for the store. Renee was responsible for reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and negotiating offers for prospective employees. Renee felt a deep connection to her employees while working with them through the onboarding / training process, and all the way through their progression into upper management roles. This sparked her passion for employee development. Renee enjoys mentoring employees to fulfill their potential and identify new areas of focus.
Renee’s position at Renaissance allows her to connect with candidates, learn about their skillset and strengths as an employee, and support them in finding their perfect career. Renee enjoys the challenge of finding the right long term fit for both the candidate and the client, ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship.
Overachiever: Renee and her husband took night classes to earn their foster parent license and welcomed her two nieces into their home.
Biggest Thrill: Riding horses with her granddaughter up a very steep mountainside.
Favorite Place: Swimming in her backyard surrounded by family.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: Carlos O’Briens
Email: [email protected]
Clyde The Cavapoo joined the Renaissance Team in April 2020 and has taken full advantage of a remote work arrangement. A Pandemic Puppy to the extreme, he spends most of his day following around his live-in coworker – Gary from Accounts Retreivable – and barking at random noises.
Carrie has a true passion for connecting top-talent with business leaders and hiring managers. Her focus is on blending the hiring experience with human experience to create a lasting and positive outcome for all involved. Having spent over a decade in corporate talent acquisition for a leading technical trade school, Carrie brings the unique perspective of having worked in-house as a hiring manager to our team. Plot twist: Carrie actually began her recruiting career with Renaissance more than eighteen years ago and has now come full circle to continue doing what she loves most – partnering with clients and candidates to solve complex staffing needs for Valley businesses.
Carrie graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Development and a Minor in Human Resources.
Overachiever: Beyond her love for recruiting, Carrie has an eye and passion for interior design. She recently renovated their ranch home, and now shares her talents with friends and family in her spare time.
Biggest Thrill: Taking the train tour from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon and experiencing its beauty with her entire family.
Favorite Place: Childhood home in Washington state. It was an apple farm then – today it’s home to red wine vineyards.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: T Cook’s at the Royal Palm Resort (where her husband proposed).
Email: [email protected]
Like many who visit Renaissance, Gary started first as a temp in April of 2018. Newly rescued from life on the streets by our Vice President, he quickly eased into a permanent part-time work arrangement. Known best for his keen sense of fashion and seasonal bow tie collection, Gary enjoys tummy rubs from candidates who wait to interview in our lobby, occasional treats from our UPS delivery person and all the love and attention he gets from our staff.
Nicole joined the Renaissance team in 2018 after graduating college with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Nicole works as a Marketing and Operations Manager for Renaissance. Nicole is responsible for designing and implementing digital marketing campaigns as well as managing the office. She loves the combination of creativity and strategy involved in Marketing as well as the fast-paced, multi-tasking that comes with an operations role. Nicole’s favorite part about working at Renaissance (besides the adorable office dogs) is working closely with the whole team to truly make a change to better people’s lives.
Overachiever: Nicole graduated Summa Cum Laude after completing her degree in only three years. Nicole earned an academic scholarship to ASU, The New American University Scholar Provost’s Award, and held a spot on the Dean’s List each semester of college.
Biggest Thrill: Jet Skiing on the ocean!
Favorite Place: The Bodensee, Germany
Favorite Valley Restaurant: The Vig in Scottsdale
Email: [email protected]
Yes, he loves coming to work and he participates in most interviews. Fergus never tires of meeting new people. Skype works for the rest of the team, but not for Fergus. He much prefers the petting that comes with in-office meetings.
Since founding the company with Laura Piel in 1994, David has handled both the day-to-day operations and the strategic operational growth of Renaissance Personnel Group. From overseeing internal human resource functions to accounting and payroll, David enables the recruiting team to focus on talent while he implements the tools that help them succeed.
Prior to RPG, David worked in the hospitality and catering industries, and brings that level of customer-focused service to RPG’s clients and vendors. David also oversees RPG’s compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations.
Overachiever: David is an honors graduate of the State University of New York – Plattsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Biggest Thrill: After grandkids, the five-day trek to Machu Picchu.
Favorite Place: Any trail in the White Mountains.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: Citizen Public House.
Email: [email protected]
Talent matters to Laura Piel, who built a team of corporate recruiters at Renaissance Personnel Group to bring highly sought professional staff members to its client companies and to help thousands of professionals find their next career opportunity.
Communication and business operations served as the foundation of Laura’s career—working in marketing for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, and then in management for luxury resorts after moving west to Arizona—but she found her niche in corporate recruitment and founded Renaissance Personnel Group in 1994 on the principles of integrity, expertise and respect.
Laura’s talent for screening and selecting candidates goes beyond traditional recruitment experience: The on-paper skills are important, but finding the right professional to invest in long term requires an understanding of the individual’s core values that are not routinely found on a resume.
Laura applies the same methodology when recruiting for internal needs, and the Renaissance staff is a reflection of her commitment to discovering great talent.
Overachiever: Laura is a member of the prestigious honor society Phi Beta Kappa and an honors graduate of St. Lawrence University. She is a graduate of the Ken Blanchard College of Business’s Executive MBA program at Grand Canyon University, was awarded a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification and is a certified personnel consultant (CPC).
Biggest Thrill: Conquering the Salkantay on a trek to Machu Picchu.
Favorite Place: Niagara on the Lake, Ontario.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: Grassroots Kitchen & Tap whenever she can get out for lunch.
Email: [email protected]
Lauren has been with Renaissance Personnel Group since college graduation in 2005. Starting as an account manager, she was promoted in 2018 to Executive Vice President. Most of Lauren’s role focuses on cultivating and managing relationships with clients and identifying new opportunities within those existing relationships. A key component of success for Lauren is using talent assessments to match candidates within hiring companies and leveraging the results for long-term employee and employer satisfaction. Lauren educates hiring managers on how to identify and engage employees using these assessments and additionally, helps companies facilitate executive team-building retreats to ensure communication and collaboration. Lauren is a Certified Professional Values Analyst, a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst and a Certified Professional TriMetrix HD Analyst.
Overachiever: Lauren is an honors graduate of Chapman University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance. Additionally, Lauren was recently selected as one of 15 finalists out of 35,000 participants in a fitness transformation challenge with a global health and wellness company.
Biggest Thrill: Getting engaged atop Iguazu Falls in Argentina.
Favorite Place: The gym. The pool. The beach.
Favorite Valley Restaurant: If I’m being “good,” True Food Kitchen. If I’m being “bad,” anywhere with amazing cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries.
Email: [email protected]