Summary

When politics and technology collide with your mission, how do you keep people engaged and moving forward?

Elizabeth Mattila, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), shares how a 1,000-person, global NGO sustains morale, builds true employee voice, and modernizes talent practices.

Elizabeth explains EDF’s science-driven, bipartisan approach to advocacy—and how transparent communication, town halls, and a clear legal strategy help teams stay focused even amid policy headwinds.

She details two structural levers for engagement: a new, peer-elected Staff Council that represents employees worldwide and a Culture Council advancing DEI with data from annual engagement surveys. On talent, Elizabeth breaks down EDF’s shift to skills-based career growth and cross-functional mobility—making advancement less about tenure and more about capabilities. She also outlines why annual pay equity snapshots fall short, and how EDF now runs equity analyses on-demand for real transparency.

Finally, Elizabeth flags rising AI threats in hiring—from deepfake candidates to data risks—and why HR must partner with security to protect the org. Expect practical ideas to future-proof HR in mission-driven and global contexts: employee voice at scale, real-time equity, and skills as the new currency.

Timestamps

[00:00] – Welcome and guest introduction

[00:53] – EDF 101: mission pillars, size, and global footprint

[03:05] – Supporting a hybrid, multinational workforce and compliance

[04:30] – Policy headwinds and morale: keeping the mission alive

[05:46] – AI risks in hiring: deepfakes, fake candidates, and data security

[07:58] – Transparency in action: science-led advocacy, legal strategy, town halls

[12:30] – Building employee voice: Staff Council, Culture Council, and engagement insights

[14:58] – Skills-based careers, cross-functional mobility, and real-time pay equity

Takeaways

- Establish formal employee voice mechanisms (e.g., peer-elected Staff Council) to enable two-way communication across regions and levels.

- Use a dedicated Culture/DEI council and engagement data to prioritize actions that matter beyond “topics of the moment.”

- Shift to skills-based talent management—define required capabilities, publish transparent pathways, and support cross-functional moves.

- Move from annual to on-demand pay equity analysis to keep pace with hiring and attrition and to increase trust.

- Sustain morale in mission-driven orgs with radical transparency, bipartisan partnerships, and clear plans of action.

- Protect hiring integrity by collaborating with security to counter AI-driven applicant fraud and safeguard sensitive data.

Sponsor

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Employee Voice at Scale: EDF’s CHRO on Skills-Based Growth, Pay Equity, and AI Hiring Risks

HR Voices

Employee Voice at Scale: EDF’s CHRO on Skills-Based Growth, Pay Equity, and AI Hiring Risks