Dr. Annie Porbeni named Chief Human Resources Officer
Annie Porbeni
Dr. Annie Porbeni has been selected as Ramsey County’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Dr. Porbeni has more than 20 years of experience managing strategic human resources operations and will begin work at Ramsey County on Sept. 6. She will report to County Manager Ryan O’Connor and serve on Ramsey County’s executive team.
Dr. Porbeni’s responsibilities will include serving as the county’s principal human resources advisor, developing and implementing countywide initiatives related to talent attraction, retention and promotion, and overseeing the county’s Human Resources department of more than 60 employees. The department supports the human resources activities of all county service teams and is responsible for talent recruitment, hiring and onboarding; training and professional development; advancing racial equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives; performance management; labor relations; and benefits design and administration. Ramsey County employs more than 4,000 people in full-time, part-time and temporary positions.
“Annie’s strong strategic leadership, extensive experience and demonstrated success building highly functioning teams – combined with her enthusiasm and alignment to the county’s mission, vision and values – make her the ideal choice to serve as our next CHRO,” said County Manager O’Connor. “We’re delighted to welcome Annie to Ramsey County and look forward to her leadership and collaboration as we continue to position Ramsey County as a public sector employer of choice.”
Dr. Porbeni has served in human resources leadership with the state of Minnesota since June 2018, most recently as the human resources director for the Department of Public Safety since August 2020 and previously as assistant human resources director for Minnesota IT Services. Prior to that, she served as the vice president of human resources at YWCA Minneapolis and the director of human resources at Open Cities Health Center.
"I have a people-oriented mindset, with a strategic focus on building capacity and adding value to an operation," said Dr. Porbeni. "It is for this reason that I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve Ramsey County, an organization with the vision of establishing a people-centered approach towards community and people development. I am most looking forward to being part of a team that centers its purpose towards creating and reimagining the way we serve and do business both internally with our employees and externally with members of our community."
Dr. Porbeni currently serves in a part-time role as an adjunct lecturer teaching nonprofit leadership at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. She is also an elected member of the Stillwater Area Public School District 834 board of directors and serves as the board’s clerk. Additionally, she serves as a volunteer board member with Wellshire International.
Dr. Porbeni holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and extension from Rivers State University of Science and Technology in Nigeria and a master’s degree in international development studies from Dalhousie University in Canada. She completed her doctorate studies in organizational leadership policy and human resources development at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
She resides in Woodbury with her husband and three children. A lover of many sports, Dr. Porbeni grew up as a young athlete competing in sports such as handball, soccer, volleyball, table tennis and badminton. She loves traveling and the arts, paints in her spare time, writes poetry and coaches her youngest son and his friends in soccer and basketball.