Lindsey Garito, SHRM-SCP, is the winner of the 2023 Susan R. Meisinger Fellowship for Graduate Study in HR, the SHRM Foundation announced Nov. 17 during the annual SHRM Volunteer Leaders' Business Meeting. 
Meisinger served as SHRM's president and CEO from March 2002 until her retirement in July 2008. The fellowship, created in 2009, is aimed at helping develop the next generation of HR leaders by providing funding for first-time master's degree students in HR.
Recipients are awarded up to $10,000, and the fellowship is renewable for one additional year for a total of up to $20,000.
"The SHRM Foundation is thrilled to award Lindsey with the 2023 Susan R. Meisinger Fellowship," said Wendi Safstrom, SHRM Foundation president. "Her dedication to SHRM and the profession was clear throughout her application and apparent in her work to strengthen workplaces and create environments that work for all. We look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes after graduate school."
Garito is director of people and culture and head of HR for Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. During her 20 years of HR experience, she held a variety of roles at Westmed Medical Group in Rye Brook, N.Y., including director of human capital management and total rewards, associate director of human capital management, senior talent acquisition manager, and talent acquisition partner. Additionally, she was HR administrator and coordinator for the Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group in White Plains, N.Y., and payroll/HR administrator at Fujicolor Processing in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Garito serves on the board of the Westchester Human Resource Management Association as its young professionals chair. In 2023, she launched a six-month mentorship program for chapter members and is a volunteer mentor in the SHRM Foundation's HR Career Mentoring and HR Talent Accelerator programs.
Garito contributed to the Point/Counterpoint feature in the Fall 2022 edition of SHRM's HR Magazine. She is a 2023 member of the Forbes Human Resources Council and won first place in the Workplace Wellness category of Human Resources Today's 2022 MVP writing awards for her post "Is Your EAP Sitting on the Shelf Gathering Dust?"
She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in HR management from Pace University's Lubin School of Business in New York City and will graduate in 2024 from Pace with a Master of Business Administration.
Garito wants to someday work as an industrial/organizational psychologist. Meanwhile, she plans to work part-time as an adjunct professor teaching HR, in addition to her HR role at Westchester Country Club.
"I'm truly honored" to receive the fellowship, she said, noting that it will assist her in her educational pursuits. "I hope to pay that forward by becoming an educator myself and helping the next generation of HR leaders and professionals."
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