ERIE – The Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) recently announced that Jennifer Tshudy has joined the not-for-profit employers’ organization as an HR generalist/trainer and Jezree Friend as the MBA’s government relations representative.
In her role, Tshudy assists Association member firms in all areas of human resources, including training, HR hotline, recruiting, interviewing, hiring and orienting new employees, writing and reviewing employee handbooks, HR assessments, job descriptions, compensation, unemployment and benefit administration.
Tshudy has more than 17 years of combined experience in the HR and training fields with a focus on all aspects of hiring and training, as well as payroll, schedules, benefit administration, worker’s compensation and FMLA. Before returning home to northwest Pennsylvania in 2005, she worked in several states, opening new stores for a national chain retailer, as well as improving stores with operational issues (such as inventory management, ensuring budget control, enforcing policy and procedure, and conducting internal audits).
Tshudy attended Gannon University where she focused on human resources and business administration. She is a member of the Human Resources Management Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, the local chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management.
Friend, who joins the Association as its government relations representative, is responsible for developing legislative priorities and strategies; encouraging membership grassroots activities; and lobbying on behalf of a pro-growth, pro-business agenda.
Friend joins the MBA after holding several prominent political positions, including campaign manager for 2018 Erie Republican mayoral candidate John Persinger, where he ran the strongest campaign the City of Erie has seen from an opposition candidate in decades. He also worked in constituent outreach for the Pennsylvania Senate as a campaign manager in the 2018 primary for Erie County executive, as well as field director for a previous PA Supreme Court candidate. He earned his political science degree from Edinboro University and master of public administration degree with a concentration in organization leadership from Gannon University. Friend is also a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served as a legal noncommissioned officer.
