Theresa Elliot-Cheslek
Vice President & Chief Human Resource Officer
telliot@wsu.edu
509-335-4521
Twitter: @WSU_CHRO
Elliot-Cheslek earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Sociology from WSU in 1982. While attending WSU, she was a student-athlete, playing for the WSU women’s basketball program. She did post-graduate study in human resource management at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Memphis.
She began her human resources career in the hospitality industry in 1987, and was personnel director and employment manager for Clarion Hotels from 1988-1990. From 1994-1999, she was a human resources specialist at the Spokane Regional Health District.
She joined WSU in 1999 in Human Resource Services. She held positions as consultant, assistant director, associate director, and has served as vice president and chief human resource officer since 2013. She has served as the College and University Professional Association – Human Resources (CUPA-HR) National Board as the Western Region representative 2020 – 23, Western Region Chair 2017-18 and on the CUPA-HR Western Region board since 2015. She has been a board member of the Washington Chapter of CUPA-HR since 2012 and served as the chapter’s president 2017-18 and as secretary 2013 – 2015.
Elliot-Cheslek’s parents met while undergraduates at Washington State College and several of her siblings and extended family are WSU alum. She is a proud mother to her daughters, Ashleigh and Shelby. Ashleigh graduated with honors from WSU in 2015. Ashleigh received her Master’s in Education with the focus on Special Education in 2018 from the University of Washington. Shelby received her undergraduate degree from Gonzaga in 2015 and her Master’s in Business Administration in 2016. Shelby was a student-athlete, playing on the women’s basketball team from 2011 – 2016. Shelby was named to the DI-AAA ADA Scholar Team and WCC All-Academic team. Shelby currently plays professional basketball overseas.
Elliot-Cheslek is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources with the Society for Human Resource Management and Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources with the HR Certification Institute.