City Council Approves Amber Cornella as City's Human Resources Director
Left to right: Mayor Jason Salamun, new City Human Resources Director Amber Cornella and husband Jacob Cornella.
(City Photo/Shoemaker)
CITY COUNCIL APPROVES AMBER CORNELLA
AS CITY’S HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
**Cornella takes oath of office;
**Assumes duties July 15
RAPID CITY, SD—The Rapid City Council Monday night approved Amber Cornella as director of the City’s Human Resources Department. After the vote, Cornella was administered the oath of office by City Finance Director Daniel Ainslie.
Cornella will begin her new duties on July 15. She succeeds Leah Braun, who has served as interim director since last July with the departure of Nick Stroot. Braun will continue to serve as assistant human resources director.
Cornella has 17 years of experience in human resources-related positions in the Rapid City area, including her most recent position as senior management consultant for Arcadis of Rapid City. From 2009 to 2023, Cornella worked with Black Hills Energy as operational excellence senior manager, engineering resources manager and as a human resources business partner.
“We are excited to have Amber join the City team,” said Mayor Jason Salamun. “She brings to the table an impressive list of credentials and those experiences will serve the City, its employees and our community well.
“We appreciate the hard work and commitment of the staff as we’ve worked to fill the position for the past several months. We especially appreciate the dedicated leadership and work Leah Braun provided as director in an interim capacity.”
Cornella holds a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in applied management, and a bachelor’s degrees in business administration and human resources, both from Black Hills State University. She holds certifications from the Society for Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute. Her community and professional affiliations include serving on the board of directors for the Seventh Circuit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); classroom volunteer and teacher for Junior Achievement and has served on the board of directors for the Black Hills Society for Human Resource Management.