2017 40 Under 40 Honoree: Celeste Cramer, 32

Celeste Cramer believes in the power of leadership and a healthy work environment. As the system director of recruitment and retention at CoxHealth, Cramer restructured its recruitment department to modernize efforts. Through this process, Cramer included staff in order to enable them to contribute their expertise and be confident in their abilities as they stepped into new roles. When Cramer observed pay inequities on her team, she created a proposal to increase those salaries – and it was approved. Cramer also observed friction between different areas of her department, and in order to solve the issues, she had each area shadow others to create understanding and problem-solving conversations.
 
What was your first job? Dancing chicken in the Jim Stafford show

When did you realize you had grown up? I was driving a minivan and cooling chicken nuggets on the air conditioner vent to throw back to my toddler to keep her happy.

What do you miss most about the 1990s? No apps, no social media, no cell phones, hardly any internet.

What is your best productivity hack? Someone taught me how to make certain contacts “VIP” on my iPhone which ensures emails from those contacts are pushed immediately to my home screen.

What did you learn the hard way? Ask questions even if you feel it makes you appear underprepared.

Have you ever met a celebrity?  Justin Timberlake, back in his NSYNC days