A senior level HR professional with almost 20 years of HR management expertise, Steve has seen, managed, and resolved almost every kind of HR issue. His strong leadership and organizational skills help him motivate individuals, teams, and companies to achieve objectives. His administrative expertise helps him design and implement large-scale, cost-effective HR policies, programs, and procedures. He's also an experienced facilitator, trainer, and teambuilder with an entrepreneurial spirit and good business sense.

His most recent corporate experience includes serving for four years as HR Director for Genova Diagnostics, Asheville, NC, a specialty clinical laboratory with approximately 250 employees. He managed and directed HR at Laporte Inc. (a chemical manufacturing holding company) headquartered in Charlotte, NC as well as at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, TN-both companies employed thousands of employees. He also managed HR responsibilities at Champion International Corporation in Courtland, AL, and handled the HR function for hundreds of employees at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, Inc. in Charlotte, NC. At these companies, he managed budgets sometimes exceeding $1M, successfully recruited all levels of professionals, conducted supervisory training, implemented cost-effective health insurance programs, and took part in various leadership and quality teams, including the Malcolm Baldrige Leadership Team.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Auburn University in Alabama. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Certified Consultant with the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies in Charlotte, NC.

Happily married to a successful residential architect, Amy Conner-Murphy, he has two elementary school-age children. He loves outdoor activities such as canoeing, backpacking and sailing, and is active in his church, where he started a ministry that provides firewood to people in need. He believes in giving back to his community, as evidenced by his two terms as Chair of the non-profit Carolina Caring Connections and volunteer work with United Way of Asheville/Buncombe. In keeping with his passion for education, he has taught management and HR management to college students at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.