When Julie Vue saw a job opening at the University of Minnesota for a leave of absence specialist, she jumped at the opportunity. She had been working as an HR generalist for a health care company, involved in everything from recruiting and training to compliance and performance management, but, Julie says, “I was really ready to become a specialist and an expert on a subject.”

Naomi Schaffhausen is usually the first person a University employee will meet when they call or email the Office of Human Resources Contact Center to ask about an extended leave of absence. Whether the leave is for a personal, medical, or military reason, navigating the logistics and paperwork of a long absence can be daunting. As the leave coordinator for OHR’s new, centralized Leave Administration team, Naomi tries to simplify the process for employees.