Michelle Lane Penna, SPHR

Sr. HR Consultant / HR Operations Manager
“Live life to the fullest and be happy”

My name is Michelle and I oversee SOLV HR’s Operations team who handle the day-to-day HR functions for our clients. I also advise our clients on compliance related matters and will get involved in resolving complicated issues. I handle all third-party responses to employment claims for our clients.

I’ve been in HR for over 25 years with 15 of those years at the executive level. I attended the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV), graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in Human Resources from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. I earned my Senior Professional in HR (SPHR) designation in 2012.

My career started on the opening team of the MGM Resort and Casino in 1993. I worked my way through several different HR roles to include compensation, employment, and team member relations. In 1999, I joined the opening team of the New Aladdin Resort & Casino as an HR Manager supporting the Food and Beverage department for all HR needs including but not limited to Team Member Relations, Talent Acquisition, and Training & Development.

In 2002, I became the HR Director for a small hotel in downtown Las Vegas with 500 team members overseeing the entire HR function for the company. The company was based in Newport Beach, California and sold the Las Vegas hotel in 2005. After the sale, I joined Ameristar Casinos, a Las Vegas-based gaming entertainment company known for its quality-conscious hotel casinos, with 7500 team members in 7 states. I worked for Ameristar Casinos for a total of eight (8) years; four (4) years in Black Hawk, Colorado as the Director of Human Resources of a property during a period of significant growth and four (4) years in Las Vegas as the VP of HR Operations at the corporate level. The company was acquired by Pinnacle Entertainment in August 2013 where I worked through a transition period until October 2014.

I decided to move to Detroit, Michigan in 2015 to become the Director of Human Resources at Greektown Casino, and later transitioned to a corporate role of the parent company, JACK Entertainment. I left JACK in January 2018 and partnered with SOLV HR.