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Unsung Heroes: Teresa Domnauer

February 1st, 2021

In a company of 120 people spread across the country, there are A LOT of moving parts. Whether it's behind the scenes in the various admin departments, out in the field at project sites, or out of the country on an audit, its impossible to be aware of every single thing happening in any given week.

The problem? HRPers do amazing things each and every week and everyone needs to know about it. The solution? Introducing the Unsung Heroes of HRP.

This new blog series is dedicated to showcasing HRP's number one asset, our people! Each post will spotlight an employee and their expertise not only at HRP, but also outside of work in order to give you a better understanding who we are. Our very first unsung hero is the incredible Teresa Domnauer out of our Derby, CT office!

To learn a little more about Teresa, her career, and her life outside of work, we sat down and asked her some questions:

 

Q: How long have you been here?

A: I have been at HRP for 9.5 years—it will be 10 years in September.

Q: What do you do at HRP?

A: I am the Office Administrator for the Derby, CT office; I am also the Training Coordinator.

Q: What was your first role at HRP and how has that changed?

A: I started out as a part-time administrative assistant, and I was promoted to Office Administrator on my 5-year anniversary. I also took on training coordinator duties several years ago when we acquired Tom Dolce Training. Recently, I’ve been given the responsibility of managing logistics for our public RCRA and DOT trainings, and I am now assisting with uploading information to our ISNETWorld account.

Q: What excites you about your role at HRP?

A: I like helping people, and I love the people that I work with. I get to work with people from all of our offices, and that makes things much more fun!

Q: When, in your job, do you feel most like yourself?

A: I feel most like myself when I’m helping with proofreading and editing. I also enjoy my role in HRP’s Giving Group. Each year I organize Thanksgiving food donations and Christmas adopt-a-family gifts for our office. This past year we worked with the St. Vincent de Paul organization, who have a location just steps from our office in Derby.

Q: What’s your best HRP memory?

A: My memories of HRP began even before I worked here. My mom, Annabelle Domnauer, worked at HRP for 20 years. She was the company’s first retiree. After my dad passed away in 2001, I would attend HRP parties & functions with my mom. We always had so much fun, especially at the Christmas parties at the Farmington Club.

Q: What’s something most people don’t know about you?

A: I’m a children’s book author. I’ve written over 25 books for children, including nonfiction early readers and educational workbooks. I still do freelance writing projects and am currently writing scripts for animated educational videos. Also, I own an Etsy shop called Splendid Blue Wren. I make and sell pen pal kits, stationery sets, Origami, and sewn items.

Q: What three traits define you?

A: Helpful, organized, detail-oriented, cheerful, positive attitude. I really care about HRP and the people that I work with.

Q: What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?

A: I would work on my Etsy shop full-time from a remote location in Vermont.

Q: When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time

A: Reading, making art, walking.

Q: What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?

A: Reading, making art, walking, yoga, skiing, writing letters.

Q: If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

A: Buy a house in Vermont and go back to school to study art history. I would also adopt more animals. We currently have a rabbit, two guinea pigs, and a frog.

 

What does Teresa mean to HRP? After our short interview we also reached out to a few colleagues of Teresa and asked their thoughts:

"I can’t think of a better initial employee to recognize than Teresa Domnauer! Teresa is a patient and caring employee. She is unwavering in her ability to multi-task, take initiative, and go the extra mile to ensure everything runs smoothly – all while maintaining her contagious smile and positive, can-do attitude. I recall in the days following Hurricane Sandy, which had resulted in long-term power outages in our Fairfield County office, that Teresa offered to maintain our computer servers in her house to ensure we were still able to meet our client’s demands. It turns out Teresa was able to put on her IT hat, dismantle the servers, and drove them north to our Farmington office where they were brought back online. Although we don’t get hurricanes every day that require server relocations, Teresa still performs with this solutions-based gusto with everything she does. I have learned a lot from Teresa and really enjoy having her as a colleague. Cheers to Teresa!"

- CT Regional Manager, Jason Beach

"Teresa gets more done in 32 hours/week than others do in 50. She never stops, she is the energizer bunny! She performs so many vital functions for so many people/offices it is impossible to list them. She is a kind, caring person and takes a lead on all of the Derby charitable work. She hides a lot of Mr. Chandler’s many, many blemishes (and even gets him to eat vegetables from time to time). Teresa ALWAYS has a smile to greet you, even when, like all of us, she is battling life’s turmoils from time to time.  You don’t, ever, need to follow-up with Teresa, if you ask her to help with something, it will get done, on time, or she will tell you up front if that isn’t possible – invaluable in this business!

She asks you how things are and means it. She wins and loses with the staff around her and with HRP as a whole – she has a special smile reserved for job openings, she lives that win! Teresa is a second generation HRPer and her mother would be very proud of her and all she does to keep this company moving forward. She is the glue that binds the Derby office (and beyond) and we are damn lucky to have her."

- Sr. Project Manager/Team Leader, Rich Chandler