About Us
Since 2009, we’ve continued to provide fractional and outsourced HR solutions, customized and scaled to drive client success. We become an extension of your team—from developing and implementing an HR infrastructure to coaching your management on HR best practices throughout the employee lifecycle. Our solutions improve performance and generate results. Our focus. Your results.
Our Team
Since our founding, we’ve brought decades of HR experience to hundreds of businesses and municipalities to help them navigate a huge variety of challenges, avoid many common pitfalls, and achieve new levels of success.
Jason Love SPHR-CP
Jason Love joined New Focus HR, LLC. in August 2022, bringing a background in education that translates directly into effective HR solutions. He is a graduate of Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, and is certified as a SHRM-CP and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Jason’s work ensures our clients maintain compliance and efficiency across critical HR functions.
Jason specializes in building solid operational foundations for our clients, including managing our clients’ background check processes, drafting and editing employee handbooks and job descriptions, assisting with various employee relations issues, and completing various internal tasks related to New Focus HR, LLC. His experience as a teacher makes him uniquely skilled at navigating complex employee relations issues with clarity and empathy, ensuring balanced outcomes for all parties. In addition to his passion for HR, Jason enjoys music, movies, and spending time with his family and friends.
Kathi Walker SPHR-SCP, PHR
Kathi Walker joined New Focus HR, LLC, in May 2017. She is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in Music. Kathi earned her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) designation in 2017 and her Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification in 2018. Additionally, Kathi is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and served on the IndySHRM chapter’s certification committee, first as a member and later as the Director of Certification.
Prior to joining the New Focus HR team, she spent 17 years working for a religious nonprofit, serving as a Training & Development Coordinator and a Member Care Director in their Human Resources Department. Her primary focus was on providing communication, care, intervention, training, resourcing, and crisis management to employees and their families so they could thrive more effectively in their cross-cultural assignments around the world. In addition, she addressed crucial employee relations and performance management responsibilities, including creating job descriptions, developing evaluation tools, coaching supervisors to effectively communicate expectations to their employees, and supporting employees struggling at work.
Kathi’s main areas of focus at New Focus HR are building and maintaining HR infrastructure, creating tailored employee handbooks, developing job descriptions and organizational charts, conducting investigations, conducting exit interviews, and resolving employee relations issues for our clients. In addition to her passion for HR, Kathi enjoys pickleball, music, travel, and spending time with family and friends.
Imani Murphy MSN, SPHR-SCP
Imani Murphy joined New Focus HR, LLC, in April 2024. She is a graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She also holds a Master’s of Science degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Imani has been a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and earned her SHRM-SCP certification in May of 2025. Prior to joining New Focus, Imani worked in human resources for the State of Indiana and the City of Richmond, Indiana.
Imani’s main area of concentration with New Focus HR is in building and maintaining HR infrastructures, creating tailored employee handbooks, developing job descriptions and organizational charts, conducting investigations, conducting exit interviews, and resolving employee relations issues for our clients. In addition to her passion for HR, Imani enjoys music, movies/TV, travel, and spending time with family and friends.
Alona Bahler SPHR-SCP, SPHR
Alona Bahler, joined New Focus HR, LLC. in September 2025. She holds both a Master of Science in Human Resources Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Purdue University. Alona earned her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation in 2014 and her Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification in 2015.
Over the past 20 years, Alona has led HR and benefits functions across various industries, including healthcare, grocery/retail, technology consulting, and higher education-related environments. Across five states, Alona spent over seven years in HR leadership, notably as Benefits Manager for IU Health, where she managed benefits for over 35,000 employees. In that role, she successfully implemented the Oracle Benefits module and significantly improved ACA compliance. As HR Director for BEAN, LLC, she established the comprehensive HR function and infrastructure for a fast-growing company across five states. Alona’s areas of expertise include total rewards program development, benefits plan design, HRIS implementation and optimization, regulatory compliance, ACA administration, employee relations, and organizational development. She has a strong track record of improving processes, enhancing benefits communication, leading complex system implementations, and partnering with senior leadership to drive strategic HR outcomes.
Alona is actively involved in the HR community. Alona has served in multiple volunteer and board roles with IndySHRM, including President, Director of Certification, Programs Chair, and Membership Board Director, and has played key roles with the HR Indiana Conference, serving as Volunteer Management Chair and Technology Chair. Additionally, she is trilingual in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, In addition to her passion for HR, Alona enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and gardening.
Kristen Deutsch M.B.A., CCP
Kristen Deutsch. President, started New Focus HR, LLC in August of 2009 after having worked in various HR-related roles. Kristen’s experience in the human resource field spans across all functional areas of HR to include: benefits, compensation, employee relations, HR compliance, labor relations, workers’ compensation, organizational design/change management, executive coaching, staffing/recruitment and training and development. She has continued her excellence in the HR profession by attaining her certification as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) through the WorldatWork Society, Scottsdale, Arizona, and as a trainer for Development Dimensions International (DDI), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in their Interaction Management/Skills for an Empowered Workforce Program. Kristen has also done extensive training and development in the areas of business communications, time management, anti-harassment, discrimination and retaliation, management and supervisory skills, team building, and behavioral interviewing. Kristen received her B.S. from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University. Kristen is currently a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and WorldatWork. She enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Our Process
This is what it is like to work with us…..
Discovery & Understanding
We start by listening. Our team takes the time to understand your organization’s goals, challenges, and culture. This helps us identify opportunities in which we may help your organization reach new levels of success.
Tailored Strategy
Implementation & Support
We put the plan into action and provide ongoing support, ensuring your organization stays compliant, your employees stay engaged, and your management team feels confident with the outcome.
Our Process
This is what it is like to work with us…..
We start by listening. Our team takes the time to understand your organization’s goals, challenges, and culture. This helps us identify opportunities in which we can help your organization reach new levels of success.
Testimonials
Whether you’re scaling or stabilizing, our fractional HR services adapt to your needs without the cost of an internal HR department.
The staff at New Focus HR are professional, courteous, knowledgeable, thorough, and very responsive. We trust Kristen and her team to assist us with issues like navigating a complex leave of absence request or handling an employee relations issue. They are quick to keep us up to date on the ever-changing landscape of HR, which has saved us countless hours of research and ensured 100% compliance with new state laws.
We have had an excellent experience working with New Focus HR over the years. Their team is exceptionally knowledgeable, highly responsive, and genuinely committed to supporting municipalities and their employees. New Focus HR makes the entire process seamless, whether creating employee handbooks, drafting salary ordinances, or providing guidance on employment laws. We highly recommend their services!
New Focus HR is fantastic to work with. They are always friendly, quick, informative and up to date on all the current laws. They are so helpful. They make dealing with our employee handbook and salary ordinance a breeze.
I absolutely love working with New Focus HR! I was a fairly new Clerk-Treasurer with little HR experience, and I’ll be honest, I’m skeptical by nature. I quickly learned that the New Focus HR team has only my town’s best interest at heart. I met Kristen a few years ago when I was asked to revise the Town of Cicero’s employee handbook. Her team recreated my employee handbook, brought it to my office, and went through it page by page. New Focus HR continues to offer support and guidance ANY time I ask. Wouldn’t trade them for anything!
New Focus HR has been an invaluable partner in keeping our employee handbook current and providing expert guidance on HR questions and concerns. Their team delivers exceptional customer service, demonstrates deep knowledge, and offers a personal touch through our annual AIM and ILMCT workshops. These interactions allow us to truly know the people we’re working with, which makes every engagement more meaningful. I highly recommend New Focus HR for their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to building strong client relationships.
New Focus HR helped us create an updated handbook making sure that we were compliant in all areas. The staff spent many hours in meetings with us to make sure we had what we needed for our employees. Since the new employee handbook was created, we have had some changes and Imani has been amazing to work with to implement those changes. She always responds immediately to my questions and helps in any way possible.
We’ve been using New Focus HR for several years, and their team has been incredibly helpful in every business situation. As a small business owner, you’re constantly surprised by the employee issues that arise, but with New Focus HR, I never feel like I’m facing them alone. They always have clear, reliable answers and guidance. I truly appreciate their professionalism and the protection they provide to our company.
New Focus HR has been an invaluable partner in managing our organization. While we don’t have the budget for a full-time HR person, the need for expert guidance is always present. Kathi is incredibly responsive, and her advice is consistently spot-on. We rely on them for everything from updating our employee handbook and conducting employee seminars to providing crucial support with our disciplinary processes.
New Focus HR has been a great resource and has been wonderful to work with to update our personnel policy.
Kristen at New Focus HR delivered a clear, comprehensive employee handbook for the Town of Vevay. She was extremely patient with my timeline and was easy to work with. Her professionalism and expertise made the process seamless!
White County Government couldn’t be happier with the help we received revising our personnel handbook. The team was so easy to work with and explained everything in a way we could understand. Our policies are now clearer, stronger, and fully up to date.
The Town of Remington uses New Focus HR for their employee handbook, salary ordinance, and HR questions when they pop up. The staff at New Focus HR are easy to work with, up-to-date on human resource changes, and diligently keep us informed of upcoming HR changes. Being a small town, their pricing is very reasonable!
In 2024 our office was unsure over “return to work requirements” for an employee that had been out on short-term disability. We contacted and spoke to Kristen concerning the many questions we had. Kristen’s professionalism and prompt guidance to our concerns gave us confidence to hire New Focus HR to rework our employee handbook. The handbook is written with behind-the-scenes knowledge and up-to-date requirements for employers. Any questions we have had moving forward are always answered promptly.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kathi and Kristen at New Focus HR for several years, and their support has been invaluable to our organization. Both are consistently responsive, thoughtful, and exceptionally knowledgeable about DOL regulations and compliance requirements. Their guidance has helped ensure we implement policies that not only meet the ever-changing regulatory standards but also protect and support our staff. I truly appreciate the clarity and confidence they bring to every question and issue that arises. New Focus HR has been a reliable and trusted partner, and I’m grateful for the expertise and professionalism Kathi and Kristen bring to every interaction.
New Focus HR has been an incredible partner for our community. Their team of human resource professionals provides exceptional customer service with a genuine, caring approach. Their employees are knowledgeable, responsive, and truly committed to helping communities succeed. Their expertise and the personal attention they bring to every situation set them apart. We are grateful for their support and highly recommend their services!
I love New Focus HR! Imani was amazing to work with and had an answer or solution to every question we presented to her. The New Focus HR team is nothing short of perfection when it comes to making sure that all areas are covered and all questions are answered. They are simply the best and very “FOCUSED” on making sure the customer is satisfied with the end product.
Our Affiliations
