Business Strategy · People-Centered Leadership · Nonprofits & Mission-Driven Organizations
Small businesses, nonprofits, and growing organizations deserve the same caliber of HR strategy as the Fortune 500. WSP was built to make that possible.
Modern Strategy | Human Core | Total Success
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How We Engage
Project-Based
Focused work on a specific challenge or initiative, start to finish.
Fractional Leadership
Senior HR expertise on a part-time basis — without the full-time executive cost. WSP embeds within your organization — learning your business, your culture, and your people — and owns the HR function alongside you.
Retained Advisory
Ongoing strategic partnership with a dedicated advisor in your corner.
Sized for 5 to 5,000 employees · Scaled to fit your complexity and budget
After more than 20 years leading HR within the highest levels of enterprise — from $2B+ national operations to a global luxury brand reporting to Rome — Anita Watkins kept seeing the same thing: the organizations that needed great people strategy the most were the ones least able to access it. Small businesses navigating growth. Nonprofits doing critical work on impossible budgets. Mid-market companies caught between startup informality and enterprise complexity.
For Anita, the nonprofit piece is personal. As an active board leader at two nonprofit organizations, she has sat on both sides of the table — as the strategic advisor and as a governance leader navigating the exact resource constraints and mission pressures her clients face every day. That lived experience shapes everything about how WSP shows up for mission-driven organizations.
WSP was founded to close the access gap — bringing the depth and rigor of Fortune 500 people strategy to the organizations that rarely have it within reach.
In an era of artificial intelligence, automation, and relentless change, organizations have more tools than ever — yet the ones that win never lose sight of their greatest opportunity: their people.
"A modern business is not a machine to be programmed, but an organism to be cultivated."
Whether you're navigating a workforce challenge, a leadership transition, or the complexity of organizational growth, WSP brings the strategic depth to move you forward — with your people at the center.
Most of our clients couldn't justify a full-time Chief People Officer — but they face the same organizational complexity as companies that have one. WSP closes that gap — bringing Fortune 500-depth HR leadership to the organizations that need it most but have rarely had it within reach.
Forward-thinking frameworks that move your business with intention and precision.
People-first design that preserves culture, builds trust, and drives engagement.
Firsthand experience leading within a global enterprise — representing North American markets and partnering with international stakeholders at the executive level.
Measurable outcomes that align human strategy with revenue and performance.
The Architect
From strategic HR transformation to culture scaling, WSP's services are built for organizations navigating real complexity — with lean teams, high stakes, and a leader who needs a trusted partner, not a vendor.
Particular depth in luxury retail, hospitality, nonprofit, and professional services organizations — with hands-on experience navigating the unique workforce dynamics, labor environments, and cultural complexity each demands.
Deep familiarity with NYC and NYS employment and labor law — including Fair Workweek, Pay Transparency, Earned Safe and Sick Time, and the NYC Human Rights Law — for organizations operating in one of the most regulated labor markets in the country.
WSP works with organizations at every stage — from project-based engagements to ongoing advisory retainers — scaled to fit your complexity and budget.
Transitioning HR from a cost center to a value creator. Navigating digital transformation, operational efficiency, and complex workforce strategies.
Developing the emotional intelligence and human muscle required for modern business command. Talent development and performance management at scale.
Building agile structures for a future-forward enterprise. Structure analysis and succession planning for organizations navigating complex change — including cross-border and global stakeholder environments.
Preserving the "heart" of your company during rapid global growth. Equity, inclusivity, and employee engagement as strategic infrastructure.
Luxury retail and business operations expertise that moves your enterprise forward. Labor relations, negotiations, and client acquisition built on trust.
High-level, ongoing strategic partnership for C-Suite leaders. Subject-matter expertise on labor relations, DEI council leadership, and aligning national workforce strategies with profitability plans.
Purpose-built HR strategy for mission-driven organizations navigating the intersection of lean budgets, high service demand, and the need to retain passionate, mission-aligned talent. We bring enterprise discipline to nonprofit scale.
The WSP Difference
High-Risk & Complex Employee Relations
Sensitive, high-exposure situations handled with precision, discretion, and the experience to know what's at stake.
Labor Contracts & Union Negotiations
Multi-union experience and negotiation strategy at the enterprise level — brought to organizations of every size.
C-Suite Advisory & Business Partnership
Strategic HRBP to CTO, CFO, and CSO/EVP of Stores — fluent in the priorities, pressures, and language of every seat at the leadership table.
Business Operations & P&L Ownership
Direct oversight of a $110M business across five locations and 300+ employees. Not HR adjacent to business leadership. Actually in it.
HR expertise built from the inside out — as a strategic partner to the C-suite and a business driver in her own right. Anita doesn't just understand your challenges. She has lived them.
Anita's conviction that strategy must serve people extends beyond her client work. Her board service reflects the same values that define WSP — equity, governance, and the belief that strong organizations lift whole communities.
From co-leading governance strategy for a nonprofit's first major NYC real estate acquisition, to advancing economic inclusion and inspiring the next generation of young women — this work is not separate from the mission. It is the mission.
Founding Board Member · Vice Chair
New York-based nonprofit advancing economic inclusion. Co-led enterprise governance strategy creation and oversaw end-to-end legal due diligence for the foundation's first major NYC commercial real estate acquisition.
Board of Directors
National nonprofit inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Contributing strategic leadership and people-centered governance to advance programming that builds confidence and opportunity for young women.
The current nonprofit landscape is one of the most challenging in recent memory. WSP was built to help mission-driven organizations navigate it — with the same strategic rigor we bring to enterprise clients, at a scale and cost structure designed for yours.
Nonprofit leaders are often managing the complexity of a mid-size enterprise — without the budget, staff depth, or HR infrastructure to match it. You need a strategic partner who understands both the boardroom and the community room.
Anita Watkins brings executive-level people strategy — the same depth she's applied to multi-hundred-million-dollar operations — sized and priced for organizations where every dollar must serve the mission.
Start the ConversationFractional HR Leadership
Senior HR expertise on a part-time or project basis — giving your organization C-suite-caliber people strategy without a full-time executive cost. Ideal for organizations scaling programs or navigating leadership transitions.
Culture & Compliance Infrastructure
Building the HR foundations that protect your organization and your people — policy frameworks, governance structures, employee relations protocols, and compliance systems designed for mission-driven environments.
Talent & Engagement Strategy
Attracting and retaining mission-aligned talent in a competitive market. Workforce planning, total rewards design, and engagement strategies built for organizations where purpose is the most powerful retention tool you have.
Board & Leadership Alignment
Strengthening the relationship between executive leadership and the board — governance strategy, succession planning, and leadership development that keeps your organization stable through transition and growth.
Nonprofit economic vise statistics sourced from WSP research on the current nonprofit landscape.
One of Anita's superpowers is her ability to see between spaces — the gaps in culture, the bridges others miss, and the untapped gifts in the people around her. She didn't just assess our needs, she coached our team and reframed our strategy.
Founder & Executive Director
Nonprofit Organization · Board Partner
Additional references from C-suite leaders, nonprofit executive directors, and board partners available upon request.
70% of strategic initiatives fail — not because the data was wrong, but because the people didn't believe in the why.
In a race to be more global and digital, organizations have forgotten how to be human. At Watkins Strategic Partners, we close that gap — with strategy that sees both the data and the heartbeat behind it.
Whether you're a growing business, a mid-market enterprise, or a nonprofit navigating today's economic vise — if your people strategy needs a partner, the conversation starts here.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Schedule a complimentary 30-minute strategy call — no commitment, no pressure. Just clarity on where your organization stands and where WSP can help.
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