ATTORNEY
Teresa “Terri” Elleburg, Esq.
Terri is an employment attorney with over 25 years of experience in employment law, investigations and employee relations both at a large law firm and as Assistant General Counsel and as an HR Senior Executive.
Terri started her career with a prestigious federal clerkship, then joined the litigation practice of a large DC law firm and then moved to in-house counsel to focus on employment law with Marriott International, a large global hospitality company. As in-house counsel, Terri personally conducted investigations, handled litigation and labor arbitrations, as well as managed outside counsel and provided regular advice and counsel on labor and employment issues to her internal clients. Following a corporate spin-off, Terri was offered a promotion to join the spun-off Company Sodexo and to start and lead an EEO claims team within the law department.
Following a class-action lawsuit alleging race discrimination, Terri made the decision to use her legal skills and her passion for investigations in an HR capacity to start an internal investigations department known as The Office of Employment Rights as part of the class action settlement. In this role Terri and her team conducted investigations into claims raising harassment, discrimination and retaliation and Terri created the investigation processes, practices, templates, etc.
Eventually Terri’s responsibilities grew as she became a member of Sodexo’s HR Leadership Team and took on the additional role of VP Human Resources for all corporate staff functions.
In 2015 Terri helped lead an enterprise-wide reorganization of Sodexo’s HR teams and became the VP Employee Relations and Corporate Policy. She led a team of 55 employee relations and contact center professionals who supported managers through a wide variety of complex employment issues and investigations. Terri’s responsibilities included personally conducting complex investigations on sexual harassment and discrimination, supervising and coaching the team members on their investigations, and ownership of the Company Policy Manual and Employee Handbook.
In January 2023, Terri voluntarily accepted an early retirement opportunity from Sodexo to pursue her passion for investigations and employee relations
Education
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
JD
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
BA, Psychology
Bar Admissions
• Washington, DC