About Us

Rachel Trunkey, PHR, SHRM-CP, Principal & Founder

Rachel is a seasoned human resources leader with over a decade of experience distinguished by superior C-level client satisfaction, proven results and integrity.

Rachel works with clients to identify their individual HR needs to build a transformative and flexible set of HR programs and policies to meet the growing needs of today’s emerging organizations.

Prior to founding Core Rapport, Rachel was the Senior Consultant in the HR Services Division of HUB Carolinas, formerly RPG Solutions, a provider of tailored employee benefits solutions. In that role, Rachel worked with some of Raleigh-Durham’s fasting growing companies advising on all areas of employee development, including recruitment and retention, legal compliance and policy development, employee relations and conflict resolution, management training and development, new hire orientation, benefits administration, progressive discipline and coaching, termination and performance management.

Core Rapport was founded in 2019 on the principle that your employees are the core of your business and your relationship with them defines the success of your company. Core Rapport focuses on implementing HR structure to support your employees, providing clients the same personal, hands-on approach to meet the individual needs of every client.

Previously, as an HR consultant in Silicon Valley, Rachel worked with a diverse client base that had varying HR requirements. Clients included both start-up venture-backed companies looking to stay compliant and competitive, to training and development for larger companies seeking to develop and grow diverse management teams.

Prior to her HR career, Rachel spent several years in management and marketing roles, developing communications programs for some of Silicon Valley’s largest companies.

Rachel holds her PHR and SHRM-CP certifications and is certified in both Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Disc Behavioral Assessment. Rachel conducts trainings using these tools to enhance team communication and collaboration.

Rachel holds a B.A and M.A in Education from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. She lives in Raleigh with her husband, Adam, and two sons, Matthew and Ryan. Rachel enjoys cooking and entertaining, spending time with family and friends, volunteering in the community and staying active.

Amy Sellers, Payroll Consultant

We are thrilled Amy Sellers is working with us. She is an important member of the Core Rapport team. Amy has a foundation in accounting and provides many consulting services to support her clients with a concentration in payroll, 401K support, and financial planning.

Before joining Core Rapport Amy worked in companies both large and small building her skills in several areas including, but not limited to, audit, tax, and financial accounting.

Amy has a BS in Accounting from North Carolina State University, where she was also a college

cheerleader. Her strong moral principles, attention to detail, and quick response times are a few

of her greatest strengths. Amy’s recent focus on payroll has increased her expertise in a variety

of payroll and booking systems. She understands the need to protect confidential data and

takes the utmost care when working with clients. Amy prides herself on listening to her client’s

needs and working to meet those needs in the most efficient way.

Amy lives in Raleigh with her husband Mike and their 3 daughters, Carlie, Carson, and Cierra. She

enjoys attending sporting events and has a passion for volunteering in her community. She is

currently the Varsity cheerleading coach at Leesville Road High School and enjoys building strong bonds with her athletes.

Alita Bluford, Learning & Development Consultant & Trainer

As Core Rapport’s learning & development consultant and trainer, Alita plays a big role in the support we provide our valued clients. Passionate about creating a healthy company culture; her more than 25 years of experience adds to the world-class support we proudly provide to some of the Triangle’s fastest growing companies. This support includes teaching business leaders and employees through engaging workshops customized to our client’s business needs, strategic goals and objectives.

To help maximize your training investment, Alita’s approach begins by understanding your company’s strategic business goals through an individualized needs assessment. She then designs a customized program to target these goals, build team cohesion, resolve conflict, grow employees, and support managers in building successful teams. In short, Alita’s goal is to support your company’s strategic business goals while building a culture to attract and retain best in class employees.

“Assessing organizational communication needs and developing solutions to align with employee strengths, customer needs and business goals increases employee retention, customer loyalty and profits.” – Alita Bluford

“The course on Emotional Intelligence was truly educational and thought-provoking for all. Alita's knowledge combined with her enthusiasm in presenting the subject was quite contagious and stimulating to the class. She encouraged relevant lively discussions throughout while minimizing distracting comments, allowing us to fully develop the material and follow the course outline.” Maggie O, OLLI at NCState

After earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan, Alita enrolled in Eastern Michigan University where she earned her Master of Science degree in Human Resources, specializing in Organizational Development. Alita has received several certifications in leadership development and adult learning theory and has experience in a variety of industries. Her specialized knowledge of adult learning concepts help create behavior change in the workplace for our clients. Keenly analytic in conducting training needs assessments, she welcomes the opportunity to work with you to strategically design and implement learning solutions that align with your corporate goals and institutionalize a desired employee behavior so your business can continue to grow and prosper.

In addition to her role as our learning and development trainer, Alita is also on faculty at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Duke and N.C. State University, and a Professor at Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute where she teaches courses on Emotional Intelligence and Difficult Conversations to professional lifelong learners. Alita shares the institute’s commitment to engage people’s minds and foster their wellbeing.

“Developing your employees is the key to retention.” -Forbes Magazine