Suzanne Jakstavich joined Avalon Bay as a Vice President of Human Resources in June of 2007. She previously served as the Director of Human Resources at Crowell & Moring, LLP, an international law firm with more than 700 attorneys and staff members. At Crowell, Ms. Jakstavich managed a team of HR professionals who designed and implemented human resources programs to meet the needs of the short and long term goals of the firm.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Ms. Jakstavich served as Vice President, Human Resources, at BMO Financial Group in Chicago, IL. At BMO, Ms. Jakstavich coached executives on HR initiatives, developed transnational people strategies, and conducted various training sessions. Previous to that assignment, Ms. Jakstavich served in a number of HR leadership roles, including: Global Manager of Leadership Development for Perot Systems Corporation, and Human Resource Manager for Citibank's Global Consumer Group. In these roles, Ms. Jakstavich managed a worldwide staff of human resource professionals who focused on a host of prominent HR issues, including succession-planning, orientation programs, and performance assessment.

A Chicago native, Ms. Jakstavich graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a Master of Arts Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations/ Human Resources Management and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.

Ms. Jakstavich is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and enjoys participating in the American Society for Training and Development.

Currently a Northern Virginia resident, Ms. Jakstavich maintains a staunch allegiance to the Chicago Bears. In addition to football, she has many other outside interests, including bike riding and spending time with friends and family.