Whether assisting an employee in a rough spot or rescuing at-risk dogs, DPS Office of Human Resources Director Tonya Chambers knows the power of extending a helping hand.

“There is not a day that I haven’t enjoyed coming to work here,” said Chambers of her time at SCDPS. “The people are the best!”

Born in Ninety Six, Chambers experienced her first taste of state government in 1990, when she became a legislative page for her home town senator John Drummond who chaired the Senate Finance Committee. At the time, she was majoring in accounting at the University of South Carolina.

“I don't know what even made me think that I would want to study accounting,” Chambers said. “I ended up changing my major two or three times. At one point, I even wanted to be a veterinarian — that is, until I did my first dissection.”

Switching instead to economics and management, Chambers graduated from USC in 1992 and landed a job at the State Budget Office in 1993. Within a few years, she climbed the ladder to the position of budget analyst and later entered a mentorship program under Sam Wilkins, who was General Counsel for the Division of State Human Resources. 

After working in the State Budget Office for five years, Sam Wilkins offered Chambers a position in State Human Resources as a classification and compensation consultant. There, Chambers found not just coworkers, but long-time friends. In the years since, they have stayed in touch through a group message chat named “Forever Friends.”

“I loved it,” she said. “Honestly, I’d keep working even after my shift ended.”    

In 2017, Stephanie Duncan, State Training Director, and Kim Aydlette, Director of State Office of Human Resources, told Chambers the Department of Public Safety needed an H.R. director. Drawn to DPS’ family-oriented work environment, Chambers applied and earned the position.

“When I got here, the agency employees did not come to OHR,” she said. “It was like people were scared to come down here. I’m so glad that changed!”

Chambers is proud of what she has accomplished at DPS, from revamping the records management system and helping restructure the grievance process to getting her office fully staffed. She also challenged the misconceptions many people hold about H.R., emphasizing the importance of confidentiality and professionalism when handling each employee’s problems and needs.

“I feel like a lot of people assume that human resources is the bad guy,” she said. “That cracks me up. H.R. really should work like a consultant for managers. We don’t have a big magic wand, but we can give you options on how to fix things.”                                                                                                                                                                        
While Chambers’ career path took a vastly different turn from her initial hope of becoming a vet, she maintained her passion for animals, especially basset hounds. A lifelong dog owner, Chambers met her first basset rescue, Murphy, during her sophomore year at USC.  

“Out of nowhere, this basset hound came running up to me on The Horseshoe,” Chambers said of Murphy. “She had been in a kennel most of her life, because her owner had a stroke and was in the hospital. I talked my sweet daddy into letting me keep her.”

Chambers later discovered the Basset Rescue of the Southeast (BARCSE). She began fostering homeless dogs through the rescue and joined the basset hound float at the annual Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day parades in Columbia.

“I've probably had 20 fosters over the past 15 years,” Chambers said. “It can be kind of heartbreaking. When they stay longer than a couple of months, I have a hard time letting them go.”

While Chambers is sad her service to the state is coming to an end, retirement presents a host of opportunities—not only to continue fostering, but to enjoy and explore the state she has spent more than three decades serving.

“I've been working since I was 15,” she said. “While I'm still young, I want to take my parents on day trips. I’m going up to Lake Keowee, and I’ll spend some time in Florida and Canada. Once I get all that out of my system, I want to pick up Pilates.”

Additionally, Chambers will begin volunteering at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. That doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier, but she knows the Office of Human Resources and DPS are in good hands.

“To tell you the truth, nobody should even know that I’m gone,” she said. “What I tell my folks is, ‘Don’t forget that while you’re looking at these transactions on paper, these are people. This is their paycheck. This is their livelihood. Each of these pieces of paper represents a person.’”