Hope Pruett
Hope Pruett
40 Under Forty – 2024 Honoree
HR Information Systems Manager
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
“It gets better ” is something that I really needed to hear when I was younger. Unfortunately a lot of kids don’t get the luxury to “come out” on their own terms–and I was one of them. For a time I struggled not just with the aftermath of losing my entire friend group and suffering relentless bullying, but with all the self-doubt that comes with it. I spent a lot of my youth hiding.
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Having a life where I could truly live authentically was something I never could have imagined at that age. Now I am surrounde by people that love and support me. My future wife and I were engaged in 2024, and Loveland’s queer community is stronger than ever before. I would like my younger self to have spent less time worrying about what others thought, and more time just being herself and seeing what great people she drew in. Those are the people that are really worth surrounding yourself with.
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Who do you count as your greatest mentor(s) that have helped you succeed in your personal and professional life?
I think that my mom took single motherhood as a challenge–to raise me even better than two parents could. My mom taught me to be independent, and to be kind. As a survivor of abuse, my mom encouraged independence of thought. Even as a child, I never had a rule imposed because she “said so.” I was respected as a person deserving of reasoning. If I could challenge the rules with a solid compromise, she would listen and we worked it out together. Even little negotiations worked this way, which of course was an investment of time and patience on her part. However, these interactions helped me to better understand the world as a complex web with more factors than just yes and no. This dynamic established a foundation of trust in every interaction I have. My mother taught me to respect others but not to be afraid of them.
As someone who had to learn financial independence later in life, my mom is an avid supporter of higher education. She put me through college and encouraged me to apply for scholarships, which allowed me to fully fund my education.
As an adult, my mom is my biggest ally and source of inspiration. When I decided to make the jump from federal contracting to local government I took a significant pay cut. It was a tough decision because my mom had worked less-than-ideal jobs to keep food on the table and I was worried that I was making the wrong choice. However, my mom told me that she put in that work so that I could live a better life. She has always encouraged me to seek out my own path, and for that I am forever grateful. In so many ways I have her to thank for who I am and where I am today.
Where do you see yourself and what will you be doing with your life after 40?
I believe I have found my calling in Loveland–supporting my community. I grew up here, I will get married here, and I want to retire here.
I have only scratched the surface when it comes to ways to help my fellow civil servants make Loveland a great place to live and work. I intend to continue building my skills in tech and automation. I want to develop my team to be a powerhouse for exceptional support services so we can do more for our community, together.
I will continue gaining experience in project management and compassionate change management to assure my team and the people we support are working with the best tools for the job.
In 7 years time I am hopeful that the City of Loveland will be an example to other cities of how best-in-class technology operations can make HR teams, city employees, and the services they provide even more exceptional. By keeping the City on the cutting edge of new technology, I believe we can deliver services more efficiently, effectively, and securely, while giving employees the time to spend on what really matters–our citizens.
View the 2024 – 40 Under Forty honorees.
Visit the 40 Under Forty website.
