The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a non-profit, individual membership association for human resource professionals. 

It was founded in 1948 by a group of human resource professionals who predicted the future complexities of the then emerging profession.  Today, SHRM serves over 100,000 members.

Members have the option of affiliating through a network of over 400 professional or more than 200 student chapters.  The largest professional association in the world devoted exclusively to human resource management, SHRM is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, a short distance from the nation's capital.

In the Roanoke Valley:
The Personnel Association of Roanoke was formed in September 1953.  A subcommittee of the Chamber of Commerce organized this association for the purpose of fostering better employer-employee relations.  Credit for the idea of the Personnel Association of Roanoke goes to Mr. John D. Schumacher. 

The name was changed to Roanoke Valley Society for Human Resource Management in October 1992 in order to reflect the broader direction that the field of human resource management has taken.