When an organization is hit by a crisis, the immediate response often defines its future. At Virtue Professional Services (Virtue Pro), the mission isn’t just to manage a crisis as it unfolds, it’s to prevent it from happening in the first place, guide the company through the turbulence, and then rebuild what’s been lost. For Dazhona Hodge, the first Black woman to build a full-cycle crisis management firm, this mission is personal. It’s rooted in her belief that organizations deserve a chance to recover, provided they are willing to take accountability and make measurable change.
Founded in Chicago, Virtue Pro stands as a beacon of innovation in a field that is often reactive. Dazhona’s vision for the firm began when she observed a sharp increase in workplace investigations and escalating issues within organizations. These challenges, cultural breakdowns, compliance failures, high-risk incidents, and reputational threats, were symptoms of a larger problem. After years in HR, Dazhona made the decision to transition into crisis management to help organizations confront these issues head-on, with a solution that spanned the full lifecycle of a crisis: prevention, response, and recovery.
At the core of Virtue Pro’s work is a model that others in the industry don’t often touch on: a holistic, prevention-to-redemption framework. Many firms specialize in just one aspect of crisis management, public relations, HR, compliance, or cybersecurity. However, Virtue Pro is different. The company integrates culture, compliance, and crisis management into a single system, providing clients with the tools, playbooks, and decision support they need to effectively navigate each phase of a crisis. Dazhona’s unique combination of human-centered leadership and curated technology creates a truly innovative solution.
“I believe companies deserve a real chance to recover when accountability is real and the work is measurable,” says Dazhona. “Virtue Pro was built on a prevention-to-redemption model, because containment isn’t the finish line. Trust has to be rebuilt.”
Virtue Pro’s approach has been described as setting a new standard for how crisis management should be done. The company goes beyond just helping clients survive a crisis, they guide them toward recovery, ensuring that the culture and trust within the organization are stronger in the aftermath. By implementing strategies such as structured recovery programs and culture diagnostics, Virtue Pro helps businesses not just weather the storm, but emerge better prepared for the future.
The Journey from HR to Crisis Management
For Dazhona, the journey from HR to crisis management was born out of necessity. During her time in human resources, she witnessed firsthand the growing complexity of workplace issues. Investigations became more frequent, and the severity of problems only intensified. She knew that organizations needed a better way to prevent crises before they escalated and a stronger framework to guide them through the fallout when things inevitably went wrong.
In today’s workplace, HR can’t treat compliance, safety, and risk analysis as separate lanes—they’re essential parts of how organizations prevent harm and respond credibly when investigations happen. Incorporating compliance and safety into HR practices (policies, training, reporting channels, documentation, and response protocols) ensures investigations are consistent, defensible, and aligned with legal and regulatory expectations, while risk analysis helps identify patterns like repeat offenders, high-risk teams, weak controls, or cultural blind spots before they escalate. This same approach also reduces fraud risk: strong access controls, clear segregation of duties, tighter vendor and expense oversight, and a culture of accountability make it harder for misconduct to hide and easier to detect early. When HR integrates these disciplines, workplace investigations become more than fact-finding—they become a prevention tool that protects people, strengthens governance, and preserves trust.
“I transitioned from HR into crisis management after seeing the rise in workplace investigations and the severity of issues organizations were facing,” Dazhona explains. “It was clear to me that companies needed more than just a reactionary approach. They needed to build a system that could address problems before they exploded.”
As a Chicago native, Dazhona’s deep-rooted understanding of her community and its challenges gave her a unique perspective on the kinds of transformations needed in organizations. Her transition wasn’t just a career move, it was a calling to help organizations foster healthier work environments and culture. She built Virtue Pro with the understanding that real change requires more than just policies on paper. It requires a complete cultural shift, one that aligns with accountability, inclusivity, and integrity.
What Makes Virtue Pro Stand Out
Virtue Pro’s distinctiveness lies in its ability to address the full crisis management cycle. While many crisis management firms may step in during the chaos of a crisis, Virtue Pro works proactively to reduce risks before they escalate. This proactive approach is paired with cutting-edge technology and strategic playbooks that equip organizations with the resources they need to manage crises effectively in real-time. Furthermore, Virtue Pro’s work doesn’t stop at crisis containment. The firm also offers structured recovery programs to help businesses rebuild their governance, accountability, and trust in the wake of disruption.
“Virtue is the standard, this is the kind of company that should exist if we’re serious about trust, culture, and compliance,” says Dazhona. The firm’s approach is holistic and built on the belief that when companies prioritize accountability and create measurable systems for change, they set themselves up for long-term success.
Another defining characteristic of Virtue Pro is the technology that Dazhona has personally created and curated. Unlike other crisis management firms that offer only advice, Virtue Pro gives clients an operating system, a framework that includes decision support, playbooks, and monitoring tools. This ensures that organizations are not left to navigate their crises blindly but are empowered with the tools they need to manage the situation effectively.
“I create and curate the technology behind our work, so clients get an operating system, not just advice,” Dazhona says. This technology, paired with the human-centered approach, is a valuable resource for organizations in times of crisis.
Looking Ahead
As Virtue Pro continues to grow and redefine the crisis management landscape, Dazhona remains committed to her mission of creating more inclusive, accountable, and resilient organizations. Her work serves as a reminder that crises don’t have to be the end of the road for a company, they can be the beginning of a new, stronger chapter.
For businesses looking to transform their crisis management practices, Virtue Professional Services offers more than just a lifeline during turbulent times, it offers the opportunity for true recovery and lasting change. By pairing technology with a deep understanding of human dynamics, Virtue Pro sets the bar for what crisis management should look like in the modern era.
Virtue Pro is always the best option because we don’t treat investigations as isolated HR events—we treat them as risk signals that require a connected response across compliance, safety, culture, and fraud prevention. We help organizations set up defensible systems before issues happen (clear policies, reporting channels, documentation standards, and control points), respond with structure when allegations arise (consistent, credible investigation and escalation processes), and then fix what caused the issue in the first place (governance repair, accountability, and measurable culture change). That’s the difference with our prevention-to-redemption model—because protecting people and protecting the organization should never be separate goals.
Are You Ready to Transform Your Crisis Management Approach?
If your organization is ready to move beyond crisis containment and embrace a proactive, full-cycle approach to crisis management, Virtue Professional Services is here to help. With a proven track record of reducing risk, managing high-stakes situations, and rebuilding trust, Virtue Pro is the partner you need to create a healthier, more resilient workplace. Visit Virtue Professional Services today to learn more about how they can help you prepare for the unexpected and emerge stronger than ever.
For more information on Virtue Pro, connect with Dazhona on LinkedIn, follow them on Instagram, or visit their Facebook page.
