
Executive Search Team
Our People Empowering with Expertise & Experience
Our team brings decades of hands-on leadership across sectors, guiding organizations through moments that require steadiness, clarity, and seasoned judgment. We combine strategic insight with practical experience, helping boards and executives navigate complexity with confidence. From shaping strong governance practices to supporting critical transitions, we deliver the expertise needed to strengthen teams, align stakeholders, and accelerate mission-driven impact.

Amy Burton
Amy Burton
Amy brings over 20 years of executive search, recruiting, and human resource experience in a range of early and mature stage organizations, including nonprofit, philanthropic, high tech, and biotech.
Amy enjoys recruiting leaders and subject matter experts that make transformative contributions to clients’ organizations. She is curious by nature, a serial networker, and a lifetime learner. Amy collaborates with clients to understand their organizational mission, values, objectives and needs to develop strategies that enhance their organization and engage right-fit candidates.
Amy has led local, domestic, and international searches and recruiting efforts across business lines and enjoys working with engaging people to make a difference in our community.
Amy was a founding member of the Grow Further Board and served on Seattle University’s Youth Initiative Advisory and Alumni boards as well as Bainbridge School District K-6 Innovation Education Advisory Board and PTO. Most recently, Amy co-chaired the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Alumni’s Recovery and Renewal Project.
Amy has an MBA from Seattle University and bachelor’s from Northeastern University. When not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, rowing competitively, hiking, and skiing.

Chris Cannon
Senior Associate
Chris Cannon
Chris brings over a decade of experience in the mission-driven sector, including his early experience as an Executive Director of a growing nonprofit in Ghana, West Africa. This pivotal experience helped shape both his educational and professional aspirations, eventually leading him to a career in executive recruiting and nonprofit consulting as well as board and volunteer service.
Chris comes with previous national nonprofit search experience as an Engagement Manager at Waldron, Senior Associate at NPAG, and as a search consultant to both nonprofits and client service organizations. His work includes engagements with Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity, Healthier Here, Childhaven, the Seattle Aquarium, Stanford Law School, Disability Rights CA, Landesa, LOR Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Treehouse, A Way Home WA, and the American Indian Graduate Center.
Graduating from Brigham Young University, Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a Communications minor, and a master’s degree in Public Administration. There he oversaw a student-led consulting firm that advised family foundations and corporations on grantmaking and impact assessment. Chris now resides in Portland, OR with his husband and four-year-old daughter. In his free time, Chris enjoys photography, cooking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful wine country.

Christine Martin
Founder & Partner
Christine Martin
Christine has over 25 years of experience as a strategic business leader and has held a variety of senior leadership roles in organizations ranging from large public companies to early-stage start-ups and non-profits. Christine founded her consulting business, HR Strategies International in 2000, and after 18 years of independent consulting, was a founding partner at Valtas in 2018.
Christine consults with clients and serves as the practice manager for our Interim Executive and Projects work, supporting our team of 20+ consultants and helping ensure that our consultants and our clients receive all the support needed for the most effective engagements. She has served as an Interim Executive for eighteen organizations over the past fifteen years. She has led the development of a wide variety of strategic and business plans and has also led executive hiring efforts for clients across the country.
After a successful career as an executive leader in a number of technology and telecom ventures, Christine pivoted her business in 2008 to primarily support of best business practices in the non-profit sector. She brings a unique blend of extensive board service, education, training and coaching of nonprofit leaders. Christine’s passion for creating and developing leadership capacity in the nonprofit sector is evident across her client engagements.

Ed Rogan
Partner & Search Practice Leader
Ed Rogan
Ed Rogan is a human resources professional who has been connecting people and mission for over 20 years. Equally equipped with analytical and communication skills, he has a knack for quickly grasping a situation, connecting with varied personalities, and understanding business issues.
Ed is skillful in building rapport with people from all walks of life and brings a sense of humor, appropriate levity, and enjoyment to working with a diverse client set. A committed community volunteer, he currently serves as the Treasurer (and immediate Past Chair) of the Board of Directors for Community Health Centers of Snohomish County. He also spent ten (10) years on the Board of Committee for Children, including two (2) years as Chair.
Ed’s search philosophy takes a highly collaborative approach in partnering to recruit and develop leaders for mission-centered organizations. His work over more than 25 years has involved a range of diverse projects that provide him with opportunities to continuously learn and develop as a professional.
Over the years, Ed has helped a wide range of organizations recruit and select CEOs, Executive Directors and other Director level professionals, many replacing long-term, highly respected leaders.

Liz Swanson
Senior Associate
Liz Swanson
Liz is a nonprofit professional, consultant, leader, and educator who has been serving and advancing mission-driven organizations for over 30 years. Her experiences as an Executive Director, Interim Executive Director, Development Director, Board President, and Non-Profit Consultant at a wide range of nonprofits has given her a unique perspective of the ins and outs of organizations and the challenges nonprofit leaders face.
Liz is passionate about all things nonprofit and helping organizations achieve their goals towards long-term success. Being optimistic, inquisitive, and trustworthy are part of her DNA. With business know-how, integrity, a steady style, and sensing ability, Liz takes a highly collaborative approach in partnering to help guide organizational development and build leadership capacity during times of change, transition, and growth.
Liz has been actively engaged in the community since moving to the Pacific Northwest with her family in 2000. She enjoys reading historical fiction and non-fiction, hiking and exploring our beautiful corner of the world, and enjoying good food, wine, and conversation with family and friends (as well as exercising so she can continue to enjoy good food and wine!).

..reveals opportunities for improvement
“Laura has learned the workings in IFCB and has begun taking on the tasks I’d expect of an Executive Director such as leading strategic planning with significant involvement from board and staff, improving our financial reporting, making fixes to our budget, and sorting through staffing issues that should help to strengthen teamwork. She asks questions in a non-threatening manner that shows respect but that also reveals opportunities for improvement.”
Mike Bresco
Board President, Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank
We benefited from an ambitious timeline…
“We were so pleased with the outcome of our work together with the right people who bring exactly what we need to grow our team. But what stands out even more is the process. We benefited from an ambitious timeline that we were able to stick to.
The team listened carefully to understand our organizational goals, culture, and how these positions fit in. And we had several candidates show up to in person interviews telling us how much they enjoyed and appreciated the personal interview. This is what any organization would hope to hear about the consultant acting on their behalf!”
Women's Funding Alliance
Director of Programs and Finance
…marveled at their level of insight.
“Christine her team did a fantastic job for our fledgling non-profit- they listened to what we needed, helped us craft the right job description, put together a posting that attracted far more candidates than our prior efforts, and then-best of all-did a careful and thoughtful job interviewing the candidates and narrowing the field. I learned a lot working with them and marveled at the level of their insight-it really helped us land someone *much more likely to succeed with our mission and work well with our three founders than we would have done otherwise! I would work with them again in a heartbeat – my highest recommendation.”