WHO WE ARE

Mary Ruth Burton, President

 

Mary Ruth Burton’s experience includes working with diverse types of organizations in the areas of manufacturing, law, electric power cooperatives, consumer products, financial services, mortgage, insurance, university athletics, information systems, distribution, education, engineering, healthcare, foundations, non-profits and government organizations.  Formerly vice president of human resources for a national information systems company, Mary Ruth has helped leaders and organizations grow and adapt to changing needs for over forty years.

 

Mary Ruth earned her BA from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington). She attended graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University and has studied organizational development at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and the Cape Cod Institute.  She served as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Richmond’s Management Institute for over ten years and has been a certified Birkman Method Consultant for twenty-nine years.

 

For eight years, Mary Ruth served as a speaker and coach at two prestigious conferences (Nike and Next Chair) that host NCAA university athletic directors and the USA's top assistant basketball coaches with the purpose of preparing the next generation of head coaches.

 

Mary Ruth has served on a number of boards including the Board of Directors for the Association for Corporate Growth, including one term as Vice President of Membership; the Richmond Symphony; the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk Executive Board; Virginia Commonwealth University’s Ram Athletic Executive Board; and the Board of Richmond’s Peter Paul Development Center which provides services to children at-risk. She currently serves on the board of the James River Horse Foundation (JRHF) whose program rescues thoroughbred horses and teaches non-violent, female felons horse management skills to lead to jobs after their release from the correctional system. She is leading development for JRHF.

 

 

 

Nancy Adams, Consultant

 

Nancy Adams has over 25 years of experience in organizational development, training and human resources.  She has worked as a director in human resources and innovation at Altria and in retail, automotive, and non-profit organizations.  Her clients have been both domestic and international.  Her areas of expertise include leadership development and executive coaching, succession planning, team development, organizational culture, diversity and inclusion, training and facilitation.

 

She is a systems thinker who has an ability to quickly assess situations and develop creative and impactful solutions. She serves on the Advisory Council for Radford University’s Davis College of Business and Economics and is a volunteer with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond. Relevant to this proposal, she serves as a consultant to The Robins Foundation.

 

 

Thomas E. Heiser, SPHR, Adjunct Consultant

 

Tom Heiser has been providing management and consulting services for more than two decades.  His ability to understand business needs enables his developing sensible and sound human resource strategies and solutions for our clients.

 

As both a consultant and an in-house human resources executive, Tom has developed and implemented market-driven compensation programs aligned with organizational strategic goals.  Tom has developed strategic total rewards solutions and created numerous employee manuals.  He has successfully met challenging staffing needs for our clients.  Since 1999, Tom has been providing consulting services for clients in a variety of industries including professional services firms, distributors, retailers, government agencies, and manufacturers.  Tom served as the human resource director for a national law firm and for a national information systems company.

 

Tom received his Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Management from the School of Business at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania and certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the HR Certification Institute.

 

 

 

 

Support Staff

 

Vicki Funk, Business Manager

 

Vicki Funk supports our clients’ needs and keeps the firm running smoothly.  She ensures that clients can connect with their consultants.  Vicki has been our Business Manager for 36 years.