Our Team

Laura Retzler

Principal

Laura Retzler’s career spans 15 years in the nonprofit sector. Ms. Retzler founded Nonprofit Recruitment Services five years ago to help nonprofits find and keep talented people. Before becoming a nonprofit recruiter, she served as a nonprofit executive, a development director, and a fundraising consultant with The Collins Group.

Prior to her career in nonprofits, Ms. Retzler worked in politics as an advanceperson for U.S. Senate and Presidential candidates. Retzler has an MA in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Political Science and Russian from the University of Iowa. She is a longtime board member of Sightline, a past member of Social Venture Partners and the Washington Women’s Foundation, and a donor to more than a dozen organizations that promote strong communities and alternative transportation.

Outside of work and philanthropy, Ms. Retzler spends her time training for triathlons and riding with Team Group Health, an all-women&s bike racing team. She has two daughters, ages 7 and 4. She and her family travel around Seattle almost exclusively by bicycle.

Martha Baskin

Associate Recruiter

Martha Baskin has more than 15 years experience in recruiting for the Pacific Northwest legal community and as a contract recruiter for Nonprofit Recruitment Services. Ms. Baskin is a freelance journalist for public radio and an active member of many organizations that promote human rights and economic justice, including Amnesty International, the Church Council, the King County Labor Council, and the Seattle Peace Chorus. Baskin has an MA in Education from New York University and a BA in Psychology. She is a devoted mother to Guatamelan son, age 7.

Kristen Carlson

Associate Recruiter

Kristen Carlson has devoted her career to nonprofit organizations, first in fundraising and communications and now in recruiting. Before joining Nonprofit Recruitment Services she served as an event planner for local nonprofits, including the Executive Alliance. Previously, Carlson worked for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Florida and the Peninsula Humane Society. She has a BA in International Business from Virginia Tech. Ms. Carlson is an avid animal rights supporter and a devoted wife and mother of a daughter, age 4, and a son, born in November, 2006.

Susan Howard

Senior Recruiter

Susan Howard has devoted her work to nonprofit organizations for 20 years. Ms. Howard’s work with the American Cancer Society won her several appointments as national liaison to other national nonprofits such as the American Heart Association and the United Way of America. Ms. Howard has balanced her work in local and national nonprofits with work overseas in South East Asia, where she worked with the American Association of Singapore, the American Women’s Association, and the US Embassy. Howard has a BS in Health Science from California State University, San Bernadino. She is active in the Issaquah school district and the mother of two Cambodian daughters, ages 7 and 8.

Shanthi Pathi

Administrative Coordinator

As a first generation American, Shanthi Pathi is devoted to living one of the most positive American values: helping others. Her career in advocacy and nonprofits stems from growing up in the Midwest, where she worked tirelessly to serve her community in Ohio. Since moving to Seattle in 2001, Pathi has worked with several organizations to help raise money, including Chaya and the Women’s Funding Alliance. Ms. Pathi has a BA from the University of Washington. She is Mass Care Team Member with the Seattle Chapter of the American Red Cross and an avid Huskies fan.