"I hired Mara to join PC Construction Company’s executive team as Chief Administrative Officer, reporting to me as CEO. The quality and quantity of what she delivered to the organization in just a matter of months was above and beyond my expectations. Her superb ability to listen intently, ask insightful questions, and demonstrate executive presence while being approachable and empathetic won over staff and earned trust and credibility quickly. Mara manages her team as a coach and supportive leader. She inspires them with her collaborative style and open approach. Her willingness to accept decision-making authority combined with her tendency to collaborate makes her particularly good at encouraging participation and increasing motivation. People want to work for Mara. She has proven to be an exceptionally strong business partner and trusted sounding board and advisor for me as CEO. In short, Mara’s intuitive skills and natural leadership ability coupled with her proven experience and strong competency on the people side of the business makes her an outstanding asset to an organization."

Former CEO and Chairman of the Board, PC Construction Company

"All told, Mara and I worked together for 10 years between RSG and Simon Pearce. Her contributions at both organizations were immense and the breadth and scope of her accomplishments included upgrades in total rewards, talent development and acquisition, performance and engagement, and change management. Mara was also an incredibly strong business partner for me as CEO and to many of her peers. She has deep empathy but also is not afraid to make the hard decisions for the sake of the company. She also has incredible capacity to work hard. I would not hesitate to hire her again. Having worked in the Upper Valley for the better part of 20 years, I can objectively offer that Mara is one of the most talented HR professionals in this region. She has an Upper Valley sensibility and hard earned large company experience from earlier in her career. This is a unique blend for this region. She certainly gets my highest marks!"

President and CEO, Mascoma Savings Bank

"In over thirty years in Human Resources, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with hundreds of Human Resources professionals. Of these people, Mara Rivera is unquestionably one of the best. I know this through working with her at Simon Pearce over several years and watching how effectively and thoughtfully she interacts and works with her staff and the leaders within the company. I have seen how people at Simon Pearce utilize her as a resource to make their work better and of higher quality. She is a true business leader and HR pro who I can say I have had the immense pleasure of working with and I certainly hope to continue to do so into the future!"

Leadership Development Facilitator and Consultant at The Richards Group/Green Mountain Leadership Center

"Over the past several years, we've had the pleasure of working for Mara. We've found her to be a highly skilled, technically knowledgeable senior HR leader, a trustworthy, committed business partner, a great coach to others and a generous colleague. She consistently performs above and beyond expectations. Any client or organization seeking Mara's consulting help will be glad to have her on their team, more than satisfied with the results she'll deliver and the approach she'll use to deliver them."

Owners, Avalon Consulting

"As a consultant to Mara Rivera when she was leading Human Resources for Simon Pearce, I found her to be extremely knowledgeable about the necessary foundational components of an organization aspiring to be considered as a great place to work. She knew exactly where the strengths and weaknesses for the company were and needed my assistance in organizing the compensation benchmarking data into a compensation structure and subsequent support for the various career ladders across the company. I am confident that she will carry her business knowledge about how to optimize the people component in to her consulting practice. She will provide expert guidance around a host of issues that challenge most companies since she has lived through many of them during her tenure as an Human Resources and business leader."

Head of Total Rewards and HR Technology, Mimecast NA (Formerly Principal Consultant and Owner of Spring Rock HR Consulting)

"I have known Mara since 2012 when she hired me as a consultant to partner with her at Resource Systems Group on the design of the Board of Regents group to support their Institute. Later when she was VP of HR at Simon Pearce, we collaborated to develop the Apprenticeship Program. Mara is one of my favorite clients to work with because she is strategic and business savvy, while being kind and empathetic. She knows how to make tough decisions, and considers the macro and micro impacts. Mara loves the field of Human Resources and serving as an executive business partner with the C-suite. This is evident whenever we work together or speak. She has been instrumental in both building and sustaining dynamic workplaces that win awards for being a Best Place to Work. I highly recommend Mara!"

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Founder and Principal Consultant, Sarah A. Scala Consulting

"I worked with Mara for almost three years in my capacity as Senior Director for Community Impact for Granite United Way’s Upper Valley Region. Mara was one of several HR leaders who joined with me to create a Bridges Out of Poverty partnership. Bridges is a highly successful innovation to assist low income wage earners in solving their non-work related issues (thereby improving employee retention and lowering absenteeism). A large part of our success was Mara’s vision and application of the program within Simon Pearce. She was definitely a leader in the effort. She always brought her concern for each individual employee’s well-being to the table along with her employer’s overall success. I came to greatly admire Mara’s skills in her field, as well as her intuitive abilities to gauge a situation and execute a plan. She is highly respected among her peers, and I would work with her again in a moment if given the opportunity."

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Former Senior Director of Community Impact, Granite United Way