Nicholas Burton

BIO: My name is Nick Burton, I am the principal at N. Burton Consulting. I have over 20+ years working in the field of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) focusing on programmatic design, implementation, and evaluation. I believe in the value of person-centered planning to ensure all people with disabilities can build a life that is important to them. I am committed to equity, equality, social justice, and ensuring that people have what they need to be their most successful.

 I have graciously been welcomed into the disability community first by family and then as a career path. I started my journey as a direct support professional working with adults and children in the community. I have been a case manager, agency leader, and most recently a senior executive in Maryland state government overseeing the programmatic support and services to people with developmental disabilities.  

My life has been focused on ensuring underrepresented communities have a seat at the table and voice in the fight. I grew up in Montana and have had the opportunity to live in other states such as Illinois, Oregon, and Maryland which has given me a unique perspective on Long Term Supports and Services (LTSS) across the county and how states implement Home and Community Based Supports (HCBS).

My educational background is a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana and a master’s degree in public administration from Portland State University. I live in the great city of Baltimore Maryland with my husband Thomas and our two cats Gary and Lois.

Laena Capps

BIO: With over 25 years of human capital experience, Laena Capps leads the firm’s Human Capital division.  The division provides consulting and support services in areas of succession and workforce planning, employee relations, performance management, training and development, HRIS evaluation and system implementation, compensation, policy development and administration, compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining our team, Ms. Capps supported both established organizations and entrepreneurial ventures advising them through their stages of innovation, growth, and stabilization. Ms. Capps has held tactical, as well as strategic leadership positions in multiple industries across the Mid-Atlantic. Said to be a “change agent”, Ms. Capps has a successful track record accomplishing many projects and initiatives. Such projects included the design and implementation of formal programs such as wellness, HRIS, compensation, performance management, on-boarding and metrics tied to strategic company goals and objectives; all of which positively impacted the bottom line.

Ms. Capps takes a holistic approach to human resources, as her former positions were far from traditional. Always having a “seat at the table”, Ms. Capps understood the importance of senior leadership “buy-in” and therefore played an intricate role in the education, collaboration and strategic planning of company operations.

A member of the Society of Human Resource Management since 1995, Ms. Capps holds a Master of Business Administration from Argosy University, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Notre Dame of Maryland University, and became a Certified Human Resource Professional in the early 2000’s.