Kathleen Duffy Ybarra
President/CEO

Kathleen Duffy Ybarra founded DuffyResearch Inc. in 1991. Beginning with an office out of her home and only five clients, the company quickly grew under Duffy Ybarra's direction. Today, DuffyGroup is a highly respected research and recruitment firm, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona representing clients both nationally and internationally in a vast array of industries.

Duffy Ybarra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Arizona State University. While attending college she developed strong professional skills working as a Quality Circle Facilitator at Honeywell. After graduation and prior to founding DuffyResearch, she spent over eight years honing her skills in research and search development as the Director of Research for Tirocchi-Wright, Inc. a national retained executive search consulting firm.

DuffyGroup is a certified woman-owned business. As President, with an eye on growth and meeting the needs of her corporate clients, Duffy Ybarra has expanded her business adding the HR-focused service line, which provides contract-based and direct hire human resource professionals.

Duffy Ybarra is a founding member of the Arizona Human Resource Leadership Forum, a professional organization and vital force in addressing and providing current perspectives on complex and challenging human resource and business issues. She is also a highly regarded keynote speaker on recruiting and research.

Download Kathleen Duffy Ybarra's Bio (PDF, 80KB)

Vicki Grove
Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Vicki is responsible for directing the day to day operating activities, as well as the organization's strategic marketing and business development efforts. Prior to assuming the COO role, Vicki joined Duffy in 1995 as the Vice President for DuffyHR and was responsible for building a solid reputation and team for Duffy's HR contract and direct placement service line.

Prior to joining DuffyGroup, Vicki served as Senior Vice President and Southwest Regional Manager for Bernard Hodes Group in Phoenix for 15 years. She began her career in 1983 with Bernard Hodes, and then worked for a competitive agency for six years before returning to Hodes. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Business from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

For over two decades, Vicki's passion for serving the HR community and her commitment to superior service has been her trademark. She has extensive knowledge in recruitment in multiple industries and is committed to cost-effective strategic solutions. Vicki has worked as a consultant partner with many of the Phoenix area top employers over the years including Catholic Healthcare West, Honeywell, American Express, Avnet, Insight, Banner Health, Intel, and many more. Her consultative areas of expertise include workforce planning, sourcing strategies, recruitment marketing, employer branding, recruitment process analysis, etc.

Vicki is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Valley of the Sun Human Resources Association (VSHRA).

Download Vicki Grove's Bio (PDF, 80KB)

Laura Olcott-Seidman
VP of Business Development

Laura has enthusiastically focused on business development for DuffyGroup, Inc. since 2006. She brings a wealth of business savvy as well as the ability to listen and communicate clearly in response to prospective clients' needs and their unique recruitment challenges. Her passion for solving problems contributes greatly to DuffyGroup's mission to deliver results.

Laura graduated from the University of Maryland and joined NRI Staffing Resources in Washington DC where she worked for 13 years as a Sr. Marketing Representative. She developed optimal staffing solutions for clients by fulfilling a full range of temporary, and temporary-to-permanent staffing needs. Her responsibilities included client service, business development, and the development and implementation of sales budgets. Laura billed over $9 million in gross profit during her tenure with NRI.

She has also won numerous awards including Marketing Representative of the year for 6 consecutive years while at NRI.

To view bios of the DuffyGroup Sourcing and Research Team, including Patricia Buckley, Carrie Coward, Linnea Heitzman and Ann Sylvia, click here.

To view bios of the DuffyGroup HR Contract & Direct Hire Team, including Donna Dietrich, Ruth Laviolette, Elizabeth Stocking Evans and Eden Higgins click here.