Our Associates

Our associates are the heartbeat of our success. Meet the exceptional individuals who are dedicated to shaping your future.

Tall Cedars Search is a collection of independent contractors and advisors who support executive searches from job posting to job offer. Our Associates include:

Flo Follero Pugh

Principal, Tall Cedars Search & Recruitment.
20+ years experience as a professional Career Counsellor and resume specialist.
Trainer and workshop facilitator with Engaged HR.
Associate, writer, and editor with J.R. Craven & Associates, 2014 – 2019.
Experienced in supporting full-cycle recruitment activities for municipalities and regional districts.
Master of Education in Counselling Psychology.

Kevin Ramsay – Innova Strategy Group

With the City of Surrey, District of West Vancouver, City of Vancouver, District of Squamish and City of Port Moody, Kevin held a total of 19 different local government positions including Waterworks Superintendent, Manager of Safety & Training, Yards Superintendent, Manager of Waterworks, Manager of Streets, Manager of Sanitation, Director of Emergency Management, General Manager of Human Resources, Chief Administrative Officer, and City Manager.
In 2016, after 34 years in local government, Kevin retired from the City of Port Moody and incorporated the Innova Strategy Group.
Kevin excels in leading-edge performance enhancement, maximizing leadership capacity, governance improvements, core service reviews, and strategic planning. Much of his success is related to restructuring organizations, supervisory/management groups, or over0arching governance structures, with an ongoing focus on leadership excellence.

John Leeburn – Drive OD

John established his boutique consulting practice in June 2018 after retiring from a 31-year career in local government administration in British Columbia.
He is a proud member of the small, but mighty, group of municipal chief administrative officers whose background and training was in human resources.
Throughout his career John witnessed how organizational health and culture is critical to success and how important it is for organizations to invest and focus on their people and culture.
Drive OD’s services include accountability and performance feedback, HR / LR sounding board, individual coaching, leadership workshops, meeting facilitation, program and service assessments, teambuilding and conflict resolution, and workforce planning.

Ron Poole – Poole Consulting

With more than 35 years of local government experience, Ron’s understanding of governance systems, First Nations, and industry is vast and varied. The involvement and enjoyment in working with these many groups, has been the underpinning that has built Poole Consulting.
Clients include small, medium, and large local governments as well as treaty and non-treaty First Nations.
Poole Consulting offers services in Council/Board orientations, organizational change, reviews and changes to governance and operating systems, staff mentorship and training, strategic planning, engagement with and for industry, and interim staff replacement.

Ron Mattiussi – R.L. Mattiussi Advisory Group

Respected professional planner and City Manager with 40 years of public service, 28 at a senior level.
Front-line Emergency Operations experience dealing with multiple incidents over the past 15 years.
A skilled public speaker with years of experience, Ron offers enlightening and energetic presentations based on knowledge and real-life experiences. Talks cover a variety of topic from leadership in crisis, emergency operations management, understanding the planning and development to organizational management.
Ron provides services in the areas of: organizational management, project advice, emergency management leadership, mentoring, and workshops.

Jamie McEwan – McEwan Municipal Advisory

Throughout his career, Jamie has served over 150 local governments and Indigenous communities across Western Canada. He has also worked with local governments in Jordan, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Belize.
Jamie is the current Chair of Local Government Programs and an Instructor with Capilano University’s School of Public Administration, and Lead Advisor with Broadwater Governance & Strategy.
Services he provides through McEwan Municipal Advisory cover the areas of strategy, facilitation, planning, and training.

Brian Carruthers – BD Carruthers and Associates

Brian began in local government career in 2001 and has served as both a municipal and regional district CAO. His work has taken him across BC in the regions of Kootenay Boundary; North, Central, Vancouver Island and the Coast.
Brian brings a deep understanding and appreciation for the unique challenge facing regional districts and small to medium sized communities.
He currently assists clients with: strategic plans, organizational evaluation, elected official / staff relationship development, board and council orientation / development, CAO mentoring, and facilitation.

Tait Gamble – Administrative Assistant

Tait Gamble (she/her) is a settler scholar, writer, crafter and recent graduate from the University of British Columbia, where she majored in First Nations and Indigenous Studies and Political Science. Tait is currently completing her Master of Science in Planning at the University of Toronto.

James R. Craven – (Retired / Advisory)

Retired as the Principal of James R. Craven & Associates in 2019; conducted 240 executive searches in BC and Alberta since 2002.
17 years as Executive Director of the Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia.
3 years ED of Fraser Valley Regional Library.5 years CAO of District of Oak Bay.
13 years as CAO / Treasurer for several BC municipalities Senior Certificate in Municipal Finance and Administration
Recipient of Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2000).

Unlock Exceptional Opportunities

Discover your path to career advancement or find the perfect addition to your team. At Tall Cedars, we connect talent with opportunity, ensuring mutual growth and success.