Who We Are

Co-founder

Debbie has more than 30 years of experience in the staffing industry. Prior to co-founding The Rowland Group, she held positions of increasing responsibility with two international staffing organizations, where her production ranking was consistently in the top 10 nationally as both a producer and manager. Debbie transitioned from a top producer to a world class manager, trainer, and staffing industry executive. Her ability to identify, develop, and motivate people to succeed is the key to the company’s extraordinary growth. Under Debbie’s guidance, The Rowland Group has grown from a two-person, single discipline operation to a diversified, multi-million dollar company with offices in Tulsa and Houston.

Co-founder

A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Don has spent his entire professional career in the staffing industry. Prior to founding The Rowland Group, he was the Oklahoma Regional President for the world’s largest specialized staffing firm. At that time, he was the youngest individual to hold that position in the 43-year history of the firm. During his tenure there, he was involved in negotiating and servicing business for both permanent and contract placement work at all levels. Don founded The Rowland Group in May of 1994 and began establishing the company’s reputation for excellence, servicing clientele on both domestic and international staffing projects in the engineering field. As the company has grown, Don’s role has evolved to focus on developing and improving the infrastructure of the company as well as working with the Rowland management team to identify and accomplish the goals of the company.

President & Managing Partner

An Oklahoma native, Lynn started her career in public accounting and transitioned into the position of controller in the banking and publishing industries before entering the staffing world. Lynn served as the regional VP in the staffing industry prior to joining The Rowland Group in 2006. Lynn founded the Tulsa chapter of the Oklahoma Business Ethics’ Consortium. The Consortium’s mission is to promote Oklahoma as a state that values ethics in business. Lynn also facilitates peer advisory groups for women business owners and executives for EWF International and served as past president on the Leadership Tulsa board. Lynn was a 2015 finalist for Journal Record Woman of the Year, named a 2011 Woman of Distinction from the Tulsa Business Journal, 2011 Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO’s from the Journal Record, “2007 Outstanding CPA in Business & Industry” from the OSCPA and the “2006 Oklahoma Woman in Business Champion”, presented by U.S. Small Business Administration.

Partner, Director of Engineering Services

An Oklahoma native, Chrisie has more than 25 years of experience in recruiting, human resources and management. Prior to joining The Rowland Group, she worked in the engineering industry as a Recruiting Manager and Human Resources Manager. There she successfully scouted talent for professional engineers, project managers, architects, designers and drafters in various disciplines. She joined the Rowland team in 1998 to focus on our engineering services. Today she leads a team of experienced recruiters who specialize in engineering related recruitment and continues to obtain great personal satisfaction merging talent with opportunity.

Partner, Corporate Director of Business Development and Energy Services

Ron uses his 20+ years of energy related technical sales to help clients match the right candidate with the right position. In addition, Ron has 15 years of technical search expertise in energy related markets, giving him a competitive edge in the technical area. Ron holds Bachelors Degrees in Geology and Civil/Environmental Engineering, as well as Masters Degrees in Geological and Petroleum Engineering.

Executive Vice President & Partner

James Kelley, a transplant to Tulsa from Dallas, started his career in the staffing industry after earning a degree in finance from The University of Tulsa. Before accepting an EVP & Partner role, he served as the Director of Accounting & Finance Services for The Rowland Group. Throughout the span of his career in staffing, he has specialized in accounting, information technology and engineering. James currently serves on the board of the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium and the Rebuilding Together Tulsa board. In addition to being involved in various organizations around Tulsa, he is on the membership committee of Friends of Finance. He is passionate about helping companies grow to reach their full potential, and firmly believes that having the right staff in place plays an essential role in making that happen. Before moving into a management role while at The Rowland Group, James was recognized in 2010 and 2011 as “Recruiter of the Year” for his dedication, strong work ethic and distinctive ability to help clients grow their businesses.