Our Team

Darren grew up in Dallas, Texas, and after living in San Francisco for a decade, he moved to Santa Fe in 1999 to be closer to family.  Soon after arriving in Santa Fe, he worked for Marcia Owen Associates (now The Hire Firm) and followed a colleague to help her launch another staffing firm.  In 2015, after many years of providing part-time web maintenance services to that local employment agency, he joined them as a full-time Associate, bringing his broad range of talents and knowledge to the Santa Fe community.  Darren’s professional background includes fashion, graphic and web design, executive assistance, and office and retail management.

Darren’s diverse education includes completing a graphic design apprenticeship, graduating from The World School of Massage in San Francisco, and graduating from the Leading By Being program at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe.

Outside of work, Darren enjoys home improvement projects, photography, and community service.  His community outreach in Santa Fe has included providing volunteer hospice and palliative care via Palliative Care Services of Santa Fe, sitting as a committee member for the American Cancer Society’s annual fundraising gala, and staffing the Buckaroo Ball’s silent auction.

The Hire Firm is glad to have Darren back! His primary focus is staffing and recruiting for temporary and temp-to-hire roles, marketing and social media.

Zeke Crowe was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and has an Associate Degree in Business Administration.  His career started in retail when he was 15. He spent the next five years honing his skills in customer service, sales, and management.  He then accepted an opportunity to work in wireless sales where he received several promotions and became a multi-store manager. He relocated to New Mexico and became a Corporate Business Banker with Wells Fargo, where B2B was a vital part of growing his portfolio. After four years, he returned to the wireless industry and worked for Infinity Wireless for six years.  He was promoted to Store Manager, District Manager, and finally Regional Manager, and was responsible for 100 stores and traveled extensively.  The company was sold and he came back to NM. After two successful years as Marketing Director for Scher Center for Well Being, Zeke joined The Hire Firm team. Zeke has since taken over the management of New Mexico Labor Co. which, thanks to his efforts, has expanded into Albuquerque and is performing better than ever.

Zeke is quite the foodie and enjoys trying new and creative dishes.  He works out daily and likes horror movies, all things Star Wars, and is a softy for animals.  He also admits that WWE is his guilty pleasure.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Abby Dietz moved to Santa Fe from Northern Virginia/DC Metro area in 2011.  She joined The Hire Firm in a temporary role but fit the culture so well we decided to keep her!  Her strong background in sales, customer service, and executive administrative skills was the perfect blend for a staffing and recruiting professional. Now, seven and half years later, Abby primarily focuses on direct hire and executive search positions and managing the firm.  Abby has a fantastic ability to quickly understand clients’ needs and match those needs with talented candidates.

Abby is a living success story for temporary and temp-to-hire opportunities and has obtained three long-term, rewarding positions in her career that started as temporary or temp-to-hire. She believes in what we do and knows first-hand how being open and flexible can lead to great opportunities. She would love to share her story with anyone who is curious about it!

When she’s not working, she enjoys recharging on backpacking trips, spending time with family and friends, and taking classes on whatever is currently of interest to her!

After retiring from his position as Chief Executive Officer and Owner of The Hire Firm, Carlos remains a trusted consultant.

His experience is deep and diverse. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Carlos served in senior management roles with Scott Paper Company. His early career included international assignments with McKinsey and Co. and Eli Lilly. In the late ‘90s, Carlos served as President of Business Development and Planning for Vitro S.A., a $3-billion multinational glass company in Monterrey, Mexico. He was Chairman and CEO of Clean Fuels Technology, a leading developer of emulsified fuels for transportation and power generation. Since 2003 he has served on the Board of Directors of publicly traded Libbey, Inc. Since 2004 he has been the Owner and President of CDuno Coaching and Consulting, providing management consulting and coaching services.  Recognizing the increasing number of business owners who want assistance preparing for their exit, Carlos has recently joined NAVIX Consultants, a leading exit planning organization. By adding NAVIX to his existing Executive Coaching and Consulting services, he can help business owners with a full range of services to help them successfully lead and grow their company, from now and up to their future exit.

Originally from Mexico City, Carlos has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the National University of Mexico, as well as a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, and an MBA, both from Columbia University, New York. He is also a Certified Executive Coach, trained at the Hudson Institute in Santa Barbara.

As Chief Executive Officer and Owner of The Hire Firm, Silas is primarily focused on executive recruitment.

Silas has extensive training and experience as a recruiting consultant. His recent searches include work across a variety of industries, including technology and manufacturing, hospitality and food services, financial services, non-profits, education, gaming, construction, tribal governments, energy, and healthcare, and in the functional areas of human resources, finance and accounting, operations, executive management, customer service, and administration.

Silas holds the SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) designation from SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the SPHR (Senior Professional of Human Resources) from HRCI, the Human Resource Certification Institute. He is also an American Staffing Association designated CSP (Certified Staffing Professional) and holds the PRC, CIR, ACIR, CSSR, and CDR certifications from AIRS, the global leader in recruitment training. Silas has a Master’s Degree in Eastern Philosophy and holds a GB-98 Commercial & Residential General Contracting license and owns New Mexico Labor Co, a staffing agency for general laborers and skilled trades.

Silas is passionate about giving back to his community.  He is currently the Board Chair for the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and also helping to address Santa Fe’s acute housing shortage through involvement with the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition. His past volunteer positions include Past President of Rotary Club of Santa Fe Centro, Past President of the Northern New Mexico Human Resources Association, and Commissioner for the City of Santa Fe’s Community Development Commission.

Silas interests are infinite.  A life-long learner and athlete, he can usually be found reading or running.  Yes, the rumors are true; Silas has completed several 50-mile races and one 100-mile race. He also enjoys spending time with his family, especially his 9-year-old daughter.

Born and raised in New Mexico, Melissa Sanchez primarily grew up in Deming New Mexico and lived between Santa Fe and Albuquerque before making Santa Fe her home in 2009.  Melissa held the position of bartender and hotel night auditor before joining Paychex as a Junior Payroll Specialist in 2008.  She completed their self-study program and was promoted to Senior Payroll Specialist a year later.  She was responsible for processing payroll for 300+ clients in their California market.  Over the next 9 years with Paychex, Melissa became a certified mentor, Wellness Champion, Change of Entity Coordinator, and acting Client Service Supervisor.  Melissa met her husband, a Santa Fean, in 2009.  He brought her back to the City Different and they had a beautiful son together in 2010.

Melissa left Paychex to join The Hire Firm family in October of 2017 as our Bookkeeper. Outside of her day job, Melissa is also a talented crocheter who runs Maloosa, her own small crochet business.  She is a one-woman crochet machine whose wares can be found in her Etsy shop.  She has also had several patterns published in Happily Hooked Magazine.

Melissa is currently pursuing an accounting degree at Santa Fe Community College.