Martha K. Wilson

Martha Wilson provides a wide variety of services and guidance to all levels of staff in the California public sector, specializing in County Government.

After a successful career in mortgage banking, Martha started working in California’s public sector as a Deputy County Counsel for the County of Yuba in March 1998. In January 2007 she accepted the position of Personnel Director/Risk Manager for that County where she remained until her retirement in April 2015. In her tenure with Yuba County, she managed challenging issues while maintaining strong working relationships with administrators, managers, employees and union representatives. Examples of her work include reorganization of the Personnel Department into the Human Resources and Organizational Services Department, reductions in work force and costs of services, concession bargaining, development of the County Strategic Plan, and the Yuba Academy, which is an employee development and executive leadership series. Martha is a seasoned member of the MRG investigative team and has conducted multiple investigations for various agencies, including claims of harassment, discrimination, and allegations of employee misconduct involving officers and administrators.

Martha has managed disciplinary and grievance processes and developed labor strategies with executive and elected officials throughout County government. She has experience in preparing for negotiations and has negotiated at the bargaining table. She has an in-depth knowledge of the budget process and is an expert in human resources functions, including recruitment and retention, on-boarding, classification and compensation, discipline, training development and delivery, benefits, risk management, and disaster preparedness and response.

In addition to her employment with the County of Yuba, Martha has been an adjunct faculty member for 30 years at California State University, Chico, teaching in the Communication Arts and Sciences Department. Martha also teaches Civil Procedure at Cal Northern School of Law in Chico, California, where she is the Chair of the Faculty Senate and the Director of Institutional Research.

Martha received her Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from Cal Northern School of Law, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from the University of Vermont. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators, and is trained in Advanced Mediation Practice through Pepperdine University’s School of Law Institute for Dispute Resolution.