Your Search Begins With Us

Pamela Hickory Esterson

Pamela Hickory Esterson is a Founding Partner of Amity Search Partners, bringing more than three decades of experience across private equity and investment management. She began her career as an investment professional before transitioning into advising top alternative-asset firms on recruiting and talent strategy.

Prior to founding Amity, Pam spent four years at Prudential Capital Group in New York, where she executed senior debt and mezzanine financings and led the firm’s MBA recruiting efforts. She began her finance career at Allied Capital in Washington, D.C.

Pam earned her B.A. in Political Science from Trinity College and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Raised in a U.S. Air Force family, she now resides in Palm Beach, Florida.

Susanna Nichols

Susanna is a Founding Partner of Amity Search Partners. With over three decades of experience in the private equity and investment management space – initially as an investment professional and subsequently as an advisor, Susanna counsels alternative-asset firms on their recruiting and talent needs. Prior to launching her recruiting career, Susanna was a Vice President at J.H. Whitney & Co. in the Mezzanine Investment Group. Susanna also has previous corporate finance and banking experience with Brown Brothers Harriman, NBD and Irving Trust. Susanna graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Susanna lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Omaira Brightman

Omaira joined Amity Search Partners in our San Francisco office in 2012 and is a Partner currently based in Austin. Omaira has over 15 years of experience in finance and private equity – initially as an investment banker and private equity investor and subsequently as a recruiter, where she executes private equity, hedge fund, and asset manager searches at all seniority levels. Prior to joining Amity, Omaira was an investment professional at two firms, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Kohlberg & Company. During her tenure at THL and Kohlberg, Omaira helped evaluate, execute and monitor investments in the business services, consumer/retail, healthcare, manufacturing and publishing industries. She began her career as an investment banking analyst in the industrial group at Lehman Brothers in New York. At Lehman, in addition to serving as the analyst team leader for Duke recruiting and serving on firm outreach programs to business schools and SEO groups, Omaira led multiple modules for Lehman's U.S. analyst and associate training. Omaira graduated from Duke University with a B.S.E. double-major in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering and a Certificate in Markets and Management Studies. Omaira grew up in Miami Beach, Florida and is originally from Venezuela. Omaira is fluent in Spanish.

Luci Albertson

Luci Albertson joined Amity Search Partners in 2026 and is a Project Coordinator currently based in Austin. Luci brings a strong foundation in executive support and recruiting. She previously served as an Executive Assistant at Deerfield Management, following her experience as a recruiter at Northbound Executive Search. Luci received a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology and an M.S. in Business Management from Fairfield University. Luci is originally from Austin, Texas.

Eliza Altman

Eliza joined Amity Search Partners in 2024 as an Associate in our New York office.  In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including research, candidate sourcing and communication, and scheduling. She received a B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in Management and Leadership from Boston College.  Eliza is an alumna of Greenwich Academy and is originally from Bedford, New York.

Katherine Cretella

Katherine joined Amity Search Partners in 2021 as an Associate and is currently a Senior Associate in our New York office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including candidate evaluation, search implementation, and communication. She received a B.A. in English from College of the Holy Cross. Katherine is originally from Medfield, Massachusetts.

Maggie Caputi

Maggie joined Amity Search Partners in 2018 and is a Principal in our New York office after spending two years in our San Francisco office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including research, candidate sourcing and evaluation and client communication. Previously, Maggie worked in account management at Wayfair, a home goods e-commerce company based in Boston. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Middlebury College, where she was a member of the women’s varsity lacrosse team. Maggie is an alumna of Holderness School and is originally from Brunswick, Maine.

Dominique Elias

Dominique joined Amity Search Partners in 2024 and is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager in our New York office.  In this role, Dominique supports Amity’s Founding Partners and oversees office management at the firm’s headquarters in New York.  With a background in assisting C-Suite executives and managing office affairs, Dominique brings a wealth of experience to her role.  She received her B.S. in Mass Communications from Frostburg State University.  Dominique is originally from Washington, D.C.

Hilary Hurley

Hilary joined Amity Search Partners in 2013 and is a Managing Director in our New York office. She has experience working on a range of sectors, including consumer, healthcare, industrials, and TMT, and has led a variety of engagements across platforms, including private equity funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, corporates, and family offices. Hilary has experience working on both Amity’s senior level mandates as well as pre-MBA searches. She was named as one of the rising stars of Wall Street headhunting by Business Insider in 2018. Hilary received an A.B. in History from Princeton University and is an alumna of Bryn Mawr School. Hilary is originally from Baltimore, Maryland.

Risa Kaplan

Risa joined Amity Search Partners in 2020 and is a Managing Director splitting her time between our New York and South Florida offices. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including candidate evaluation, search implementation, and client management. Previously, Risa worked as a TV news reporter and communications professional, most recently as the Director of Communications for a fraternal organization. She received a Bachelor of Journalism with a minor in Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin. Risa is originally from Parkland, Florida.

Audrey O’Byrne

Audrey joined Amity Search Partners in 2020 after being a summer intern and is currently a Senior Associate in our New York office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including candidate evaluation, search implementation, and communication. She received a B.A. in Political Science from Trinity College and is an alumna of Convent of the Sacred Heart. Audrey is originally from New York City.

Maggie Sachvie

Maggie joined Amity Search Partners in 2014 and is a Managing Director in our New York office. In addition to private equity searches, she has worked on many of Amity’s credit, hedge fund, growth/venture, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and corporate mandates across a range of sectors including consumer, healthcare, industrials, and TMT. Maggie has experience working on both Amity’s senior level mandates as well as pre-MBA searches. She received a B.S. in Media Communications from Cornell University and was captain of the women’s varsity squash team. Maggie is an alumna of Choate Rosemary Hall and is originally from Locust Valley, New York.

Weatherly Saunders

Weatherly joined Amity Search Partners in 2018 and is a Vice President in our New York office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including research, candidate sourcing and communication, and scheduling. She received a B.A. in History from Trinity College and is an alumna of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Weatherly is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Marian Skelly

Marian joined Amity Search Partners in 2021 and is a Managing Director in our San Francisco office. Marian has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, with a focus on investor relations and operations. Prior to joining Amity, Marian was a Vice President of Investor Relations at Third Point, an institutional investment manager that employs an event-driven, opportunistic strategy. From 2016 to 2018, Marian was an Investor Relations Associate at Archer Capital Management, an event-driven fund, where she led the operational due diligence effort for the firm. She began her career at Oppenheimer & Co. in the Private Equity and Special Investments group, where she managed the day-to-day investor operations of various proprietary funds including an activist fund of funds, a solar-focused fund, a peer-to-peer lending focused fund, and three real estate funds. Marian received a B.A. in History from Trinity College and is an alumna of Kent School. Marian is originally from Westchester County, New York.

Kemp White

Kemp joined Amity Search Partners in 2025 as an Associate in our New York office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including research, candidate sourcing and communication, and scheduling. Previously, Kemp worked in investment banking at Harris Williams in the Transportation & Logistics Group. She received a BCom in Finance from UVA McIntire School of Commerce. Kemp is an alumna of Charlotte Latin School and is originally from Charlotte, NC.

Isabelle Yonce

Isabelle joined Amity Search Partners in 2023 after being a summer intern and is currently a Senior Associate in our New York office. In this role, she is actively involved in all aspects of search execution including research, candidate sourcing and communication, and scheduling. She received a B.A. in Art History from Trinity College. Isabelle is an alumna of St. Paul’s School and is originally from South Hamilton, Massachusetts.