Meet Our Team
Vera Burdt – Founder, Root & Branch
Vera Burdt has a distinctive combination of strategic acumen and human insight into organizational transformation. Her path to founding Root & Branch was forged through decades of leading complex change across global technology and financial services—experiences that taught her that even the most sophisticated systems fail when they don’t align with how people actually work.
As head of DST Systems’ technology organization in Bangkok, Vera transformed the division into a thriving, self-directed operation—quadrupling the workforce, implementing new methodologies, and cultivating local leadership talent. This cross-cultural work revealed a lasting truth: successful transformation isn’t about imposing frameworks, it’s about understanding how people naturally organize, communicate, and adapt.
Her unique background in Biology and Sociology, combined with years of executive leadership, gives her an exceptional lens into the human dynamics beneath every process, decision, and resistance point. At Root & Branch, Vera partners with mission-driven organizations ready to move beyond firefighting into sustainable flow. Her methodology—Root, Reveal, Realign, Run, Relinquish—reflects decades of learning that lasting change happens when external systems and internal realities finally align.
Core Philosophy: “Every reaction has a reason. Resistance isn’t a problem—it’s a signal. Our job is to listen, not push it aside.”
Amy brings three decades of experience turning complexity into clarity. At DST Systems, she rose through leadership to oversee regulatory services for more than 200 clients—building infrastructure that scaled across teams, tools, and technology. She guided multi-year initiatives in compliance, tax reporting, and risk management, expanding the division while strengthening both delivery and culture.
Her expertise lies in designing systems that serve the work rather than constrain it. From high-stakes regulatory projects to operational frameworks that hold fast under change, Amy has built a reputation for aligning moving parts without losing sight of what matters most.
At Root & Branch, she partners with mission-driven organizations to create structure without rigidity. Whether navigating legacy constraints or shaping new processes, Amy brings discernment and steadiness, helping leaders find flow in the midst of complexity.
Amy is based in Kansas City, where she brings the same clarity and groundedness to her family life and relationships that she brings to her work.
Core Philosophy: “Do or do not. There is no try.” - Yoda