Rebecca Martin

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Rebecca Martin, who abruptly resigned April 1 as president and CEO of the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber of Commerce, is moving across the country to take on a similar position that will bring her closer to family.

Martin on May 1 is to become president and CEO of the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce in Federal Way, Wash., according to a news release by that chamber.

“My children live here, I love the Northwest and I am excited about the opportunities here,” Martin said in the release Friday.

She did not respond to messages from the Butler Eagle about her new position.

Martin again will follow a retiring chamber leader when she takes over from Patricia Mullen, the chamber's president and CEO.

When Martin took over at the Pittsburgh North chamber, then called THE CHAMBER of Commerce, in February 2013, she followed Susan Balla, who retired after leading the chamber since January 2010.

In an interview, Mullen said the Federal Way chamber has about 600 members and covers a “very robust area” of Washington. By comparison, the Pittsburgh North chamber has about 1,000 members.

Tax records from 2011, the most recent available, show the Federal Way chamber had a total revenue of about $620,000 with assets of about $44,000. The Pittsburgh North Chamber's revenue during the same time was about $427,000, with assets of about $205,000.

Mullen would not comment on other personal information about Martin, but Jim Boltz, board chairman of the Pittsburgh North chamber, said Martin has children who live in Washington.

According to the release, the Federal Way chamber underwent a national search to hire Martin. Her experience in economic development, tourism, small business and education were cited as some of the reasons she was selected.

Dan Shea, the Federal Way chamber's board chairman, said in the release, “The search committee conducted an exhaustive review of candidates to ensure we had a professional leader to support the steady growth of opportunity for our membership. It was an outstanding group of candidates and Becca clearly emerged as the top choice.”

Bob Roegner, a Federal Way chamber board member and member of the search committee, said in an e-mail the organization was looking for a leader who understands regional and local issues, the chamber business, and how to relate to public officials.

Federal Way is Washington's 10th largest city, with about 90,000 residents. It is on the southern side of the Puget sound and is south of Seattle and north of Tacoma.

Roegner said the location puts the chamber in between two of the state's major ports that trade with Asia.

“Becca was the strongest candidate from a very competitive group,” he said. “We also were delighted with her enthusiastic approach.”

He said he thought her children living in the area had some influence on her interest in the position.

Martin resigned without notice from the Pittsburgh North Chamber after leading it for about 14 months.

Before that chamber, Martin was senior vice president of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce in Austin, Texas, for nearly three years.