About Us
Leadership Team
We work with leaders to help them self-reflect and work with their employees so all can achieve their goals and desires. Our team consists of deeply experienced executive coaches, leadership facilitators, and trainers who share values and passions and work to support leaders enabling them to inspire and focus on mission driven work. The SmartfulWorks team has worked globally with Fortune 1000 companies for decades. Many have led teams and organizations with P&Ls, metrics, and goals. We know the challenges and the feeling of success experienced inside of organizations.

Jenn Giordano, MA, Ed. M.
Jenn is passionate about helping people develop the skills they need to succeed in the future workplace. Jenn’s approach goes well beyond just the traditional training and skill building. Her unique approach to learning comes from her own experience in large, complex organizations, coupled with an unparalleled ability to connect with her audience.
As an executive coach, Jenn is able to create an open and participative learning environment where clients find themselves engaged in what feels more like a discussion than a traditional training. Her style weaves humor, storytelling, inquiry, and skills practice with in-the-moment feedback.
Jenn Giordano, M.A., Ed.M., ACC
SmartfulWorks Founder
Jenn has over a decade of coaching and facilitation experience. She worked internally at Fortune 500 companies and then launched her coaching and training practice in 2009. Jenn supports companies during culture and organizational change, whether due to growth, external influences, post-merger integration, regulatory changes, or restructuring. She is skilled at assessing the needs of the employees and working with leaders to ensure they are communicating and motivating teams towards a shared goal while maintaining clear communication and building a solid corporate culture.
Jenn has built leadership and team programs to align employees with the organizational vision, helping them meet customer needs and drive sales. She has also been a TEDx presentations skills coach to empower individuals to communicate effectively with confidence.
Her professional background, coupled with her double Master’s in counseling and organizational psychology from Columbia University and her undergraduate degree in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University, has given her deep executive and team development skills.

Jade Frieberg
Jade Frieberg is the Administrative Assistant for SmartfulWorks. With over 10+years of experience in supporting high-level executives, business owners and working along side of hundreds of individuals, Jade understands the importance of focusing on each clients’ unique aspirations. Those who best know Jade would describe her as a planner, an efficiency fanatic, perfectionist and perhaps a little OCD, but behind all that is just a professional, career driven, hard worker who believes that the best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. Jade’s mission is to relieve stress for those overwhelmed by creating processes and getting things done that help bring peace of mind and focus back to what is most important.
Jade now resides in Richmond Hill, Georgia. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, organizing, going to the beach and a good bottle of vino!
Educational Background
• Professional Organizer from the QC Design School
• BS in Event Management from the University of Central Florida
Team Members

Audrey Yi
Cary, NC
Audrey Yi
Leadership Development Coach and Facilitator
Audrey is a leadership development coach and facilitator passionate about helping individuals and organizations achieve their full potential and operate at their best sustainably. She focuses on creating and enabling conscious and courageous leaders who can empower themselves, their teams, and their organizations to thrive professionally and personally.
Professional Affiliations
Audrey’s clients range a broad spectrum of functions, industries, and experience – from entrepreneurs to mid-to-senior leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Industries include Strategy Consulting, Education, Market Research, Data and Measurement, Life Sciences/BioTech, Non-Profit Sector, Hospitality, Technology, etc.
She is certified in various 360s, Myers-Briggs Indicator®, WorkPlace Big 5 Profile™, and Insights Discovery®. Audrey is also qualified to deliver other psychometric instruments, including FIRO-B® and FIRO Business.
Educational Background
- Certified Professional Co-Active Coach from Co-Active Training Institute, ACC
- MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering/BA in Economics from Rice University
Audrey lives in Cary, NC, with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, you will find her enjoying the outdoors – hiking with her family, playing tennis, and traveling to the mountains to ski during the winter.

Barry Coleman
Washington DC
Barry Coleman, MSOD, ACC
Background
Barry Coleman is an Organization Development consultant specializing in training, design and facilitation, coaching, diversity and inclusion management, and leadership development. Barry has more than 25 years of experience and has earned an excellent reputation as a strategic human capital professional. Barry is ICF (International Coach Federation) credentialed Leadership/Executive Coach (ACC level). He has experience in various industries, including government, publishing, financial services, insurance, and labor unions. Having been in multiple positions throughout his career has enabled him to work collaboratively and empathetically with leaders he coaches.
Coaching Approach
Barry’s coaching approach is client-centered with a systems lens and structured to attain measurable results. Barry aims to help individuals unleash their untapped potential to achieve relevant goals and objectives. He is a strategic coach who offers practical applications to help overcome both simple and complex organizational challenges.
His passion is working with all levels of leadership to develop a growth mindset for success. Barry takes pride in developing mutually respectful and holistic relationships with coaching clients through probing and provocative questions, insightful feedback, and reframing. Many of his coaching clients have experienced consistent, long-lasting success and recognition for their performance.
Certifications
- International Coach Federation, ACC
- Center for Creative Leadership, Benchmarks® 360
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- DiSC®
- Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI)
- EQ 2.0 by TalentSmart
- Workplace Big Five Profile
- Influencing Skills Profile
Education
M.S., Organizational Development, American University/NTL
Leadership Coaching certification, Georgetown University
B.S., Advertising, Pennsylvania State University

Brian Ogawa
Eagle, CO
Brian K Ogawa
Professional Credentials
Brian has worked as an executive coach, organizational development consultant, and facilitator for over 25 years. He is a Hudson Institute of Coaching certified coach and holds certifications in The Predictive Index, PI Worldwide Customer Focused Selling, and Vail Leadership Institute, “Inside First” Leadership Training.
Experience
Brian Ogawa is passionate about developing leaders at all levels. He has worked with Associates, Managers, Directors, Senior Managers, Managing Directors, and CEOs in professional services, advertising, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, insurance, banking industries, and non-profit organizations. His clients include PwC, FTI Consulting, NY Life, MasterCard, CohnResznick, Colorado Bioscience Association, Mosaic Biosciences, Ph.D., Harrison and Star, Element79, Serino-Coyne, Aria Technologies, Huskvarna, BTD Manufacturing, Chevrolet, Omnicom, Daichi Sankyo, 3M, TaylorMade. Besides coaching individuals and facilitating programs for over 25 years, he also designs and customizes programs in many areas of professional development, both for in-person and virtual training.
Expertise
- Training and facilitation of groups ranging from 4-450
- Individual Executive and Transition Coaching from Associate through C-Suite levels
- Integrating and on-boarding into complex professional cultures
- Course design and development
- Diversity and Inclusion
Examples of Training Facilitation Topics
- Communication Skills
- Consultative Sales
- Managing Multiple Priorities
- Personal Brand
- Diversity and Unconscious Bias
- Coaching Skills
- Meeting and Facilitation Skills
- Networking Skills
- Presentation Skills
- Negotiation Skills
- Leadership Development
- Conflict Management
- Virtual Teams

Cassi Christiansen
Bend, Oregon
Cassi Christiansen, MCC, PMC, CDTLF
Cassi has been coaching and developing leaders for over 25 years, and her work spans the globe, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe & the Middle East. She is passionate about creating strong, authentic leaders who whole-heartedly impact, influence, and inspire others.
Whether through individual coaching, group facilitation, or multi-day experiential leadership programs, Cassi is masterful at creating the space for people to learn, grow and evolve their leadership to the next level. She works with leaders in academia, to the Big-4, to global non-profits, to healthcare, to the US Government, and everything in-between. Rather than focusing on becoming an industry expert, she has crafted her skills to become an expert on creating extraordinary leaders. Her 15 years of international work have only solidified her understanding and commitment to the power of diversity, cultural awareness, and global mindset.
Cassi is honored to have been selected and trained directly by Brené Brown to become a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator. She is a Master Certified Coach (MCC), which is the highest level of coach credentialing globally, as well as Board Certified (BCC). She is a certified Professional Mentor Coach and has mentored and taught hundreds of coaches. Her work has been featured in the NY Times, Bloomberg Business & The Huffington Post.

C. Paige Hinkson
Stowe, VT
C. Paige Hinkson, PCC
Professional Credentials
Paige has over 25 years of experience as a management consultant, executive coach, instructional designer, and experiential learning facilitator. She works with leaders around the globe to navigate rapidly changing environments and generate business results while integrating their personal and professional lives to maximize their effectiveness. Paige earned the nickname “The Velvet Hammer” for her ability to help the most challenging executives hear difficult, constructive feedback and still have them leave with a smile on their faces. Her sophisticated systems thinking ensures that she provides an integrated solution with practical value across her clients’ lives. Her philosophy is Results, including personal effectiveness, leadership skills and abilities, teamwork, communications, performance, and improved working relationships.
Paige is an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach and received her coaching certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching. She is also certified in Hogan L1 and L2, HBDI, MBTI & CSI Assessments. Paige earned her Certificado de Negocios in Seville, Spain, is fluent in Spanish, and dedicates a portion of her work time to helping women-owned businesses in developing countries succeed.
Paige has developed an expertise in applied neuroplasticity and is helping her corporate clients leverage an understanding of how the brain works, to be more effective leaders, to build resilience, and to manage stress, energy, and focus through a portfolio of exercises and tools in four areas: physical, mental, emotional, and social.

Crystal Fazal
Chicago, IL
Crystal Fazal
As an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Crystal Fazal has spent the past nine years assisting undergraduate and MBA candidates in mastering their communication skills. She works with her students through fun and engaging demonstrations to manage anxiety, personal branding, speak confidently and deliver well-organized presentations. Through her hard work, she has received DePaul’s “Woman of Substance” award not only once but twice. Crystal is also the proud recipient of DePaul’s “Spirit of Action” honor and is a top-rated Marketing Communications Professor. Additionally, she has consulted with high-profile companies such as Google, United Airlines, William Blair, and Walgreens on effective communication strategies.
Prior to teaching and consulting, Crystal Fazal gained valuable corporate experience working with two Fortune 100 corporations: The Coca-Cola Company and MillerCoors. As a senior-level executive, she collaborated with colleagues to strategically plan and execute business goals.
In her spare time, Crystal assists with the marketing of her family’s franchise businesses: Subway, Bar Louie, Exxon/Mobil, and Dunkin Donuts. She has been featured on WGN Radio, Fox 32 News, and the Chicago local TV show, “Windy City Live”.
She holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. She enjoys traveling, exercising, staying current on all news stories, and spending time with her husband and family in Chicago, IL.

Debbie Daniels
Seattle, WA
Debbie Daniels, MSW, PCC
Debbie Daniels is a dynamic leadership coach and trainer with a well-earned reputation for inspiring powerful personal and professional growth, with an emphasis on helping people effectively move through intentional as well as unexpected transitions. Debbie can make anyone in her company feel immediately comfortable with her invitational tone and intent ear.
Her effectiveness is the culmination of over 30 years of executive coaching and organizational development experience. In addition to one-on-one coaching, Debbie’s work with individuals and groups encompasses the domains of leadership, mastery, capacity building, and life and career design. Her client roster includes executives and leaders from corporate business, finance, law, higher education, government, academia, non-profits, and the arts. Also, she applies her skills to helping high-net-worth families navigate the delicate process of wealth transfer and purpose in the world. Her work builds upon her philosophy that people are most effective when they are best able to express themselves authentically and fully in their lives and careers and use their gifts, talents, and competencies to make significant life contributions.
Debbie’s academic preparation includes a master’s in social work specializing in group dynamics and therapy and post-graduate credentialing in counseling, personal development, and coaching. Debbie has achieved three coaching certifications through the International Coaching Federation, The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, the Strozzi Institute. She also holds advanced credentialing from the National Association of Social Work.

Jeffrey Parsons
Chicago, IL
Jeffrey Parsons
Jeffrey’s dynamic approach to leadership & personal development is demonstrated in his 26 years as a speaker, global facilitator & executive coach. Jeffrey integrates his experiences to partner with all-level leaders to affect personal and professional change within themselves, their leadership, and their organizations. Today, Jeffrey works with high-performing organizations that want to invest in leaders committed to their high performance while driving success in today’s continually changing workplace. One of his unique attributes is his recognized knowledge and understanding of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs, generational differences, and inclusion within today’s workplace and leadership styles.
After 16 years of achieving success inside corporate America, he launched IGC & Associates, Inc.; an agile consulting firm focused on leadership and organizational development. Jeffrey has supported a range of industries, including financial services, education/higher education, healthcare, government, pharmaceutical, professional services, retail, and technology. His international experience spans the globe and includes team training, leadership development in Asia, Canada, England, India, Mexico, South America, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE – Abu Dhabi).
Jeffrey’s passion is inspiring while promotes growth and personal change through real-time experiences.

Krysia Waldron
Atlanta, GA
Krysia Waldron, PhD
What I value most is stripping away the nonessential elements, so my clients can dive deeper into focusing on what is truly important, valuable, and even beautiful at the core of their lives and work.
Coaching Background and Credentials
As a social-organizational psychologist, Krysia supports leaders’ exceptional performance amidst complex team and system dynamics, market demands, and stakeholder expectations. She has worked with more than one thousand leaders working in diverse organizations: small, family-owned businesses to global, private-equity-funded enterprises, schools, non-profits, and hospitals.
Krysia’s credentials include a Ph.D. and M.A. from Emory University and an M.A. from Columbia University, in addition to assessment certifications and post-graduate training.
Fine-Tuning Leadership Skills Within the Context of Complex Dynamics
My focus on revealing the hidden forces shaping behavior and motivation brings my clients clarity and agency, encouraging leaders’ personal development and increasing sustained performance across the organization. The underlying causes of sub-optimal outcomes at an individual or a team level are often counterintuitive; business leaders can’t expect to recognize these dynamics without a partner trained in exposing human puzzles. My work encourages your instinct, broadens your perspective, and develops your skill to positively influence the interpersonal challenges every leader must not only face but transcend.

Melissa Hammer
Chicago, IL
Melissa Hammer, PCC
Professional Credentials
Melissa coaches executives, leaders, and managers seeking to excel in their careers and be their best selves, both in and outside of work. She has over 15 years of experience designing and facilitating leadership programs, coaching individuals, and teams, and managing worldwide projects–creating a track record of profound growth and change for her clients. Melissa collaborates with her clients with curiosity and honesty to build their skills and awareness to accomplish their goals.
Experience
Melissa has been an executive coach, trainer, curriculum designer, and facilitator for leading companies such as PwC, Bain Capital, Cengage Learning, Pfizer, Chartis Insurance, Berkeley Research, and Chevrolet. Melissa has partnered with clients in the professional services, consumer products and services, finance, insurance, and higher education industries. She uses various tools such as the Integrative Enneagram (iEq9), Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Social Styles, Emotional Intelligence (EQi 2.0), Strength Deployment Indicator (SDI), and Herrmann-Brain Dominance Inventory (HBDI) to help individuals and teams understand and value differences. Melissa leverages her business background and continual growth and learning to support her client’s focus towards their organizational and individual goals.
Expertise
- Training and facilitation of groups ranging from 4 -300 participants
- Executive Coaching and feedback of employees early in career through the C-Suite
- Curriculum, program, and course design and development
- Advanced Women’s Leadership

Ryan Soares
Fresno, CA
Ryan Soares, M.S.
Leadership Consultant & Challenge Course Director
Ryan brings over 20 years of experience facilitating and coaching high level organizations and leaders from around the world. He believes nothing is real until it is experienced and has spent his leadership development career designing and delivering programs that help bring content to life through purposeful experiences.
Whether it is Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead™, a program on diversity in the workplace, or how to become a more effective leader through MBTI, or a virtual experiencial program on collaboration and trust, Ryan brings a calm yet energetic approach to learning that clients appreciate and enjoy. His work with Dare to Lead™ pushes the boundaries and gives clients a simple, actionable, and powerful way to live out the work. His unique perspective, experiences, and commitment to learning by doing, guides his engaging and interactive facilitation.
He brings over two decades of experience facilitating experiencial and developmental programs focused around leadership, communication, trust and problem solving in a variety of environments from guiding clients through the cliffs and rivers of Yosemite, to challenge courses, to boardrooms and conference centers. His expertise is creating and utilizing unconventional settings to facilitate opportunities for useful and meaningful change that build trust from within the person and with others. He creates the space for people to do more than they’ve dared to imagine and challenges them to think differently, lead differently and see themselves differently all while reminding them of what is possible once they get out of their own way.
Ryan is dedicated to providing exceptional client service, especially in the virtual space. He understands that virtual experiences must be engaging and interactive to drive meaningful conversations, connections, and collaboration. Recently, Ryan has focused on designing and delivering virtual experiences that are far from the average stale and boring Zoom call. He skillfully conceives and designs these experiences to be engaging and kinesthetic, ensuring that his clients achieve their outcomes and objectives. Ryan is commitment to providing exceptional client services ensures that his clients are beyond satisfied with his work and continue to seek his expertise in the future.
Past Experience
Ryan has long history of working in both the U.S and in Europe with executives and professionals from industries like pharma, banking, engineering, military, all the way to media networks. A few high-level client organization examples include Unum, Bechtel, ESPN,Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, IBEAR at USC, ExxonMobil, Schneider Electric, Goodyear, Purina, Leidos, McDermott, Smiths, Bank of America, Edwards Jones, Kite Pharma, EA Sports, Grundfos, Columbia Bank, Abbvie, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Astellas Pharma.
Ryan has a BA in Finance and received his master’s in Experiential Education from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Calpoly), is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), is a certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) trainer and is Dare to Lead™ trained. His past research and writing have focused on the role risk plays in cohesion and teamwork.

Starla Sireno
New York, NY
Starla Sirerno
Starla Sireno brings over 15 years of corporate, non-profit, and government experience to her role as trainer and executive coach. Starla complements her formal training with a multi-dimensional perspective from her background in portfolio management, product development, domestic and global marketing initiatives, and strategic client service to Fortune 100 clients.
Her experience within large, complex organizations enables her to design and deliver practical and accessible leadership development programs. Starla has developed customized training solutions, facilitated strategic planning, and coached executives from both the for-profit as well as non-profit sectors, such as Apple, Genentech, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Financial Engines, Cisco, Sun, Gap, Wells Fargo, Waste Management, Novartis, Kaiser, Digg, Acclarent, Blackrock, and the California Automobile Association.
With a Master’s in International Economics and Finance from the George Washington University, Starla built her career at Fannie Mae, Charles Schwab, and Barclays Global Investors on the back of her ability to think strategically and drive tactical execution. She couples her business experience with a coaching certification from the Hudson Institute and almost a decade of running a coaching and training firm; these enable her to connect with people and organizations and build strong and lasting relationships.
Starla is a highly regarded speaker featured at conferences nationwide and is regularly featured in various media, including the Fine Living Network, CBS Interactive, View from the Bay, the San Francisco Chronicle, and online publications including Entrepreneur.com. Professional memberships include the International Coach Federation and the American Society for Training and Development.

Tina Jackson
San Francisco, CA
Tina Jackson, M.A., M.C.C.
Tina is a dynamic facilitator, trainer, and executive coach who helps clients gain the confidence and skill to communicate, motivate and lead with significant impact. She co-developed the Courageous Conversations curriculum, which helps clients learn and practice powerful, effective ways to speak the truth to colleagues in ways that can be heard.
Tina has a keen sense of how to design and conduct programs that are engaging, relevant, and ‘sticky.’ Whether addressing a room of 8 or over 300, face-to-face or virtually, Tina makes magic happen. She leverages examples and storytelling and makes the learning environment more impactful by leveraging her warmth, wisdom, curiosity, and intuitive sense of design. Individuals leave motivated to take action.
As an ICF-certified Master Coach, she serves as a trusted thought partner. Clients value her courage to give robust feedback and her ability to move from deep conversation to laughter. She leverages her coaching skills with clients one-on-one and when facilitating dialogue sessions with teams and dyads.
She is the co-author of A Practical Guide to Working with Diversity and has designed programs and authored materials for over 50 courses. Tina holds an M.A. in Organization Development from the Fielding University and is a graduate of the Hudson Institute’s Master Coach Program. She holds certifications in the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, BarOn’s Emotional Quotient Inventory, Situational Leadership, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Strength Deployment Inventory.

DeLisa Alexander
Raleigh, NC
DeLisa Alexander, JD, MBA
DeLisa Alexander is an accomplished executive leader, board director, and leadership coach, bringing more than 25 years of unique experience in technology company leadership, with notable contributions across board governance, shareholder value creation, culture building, and open leadership. Most of DeLisa’s career has focused on scaling, evolving, and leading employee experience at Red Hat’s multibillion-dollar open-source enterprise technology company (NYSE: RHT). DeLisa’s earlier career experience includes corporate, technology licensing, and transaction law.
In addition to board service with five organizations (two venture capital firms and three nonprofits), DeLisa also devotes time to her coaching and advisory practice that serves executive leaders of fast-growing technology companies and businesses undergoing digital transformation. DeLisa uses a laser-focused coaching approach that helps her clients realize their leadership potential.

Corey Graham
Charlotte, NC
Corey Graham, ACC, CMC, CPC
Professional Credentials
Corey’s coaching engagements are thought-provoking, mission-driven, and focus on sustainable change. He understands the leadership challenges and opportunities organizations face today through his experience leading operations and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Clients describe Corey as thoughtful, curious, and insightful and as someone who quickly adapts to their personality and learning style. Corey creates space for clients to investigate limiting beliefs, dissect challenges, and create their plan for leadership growth.
- Executive Coach and Leadership Acceleration Facilitator, Bravanti
- M.A.D.E. To Lead: Co-Founder and Executive Coach
- Program Operations Lead, New Leaders
- Field Sales, Greater Carolina Group
Coaching Experience
- Led diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for senior-level clients, Set goals, and designed strategies to engage, develop, and retain diverse talent.
- Designed and facilitated leadership development programs for various global and national company leaders, using Positive Intelligence, StrengthsFinder®, and Intercultural Development Inventory®.
- Led and managed consulting engagements focused on vision setting, operations/strategic planning, and talent strategy for public sector clients.
Education and Credentials
- BS, Business Management, UNC Charlotte
- Associate Certified Coach (ACC), International Coaching Federation
- Certified Master Coach (CMC); Center for Coaching Certification
- Certified Professional Coach (CPC); Center for Coaching Certification
- Certified Korn Ferry Leadership Architect & 360 Masterclass
- Trained Co-Active Coach, Co-Active Training Institute
- Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator
- Positive Intelligence for Coaches; Positive Intelligence, Inc.

Sharma Graham
Charlotte, NC
Sharma S. Graham, PCC
Professional Credentials
Sharma S. Graham is a leadership and executive coach, facilitator, and consultant. She works one-on-one with clients from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits, helping professionals establish or evolve their leadership style, increase effectiveness, and lead with greater influence and impact.
Sharma holds a Master’s degree from the University of Central Florida and is certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is also a Certified Leadership and Talent Management Coach through the Workplace Coach Institute, a Certified Professional Coach through the Center for Coaching Certification, a certified qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and a Human Capital Strategist through the Human Capital Institute. She has completed the core curriculum coursework of Co-Active Coaching through the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI) and is trained in Positive Intelligence. Sharma is also a member of the International Coach Federation and a past member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
Experience
Sharma’s career spans external affairs, human capital management, and talent development. She started her career at Golin, a global marketing and public relations agency. From there, she went on to work for the City of Chicago, leading the public relations efforts for the city’s booming tourism industry. Over time, her focus became centered around talent development. Before co-founding M.A.D.E. To Lead in 2013, Sharma served as a managing director on Teach For America’s national human capital team. She was an internal leadership and management coach and a strategic advisor on talent and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

Doug Hensch
Ashburn, VA
Doug Hensch, MEd, MAOM, ACC
Professional Credentials
Doug Hensch brings a wealth of experience and passion to the work he provides for his clients. His philosophy is simple: Set meaningful goals. Identify your strengths. Work in them regularly.
Experience
Doug has touched the lives of business executives, managers, and individual contributors, with innovative coaching, engaging workshops, and thought-provoking consulting. Dr. Martin Seligman, Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the ‘father of Positive Psychology,’ referred to Doug as one of his “most talented young colleagues.”
His expertise is in coaching, facilitation, instructional design, and consulting. He has created workshops that focus on resilience, strengths, well-being, and goals. In addition, Doug has been called upon to lead courses designed by his clients in the areas of consulting skills, presentations, conversations, and networking.
As an executive coach, Doug relies on his curiosity, experience, and in-depth knowledge of human potential, to help individuals set and exceed their goals. He typically uses a 360 review and several assessments (including the TKI and EQ-i 2.0) to lay the groundwork for transformation. Doug received his training and coaching credentials through the International Coaching Academy.
Doug recently took up Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to learn more about the value of failure, and his first book (Positively Resilient: 5 1/2 Secrets to Beat Stress, Overcome Obstacles, and Defeat Anxiety) was published in October 2016. Also, check out his new podcast, Looking for AND, where he talks to guests about critical thinking, decision-making, and leadership.

Heather Neely
Palo Alto, CA
Heather Neely, MA
Heather partners with individuals and teams to help people and organizations be excellent through radical authenticity. There is an art to getting results, and Heather is passionate about revealing the mystery of high performance in teams and life. She understands human motivation and is deeply passionate about helping people tap into their agency and aliveness. Heather teaches leaders to access mind, heart, and body intelligence as a corporate coach. Her approach allows leaders to access their strengths, build satisfying relationships, and develop the capacity to make clear decisions, speak powerfully, and take appropriate action.
Heather’s talent supports teams in aligning their care and harnessing their passion around the organization’s purpose. People come to Heather for freedom from their blind spots and their ineffective, limiting patterns, learn new ways of relating and how to be in effective conversations, gain clarity, and make grounded assessments.
Heather is proficient in mindfulness leadership development, the enneagram (teams, individuals, and parenting), facilitation for generative teams, and as a speaker on generational diversity and sustainable excellence.
Heather holds an MA in Organizational Psychology (JFK University, recipient of the Ziegler Award for outstanding research) and a BA in Spanish (University of California, Santa Barbara). Her passion for learning has led her to specialized training with world-class experts in the following programs: Certified Integral Coach, New Ventures West; Enneagram Institute Certification Program; Enneagram Prison Project; TILT 365 Assessment; Certified Equine Guided Educator; and Institute for Generative Leadership. She was part of the PEP team that won the Harvard Business Review/McKinsey Management Challenge, the PCMA Prism Award for most innovative coaching program, and Computer World’s Award for Best Places to Work in IT.

Glenn Newsom
Raleigh, NC
Glenn Newsom, PhD
Professional Credentials
Originally from North Carolina, and trained as a psychologist/counselor, Glenn has been working as an executive coach and consultant since 1998. He served as a faculty member at The Center for Creative Leadership between 2000-2004, and in 2005, Glenn founded his own consulting practice that specializes in leadership development. As part of that work, he designs and delivers custom leadership and management training content, provides individual, team, and organization assessment consulting, and engages in executive coaching relationships with an international clientele. His background as a psychologist and his past coaching relationships with leaders across multiple industries continue to inform his action-oriented, person-centered approach.
Glenn has a BA in Psychology from UNC, M.Ed. Counseling from Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D Counseling from UNC, Greensboro and is a Board Certified Executive Coach.
Experience
Glenn’s executive coaching work has occurred across a myriad of industries including for-profit, non-profit, educational organizations, manufacturing companies, management consulting firms, retail, healthcare, high-tech, pharmaceutical, and finance organizations. Specific focus on executive team development and the advancement of senior leaders within their organizations are key areas of interest and expertise for Glenn. Glenn believes that improving leadership within organizations is a key to improving
Expertise
Glenn specializes in working with mid-career, senior leaders who are striving to take their leadership skills to the next level. He understands the multiple challenges and roles required of modern leaders and how developing a leader’s ability to create autonomous and adaptive systems can provide a positive impact for organizations. His coaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of accountability, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, positive relationships, and team development for success.

Glenn Rupert
Raleigh, NC
Glenn T. Rupert, M.S., BCC
Professional Credentials
Glenn T. Rupert is a senior-level coach, trainer, and facilitator with over 20 years of experience. He currently divides his time evenly between coaching, leadership facilitation, and training. His coaching engagements—with individuals and teams—tap his expertise in team dynamics and process analysis. Glenn holds an M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Radford University and a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Lenoir-Rhyne University. He has two internationally recognized coaching certifications: Korn/Ferry International and The Center for Creative Leadership, where he holds the designation of Master Coach. Glenn is a Board-Certified Coach through the Center for Credentialing and Education. He is known for his ability to facilitate his clients’ deeper understanding of themselves to achieve sustainable, lasting change and create learning and training transfer back to the job.
Experience
Glenn has provided coaching for senior-level executives to address strategy, behavior, role transition, and organizational culture issues. This coaching experience spans positions from Senior Manager to C-level in several industries, including professional services, manufacturing, high-tech, dotcom, pharmaceutical, and healthcare. Glenn is a coach who believes heavily in process and metrics to add value that is meaningful to both the coachee and the organization. Coaching can be beneficial to both high performers and executives headed for a derailment path. There is an ecosystem in the organization surrounding the person being coached, and Glenn honors the confidentiality of the coachee while positively engaging the ecosystem to achieve lasting results.

Libbey Ramsey
Greensboro, NC
Libby Ramsey, E-RYT 500
Professional Credentials
Libby is known for her ability to engage groups of people with her comfortable, genuine, and empowering way of speaking, coaching, and leading. A former Division 1 college athlete, Libby’s leadership is backed by over 25 years of experience from the TV and sports marketing world to yoga & coaching. She has led programs, retreats, workshops, & classes for 1 to 1,000 participants. Drawing on that deep professional experience and over 2,000 hours of yoga leadership & methodology training with the Baptiste Institute, Libby works with individuals and teams in 3 areas: wellness advising, fitness business advising, and public speaking coaching. Simply put, Libby excels at getting her students to get out of their own way to speak from, lead from, and live the best version of themselves.
Libby founded Dancing Dogs Yoga Greensboro where she was a teacher & leader for 10
years. In 2023, Libby sold her ownership of DDYG to focus fully on leading and advising in the fitness & wellness industry. When she isn’t managing the logistics (and driving) of her 3 kids, you can find her playing sports, reading books, and still teaching and practicing at Greensboro Power Yoga.
Experience
Libby credits much of her foundational skills to her years as a division 1 scholarship student athlete at the University of Virginia, where she played lacrosse. After spending the early years of her career working in sports production & logistics for Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and Sports Illustrated, Libby was a marketing & operations executive for the United State Golf Association, working on the U.S. Open. She made a big leap in 2012 when she turned her passion and “fun side job” into a career as a yoga teacher & studio owner. She founded Dancing Dogs Yoga Greensboro in 2013 and owned and ran that studio for 10 years until selling it recently. During that time Libby grew her fitness business from a 900 sq foot studio with 3 teachers and no students to a 3,000 sq ft studio with a team of 18 teachers, hundreds of members, and thousands of students. Libby is well-known in the business community as a savvy businesswoman and an exceptional team leader. In 2016, Libby began advising yoga & fitness businesses on best practices. Several of her former teachers have since moved to other cities and, with Libby’s guidance, opened and now run successful studios.
Education & Training
- B.A. University of Virginia
- Highest Tier Certified Baptiste Yoga Leader
- E-RYT 500 Instructor
Examples of Services
- Personal wellness coaching (including fitness, mindfulness, and lifestyle habits)
- Corporate & team wellness program design
- Fitness business consulting
- Custom private group yoga retreats
- Public speaking coaching

Brian Germano
Raleigh, NC
Brian Germano, M.S., CSCS
Professional Credentials
Brian is a coach and leadership development professional with over 15 years of experience in the coaching, teaming, and professional development space. He worked globally with professionals, executives, professional athletes, and people in the armed forces.
Originally from Upstate New York, Brian began his career coaching elite and amateur athletes. He partnered with thousands of global leaders, executives, and individuals to unleash their potential and expand their impact through 1-on-1 coaching, speaker enablement, and designing and facilitating leadership development programs for small teams to large enterprise global companies.
These experiences from the “ball field to the boardroom” allow Brian to provide clients unique, powerful, and practical perspectives that foster growth and change. His passion for developing and coaching others can be felt in the positive energy, kind humor, and calm presence he brings to every interaction.
Brian received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biomathematics from The University of Scranton and a Masters in Exercise Science from Syracuse University.
Brian has been an executive coach, trainer, and facilitator for leading companies such as Salesforce, Slack, Dataiku, SAS, JMP, and the United States Navy. Brian has achieved
recognition for creating, delivering, and program managing a multitude of best-in-class global leadership and high potential programs and most recently credited with 90% or greater satisfaction scores from over 3,000 participants. He’s infused coaching into each of these experiences and has coached hundreds of people in the areas of leadership, career, personal resilience, and organizational performance. Brian loves working with individuals and groups at any stage in their career to help unleash their potential and expand their impact.
Coaching Experience
- Executive Coaching for Senior Leaders & C-Suite
- Transition Coaching for leaders newly promoted
- Career and aspiring people leader coaching
- Keynote, presentation & speaker coaching
- Personal energy & resilience coaching
Examples of Training Facilitation Topics
- Leadership Development: Be a Great Person to Work for, Vision, and Mission, Be a Great Person to Work for, Executive Presence, Resilient Leadership, Energize Yourself
and Your Organization - Professional Skills Development: Management Skills, Coaching and Feedback,Relationship Skills, Conversation Skills, Presentation Skills
- Teaming Experiences: Strengths Workshop, Collaboration & Communication, Team Agreements/ “Operating Manuals”, Building Team Energy & Resilience
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