Meet
The Team

Passionate about coaching, leading and super-charging strategy and process, Danessa Knaupp consistently enables clients to deliver high-impact change with grounded authenticity. By empowering people to bring life and energy to the constant change swirling in today’s corporate environments, Danessa supports executives and teams as they create value and operate with purpose.

Danessa uses a practical, behavioral coaching approach to explore leaders’ potential. Aware of the organizational culture and systems surrounding the client, she co-creates targeted, simple practices to increase effectiveness and deepen impact. Danessa’s trademark candor, compassion and humor enable leaders to achieve their full, unlimited potential.

During Danessa’s 20+ years as both a senior corporate leader and an entrepreneur, she successfully navigated the same challenges many of her clients face. Leveraging that expertise, combined with her executive coaching training and deep experience, she provides highly effective guidance and support in leadership development, team performance enhancement, strategy development and execution and change management. A flexible, creative performer, Danessa’s work spans a variety of industries. She has deep financial services, sales, operations, professional services and non-profit experience.

Danessa is a graduate of the Georgetown Institute for Transformational Leadership Executive Coaching program. She is a member of the International Coach Federation and has earned the PCC credential. She is a certified Hogan Assessment interpreter, a certified AIIR Team Effectiveness coach and a certified TetraMap facilitator. Her undergraduate work in Psychology and Sociology at the College of William and Mary supports her work.

“JTodd” is an Executive Coach with Avenue Eight Advisors. He is a former United States Naval Intelligence Officer, staff instructor for the prestigious Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), and survivor of the terrorist attack at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.

He enjoys coaching aspirational leaders and teams pursuing their highest potential. Leveraging decades of U.S. Intelligence Community, Defense Department, information technology, and human resources leadership experience, he offers innovative leadership coaching to individuals, groups, and corporations. He focuses on people, not just problems, and accelerates transformative change for clients to fulfill their dreams and achieve better, extraordinary outcomes that make a difference and truly matter.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, the U.S. Naval War College, George Mason University’s School of Management (MBA), and the Leadership Coaching certificate program at Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. He recently earned an Executive Certificate in Strategic Leadership from Liberty University. A Professional Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation ICF), he is active with both ICF and the National Speakers Association (NSA).

After transitioning from the Navy as the Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence, he was an Executive Director and Strategist for CACI and Hewlett-Packard, providing mission and information technology solutions to Defense-related clients. His leadership delivered on dozens of classified contracts, ensuring client delight, sustained profitable growth, and expansive business development.

He shares free time with his wife Traci between Gettysburg, PA and Sarasota, FL, enjoying year-round golf, outdoor exercise, and their German Shepherd while keeping in touch with three successful post-graduate and geographically dispersed adult children. Fun fact? JTodd and Traci once rode their mountain bikes on two trails for five days spanning Pittsburgh, PA, to Washington, DC.

Cathy McClain is an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach. She works with a spectrum of leaders from mid-level to C-suite serving in corporate, government, academia, and non-profit sectors. Her clients include Hourigan, Chemours, Nike, Raytheon, and Janssen. Cathy specializes in both leadership development and in leading through strategic change. At Avenue 8, Cathy brings her experience to clients who are committed to being even more effective leaders.

Cathy believes strong leaders must be both courageous and people-centered. Courage is needed to lead through challenging times. Being people-centered is foundational. Cathy applies this courageous and people-centered focus in her coaching. Her calm demeanor and keen eye for non-verbal messages help her to put clients at ease and allows her to ask them powerful questions.

Cathy possesses an extensive leadership background. She holds a degree from the United States Air Force Academy in General Engineering, and a master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin in Social Psychology. She is also a graduate of Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellows course at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Georgetown’s Executive Leadership Coaching program. Her 25-year Air Force career offered a myriad of leadership experiences, from commanding aircrews who were executing global missions, to teaching leadership at the Air Force Academy. Cathy led teams ranging from 100 to over 3,500 Airmen and civilians. She led air refueling groups supporting B-52s over Afghanistan and later, led combat flight operations over Iraq. Cathy culminated her Air Force career at the Pentagon as the director of general officer management where she crafted and executed development and succession plans for the Air Force’s most senior leaders. Cathy then worked for Boeing, leading defense programs. Next, at Spirit AeroSystems, she led their International Business and Regional Jet programs.

Cathy is the former Chair, Board of Directors of the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and also a director on her regional Chamber of Commerce board. Just to make things interesting, she is co-owner of a brewpub!

Jay Fehnel brings 23 years of experience as an operating executive and strategy leader in the media and technology sectors to his executive coaching work.

Jay held COO and GM roles at Tribune Media Services, leading the TMS Entertainment Products Group which was later sold to Nielsen for $560 million. Jay also led Integrated Marketing for Redbox, helping deliver $2 billion in annual revenue, and served six years as a board director for YellowBrix.

In his leadership roles, Jay coached over 25 colleagues to improve their leadership effectiveness and eventually take on new roles at the CEO, President, COO, GM, CTO, SVP and VP levels. Jay transitioned to executive coaching out of a desire to help more leaders to reach their full potential.

Jay’s coaching helps leaders become more aware of how they are observing themselves and their world, so they can gain new perspective and see more options for designing and reaching their goals. With extensive experience in strategy, M&A, marketing and corporate communication, Jay helps executives better evaluate their ecosystem and define their key stakeholders, to develop a more effective and engaging leadership style.

Outside the corporate world, Jay has served as a consultant and interim executive for VC- and PE-backed technology companies. He regularly serves as a mentor and judge for entrepreneurship courses at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Jay also served 20 years on advisory boards at Purdue University, serving as a trusted advisor for deans, school heads and development executives.

Jay earned an MBA in Marketing and Finance at the Kellogg School and a BA in Mass Communication at Purdue University. Jay is certified in Leadership Coaching by Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. He also holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential granted by the International Coach Federation, along with the Directorship-Certified credential (NACD.DC) from the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Miche’La “MJ” Martin is an Executive Coach and a Leadership Development Facilitator that focuses on transformational change as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion discovery, growth, and appreciation.

MJ has the unique ability to meet clients where they are and help them take steps towards their learning edge. She masterfully blends a kind and direct approach with powerful questioning techniques to coach clients on personal and professional goals. She helps clients find the strength to remove obstacles and reframe messaging that is no longer in service to them. Above all, she uses a gentle approach to move whole human beings towards their definition of success.

Ms. Martin has spent over 25 years in HR and Human Capital Consulting roles. She earned her Facilitation certificate and Leadership Coaching certificate from Georgetown University, her B.B.A. in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior from the University of North Texas, and her MBA in Finance and Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin.

MJ is a wife and a mother of 2 daughters. Over the course of her life, she has lived in California, Arizona, Montana, Minnesota, Texas, Arkansas, Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. She has close friends in every region of the US and internationally and prides herself in being able to relate and connect with people of varying backgrounds.

Ms. Martin is certified by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and HR Certification Institute (SPHR and GPHR). She is also a Prosci certified change management professional. Ms. Martin has served as a board member for non-profit, education, professional development, civil rights and social action organizations.

Christina Deady (Chris) has a knack for seeing the best in people and working to make sure they see it in themselves too. She brings a practical, authentic approach as she works with individuals, teams, boards and organizations to achieve specific, measurable results. With a sense of humor, direct but gentle honesty, and a constant focus on outcomes, Chris coaches leaders as they learn to live and lead as their best selves.

Chris’s time as the Senior Director of Leadership Programs for NeighborWorks America includes responsibility for various leadership development efforts, including the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program in collaboration with Harvard University. Previously, she oversaw the Management and Leadership curriculum and before that, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Latvia (Eastern Europe) as a NGO Developer/Small Business Developer. Before that she served as Director of Housing for Self Reliance, Inc. in Tampa, Florida. Through all these efforts, she helps all types of organizations achieve performance-driven change for greater positive impacts in their communities.

Chris holds a MBA from American University Kogod School of Business, a B.S. from Marquette University and an Executive Leadership Coaching certificate from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. She is ICF-certified as an Associate Certified Coach.  Chris lives in Maryland with her awesome teenage son. She happily conducts coaching around the DC area as well as nationally and internationally via telephone and video.

Chris has an awesome 16-year old son and together they are raising a sweet 80-pound pit bull. When not doing any of the above-mentioned activities, she enjoys playing tennis and soccer, anything outdoors (including skydiving, SCUBA diving, bungee jumping, swimming in the ocean, not gardening) and she looks forward to sleeping someday but acknowledges it is not the top priority in her work-life balance.

Catriona Moriarty is an executive coach and consultant that helps leaders, teams, and organizations design intentional lives and cultures. She works with clients to develop leadership capabilities to move bold ideas from thought to action.

In her coaching practice, Catriona challenges clients to explore and test different versions of their businesses and themselves. She partners to achieve clear, purposeful results that matter, and to put a plan in place to sustain success over time.

Catriona has more than 20 years of professional experience leading global teams and programs in the areas of organization design, leadership development, talent management, and team effectiveness. In her current role of Senior Director at Oracle, Catriona manages a large global team of internal organization development consultants working to embed a culture of agility and innovation.

Prior to Oracle, career highlights include leadership roles at Opower and Conservation International, large-scale business transformation work at Capital One, and employee engagement initiatives at American Capital Strategies.

Catriona holds a M.A. in Organization Development and is currently pursuing her PhD in Organization Development and Change at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. She is a certified Executive Leadership Coach through Georgetown University, and has a PCC (Professional Certified Coach) ICF credential via the International Coaching Federation.

Additionally, Catriona is an accredited Insights Discovery™ practitioner and an experienced facilitator of assessments such as Hogan, Korn-Ferry 360°, DiSC®, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), Clifton StrengthsFinder, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and Emotional Intelligence 2.0. She provides workshops on topics such as executive presence and unconscious bias, and is a skilled management trainer through the Table Group.

In her free time, Catriona loves to spend time with family, take walks with her dog Rémy, paddleboard and catch the occasional sunset at the beach.

Alejandro Rodriguez is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation. He works with executives, managers, and junior leaders in the corporate, government and non-profit sectors. He specializes in leadership development and leading with emotional intelligence and has a breadth of experience in strategic planning, change management, and rehabilitating dysfunctional teams.

Alejandro is an easy going, flexible, and compassionate coach.  He believes shifts in awareness, coupled with action, can change a person’s trajectory and unleash their best selves.  He creates a safe space, free of judgement, so that clients can feel comfortable exploring their goals and obstacles in a holistic manner.  Alejandro is supportive and can be direct when necessary. He is passionate about enabling others along their leadership journey and finds great joy in celebrating other people’s successes.

Alejandro possesses an extensive leadership background. He holds an Executive Master’s degree in Leadership (Georgetown University), a Leadership Coaching Certificate (Georgetown University), an Executive Facilitation Certificate (Georgetown University), and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (Virginia Military Institute). A retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Alejandro has worked with international partners in many countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Qatar, and Thailand. He served as a Combat Planner with a special operations task force in Afghanistan, an aide de camp to an Army 2 Star in Iraq, and as a Strategic planner within the Joint Staff, Pentagon.

Alejandro is an adjunct faculty within Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies and an alumni mentor in Georgetown’s Leadership Coaching program and Executive Facilitation program.  He also facilitates classes on mindfulness, building high performing teams, and has been invited to speak to large audiences on leading with EI in high stress environments and transitions.

Melissa Hersh is a leadership coach and consultant, and part of the team at Avenue 8 Advisors. Her work includes one-on-one coaching with senior executives in a variety of sectors including manufacturing, technology, marketing and professional services.

Melissa believes that we all have the answers within, and through coaching, clients can gain awareness and find clarity. As a coach, she provides a safe container to have expansive conversations that help her clients discover or often re-discover their path. Melissa’s approach is multi-faceted and customized to each client, engaging both the head and the heart. Melissa considers it a privilege to join her clients on their leadership journeys. As a curious seeker of knowledge, connection, and answers herself, she finds the coaching experience provides inspiration and greatly enriches her life, as she hopes it does with the clients she serves. She has coached clients with a range of goals from strengthening their leadership presence and confidence to connecting with purpose and values, as well as other leaderly challenges. You can find her writings at www.answerswithinmdh.com/reflections. Melissa’s latest blog post was just re-published in the Vermont HR Association quarterly newsletter.

Professional development and learning are Melissa’s cornerstones. She is passionate about helping people grow professionally and personally, and works with leaders on the East and West Coasts. Originally from the Bronx, she has lived on 10 wooded acres in Vermont for over 30 years. In 2020, she began working on the West Coast and will make California her permanent home in 2023.

She holds degrees from New York University (BA in History), Antioch University New England Graduate School (MS in Management) and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. In her free time, Melissa enjoys being in nature, digging in the dirt, and snuggling with her hound/lab mix Hudson.

Kyle Laver is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Her passion is working with leaders and their teams to establish a culture where trust, collaboration, and a strong sense of purpose thrives. She has the innate ability to build strong trusting relationships with clients to promote professional and personal growth.

Kyle holds a Master of Education degree, Educational Specialist degree in Counseling, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Human Resources from James Madison University. She has extensive experience in coaching and facilitation in the fields of higher education, medicine, large corporations, small business, and public education. She is certified as a PROSCI practitioner in Change Management, EQ-I, 360, Dare to Lead facilitator, and has extensive experience utilizing the DiSC and MBTI assessments. She enjoys meeting leaders where they are to find the tools and information to help them create lasting behavioral change through the steps of awareness, acceptance, and action.

After growing up in a military family and living internationally (South Korea, Germany, and Panama) she and her husband Pete settled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley (Harrisonburg, Virginia) on a small farm overlooking the mountains. She loves spending time with her four active and compassionate kids, going on walks and volunteering with her lovable Certified Therapy Dog through Therapy Dog International (TDI).

Gay-Lynn Carpenter, PCC, is a leadership and communication coach. She works with emerging leaders, technical experts and rising executives to help them strengthen their leadership, presence and communications so they can be influential in their organizations.

Professionals at all levels can benefit from a thinking partner as they navigate their careers. Whether its working in a complex, matrixed organization or scrambling for resources at a non-profit, leaders have to navigate responsibilities, negotiate for resources, build meaningful relationships and communicate different messages depending on their audience.

Coaching challenges often revolve around transition, such as promotions, new bosses, and unfamiliar corporate cultures. Common topics among Gay-Lynn’s client include:

• Building confidence such as the way people participate in work meetings and presentations, share ideas and make business cases
• Becoming more influential through key communication and relationship building approaches
• Helping more introverted leaders design their own strategies for influence and high performance
• Having difficult conversations in a timely and constructive way
• Improving strategic thinking and demonstrating that thinking to senior leaders
• Navigating Imposter Syndrome
• Shifting from managing individual contributors to managing managers

Gay-Lynn’s coaching style is warm and direct. She emphasizes early rapport and trust and easily pivots based on the client’s agenda. At the same time, she uses goal-oriented frameworks and targeted assessments and exercises to help clients achieve maximum impact from their coaching experience. She has worked in the health care, financial services, legal services, government and non-profit sectors.

Gay-Lynn enjoys international travel and has toyed with living in another country to feed her curiosity about different cultures. She loves to read and is always on the lookout for big insights about professional development. She keeps her focus sharp by playing competitive billiards and dabbling in creative writing.

Christina is a PCC certified Leadership Coach through the International Coach Federation. She works with leaders at all levels to improve their leadership effectiveness, find fulfillment and achieve their goals. She works with clients in a variety of organizations such as, the federal government, private sector and non-profit sectors.

Christina passionately applies her lifelong curiosity and interest in people to all of her engagements. Growing up, she aspired to become an archeologist and later pursued an education in psychology. Today, her strong desire to help others, enables her to gently remove layers in conversations and relationship dynamics until hidden treasures are brought to light. As a keen seeker and explorer of strengths and potential, Christina believes that her clients already have what it takes to reach their goals.  She is dedicated to helping them rediscover, embrace and effectively apply their unique experiences and expertise in a truly authentic way.  With her support, clients are able to clearly see their own potential, trust in themselves more and shift their mindsets to see new possibilities in difficult situations. Striking a good balance of support and challenge, Christina helps clients take new action so that they get new results and move more quickly up the learning curve.  Some examples of coaching topics that Christina supports her clients with are

Setting Boundaries and Saying, “No”          Gaining Career Clarity

Dealing with Overwhelm           Improving Time Management

Improving Work/Life Balance         Managing Up Effectively

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome           Improving Communication

Increasing Confidence             Improving Executive Presence

Prior to becoming a coach, Christina had careers in education where she began as a teacher and later as the owner and director of a private school in Virginia.  Before that she worked in the airline industry where she held many leadership roles such as the Department Head of Customer Service for a major airline.  Christina knows from experience the challenges that many leaders face and how lonely it can be at the top. She understands that growth and development are a process and can be even more effective with the support of a coach.  Her experience as a business owner and overseeing managers at various levels has prepared her well to work with leaders and emerging leaders in a variety of industries.

Christina lives with her husband, two teenaged sons and shiatzu in the DC metro area.  She enjoys watching her kids play sports, especially baseball.  She has a love and appreciation for art, biographies, documentaries, music and all things food related.

As an executive coach, strategy advisor and leadership facilitator, Ashley B. Stewart creates customized leadership solutions to ensure personal and organizational success. Ashley has a talent for helping leaders to identify the changes they want to make, quantify how they will know the changes are occurring and implement the strategies to achieve results.

With candor, compassion and sound global experience across the U.S., Mexico, the Dominican Republic and South Africa, Ashley engages leaders beyond skills-based training to explore and address the unconscious human dynamics that drive behavior, performance and unlock extraordinary results. His most recent coaching clients include executives leading at American Express, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Intuit and USAID. Passionate about race equity and inclusion, Ashley attends to leaders’ intellectual, emotional and physical well-being to co-create targeted practices that increase effectiveness and expand opportunities.

Currently, Ashley serves as the executive director of talent and organizational development for Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), Maryland’s fourth largest school district, overseeing a people capacity building strategy for more than 11,000 staff. Prior to joining City Schools, in various strategy roles with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Johns Hopkins University and U.S. Department of State, Ashley helped launch national leadership programs and philanthropic initiatives focused on health, community development, capital absorption, land reform and education. Over the arc of his career, Ashley has led change management strategies to enable leaders to master current workforce requirements and prepare for the changing demands of their sectors.

Recognized by the Pahara Institute as a Next Generation Leader, Ashley is an Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Associate Resident and has been a Woodrow Wilson National Foundation Fellow in Foreign Affairs. Fluent in Spanish, Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College, a master’s degree in public policy with a focus on leadership from Harvard University and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Coaching program at Georgetown University. Ashley, his wife and their daughters reside in Maryland.

Belinda L. Collins is an executive coach, located in the Northern Virginia-DC Metro area. In her work with Avenue 8, Belinda delights in enabling leaders to step fully into their leadership roles. With her clients, she creates a confidential, welcoming environment in which they can deepen their own personal understanding and develop a vision for their future.  When leaders work with her, they develop an understanding of the nuances of interpersonal dynamics and create better ways of interacting with their employees, colleagues, and bosses. Belinda loves to collaborate with them as they develop ideas, gain fresh insights, and create strategic plans and deliverables. To ensure continued progress, she encourages them to create sustainable action plans for growth and holding themselves accountable.

Leaders and executives frequently cite Belinda’s decades of federal experience from First-line Research Supervisor to Senior Executive Service at the National Institute of Standards and Technology as being incredibly helpful in enabling her to comprehend the complex world in which they function and to support them as they create sustainable action plans for change and growth. Her personal warmth, understanding and sense of humor are key in supporting her clients as they explore their own personal growth and gain new insights into their own and others’ behavior and motivations. Through coaching with Belinda, clients create new possibilities and directions for themselves and the organizations they lead.

Belinda received her M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental Psychology from the University of Virginia and her B.A. from the University of Mary Washington. She also has a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University and is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF). Belinda is also a Certified Practitioner of the Leadership Circle Profile 360 and Leadership Culture Survey, EverythingDiSC, Practitioner of the MBTITM Step I and Step II Instruments, Practitioner of the EQ-I 2.0/EQ360 and the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI).  She is a member of Women in Technology and the Georgetown ITL Network.

Belinda enjoys walking and being in nature, traveling,  doing Pilates, and connecting with others. She enjoys ballet, music of all types, and travel to new and familiar places. She is the proud parent of a rescue cat who promptly presented her with four more rescues.

For more than 15 years, Michelle Montserrat Oliva, MBA has coached, trained, and advised leaders and teams in private, public, and nonprofit sector organizations across the US and internationally. Michelle is an executive coach, facilitator, and trainer for Avenue8.

As an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Michelle uses a strengths- and values-based approach, bringing her experience listening, learning, and adapting to a range of cultures and operating contexts, and when relevant, integrating the insights that the creative arts, neuroscience, and the contemplative sciences can offer us as leaders and members of a compassionate, interconnected society. Applying her experiences facing complex, systemic, global challenges, she supports leaders to see possibilities and uncover creative solutions through an abundance mindset, to stay resilient and centered in times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

She holds an Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University and an MBA from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia for the Institute for Engagement & Negotiation. Since serving as a US Peace Corps volunteer, Michelle has lived and worked in more than 15 countries across North America, UK & Europe, East and Southern Africa, Central America, and South Asia.

Her past professional experience includes US- and overseas-based roles as an organizational development advisor, management consultant, and project manager across a range of sectors from agribusiness to financial services to media, in economic and international development. Her project leadership and management experience spans the project life-cycle from proposal development, program design and implementation, and financial and HR management for multi-million dollar grants and contracts.

Michelle is a lifelong meditation practitioner and mindfulness teacher (MMTCP, Greater Good Science Center, University of California at Berkeley). A conservatory-trained musician (Manhattan School of Music), after a 20-year hiatus, she returned to music in 2017, expanding from her classical roots to improvisation and composition. She has logged more than 20,000 kilometers in self-drive 4×4 road trips across Southern Africa and is a rescue scuba diver. She volunteers on the board of MIMA (Modern Improvisational Music Appreciation), an educational nonprofit that builds community through collaborative music-making, and for Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLAW) which raises money for women-initiated causes in her community. Walking is her best medicine (Hippocrates). Michelle lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

For more than 12 years, Kate Neville has coached experienced leaders and managers, helping them to increase capacity, leverage potential and produce results as they take on more senior positions and expand their scope of work across organizations. Her clients include prominent professional services firms, global financial institutions, industry associations, and major nonprofit organizations.

Kate brings substantial leadership and management experience to her coaching work. She started her career practicing law at a global firm and in government before shifting into management consulting, advising private and public entities on process improvement and strategy development. She has also held appointments at prominent universities and senior positions in non-profit organizations.

Kate frequently works with leaders of departments, teams, and functions as well as executive team members. In working with her, clients report heightened confidence in proactively addressing highly visible and potentially awkward situations, a sense of stability that helps sustain them over time, and new perspective that often has far-reaching ramifications.

Over the course of her career, Kate has facilitated a range of high-stakes conversations and frequently presents workshops and programs on topics related to leadership challenges and professional advancement. Her work developing strategies, tools, and materials to build skills and communicate concepts in ways audiences and clients can absorb and incorporate into their work has helped many professionals achieve their goals.

Kate graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, earned a law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School, and is a graduate of Coro’s Leadership New York program. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a PROSCI Change Management Practitioner (CMP), and a Certified Professional Diversity Coach (CPDC), and certified in the Hogan Assessment Suite, DISC, and Immunity to Change (ITC). A former Texan and New Yorker, Kate currently resides in Washington, DC, with her husband as recent empty nesters, and works with clients across the country.

Deanna is an accomplished Head of Talent and certified executive coach specializing in leadership development, and culture enhancement. She coaches clients across a variety of industries including financial services, pharmaceutical, luxury retail and technology. Drawing upon twenty years of business experience focused on talent and teams, Deanna has built a solid reputation as a pragmatist who zeros in on the most targeted leadership actions to yield impactful individual, team and organizational outcomes.

Deanna has led a successful career in People and Talent at brands including Tiffany & Co., WW (reimagined from Weight Watchers), Deloitte and Pfizer. At WW, she led the talent acquisition, learning & development, talent management and talent development teams comprised of 60 people and created for the organization a set of Impact Behaviors, the WW Inspire development series, career conversations and a myriad of other programs to reinforce the vision of the CEO. While at Tiffany & Co., Deanna also led the creation of a marquee high-potential program called The Tiffany Academy for Excellence and Diversity in Leadership. Prior to Tiffany, Deanna serviced as an internal consultant at Pfizer and an external consultant at Deloitte specializing in human capital trends and bringing the most impactful solutions to her clients.

Deanna earned her PhD in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a BA from The University of Michigan. She holds a PCC Certification from the International Coaching Federation. Deanna taught the master’s level coaching course at Teachers College, was awarded the Dean’s Grant for her dissertation and has published on the benefits of corporate volunteerism and the technology age gap. She founded the NY chapter of Dining for Women, a global giving circle dedicated to transforming lives and eradicating poverty.  Deanna lives in NY with her husband and three children.

With more than 15 years of experience in financial services and accounting, Stacey McKenna serves as Avenue 8 Advisor’s Finance and Operations Director, handling all financial responsibilities and making sure every aspect of the business runs smoothly. Her expertise in accounting and commitment to efficiency ensure clients have a terrific experience with Avenue 8.

Stacey’s formal training in finance, detail-oriented approach and accounting acumen pair beautifully with her relationship-building skills, sunny outlook and sense of humor.

Stacey’s background includes a degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. She began her career as a Certified Public Accountant, went on to work for a Fortune 500 company in the field of financial planning and analysis and served as a financial analyst and senior accountant for a number of top companies. Stacey found her professional passion working for small businesses that empower individuals and positively impact their communities.

Stacey lives in Glen Allen and is a fitness enthusiast, amateur foodie and a devoted mom to two great teenagers.

Lucretia Marie Anderson is a certified life coach and anti-racist education coach who specializes in working with emerging leaders on growth and development as well as executives and leaders dedicated to embracing inclusion and equity as pillars of their organizational values. Prior to becoming a coach Lucretia’s career began in the education and non- profit sectors. She was on the faculty of a leadership academy for girls, and has worked in management for several cultural and government institutions in the Washington, DC area including The Smithsonian Institution.

For emerging leaders, Lucretia views coaching as a partnership centered on personal development by accessing the awareness, strengths, and internal resources that provide leaders with tools to step into and sustain their roles with authenticity and integrity. Some coaching goals may include: strengthening leadership effectiveness, interpersonal skills, time management, increasing confidence, stress management, and compassionate leadership integration.

Lucretia believes in the importance of all organizations to take a stance on issues that matter to all constituents. This includes anti-racist and equity education. Executive leaders who engage in anti-racist coaching as individuals do so to expand customer growth, increase confidence and boldness in creating and enacting equitable policies, and to retain and maintain relationships with customers, a diverse workforce, and business partners. As a company, anti-racist and equity training can enhance employee productivity and satisfaction.

Lucretia is also a classically trained actor who lives in Richmond, Va with her two children and partner. She spends her time writing, ravishing literature, and enjoying music.

As a leadership coach, Brad is deeply passionate about using positive psychology and strength based approaches to help leaders become the best versions of themselves. He believes by focusing on what leaders are doing well and building on their unique strengths, they can achieve greater levels of success, satisfaction and fulfillment both in their personal and professional lives

The bedrock of Brad’s practice is meeting clients where they are. By leveraging active listening,  positive psychology and strength-based approaches, Brad helps them to become better  leaders. Brad guides his clients to identify and to utilize their strengths. With this knowledge, they can create a more supportive and inclusive work environment. His goal as a leadership coach is to empower leaders to harness their full potential and to create a culture of growth, inclusion, development and excellence. By doing so, he is confident that leaders will not only achieve their goals, but they also will inspire and empower others to do the same.

Brad draws from his varied work experiences in executive positions at private equity firms to a top 5 bank. His desire to share his passion for coaching led him to become a leadership coach in a Executive Masters of Technology program at a large public university. Brad is well-equipped to help leaders navigate the complexities of modern date leadership and develop skills and the mindset needed to lead with confidence, creativity, inclusiveness and empathy.

Brad is a Certified Public Accountant, a certified Agile consultant and a Six Sigma black belt. He graduated from the Georgetown Institute for Transformational Leadership Executive Coaching program. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and has earned the PCC credential. He is a certified Personalysis assessment interpreter. He is also an MBTI certified assessor. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in economics and has an MBA from the University of Richmond.

Jennifer Perrow brings decades of experience and knowledge to the table to help leaders overcome growing pains and scale their businesses. With 25 years of experience growing multiple 7-figure businesses, working in Human Resources, and acquiring specialized process and leadership development expertise, Jennifer knows what it takes to help leaders reach their full potential.

Jennifer is known for her calm, approachable demeanor and ability to help her clients break their big-picture vision into actionable steps. She recognizes the wisdom of her clients, encourages them to consider issues from multiple perspectives, and empowers them to make tough decisions by keeping them focused on their ultimate objectives.

Jennifer’s background as co-founder and CEO of an IT services firm and director of operations for a rapidly growing regional property management company has equipped her to meet clients at their current stage of growth. It is from this launching point she’s able to provide tools to resolve issues and anticipate future challenges rather than wasting time and money chasing quick fixes. Jennifer earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia.

A single mother of two, Jennifer is enjoying her empty nest, exploring area parks, and giving back to her community. She currently serves as Secretary for Heart Havens (a local non-profit that provides housing for developmentally disabled adults throughout Virginia) and volunteers as a coach for The Honor Foundation, helping members of our Special Operations Forces successfully transition to civilian careers.

Jason Ross is a seasoned leader, consultant, and executive coach who believes his purpose in coaching is to bring presence to what people have not yet seen, to allow themselves to maximize their own gifts.

Jason’s approach to coaching is firmly based in effective listening and collaboration with clients to help them create and achieve their goals. Additionally, engagement, passion, and curiosity are principles that Jason strives to bring to every coaching conversation.

Passionate about leadership and professional development, Jason has been coaching and mentoring individuals and groups in several industries including the federal government, consulting field and academia for over 15 years.  Jason worked as a Career Coach at Georgetown University and as a Management Consultant for Washington D.C. based firms where he advised several public sector clients on large-scale human capital transformations. Prior to consulting, Jason was an officer in the United States Air Force where he specialized in Human Resource Management and rapid force deployments. He holds an M.A. in Diplomacy and a B.A. in Political Science, both from Norwich University.  Jason also holds an Executive Leadership Coaching Certificate from Georgetown University.

Jason resides in Connecticut with his wife, two young daughters, and senior dog. He is a life-long aviation enthusiast, amateur chicken farmer, and enjoys travel with his family.

Yosi’s mission is to cultivate resilience and thriving, one person and one team at a time. His work is about unlocking potential, catalyzing transformation, and helping people thrive amidst change.

With over 15 years of experience and a PCC-certified coach, Yosi has been a trusted partner to leaders and teams, helping them discover their unique leadership skills and styles. By increasing self-awareness, enhancing people management skills, and honing strategic thinking and change management, he guides his clients towards their full potential.

Yosi’s approach combines leadership principles, neuroscience, and organizational development. He uses scientific insights to enhance inner and interpersonal understanding, allowing leaders and teams to discard unproductive habits and adopt beneficial ones. This neuroscience-based methodology uncovers authentic leadership potential and promotes resilience and continuous learning. This approach empowers both individuals and teams to ride the waves of shifting social and workplace dynamics with grace and effectiveness.

Having served in executive roles including Chief Technology Officer and Senior Director of Talent Management, Yosi understands the unique challenges of leadership. He brings this experience to his coaching, enabling Startup to Fortune 500 clients to navigate complex situations and gain fresh perspectives with ease and clarity.

Yosi is known for his ability to quickly build trust and for his skill in revealing underlying issues. He encourages leaders to leverage their strengths in novel and effective ways, facilitating both individual and organizational growth. He is more than a coach; he is a partner in the journey towards unleashing one’s highest potential.

In his spare time, Yosi can often be found indulging his passion for exercise. He loves to hike, hit the gym, and unwind with a calming Tai Chi session. He is a devoted husband and father to four children and dotes on his two precious granddaughters.

Traci is an Executive Coach with Avenue 8 Advisors. She is a former United States Naval Flight Officer who made multiple aircraft carrier deployments to the Mediterranean flying the S3-B Viking. She has served in various HR staff roles at the United States Naval Academy and Pentagon, and has completed her service as a Faculty Instructor at the United States Army War College teaching Strategic Thinking/Leadership.

Traci enjoys coaching leaders and teams who are passionate about pursuing their highest potential with an understanding that Diversity AND Inclusion drives innovation. She focuses on what really matters, what is standing in the way of optimization, and helps to co-create a plan to get individuals, teams, and organizations where they desire to be.

Traci graduated from Penn State University, U.S. Naval Post Graduate School, and Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. Traci is a Professional Certified Coach, Energy Leadership Index – Master Practitioner, and is active in the International Coaching Federation.

After transitioning from the Navy, Traci has provided coaching support to various private entities and government organizations as well as The Medici Group as a Move Coach driving innovation through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also supports CHIEF as a Core Group Guide. Traci has been an active missionary in Haiti and is eager to get back in country when the political climate allows. She and her husband Todd reside in Pennsylvania/Florida and are blessed with three adult children and a very active seven-year-old German Shepherd named Bear. Fun Fact: Traci once decided to complete the four-state challenge on the Appalachian Trail where she hiked 50 miles in 24 hours in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Kevin L. King works with a full spectrum of leaders domestically, globally, and across multiple identities in China, France, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and the Czech Republic. He is a coach to executives and management teams and consults with leaders to increase individual, team and organizational performance. He primarily works with leaders in senior leadership C-suite roles serving in corporate, government, academia, and non-profit sectors. His clients include GE Healthcare, Comerica Bank, AbbVie, Moderna, Mars, Cargill, and Freese & Nichols. Kevin specializes in leadership development, organizational transformation, and leading through strategic change. At Avenue 8, Kevin brings his experience to clients who are committed to being even more effective leaders.

Kevin believes strong leaders expand the capacity of their people, and that they have an obligation to craft environments that unleash potential. Being a humanizing leader is a foundational leadership competency.  As a coach, Kevin believes fostering a relationship that enables leaders to share and analyze their narratives and perspectives is essential to a successful coaching relationship. Kevin applies this narrative approach to his coaching. His ability to foster an environment of psychological safety helps him to put clients at ease and allows him to ask them powerful questions.

Kevin possesses an extensive consulting and leadership development background. He has completed all course work toward doctorate in Human Communication Studies at the University of Denver, has an MBA in Management Information Systems from Oklahoma City University, and a BSOE in Business Administration, Wayland Baptist University.  Kevin has also attended International Program Management School in France, Systems Dynamics Training through the University of Bergen, Norway, and has completed the Jonah Program at the Goldratt Institute in Theory of Constraints.

Kevin has over thirty-five years of experience facilitating teams in defining solutions to business challenges, developing leaders, leading teams, improving organizational performance, implementing business solutions, and managing strategic organizational change.  He is the author of THINK! Change Your Story, Change Your Life, which is focused on achieving sustainable personal and organizational change in the areas of innovation, employee engagement, and leadership effectiveness.

Julieann Vukovich, PCC is an Executive Coach with experience working with top organizational leaders and their teams. She has coached over 75+ leaders, including a significant number of women and minority leaders.  Julieann’s corporate business experience provides insight as well as practical solutions to complex organizational issues.  She specializes in Leadership Development, High Potential Development, New Leader On-Boarding, Team Development, Executive Presence, Emotional Intelligence, and Interpersonal Relationship Skills.

Julieann is smart, curious, and innately intuitive. Her empathetic and direct approach allows her to work with clients to set focused and measurable SMART goals. She uses proven coaching techniques and proprietary assessment tools to enhance leadership skills and increase Emotional Intelligence. She holds her clients accountable, helps them manage and empower their team(s), as well as helps her clients build executive presence and strengthen interpersonal relationships.

Prior to becoming a coach, Julieann spent her career in corporate Human Resources. In her last corporate role, Julieann was Chief Talent Officer, for a global marketing communications company with revenue over $390M where she was responsible for leading all aspects of Talent across North America.

Julieann’s Executive Coaching expertise includes banking, family business, management consulting, manufacturing, marketing communications, healthcare, higher education, real estate, technology, and telecommunications. She is also a part-time Faculty member of Loyola University Quinlan School of Business, as an Executive Coach and Peer Group Facilitator in their Family Business Center.

Julieann holds an MBA from Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago, and a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach (PCC).  She is also certified in several executive behavioral assessment tools including Hogan MVPI, HDS and HPI, DiSC, Predictive Index (PI), EQi 2.0 and is also a Management Resource Group (MRG), Strategic Leadership Development Certified Consultant.

Brandon Gould is an Avenue 8 Executive and Leadership Coach who empowers worldwide organizations, teams, and leaders to tackle complex challenges by designing intentional alignment between purpose and action.  The innovative leaders who he coaches spark purpose-driven excellence at some of the most admired organizations including Fortune 100 companies, startups, sports and healthcare organizations, and top universities.

His coaching is grounded in curiosity, empathy, and courage, focusing on self-awareness and vision for sustainable impact. Brandon champions a high-trust partnership between leader(s), coach, and stakeholders. Since 2012, Brandon has delivered over 2,500 hours of coaching, achieving a 97%+ client satisfaction rating. His collaborations with the Google School for Leaders, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and other world-renowned organizations have directly shaped the trajectories of more than 7,000 leaders. Brandon is a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation (ICF PCC).  He is a certified practitioner of  Benchmarks 360, Hogan Assessments, WorkPlace Big 5, MBTI, FIRO, and more.

A humble student of the art and science of great leadership, Brandon has spent his career leading global operations, forging high performing teams, and developing great leaders.  After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy he served as a decorated pilot and flight instructor, leadership consultant, and football coach in the U.S. Air Force and later served as a U.S. Senate staffer. His studies continued at Duquesne University and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Residing in Colorado, Brandon contributes as a YMCA Board Director and youth sports coach. He is an alumnus of the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute and the Stanford IGNITE program, and was recognized as a CSBJ “Rising Star”.

Jimmy Dobbs is an executive coach, organizational consultant/assessor, and adjunct professor at Penn State University where he teaches courses in leadership, ethics, and strategic planning. He has supported senior leaders and their organizations around the world helping them to leverage their strengths by using an expanded sense of self-awareness in order to enhance their leadership and organizational effectiveness. The industries he has worked with span technology, finance, retail, government, non-profit, healthcare, and education. Just a few of the companies and organizations he has partnered include: Nike, Target, Wells Fargo, National Football League, Workday, US Army, International Rescue Committee, The Rockefeller Foundation, American Red Cross, UCLA, Stanford, and many others.  At Avenue 8, Jimmy brings his experience to engage in powerful conversations that challenge clients to step outside of their comfort zone, try new behaviors and see new possibilities, accelerating mindset shifts and sustainable results.

Jimmy’s coaching approach is both pragmatic and strategic. He begins by understanding his client’s specific interests and concerns in order to establish a focused, research-backed strategy for the coaching engagement. His goal with executive leaders is to integrate their motives, aspirations, strengths, hidden talents, and developmental areas with their key goals to create a plan for the desired future. He realizes that the foundation for this objective requires trust, so he approaches coaching as an essential partnership.  Above all, his focus is their success.

Jimmy comes with over 25 years of experience building high performing teams and developing individuals to reach their full potential. Prior to coaching, he held a range of positions in the military in acquisitions, logistics, and strategic communications before transitioning to academia. As an academic he has served as a dean, director of leadership programs, and department head. In formal education, Jimmy has a PhD from the University of San Diego, and holds master’s degrees in counseling and leadership from University of Colorado and aviation management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He is an ICF (PCC) Certified approved Executive Coach, and holds certifications in various coaching instruments.

Outside of his professional activities, Jimmy enjoys spending time with his family, fly fishing, skiing, traveling, and reading.  He lives in Colorado Springs and spends as much time as he can in the mountains sharing big ideas, experiences, and laughs with family and friends.

Lesley joins the team as a support for the Avenue 8 Advisors home office: managing special projects, solving calendar puzzles, connecting with clients and coaches, creating graphic and content pieces – anything that keeps the Avenue 8 team on point.

A true believer that “little things make big things happen,” Lesley is energized to be a team player in the efforts of brilliant coaches as they work with leaders to maximize their impact in the world.

With a degree in biology from The University of Virginia, a background in non-profit work, and as a health and fitness enthusiast, Lesley knows there is always something new to be learned. Her desire is to use her knowledge in service to others and is especially proud to be working for a woman-owned small business.

When not at work, Lesley enjoys solving puzzles, running, practicing yoga, reading, and being outside – all best enjoyed with friends or family. Lesley is back home in the Richmond, VA area where her husband and three boys teach her something new almost every day.