ANDIRON - Key Persons
Ann is a leadership and team coach. Her work focuses on individuals, teams, organizations, and communities experiencing significant change and growth. Ann completed her Leadership Coaching Certification with the Newfield Network in 2003 and earned her Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designation from the International Coach Federation.
Prior to her coaching career, Ann earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with specializations in health psychology and neuropsychology, from The University of Texas. During a two-decade career in health care, she held supervisory and leadership roles in several health care and rehabilitation systems. In each of these systems, Ann had the opportunity to experience both the suffering that comes with unacknowledged paradox and the success that accompanies consciously accessing both/and thinking.
Ann thinks the best s'mores include just one perfectly roasted marshmallow and two squares of chocolate.
Anne is looking forward to her first s'mores experience on her next trip stateside.
Anne Nagle works with leaders and teams who want to explore and extend the frontier of their own development. She combines her own extensive business leadership experience with adult development and complexity ideas to bring cutting edge ideas to leaders in practical and useful ways. She is deeply curious, asks great questions and aims to find the combination of challenge and support that enables clients to achieve bigger impact, sustainable change and deeper satisfaction. Holding a belief that we have more capability to change than we think, Anne combines deep listening for the mindsets, polarities, and assumptions that drive our behavior with practical approaches to move insights into action.
Anne has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from University College Cork. She loves to deepen her experience and expertise in her craft and holds a number of advanced certifications in leading-edge tools and approaches. Her most recent certification is from Georgetown University - an Executive Certificate in Polarities and Paradox, designed and delivered by Andiron founders. She lives in the town of Carrigaline, near Cork city in Ireland, where, unusually, all of her six siblings and extended family currently reside.
Job Titles:
- Organization Development Consultant
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 20 years of experience and has earned an excellent reputation as a strategic human capital professional.
Barry is skilled in group dynamics and has achieved outstanding results with large and small group facilitation assignments. Many of his coaching clients have experienced consistent, long-lasting success and recognition for their performance. Barry has worked with several organizations developing and delivering training programs, ranging from customer service skills to leadership and management courses.
Barry takes his s'mores with chocolate - hold the rest!
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Member of Harvard Law School
- Member of the International Coaches Federation
Betsy draws from the frameworks of polarity thinking, adult development, adaptive leadership, and immunity to change. She was drawn to leadership coaching because of the mindset shift it offered, away from delivering answers and toward asking questions that inspire growth. Betsy delights in working with clients who are interested in developing the capacity to hold multiple perspectives and to find opportunity in times of transition and uncertainty. Betsy believes leadership is an inclusive call to service that should be developed broadly and deeply, and that this mindset is essential to accelerating the pace of change. Betsy provides most of her external coaching pro bono, with a focus on using coaching as a tool to increase diversity within the profession.
Betsy is a member of Harvard Law School's adjunct faculty, where she is currently teaching HLS's first-ever course on polarities, Polarities: The Power of "Both/And" in Law and Leadership.
Betsy is a credentialed member of the International Coaches Federation and received her Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown in 2017. She is a certified practitioner of Andiron's KPI, Barry Johnson's PACT (Polarity Application to Continuity and Transformation) Foundations program, and she earned a Certificate in Navigating Polarities from Georgetown in 2019. Betsy is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.
Betsy likes her s'mores heavy on the melted chocolate, with 1/2 a toasted marshmallow that is hot enough to get puffy and taste a little smokey. Fire pit only; no toaster ovens, please!
Bob assumes everyone loves their s'mores like he does, with graham cracker, Hershey's chocolate bar, burnt marshmallow, and...
Brendan Geary works with leaders and teams who are facing challenges, complexity and change and who want to up their game to deliver on their promises. All too often, development activities are short-lived and the insights soon forgotten. In the role of coach, Brendan will support individuals and teams to increase awareness about how they are creating current results and to become clear about their vision and next steps to achieving the results they want. Brendan works with clients to shift into a more creative mindset, to play above the line and to create lasting change. He deploys the principles and tools of Conscious Leadership to support the transformation of his clients.
With over 25 years of proven strategic expertise as an HR Executive, and working with a wide array of leadership teams, Brendan has gained a broad business experience to serve his client base. He has a passion for personal growth and leadership development. He enjoys traveling, running, sailing and cycling. Currently studying Spanish and learning to sing a little bit well.
Brendan loves his s'mores anyway they come!
Brian Emerson, Ph.D. is a Principal and founder of Andiron. He has an impressive history of partnering with organizations around the world to achieve sustained results in leadership development, aligning organizational culture and strategy, and harnessing the power of polarities. Clients attribute Brian's success to his "uncanny insight and ability to balance human dynamics with business needs," the way he "simultaneously challenges and inspires," and "getting results while having fun."
His research led to the development of two related theories. Suffering Paradox theory explains what happens when groups have no objective way to deal with paradoxical situations, and the theory of Navigating Paradox outlines the dynamics of groups using polarity maps to effectively leverage paradoxical complexities. He is co-creator of the Polarity Navigator, a sense-making tool to deal with polarities, and the Key Polarity Indicator, a 360 assessment that identifies and measures some of the key polarities that contribute to leadership effectiveness.
In addition to consulting and coaching, Brian teaches about paradox in leadership and organizations at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Maryland, and Georgetown University's Institute for Transformational Leadership. He is the co-author of two books, A Manager's Guide to Coaching, and Navigating Polarities: Using Both/And Thinking to Lead Transformation.
Brian holds an M.A. in Organizational Communication, an M.A. in Human Development, and a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems. He is a Master in Polarity Thinking and has a certificate in Organizational Development from Georgetown University.
He lives outside Washington, D.C., where he and his partner are restoring a historic farm and trying their best to keep bees.
Carrie likes her s'mores deconstructed, no marshmallow, heavy on the chocolate. Best enjoyed under the stars, at a bonfire, with a cozy blanket!
Andirons are the uprights in front of a fireplace that hold the logs. They create space for oxygen, allowing the fire to dance and burn brightly. Like polarities, andirons always come in pairs - and the magic of fire happens between their poles. They are a place for connection, they hold the space for paradox, they offer the promise of transformation. And they're a great metaphor for what we stand for - and what our work aims to do.
Cassie likes her s'mores anywhere, anytime, any way! "I mean, it involves chocolate!"
Carrie believes that every person in the world has value. With a passion for equity and accessibility, she has spent her career searching for ways to make the world a better place. With experience in ad tech, leadership, and project management for large corporations and small businesses, she knows how to put people first, and approaches her work with an open-mind. As a Program Manager for Andiron, Carrie strives to find efficiencies, design scalable processes, and organize anything she can get her hands on. She sees the value of polarities in the personal and professional realms, believing in their ability to empower leaders and create equitable, supportive, and emotionally safe team environments.
Carrie is originally from the Pacific Northwest, and currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and blue heeler. She loves spending her free time reading, traveling, or woodworking.
Brian swaps the chocolate bar on his s'mores with a Reese's peanut butter cup. Heaven.
Chuck Miller has spent over 30 years partnering with thousands of leaders and teams around the world to help them increase their effectiveness, solve problems, and strengthen their impact. She blends the latest research on the neuroscience of leadership, behavior, and change with practical business understanding to effectively work with her clients to help them develop mindset, awareness, and strategies that increase their effectiveness and help them to transition successfully into their ‘next-step' or expanding leadership role. Her M.S. from University of Missouri - Columbia is in Adult Learning; she is a graduate of the Organizational Development program at Georgetown University, a certified coach under the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a Key Polarity Indicator Practitioner. Most recently she received a certificate of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the University of Southern Florida.
Chuck lives in Fairfax Station, VA. with her husband Mark and together they have 2 young adult sons. She is a musician, an avid hiker, a passionate baseball fan and serves in a variety of capacities in community, church and professional organizations.
Chuck loves s'mores any way possible! ;)
Job Titles:
- Client Consulting, Success & Growth
As a recent graduate, Cole brings a fresh and current perspective to all his work here at Andiron. Cole has a Bachelors in Policy Management and Economics from Dickinson College, and holds a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercyhurst University. He is a graduate of Navigating Polarities and a Certified KPI Practitioner.
Cole's passion for leadership and athletics was demonstrated as captain of the Dickinson Men's Lacrosse team and as a member of the Mercyhurst Men's Lacrosse team. In his free time, Cole enjoys exercising, socializing with friends, cooking, going to the beach, and snowboarding.
Crista's career began with almost a decade at Walt Disney World, recently finishing a decade with The Detroit Lions. She also enjoyed years at Marriott International, ClubCorp and Hilton Hotels.
Her passion in any of her roles has always remained focused on appreciating team members, guests, and clients, while delivering the best service and experience possible.
Crista received the Partners in Excellence Award with The Walt Disney Company, an honor bestowed on only the top 10% of Cast Members. She was recognized by peers for achieving excellence, creating Disney magic and her proven business results. She also received Marriott Vacation Club's Award of Excellence.
Crista lives just outside Detroit with her husband and son. She enjoys watching most all sports and outings with her son to the zoo, museums, parks and the Detroit River Walk. She is a heartfelt advocate to make the world a better place for those with disabilities: "I am his voice - he is my heart!"
Dionne likes her s'mores with a slightly burnt marshmallow (it might even still be on fire!) with chocolate on the top and the bottom. And, regular Honey Maid graham crackers -- no fancy flavors please!
Danielle specializes in the areas of transformational leadership development and organizational change. In all contexts, she guides and supports leaders and change agents to unlock and accelerate powerful mental, emotional and relational capacities that support them in navigating the complexity of today's world and have greater impact in their organizations and industries.
With over 25 years as an organizational development consultant, Danielle brings a significant breadth and depth to her consulting, teaching and coaching practice. Her experiences have enabled her to develop an understanding of the complexity, challenges and rewards of working in medium, large and matrix organizations. Danielle's clients value her creativity, depth of integral thinking, her emotional intelligence, focus on results and her partnership approach.
For Kelly's s'mores, hold the marshmallow and swap the chocolate bar with several Rolos. A warm Twix bar reimagined!
Dionne Galloway is a skilled strategist, organization and leadership development practitioner, and coach with over 15 years' experience in both the public and private sector. She has spent the better part of the last 9 years of her career working with leaders at all levels to enhance their potential, make lasting change and achieve organizational and career goals and objectives at various organizations.
Dionne is a firm believer that the strength of an organization is largely dependent on the strength of its people and their ability to be high-performing, well-resources, and adaptive leaders. She is deeply committed to building the mindsets, effectiveness, and leadership capabilities of individuals and teams, so that they can experience true transformation, and deliver greater impact and sustained success across their organization.
Dionne holds an Executive Certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership from Georgetown University, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism-with a concentration in advertising, from Howard University in the District of Columbia. She has also served as Programs Officer on the BA Women's Alliance Board of Directors, and is a certified practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instruments and the Key Polarity Indicator tool through Andiron. Dionne is a wife and mother of two, and currently resides in Northern Virginia.
Cole likes his s'mores with extra-long graham crackers, two burnt marshmallows, and two Reese's peanut butter cups. An absolute treat, almost a sandwich!
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Leadership Coach, Consultant
Dr. Nancy Wallis is a leadership coach, consultant, and facilitator of leadership team retreats. Drawing upon her scholarship, passion for action learning, insight, and humor, she serves as guide to leaders engaged in complex and unexpected challenge and who seek the development and transformation of themselves and those they serve.
In her 40-year career, Nancy has served as internal senior leader, professor of organizational behavior and theory at undergraduate and graduate levels in business schools in the U.S. and Austria, academic dean of a graduate leadership program, external consultant, and executive and team coach. Nancy is grounded by decades of internal and external corporate leadership experience, academic rigor, balance between leadership theory and practice, and passion for the possibilities and challenges inherent in leading, especially given the global challenges we are now confronting. Nancy earned her Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems with a focus on organizational leadership development. She earned her M.S.P.H. and M.B.A. degrees from U.C.L.A., her B.S. in Biochemistry from U.C. Davis, and her M.Div. at the Claremont School of Theology. Her passion is in exploring ever new ways in which our interior space, where the human and divine meet, can be the seat of compassionate transformation. She is enjoys being with family, friends, and Stella and Sophia, her fur children.
Nancy takes her s'mores with milk chocolate and graham crackers - hold the marshmallows!
Patrick thinks the best s'mores are with burnt marshmallows and chocolate dripping everywhere...
Job Titles:
- Operations & Client Experience
With 22 years of experience in project management, account service, and marketing, Jenny brings a unique and well-rounded perspective to the Andiron mission as a founding member of the organization.
Jenny is driven by deep desire to make the world a better place for everyone, and a recognition of how truly special it is to be asked to partner with clients on their journey of growth and transformation. As a strategist with strong business acumen, she leads the development of program infrastructure and business initiatives in a way that focuses on the success of both the client and the firm. She holds a bachelor's degree in Marketing with International Business emphasis. Jenny is a graduate of Navigating Polarities and a Certified KPI Practitioner.
Jenny enjoys spending her spare time reading, knitting, and nurturing animals, including feeding too many Goldfish crackers to Brian's goats whenever she can.
Rachael likes swapping a digestive biscuit for a graham cracker (it's the closest Ireland has!) and adds extra chocolate for extra oomph.
Kelly Lewis, PCC, is a principal at Lewis Leadership Group LLC. For more than 15 years, Kelly has been using Polarities as a lens to help leaders and organizations navigate some of their most complex challenges. She is particularly curious about the roles identity and vulnerability play in helping people be successful in the midst of paradoxical tensions.
Kelly works from a principle that leadership is a way of being, not just something we do. She is known by her clients as a coach that "finds the just right place between support and challenge" as well as a "thought partner who leverages her mastery of polarities coupled with her experience as a Fortune 500 executive to understand the context". In addition to coaching and consulting, Kelly teaches about paradox in leadership at Georgetown's Institute for Transformational Leadership, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Maryland.
Kelly is co-author of Navigating Polarities: Using Both/And Thinking to Lead Transformation and a contributing author to On Becoming a Leadership Coach: A Holistic Approach to Coaching Excellence. She is co-creator of the Polarity Navigator, a sense-making tool to deal with polarities, and the Key Polarity Indicator, a 360 assessment that identifies and measures some of the key polarities that contribute to leadership effectiveness.
She is honored to serve on Georgetown's Institute for Transformational Leadership faculty and to have earned her Leadership Coaching Certificate from Georgetown. She is a Master in Polarity Thinking and has been designated a Professional Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation. Additionally, she earned a B.S. in Business Management from Virginia Tech University.
Kelly resides in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, Glenn, and furry child, Charlie.
Job Titles:
- Coach and Organizational Development Consultant
Lena Axén Jergmo is a passionate coach and Organizational development consultant with more than 25 years of experience within the field of Human resources. In her previous roles as HR manager and HR director, she has developed leaders, teams and organizations in several global companies, with a deep passion for enabling growth and development. Today, Lena is an independent consultant operating out of Sweden, with customers globally. She applies a systemic approach to development and can support both structural as well as cultural dimensions of the business. Lena has worked extensively with large scale transformations in global and complex environments, and is an experienced leader.
Lena holds a Master of Science in behavioral sciences and organizational development, and recently finalized an in depth Gestalt theory based training to become Organizational practitioner. She holds ACC coach certification, CTI coach certification, and several group dynamic certifications.
"S´mores isn't really a Swedish thing, but we do barbecue marshmallows and put between crackers! I love them outdoors, by an open fireplace together with dear friends. Next time I will add some chocolate as well!"
Mike Vessey works with individual leaders, teams, and leadership cohorts, across a range of commercial and not for profit sectors. The centre of his practice is helping leaders to grow to navigate complexity, drawing on research in adult development, leadership, and neuroscience. Combining psychological rigour with commercial pragmatism, Mike seeks to work at the ‘edge' of what might be going on, so that people can develop and feel more in flow with the demands placed upon them. From his own life experience and in working with leaders for 30 years, Mike has a belief that we all have a capacity to grow beyond what we might imagine possible, and seeks to balance challenge::support in creating the conditions in which people can truly develop.
As a much younger person Mike studied History and Politics, which to this day gives him a curiosity about the world, environments, and systems. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds multiple qualifications in leading-edge tools and approaches, including Polarities from Andiron and Growth Edge coaching from Cultivating Leadership. As well as Coach and Consultant Mike has been a business leader, starting in transportation and in managing large groups at a professional services firm.
Originally from London, UK, Mike now resides in the mountains of Western Austria where he is writing this bio from a mountain hut. Mike is fascinated by how the natural environment provides ready-made metaphors for complexity. He is learning German - langsam aber langsam.
Monette A. Bailey is an organization development consultant who specializes in helping groups thrive by developing the individuals within them. Her approach to professional and
Patrick Murphy is a leadership coach based in Washington, D.C. He is known for his unwavering enthusiasm and spirit to help leaders succeed. With his unique, award-winning background in film and narrative storytelling, his deep passion lies in helping clients reframe narratives, directing them towards perspectives and outlooks that inspire positive performance.
He is certified through The Co-Active Training Institute (CPCC) and is accredited by the International Coach Federation (PCC). He is a graduate of the Co-Active Leadership Program and is certified to administer and provide feedback for Leadership Circle assessments. He has completed training in leadership, polarities and paradox, neuroscience, mindfulness, and improv and acting performance techniques.
Patrick received a BA in Film Production, with an emphasis on directing and screenwriting, from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2009. He believes his clients' lives are now the films he once sought to create; partnering with them to achieve powerful performances is one of his greatest joys.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Product
Sam is the Vice President of Product at Andiron, where he oversees the Key Polarity Indicator™ Assessment and Andiron's suite of leadership development products. He is a successful entrepreneur and business coach, with a focus on leadership development. Previously, he was Vice President of Learning at Hone, a leading education technology company that provides leadership training for hundreds of companies across the globe.
Jenny prefers her s'mores burnt and messy, enjoyed with close friends on a cool summer night.
Job Titles:
- Leadership Consultant and Executive Coach
Susan is a seasoned leadership consultant and executive coach. With over 20 years of experience as an internal and external consultant she brings a practical perspective on what leader's experience in "real life". Susan is known for applying a pragmatic approach to her passion for helping individuals and groups increase capacity and realize their maximum potential.