David has over a decade of experience in market research and strategic planning. As former Director of Strategy and Market Research for the CFA Institute’s Asia Pacific region, David has extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative market analysis. He then went on to become Global Strategic Planning Director where he provided group facilitation for departmental strategic planning. Along with running his consulting firm, Deaton Group LLC, David is also the director of Charlottesville Alliance FC, a non-profit semi-professional soccer team competing in the NPSL which aims to help underprivileged youth in Charlottesville, VA.

As an Organizational and Developmental Consultant, Kelly works with top leaders to clarify and solidify their mission and core values. She coaches, trains and inspires teams. She identifies inefficiencies and gaps in systems and navigates change management. Recognizing the impact of communication in an organization, Kelly works alongside the leadership to develop and implement strategic, effective and efficient communication methods and systems. Kelly helps to customize each solution, recognizing the unique attributes of the culture and people she serves. As a trained psychotherapist in practice for over 20 years, Kelly draws on her expertise in human behavior and her understanding of systems. As an International Certified Leadership Trainer and Executive Coach, Kelly provides comprehensive leadership training and one on one coaching.

As a long time resident of Charlottesville, VA and a University of Virginia alumni, not only is Kelly a Wahoo, but her husband Dan, and two children, Ben and Syd, are as well. If she is not doing yoga, Kelly is often found taking advantage of the trails around Charlottesville running or hiking with her dogs Bear and Eli.

Amy-Sarah Marshall, founding president of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network, has guided the organization through several successful festivals and dozens of initiatives benefitting the LGBTQ community. In her role with Cville Pride, she’s presented at panels and conferences, developed a robust social media presence, and led business, fundraising, and public relations efforts. Marshall led a collaborative initiative to found SafeCville, launching a robust safe-space training program that she delivers to businesses, schools, churches, individuals, and nonprofits throughout central Virginia. A 2016 recipient of the Q Award, given by the Business Women’s Roundtable of the local Chamber of Commerce, Marshall’s served on the UVA Health Transgender Advisory Committee, the Governor’s Task Force on LGBT Tourism, and the Charlottesville Human Rights Commission. With an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry and over 15 years’ experience writing, editing, communications, and teaching writing and promotion, Marshall works at UVA Health doing SEO, analytics research, blog writing, and online content strategy. She lives in Charlottesville with her wife, two children, two dogs, and two cats.

Jeff Lucas is currently the Director for the Be Safe Program at the University of Virginia Health System. Be Safe is UVA’s signature program for becoming the safest place to work and receive care through the implementation of a Lean Management System. Prior to joining UVA, Jeff spent 12 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, primarily as the Deputy Director of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. Jeff is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Development from Johns Hopkins University and a Post-graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation from the Claremont Graduate University.

Jeff graduated from CNE’s Board Academy in 2019 and serves on the Board of Directors for Virginia SPQA, a nonprofit that administers the United States Senate Productivity and Quality Award for Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Rooney currently serves as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Army’s National Ground Intelligence Center.  Concurrently, she is Adjunct Faculty at the Brookings Institution, the FBI’s National Executive Institute, and Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Adventure School teaching leadership courses with a focus on the application of neuroscience to the art of leadership. Previously, she served as Senior Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute, Faculty at the United States Military Academy teaching in the Leadership and Behavioral Science Department; and served as a counselor for victims of violent crime with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.  PJ earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Education from the University of Virginia, an M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College, a M.Ed. in Human Development Counseling from Vanderbilt University, a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from the Piedmont Virginia Community College.

Mindy Flanigan loves simple. After 20 years of working in the HR Outsourcing Industry, she grew impatient and concerned about the stigma that small businesses had about Human Resources: HR was too complex. Mindy was inspired to change that and saw an opportunity to un-complicate the complicated.

In 2007, she founded Inspiring HR to specialize in employee management basics for small businesses and developed a service model to keep her and her team accountable: HR-SURE®. Human Resource service that is Simple, Understandable, Relevant and Empowering.

She’s shy on the inside but Mindy is outspoken and passionate about helping Inspiring HR clients with labor law compliance and best practice decision-making. She believes there must be a “balanced” approach to this, and often describes HR as more of an art than a science.

Mindy’s passion for small business HR has transformed her into someone who loves to lead, coach and train. Training may even run in the family. Her husband is an IronMan and Endurance Sports Coach for triathletes.

When Mindy’s not clearing the clutter of perceptions on HR, she’s clearing the clutter in her home. One dog, one cat, and one adorable daughter keep her house busy and her heart full.

Jennifer has specialized in the field of compensation and held total reward focused roles for the past 15 years.

With over 20 years in the human resources field, she has worked with nonprofit, private, local and federal government, and higher education organizations. Her primary focus has been to develop and implement strategic compensation solutions through policy and procedure development as well as improvements to compensation processes in the areas of base pay maintenance, market evaluations, regulatory changes, rewards and recognition programs, and bonus/incentive plan design.

​She holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.S.Ed. in Human Resources Development from James Madison University.

Strategic Compensation Solutions is a SWAM certified organization.

A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Caroline Emerson graduated with honors from Sewanee: the University of the South, with a B.A. in Philosophy.

After a brief stint in the talent management industry, Caroline found a home in the nonprofit sector. She worked for five years at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts, interacting with artists from around the world, including “Lion King” creator Julie Taymor and, more famously, Elmo. At the Center, Caroline spent two years as Public Relations Director and two as Development Director.

Caroline presently serves as the Vice President for Community Engagement and Campaign for the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, where she has worked for nearly 27 years! At the United Way, Caroline develops and implements philanthropy strategies; facilitates community partnerships; recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers; coordinates special events, develops funding requests; and serves as a community representative of the organization. She firmly believes that she has the best job.

Caroline lives in Southern Albemarle with her wife, chickens, dogs, cats, gardens, and a fish pond. There are always chores to be done, but that’s what makes her happy.

In her 20+ years of experience in leading nonprofit organizations, most recently as Sr. Head, Membership Products at CFA Institute, Elizabeth has built and led teams in a variety of functional areas including IT support, website management, multimedia publishing, project management, business process improvement, and human-centered design.

As a senior consultant with ResilienceMaker Strategies LLC, she helps organizations ensure their financial sustainability while delivering on mission. Elizabeth uses ethnographic and quantitative data analysis combined with techniques from design thinking, scenario planning, and systems change-making. She helps organizations understand opportunities, solve complex problems, clarify a vision for the future, create a strategic plan, and develop realistic work plans to accomplish strategic goals.

A longtime resident of Earlysville, VA, Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Brown University. A graduate of CNE’s Board Academy, Elizabeth is President of the Board of Camp Holiday Trails, a nonprofit organization serving children and teens with medical needs through programs delivered in Charlottesville and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Contact Elizabeth here.