Our Experts

Ned is a top leadership strategist and executive coach who works with firms ranging from leaders in their industry to new ventures in the technology sector. He uses a pragmatic, results-oriented approach to help top-tier executives and teams advance their most important business goals, resulting in resilient, growth-minded, transformative leaders with a clear path to early and long-term success. Ned’s work is informed by over 20 years of international business experience working with clients across the Pharma, Healthcare, Technology, Consumer Products, Manufacturing, and Financial Services industries. Recent clients range from start-ups to enterprise leaders, all navigating significant individual and organizational growth agendas. Previously, he held several leadership roles at IBM, helping the company transform its portfolio to nearly 50% cloud and AI/data offerings, including the launch of Watson Health, numerous PE/VC-funded acquisitions, and culminating with the industry’s largest software acquisition of Red Hat. Most recently, he served as the Human Resources Leader for two core professional services businesses, supporting the SVP of Corporate & M&A Strategy and the SVP of Legal and Regulatory Affairs (both reporting to IBM’s CEO). Prior to that, he was the Corporate Development Leadership and Development Global Leader, supporting acquisition and divesture actions, and a Partner with IBM’s Global Business Services (formally PWC), responsible for building enterprise-wide change management transformations.

Mario DiCioccio is an executive coach in private practice, adjunct faculty in the Master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership program at St. Joseph’s University and a consulting executive coach to Wharton’s Executive Education Program, Wharton’s McNulty Leadership Program, and Penn State University’s Executive MBA Program. Through his coaching practice, Mario works with business leaders who want to increase their effectiveness, advance as leaders, feel more satisfied in their careers or have a sounding board for big decisions. His focus areas include leadership development, coaching skills for leaders, management communications, decision making, and work-life balance. Mario has coached leaders from North America, Europe, and Asia and worked with leaders in large and small organizations. Mario’s approach draws on his leadership experiences and coaching skills to catalyze change in his clients. His coaching engagements balance the client’s long-term development with the richness of experience and choice inherent in each moment. Previously Mario was an executive at Merck & Co., Inc., a management consultant at Peat Marwick (now KPMG) and a part-time lecturer and leadership coach at the Wharton School. Mario earned his Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coach Federation and his Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) credential from the Coaches Training Institute where he trained. Mario is also a graduate of the 3-year Gestalt therapy training program offered by the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Philadelphia. He holds an MBA from Temple University and a B.S. in Mathematics from St. Joseph’s University. Mario is also certified in the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory, a 360-degree feedback tool based on the emotional intelligence model for leadership, and the Hogan Leadership Series, a self-scoring personality assessment. He also makes regular use of other assessments including 360-degree feedback interviews and the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Inventory.

Dr. Dina Lichtman is an executive coach and psychologist with a doctorate from Temple University. Her practice specializes in the healthcare arena utilizing her expertise in emotional intelligence and executive presence. Dina works with a broad spectrum of clients ranging from scientists to financial executives to people in new leadership positions. Her work includes performance enhancement, assimilation into new and merged cultures, and leadership impact and development. Dina’s in-depth knowledge of individual and organizational dynamics is based on 25 years of experience. She has the technical skills and the innate presence to work with individuals in clarifying their goals and designing an action plan that specifies steps to reach those goals. As an executive coach, Dina has worked with individuals addressing issues of self-awareness and the mechanisms of success-building behaviors; improvement and enhancement of presentation and platform skills; the ability to establish and sustain quality relationships within teams and organizations. Dina’s clients have included the Wharton School, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Yale-New Haven Health System, Weill Cornell NY Presbyterian Hospital, TheLadders.com, J&J, BMS, Independence Blue Cross, the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunizations (GAVI), NY Langone Hospital, Jefferson Health System, Mainline Health System, Atrium Heath System, Columbia NY Presbyterian Hospital, Christie’s, Daiichi Sanyo International, Waterford Wedgwood, Campbell Soup, Becton Dickinson, NBC Universal, TD Bank, UGI Utilities, and others. Dina sits on the board of The Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Holocaust Museum and Education Center where she teaches students all over the world about the Holocaust and her parents’ survival.

Karen A. DiNunzio, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in leadership and executive development and career management. Her experience includes executive coaching, addressing team and organizational performance issues, and delivering a variety of management, business, and interpersonal skill workshops. She specializes in helping companies ensure their future success through the systematic development and career management of highly talented employees at all levels. She has designed long term leadership development programs, involving competency definition and measurement, feedback mechanisms, full-scale developmental planning, and the creation of rotational programs and assignments. Most recently, Dr.DiNunzio has been part of a collaboration with the Wharton Leadership Program to design, pilot, staff, and launch an executive coaching program available to the entire full-time MBA class. The program now provides individual coaching to over 500 students and engages over 50 professional coaches. Her work continues as Lead Executive Coach for the MBA program and Wharton Executive Education offerings. A partial client list includes Independence Blue Cross, Amerihealth, Presbyterian Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, LaFarge Industries, Cisco, American Express, Rohm and Hass, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and Women’s World Bank. Before starting her own consulting business, Dr. DiNunzio was responsible for directing human resources consulting for the Philadelphia office of Right Management Consultants, an international consulting firm. Earlier in her career, she managed Human Resource projects at Management Analysis Company and was Vice President of W.K. Gray and Associates. Karen’s academic credentials include a BA in Psychology from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. from Temple University.

Makeda Brown is an Executive Coach who dedicates herself to helping individual leaders as well as teams unleash their potential to create value and achieve results. She has helped leaders accelerate their ability to navigate their professional journey, embrace their authenticity and manage change. Makeda believes that coaching is a powerful partnership that drives professional and personal growth for her clients. Clients find Makeda to be very insightful and inspiring. Her natural drive and appreciation of learning are reflected in the unwavering support she provides to her clients. Her formula for client success includes aligning purpose and values in a manner that drives results. Makeda’s approach to coaching is rooted in Energy Leadership which is a methodology that positively influences and supports constructive change in individual perspectives, emotional reactions, and behavior patterns of leaders, employees, and organizations. Makeda holds coaching certifications from the International Coaching Federation (PCC) and from International Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Makeda earned a M.S. degree in Human Resources Development from Villanova University and a B.S. degree in Business Management from the Pennsylvania State University. In addition to her work with Leading with Heart, Makeda is an active member of the Philadelphia Society of People and Strategy (PSPS) and serves as a Board Member/Education Chair with the International Coach Federation (ICF) Philadelphia Chapter.

Colleen Bracken is a leadership and team coach with 25 years of experience supporting people and organizations to be their best. Her expertise falls in the areas of interpersonal dynamics, team development, executive presence, influence and persuasion, and change leadership. Colleen approaches her work with this conviction: Everything flows from the leaders. So, in order for the organization to experience meaningful, sustainable change, the leadership team must first change itself, individually and collectively. In support of this, her coaching approach challenges executives to stretch themselves personally and professionally, while she provides unconditional support in helping them reaching their goals. Colleen’s approach is behaviorally based and business focused. She applies a thorough and pragmatic process that generates measurable differences in the effectiveness of the leader and his/her impact on the organization and team’s mission. Employing a combination of well-researched practices, innovative techniques, and authentic personal connection, Colleen’s coaching sparks valuable new awareness and transforms that insight into meaningful actions and impact. Working with teams, Colleen brings her knowledge of group communication and relationship dynamics, powerful facilitation skills, and an improvisational style to create a setting that unifies groups and inspires a new level of commitment, engagement and performance. Over the span of her career, Colleen has coached leaders from a wide variety of organizations including Jefferson Health System, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Wharton School of Business Leadership Program, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, The United Way, and many more. Colleen co-designed and sits on the leadership team of Wharton’s Executive Coaching Program for the MBA and Executive MBA students, where she also teaches coaching seminars and consults to the Wharton-McNulty Leadership Program. Colleen holds the International Coach Federation PCC credential and a master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is accomplished conducting qualitative assessments, as well as certified in several assessment instruments including Hogan suite of instruments, Korn Ferry 360, and DISC.

Laurie Carrick’s experience includes more than 35 years of executive leadership – a combination of 12 years with Mobil Oil Corporation, 25 years as founding President of Carrick & Associates, a consulting company and 3 years as VP of Global Learning and Organizational Development for Jarden Consumer Solutions / Newell Brands. Laurie’s executive leadership experience and passion to develop leaders is the cornerstone of her success in developing and motivating employees while focusing on improved individual and organizational effectiveness aligned with strategic initiatives. She is an exceptional facilitator, speaker, and executive coach. Her accomplishments span national, international corporations and academic arenas. She has achieved an MBA from Drexel University and a Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania; Graduate School of Education while being awarded Distinction for her dissertation. In the academic community, Laurie has provided executive coaching for the University of Pennsylvania Wharton MBA, EMBA, GMP, AFP, AMP and EDP students and administration. She has also provided executive coaching for the Drexel University Administration and Executive MBA. In the corporate world, she has coached leaders globally in US, Canada, EMEA and APAC in industries including Healthcare, Consumer Products, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, Chemicals, Energy, Publishing, Technology, Logistics, Retail, Transportation, and Insurance. Overall, Laurie has over 1250 hours of qualified coaching hours and 125 hours of International Coaching Federation classroom certification training.

Dr. Jeff Kaplan is a dedicated executive coach and organizational consultant with over 30 years of experience helping leaders reach their full potential. As the founder and driving force behind Leading with Heart, he's committed to empowering executives to lead with purpose, empathy, and humility. Jeff brings a unique blend of academic expertise and real-world experience to his coaching. He holds a PhD in psychology, an MBA, and the prestigious Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential from the International Coach Federation – a distinction shared by only 1,327 coaches worldwide. His coaching experience spans diverse industries, including healthcare, finance, technology, and government. Jeff's approach is tailored to each individual's learning style and personality, making him particularly effective in areas like mindful leadership, executive presence, and navigating difficult conversations. Beyond his coaching practice, Jeff has made significant contributions to the field of leadership development. He's authored multiple books, including the recently published "The Anatomy of Habit Change", and his insights have been featured in publications such as SmartCEO and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Jeff has also developed innovative tools like the LwH-360™ online feedback survey and created coaching programs for prestigious institutions including Penn State's Smeal College of Business and Wharton Executive Education. What sets Jeff apart is his firsthand experience as a former healthcare company COO. This background gives him a deep understanding of the challenges faced by today's leaders. Whether working with seasoned executives or emerging talent, Jeff's goal remains consistent: to help leaders stretch beyond their comfort zones and achieve extraordinary results. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys playing chess, though he admits his skills could use some polishing. This personal touch reminds us that even accomplished professionals have room for growth and enjoyment outside their expertise.

Lisa Kramer has more than 15 years of experience as an executive coach, coach trainer and mentor-coach. She partners with organizations to achieve greater business and personal success by creating a coaching culture throughout the organization. Her coach training and mentoring programs build capacity for leaders at all levels to be effective coach leaders. Since transitioning to full time coaching in 2002, Lisa has successfully coached senior leaders and managers from a variety of industries, including health care, higher education, information technology and non-profit organizations. Clients include Google, ABB, Medstar, Nissan, Google, IKEA North America, VOITH Paper, Jefferson University Hospitals, University of North Texas Health Science Center, University of Pennsylvania, Swagelok Corporation, Cardone Industries and a number of small to mid-size companies throughout North America. She has served as a mentor-coach and coach trainer for hundreds of coaches worldwide. Lisa’s passion for coaching emerged from a successful career in clinical social work and social work education. She was a full-time faculty member at Widener University Center for Social Work Education from 1991-2001. From 2010 – 2018, Lisa served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas Master’s Program in Organizational Behavior and Executive Coaching where she trained both internal and external coaches. Lisa has been affiliated with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 2006 where she is an executive coach for various executive education programs as well as the Executive MBA and full-time MBA programs. She has also served as an executive coach with the Penn State University Executive MBA program. Lisa received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and her coaching certification from the Coaches Training Institute. She is a credentialed coach by the International Coach Federation. A long standing yoga practitioner, Lisa received her 200 hour yoga teacher certification from the Kripalu Center in 2013. Education, Certifications and Professional Affiliations Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coach Federation Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW), University of Pennsylvania Certified Professional Coactive Coach (CPCC), Coaches Training Institute Certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor (RYT 200) Korn Ferry Hay Group Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI) 360 Certification Hogan Assessments Certification

Sarah’s keen understanding of organizations and their people derive from a wide variety of work experiences in both the public and private sectors. An organizational consultant and facilitator for the past 20 years, Sarah’s areas of expertise include: leadership development, executive coaching, meeting design and facilitation, diversity and cultural competence, conflict management, team building, strategic planning and change management. She is known for her clear-sightedness and effortless ability to teach complex ideas and for bringing creativity and presence to her work with clients. Sarah is a Certified Presence Based© Coach, a PCC with the International Coach Federation and a senior faculty of the Presence Based Coach Training. Her coaching practice compliments her consulting work, though she also has a stand-alone coaching practice with coaching clients from corporate, non-profit and higher education sectors. She is an affiliated coach with Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and has presented on Cultivating Resilience and Avoiding Burnout for the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s national conference in 2016. She is also a guest faculty member in the Career Development for Women Leader’s program at Wake Forest University. Sarah also works in the field of Diversity and Inclusion and has worked with The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, InterAction Consulting, The PRIME Institute (Partners Reaching to Improve Multicultural Education), Fellowship Farm, and Training for Change. Locally she was a member of the PRIME Diversity Training Team at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, PA, and she has working with students, faculty and staff at Bryn Mawr College on their social justice curriculum and LEAP leadership development program. She was part of a team working on a system wide culture change project with Merck and Co. as well as Allstate Insurance and Ecolab. She is the lead facilitator of the White People Confronting Racism workshop series at Training for Change in Philadelphia and is a co-founder and facilitator of The Race Institute for K12 Educators. As a graduate of Lehigh University, Sarah’s first career was as a structural engineer in New York City. She no longer practices engineering, but she incorporates problem solving and systems thinking into everything she does. She still thinks of herself as a “bridge builder,” though the bridges are more metaphoric and people centered these days. Her engineering background, along with professional training and development in group theory, culturally competent human services, diversity training, experiential and adult education, mediation, intentional leadership, meeting design and facilitation, improvisational theater and presence-based leadership coaching make her uniquely trained and able to integrate creative methods with more data driven and logical processes. When she is not encouraging others to stretch, she is stretching herself through the practice of yoga, hiking and parenting.

Clare Sautter, MS, PCC serves as companion to those that want to expand their presence, explore their meaning in the world and practice new ways of being and doing. Through her work as a coach, coaching supervisor, mentor coach, hospice volunteer and community leader, she uses reflective practice, creativity, and a good sense of humor to connect and grow. She is an affiliate professor in Organization Development and Leadership at Saint Joseph’s University where she teaches Strategic Leadership and Executive Coaching and is the Associate Director for Coaching and Mentoring for the Coaching Leader program. In addition to her teaching at Saint Joseph’s University, she has taught graduate classes as a lecturer at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania and served as an executive coach in Villanova’s Executive MBA program. Clare’s corporate work experience spans finance/technology, health care, higher education and non-profit leadership. She worked as an Organization Development Consultant at Lehigh Valley Health Network and was Manager of Training and Organizational Development at Drexel University College of Medicine. Her non-profit experience includes Executive Director for Francisville Home for Smaller Animals and Program Director for Canine Partners for Life. Clare received her Master’s of Science in Organization Development and Leadership at Saint Joseph’s University. She completed a Certificate in Theology awarded by Lancaster Theological Seminary. As a way of giving back to her local coaching communities, she has been active in the ICF Philadelphia chapter, serving as 2013 President and VP of Programing. She is currently a member of ICF Maryland and serves on the Programming Committee. She is an Accredited Coaching Supervisor from CSA and is a certified ICF Assessor.

Ruth brings over 20 years’ experience in profit and nonprofit organizations to her empathetic and pragmatic approach working with individuals, teams, and organizations. She builds relationships by meeting people where they are, understanding where they’d like to be and working in partnership to help them get there. Passionate about helping leaders navigate change and build resilience through times of adversity, Ruth has coached executives and their teams in a wide range of functions including information technology, research and healthcare. She helps her clients understand how their thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions affect their behavior and works with them to identify actionable steps that will lead to positive change. Ruth has held HR leadership roles at GSK where she was focused on organizational transformation and at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where her accomplishments include enhancing a leading edge Executive Coaching Program and development of employee engagement and performance management programs. An education and early career in social work formed a foundation in systems thinking and a strengths-based perspective that underlies everything she does. Outside of work, Ruth loves gardening, spending time outside, lifting weights and is a lifelong student of nutrition, mindfulness, and resilience. Ruth holds an MBA in Management, an MS in Organizational Development and is trained as an Executive Coach.

Lilly Linton is a certified executive coach working with both individuals and teams to deliver positive change and solid results for her clients. Her approach is practical in nature, and is focused on helping her clients to identify options for taking their leadership and communication skills to the next level. Ms. Linton has a unique view in working with her clients, having served as a management consultant for Fortune 100 and 500 firms; working directly with executives to solve large-scale organizational challenges. This experience allows her to identify more clearly the scope of her client’s concerns and obstacles, and allows her to interact with her clients with a greater degree of understanding and credibility. Lilly sharpened her management consulting skills at PricewaterhouseCoopers. While at PWC, she served as a Practice Leader with a primary focus on the people side of strategy and change. She later honed her skills as an executive coach serving as a Managing Director for CRA, a boutique leadership and communications firm. She has dedicated considerable time and resources to the topic of leadership accountability and is a contributing author of McGraw-Hill’s Leadership without Excuses published in April of 2010. Her client work includes global financial institutions, pharmaceuticals, chemical, and software companies, as well as US based and publicly traded utilities, consumer packaged goods, and banking. Other clients include luxury retail brands, title insurance, healthcare and hospital systems, human resources outsourcing, mortgage lending and contact centers. Ms. Linton is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park and holds a degree in Economics. She is a certified Marshall Goldsmith Coach, as well as a certified Coaching educator, working with peers to share meaningful coaching techniques and to develop best in class approaches. She is a member of the Wharton School of Business adjunct faculty, serving as a coach for MBA and Executive MBA students. Lilly has served as a mentor for Philadelphia Futures, an organization focused on 1st generation college students and donates her time to various efforts focused on assisting out of work executives. She resides in Philadelphia, PA and is fortunate to serve clients throughout the US and beyond.

For more than a decade, Faisal has helped people flourish in life through coaching, consulting, and training at the individual and organizational levels. As an expert in Applied Positive Psychology and the science of human flourishing, Faisal’s approach to coaching is born from his belief that organizations become more capable of delivering results by ensuring that their talent is aligned with business strategy and that employees are engaged, fulfilled and resilient. Faisal’s background includes substantial on-the-job experience as a finance and technology executive in the USA and the UK. As a lifelong learner, Faisal’s academic credentials are broad and deep. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a Master in Applied Positive Psychology. He holds a Professional Certified Coach credential with the International Coach Federation and is a member of the Forbes Coaching Council. As well, he is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, a Certified Applied Positive Psychology Practitioner, and Coach, and an Organization and Relationship Systems Coach. He is also a Certified Hogan Assessment Consultant. Faisal founded 1ExtraordinaryLife, LLC, a practice that specializes in helping organizations optimize their talent through research-based practices and data science. He also instructs lectures and coaches for programs at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the founder of the Penn Program for Flourishing, to help students gain the skills to flourish in school life and beyond.