I’m a former management consultant, advisor to Gov’t executives, and an ex-Chief of Staff for a COO. You can imagine the meetings I’ve led…a small leadership meeting where a big, unpopular decision is on the table. A staff all hands with operations staff rolling out a handful of new initiatives. A virtual team doing final copy editing of a proposal due the next morning. A classroom of 40+ ambitious staff learning core consulting skills. A design workshop to scope out a new service & all its operational components.

I’m also a mom, wife, snowboarder, aspiring pianist, and traveler…I’ve got a lot of energy and see life with a lot of optimism. My husband and I still do date night, in spite of having 3 young kids. We live far away from our parents, and yet our kids see their grandparents a handful of times every year. I’m only half of the marriage equation, of course, but the majority of our collective family energy is spent on what matters to us, even if it costs us something.

Okay, so…what does all this have to do with The Semmel Group? Back in 2017, at about 4am one night, I found my husband awake, worried. The thing literally keeping him up at night was… me. My job. My pace. My stress. My tendency to value work (more specifically - feeling smart and fixing things) over him & others I loved. He didn’t know what the answer was, but something needed to change. 

I hired my first coach after that night. I knew good intentions wouldn’t be enough for me to take action. Since then, I’ve learned to navigate to roles that better align with my strengths and values. I’ve become more intentional in how I approach my relationships, hobbies, free time, and goals.

When I took a role as a Chief of Staff, most of my colleagues thought I was opting out of a prosperous future in consulting. And maybe it was. For me, it was the result of countless conversations about wanting to be a well-rounded leader, be part of C-suite decision making, and get exponentially more exposure to different types of leaders.

Taking the leap to small business ownership is a continuation of those conversations for me. It’s about narrowing my focus to leaders, while also broadening the pool of leaders I can support. It’s about helping leaders build teams and environments that enable good, fun, and fulfilling work.

Put simply, The Semmel Group is a product of my ongoing personal convictions & professional experiences. My hope is to help leaders walk through every stage of growth with strength, confidence and intention.