WHAT WE DO
Building environments where adults thrive so that they can do their best work for students demands a thoughtful and multi-pronged approach.
Our individualized, coaching supports may be right for you if you’re asking yourself:
How can I develop and harness my leadership strengths?
How can I lead with equity at the forefront and better align my actions with my values and intentions?
What’s my next career move?
Our team-focused supports may be right for you if you’re asking yourself:
How can I build the technical and adaptive skills of my team?
How can we interrupt the unproductive and inequitable habits that are holding our team back from working together well and achieving great results for kids?
Our supports focused on organization-level change and impact may be right for you if you’re asking yourself:
What is our philosophy for talent and how does our talent function bring our organizational strategy to life over multiple years?
What are our beliefs about diversity, inclusion, and equity and how do we live them out?
How will we go about finding and selecting a leader to fill a critical role on our team?
How can we foster an inclusive and healthy culture during times of challenge and change?
How can we create meaningful development experiences for our staff?
Are our compensation and benefits competitive, and are they equitable?
These varying shapes of support intersect in all of the work that we do. Whatever service we are providing: talent-systems advising, executive search, or coaching, our holistic approach will support you, your team, and organization to do your best work for students, and the value we place on diversity, inclusion, and equity will show up in our conversations, strategies, and ultimate impact.
TALENT
ADVISING
Learning
Communities
EXECUTIVE
SEARCH
COACHING
TALENT ADVISING
Work we do includes: vision-setting and multi-year planning for talent and diversity, equity and inclusion; culture and change management; recruitment strategy, performance development, career pathway design and succession planning; compensation and total rewards strategy.
We take time to understand our clients’ context through data collected via our proprietary, proven diagnostic surveys and through intentional conversations with your staff to understand their lived experiences.
Our clients benefit from our background in change management methodology and our first-hand experiences leading change in organizations.
The value we place on diversity, inclusion and equity will show up in our conversations, strategies, and ultimate impact.
COACHING FOR INDIVIDUALS AND TEAMS
Our coaches and veteran facilitators support people to maximize their impact as leaders and talent experts.
Team Coaching and Workshops
We design and facilitate workshops that will build team members’ technical and adaptive leadership and managerial skills. We tailor sessions to your exact needs.
Career and Leadership Coaching
Whether you want to get unstuck, further live into your leadership strengths, build a specific managerial or leadership skill, or figure out your next career move, our expert bench of experienced managers and coaches are here to support you. Monisha Lozier, Tania Clerisme, Lora Cover, Leslie Nair, Rebecca Cagle, Xiomara Padamsee, Atalie Jacobs, Vanessa Douyon, and Cornelius Lee coach leaders from many organizations across the education sector.
Monisha Lozier
Co-Founder
Monisha is: a proud midwesterner, the wife of a submariner-turned-data geek/amateur bluegrass musician, a flawed-but-awed mother, a lucky daughter, a passionate coach, a fired-up feminist, an enthusiastic gardener, an obsessive connector, and a work in progress. Monisha’s 23-plus years of executive search and career coaching experience include roles as: a Co-Founder & Partner of Bellwether Education Partners, Founder of Cobbe Place Consulting (her own search firm), Managing Consultant in the education practice of AT Kearney Executive Search, and as a Client Partner in Korn/Ferry International’s education practice. Monisha holds a BA from Connecticut College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Contact Monisha: monisha@promise54.org
Tania Clerisme
Tania is: a soul connector, laugh-at-her-own-jokester, lifelong New Yorker, and first-generation American mobilized by revolutionary Haitian blood in her veins. Tania’s decade of experience includes roles as an Associate Partner in Bellwether Education Partners’ talent advising practice, Manager in Deloitte Consulting’s human capital practice, and a social worker in various healthcare settings in low-income communities. Tania holds a BA in Psychology from Harvard University and a dual MBA / MSW from Columbia University.
Lora Cover
Lora is: an ever-evolving mom and partner living in Cleveland, Ohio, who still connects to her New York roots and believes in speaking up for justice, equity for kids, and laughter, chocolate and wine for when all else fails. Lora’s 20-plus years of talent and education experience include roles as Principal in Bellwether Education Partners’ talent advising practice, Chief Talent Officer for Cleveland Metropolitan School District where she built a strategic talent team, Senior Vice President for Teach For America, where she lead the human assets team, Managing Director on Teach For America’s national recruitment team, Associate Director for the Public Service Center for Cornell University and fourth grade teacher. Lora holds a BS in Labor Relations from Cornell University and a MPA from The Maxwell School of Citizenship.
Contact Lora: lora@promise54.org
Leslie Nair
Leslie is: a midwest native, veteran wife and mother, grammar boss, and French speaking Bikram yogi, who counts among her claims to fame having cooked dinner for Muhammad Ali! Leslie’s 25-plus years of executive search and advisory experience include roles as: Principal in Bellwether Education Partners’ search practice, Founder of her own search practice, and VP in several other boutique search firms. She has led the execution of senior level searches for clients that create and coordinate ecosystems and foster the growth of high-quality public schools, as well as for for-profit organizations in the finance, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors. Leslie received a BA in French from Bradley University.
Contact Leslie: leslie@promise54.org
Rebecca Knicely Cagle
Rebecca is: a grateful wife, mother, big sister, daughter, and friend, an enthusiastic host, a retired swimmer, an avid fan of tailgates and antiquing, and a believer in the innate dignity of all humans. She is an Atlantan by way of Virginia and her commitment to social and racial justice is shaped by a sense of place. Rebecca’s 12-plus years of experience in talent and education include roles as an Associate Partner on Bellwether Education Partners’ talent advising team, a Vice President on Teach For America’s national recruitment team, where she led several cross-functional initiatives and a team charged with recruiting corps members in the southeastern U.S., and as a middle school teacher in rural North Carolina. Rebecca holds a BA in American Studies from Yale University.
Contact Rebecca: rebecca@promise54.org
Xiomara Padamsee
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Xiomara is: a proud Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Indian cisgender gay woman; a family-first mother and wife, daughter and sister; an enthusiastic pinata maker, former pianist, and a dedicated educator and activist. Xiomara’s 20 years of education and organizational effectiveness experience include roles as Leader of the talent advising practice and management team member at Bellwether Education Partners, Manager in Deloitte Consulting’s human capital practice, and as Vice President of Staffing & Organizational Development on Teach For America’s management team, where she built the organization’s first national talent team. Xiomara holds a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Contact Xiomara: xiomara@promise54.org
Atalie Jacobs
Associate Partner
Atalie is: a doting mother and appreciative wife, who loves exploring great restaurants and small batch coffee roasters in new cities. Atalie credits her commitment to educational equity and racial justice to her roots growing up in Chicago, where she observed the staggering disparities between the resources and facilities of predominantly white versus predominantly black schools across the city. Atalie’s 10-plus years of professional services experience include roles as: a Project Manager in Bellwether Education Partners’ talent advising practice, a Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company, a Founder of an event design and non-profit consultancy, and an Account Executive at McCann Erickson New York, one of the world's largest advertising agencies. Atalie holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a BA in journalism from Howard University in Washington D.C.
Contact Atalie: atalie@promise54.org
Vanessa Douyon
Associate Partner
Vanessa is: a proud Haitian-American, a wife, a sister, and a dedicated party hostess who spends her weekends recipe testing and cookbook reading. Vanessa is a passionate educator who brings practical expertise having served on the senior leadership team for two high-performing, mid-sized CMOs, Blackstone Valley Prep and New Orleans College Prep. Her 10+ years in the education sector include roles in talent at Teach For America and in strategic advising at Bellwether Education Partners. Vanessa began her career as a 5th grade math teacher with Teach For America in Central City, New Orleans. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a BA in sociology from the University of Florida.
Contact Vanessa: vanessa@promise54.org
Cornelius Lee
Associate Partner
Cornelius is: an advocate for those who reside on the margins of society without their consent; a proud black man who identifies as gay; a partner to a wonderful man who has taught him masterclasses in empathy and kindness; a conscientious objector; a work in progress; and a leader and learner of concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cornelius’ decade long career in education includes roles as a classroom teacher, founding school team member, school leader, Adjunct Professor at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Education, and as the Associate Director of Leadership Development at Education Pioneers, where he led the organization’s national programming and operations team. Cornelius holds a BA in Journalism from Western Kentucky University and a M.Ed. from Harvard.
Contact Cornelius: cornelius@promise54.org
My coach has been a trusted advisor and counselor, supporting me in strengthening my leadership voice and making bigger and bolder decisions, in my own development, and to benefit our organization.
Chief Operating Officer for a Charter Management Organization
