ABOUT STEFANIE

“I help LEADERS and NEXT GEN LEADERS build positive workplace culture with human-centric leadership strategies and cheer!”

Stefanie AKA the “Corporate Cheerleader”, is a speaker, author, and former elected official that specializes in key areas today’s leaders find most challenging: building and leading high-impact teams, developing first time and frontline managers, implementing human-centric leadership, and engaging multigenerational workforces.

Armed with over 20 years experience in education, HR, and elected office, coupled with contagious positive energy, practical leadership strategies, and pom poms, Stefanie transforms teams and workplace culture.

Stefanie launched WNY People Development in February 2020 after building leadership competencies as an educational consultant for Johns Hopkins University, leadership roles in student services, workforce development, and HR with Cape Fear Community College, migrated into the corporate sector with Castlebranch (now DISA Healthcare Technology), and served one term on her local Board of Education navigating the Covid pandemic as Board Chair. Utilizing her diverse and unique leadership and development experiences, she wanted to provide highly engaging, interactive, and customizable options, not as a “trainer”, but as a facilitator of information, guiding leaders and emerging leaders though simple strategies, data, reflection, honest conversations, and fun.

In 2024, she published CheerLEADERship: Strategies to Build and Support Human Centric Workplaces for the Future with Amplify Publishing, sharing practical leadership strategies and stories though the lens of a cheerleading analogy. Stefanie is a 15 year cheerleader, and 5 year coach; cheering for others comes naturally to her. Voila, with the release of her book, the Corporate Cheerleader was born! CheerLEADERship was awarded the prestigious Goody Business Book Award in the Leadership-HR and Employee Development category.

Stefanie’s insights have been shared in publications including HR Executive, Leader to Leader (Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum) and WILMA; she has been featured on various national podcasts including Lead the People and Bringing the Human Back to HR. Her greatest fulfillment comes from being invited to spark leadership innovation, speaking in rooms across the United States about how to create positive work culture with human-centric strategies.

Stefanie earned an M.Ed. in Multicultural Education in 2008; her professional affiliations include SHRM, Association Executives of North Carolina, and the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce. Her days are fueled by coffee, chocolate, yoga, new challenges, building relationships, and she firmly believes work doesn’t have to suck, and that building great leaders is the key. Her passions are developing others, serving the community, soaking in the sun at the beach, Philly sports, travel, managing the chaos that comes with life, and kitchen dancing. She currently resides outside of Indianapolis, IN with her husband, son, and two goofy rescue dogs.