A career nonprofit leader with a specialty in helping organizations identify and navigate through key growth and pivot points, Kaomi recently stepped down after 11 years as the Executive Director of the beloved Governor’s Institutes of Vermont. Prior to that she worked as a consultant and on the staff of a wide variety of businesses and nonprofits, including four years as Executive Director of a national health advocacy organization, and brought her diverse experience to the business departments of Champlain College and St. Michael’s College where she taught graduate and undergraduate students at as an adjunct professor for eight years. Kaomi holds a Masters degree in Public Administration and Certificate in Adaptive Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School and completed postgraduate work in public policy at Tufts University. 

Dedicated professional with over 15 years’ experience in learning and development with a focus on leadership development. I am an organized and passionate advocate with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. I have worked as an adjunct facilitator for 10 years with Vermont Technical College with leaders from various industries. I am currently the Manager of Patient Experience at the University of Vermont Medical Center. I have worked in Healthcare since 2006 in various roles relating to patient experience, employee and leadership development and Director of Organizational Education and Effectiveness. I have a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Walden University and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree with a concentration in Business from Johnson State College. I am a Certified Patient Experience Professional with the Patient Experience Institute. 

Michael Leonard is a seasoned collegiate coach and certified CliftonStrengths practitioner based in Middlebury, Vermont. With a 13-year career coaching at the Division III level—including roles at St. Lawrence, Elms, Bates, and now Middlebury College—he is committed to helping individuals and teams realize their full potential. A former professional baseball player and UConn team captain, Michael brings deep experience in leadership, performance development, and team culture. At Middlebury, he leads the baseball program, facilitates a first-year student-athlete leadership initiative, and serves as Faculty Head of Wonnacott Commons. He offers coaching in career development, leadership, personal growth, and team dynamics through workshops, individual sessions, and corporate trainings. 

Laurie Koehler, principal and founder of Koehler Consulting, LLC, is an innovative strategist and transformative leader with over twenty-five years of experience in enrollment management, retention, student success, and marketing across public and private universities and liberal arts colleges. She brings her first-hand experience and extensive expertise to serve as a consultant, executive coach, advisor, thought partner, and facilitator for colleges and universities, their leaders, and their teams 

As a C-Suite nonprofit leader, John Chilotowsky led multiple functions to heightened levels of performance, including Operations, Program Development, Content Marketing, and Leadership Development. In his roles, John built high-performing teams from the ground up and mentored leaders to develop their strengths and leadership capacity. He hired, trained, and supervised diverse teams, and designed and led week-long experiential training and retreats for up to 50 employees. He partnered with clients as well as dynamic teams to help them create clear visions of excellence in their work and then supported them to ever-higher levels of innovation and engagement.