Lee, a strategy consultant and business coach, founder and CEO of Forrest Consulting, has helped 100s of companies, associations, non-profits, leaders, owners and entrepreneurs be more successful.

Armed with a University of Chicago MBA in marketing and finance and a University of Illinois BS degree in communications, he has been a leader in banking, associations, publishing and philanthropy, and has launched a publishing company and an area business group.

An Association for Strategic Planning (now the International Association for Strategy Professionals) past president and member, Lee holds its Strategy Management Professional certification. He is a trained facilitator and co-founded the International Association of Facilitators Chicago chapter. He is an author of two books, BIG DECISIONS: 40 disastrous decisions and thousands of research studies tell us how to make a great decision when it really matters (2022, available on Amazon) and AHEAD: Strategy is the way to a better future (2013, also available on Amazon), and a blog, Strategic Thinking & Strategic Action (https://www.forrestconsult.com/blog).

Lee currently serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Central Maryland Chamber and chairs its CEO Roundtable.

Lee’s passion or helping organizations and leaders extends to his personal life. He is a certified running coach and spin instructor and coaches runners and triathletes. He is VP of Training and Education for the Annapolis Striders. He has completed 60 marathons and 10 Ironman triathlons.

Jim is the owner of SK Partners, a small independent management consultancy in Washington, DC. Jim has more than 30 years of experience in helping organizations develop strategic performance management systems across many industries including government, non-profit and commercial enterprises such as finance and manufacturing.

Jim’s government clients include the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Washington, DC, Stafford County, the Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County, Events DC, the Department of Energy, the US Air Force, the Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), NASA, the General Services Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and NOAA. Non-profit clients include the National Sporting Goods Association, the Association for Airport Authority Executives (AAAE,) the Direct Marketing Association of Washington (DMAW,) the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, San Miguel DC and DC Net Impact. His commercial clients include the Royal Bank of Canada, Australian New Zealand Bank, CitiCorp, Flagstar Bank, Aetna, Ford Motor Company, and Exxon Mobil.

Jim serves on the Board for the Center for International Relations. He is Past President of the International Association for Strategy Professions (formerly the Association for Strategic Planning), a contributor to ISAP’s The Strategic Edge newsletter, serves on the Editorial Board of IASP’s Strategy Magazine and is in IASP’s Hall of Fame.

Jim recently helped lead a successful initiative to create version 3.0 of IASP’s Body of Knowledge, which provides a common language and a set of best practices for professionals involved in strategic management.

Margaret recently retired from a 35-year career in land use planning and design. After six years of effort, Margaret recently successfully defended her dissertation and received a PhD in Public Policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She is now teaching governmental budgeting at UMBC and statistics at Goucher College.

In her work for Forrest Consulting, Margaret manages projects and leads research initiatives for clients..

Margaret earned a BS in Landscape Architecture at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona and an MS in Regional and Community Planning at Kansas State University.

Over the course of her career, Margaret led the development of master and special area plans in both rural and urban environments, worked with government officials, communities and special interest groups, and advised the private sector in land development issues. She is skilled in the development and management of geographic information system (GIS) databases and is experienced in writing Request for Proposals and managing contracts.

Margaret has strong organizational, project management and team building skills.

Laura, Owner/CEO of Crux Organizing, optimizes organization and productivity for businesses and individuals. She systematizes and monetizes clients’ gain in productivity in many ways, including creating operations manuals, staff head hunting/training, and systems for company growth. She combines a love of teaching, problem solving, and customer service. Her objective is to improve organizational deficiencies due to disorganization and lto eave the client with the skills to maintain their systems.

Laura has served as a project manager for Forrest Consulting. Previously she handled purchasing and logistics as Customer Service Manager for a multi-million dollar coffee company. She executed trade shows and off-site events, built sales protocols and training, created and implemented systems for six companies, analyzed and projected sales, and managed inventory and transit logistics.

Laura is a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and has served as NAPO Baltimore President and Treasurer. She earned her degree in Musical Theater from the Catholic University of America.Description goes here

Tom’s firm is Drouin & Associates Consulting Services. His focus focus is B-to-B companies and not-for-profit organizations looking to develop and execute a business or mission strategy, new business launch or for support in enhancing organizational effectiveness through performance assessment and individual career coaching and development.

A senior executive and professional, Tom’s corporate career was built on strategically conceived product and market innovation, business leadership and excellence in human development. His most recent senior role was at BOISE Inc./Boise Cascade as Director, New Business Development. He has a depth of experience as a volunteer leader in not-for-profit organizations and as a counselor for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Tom has worked as a senior consultant on key assignments for Forrest Consulting, including strategic planning projects for the Association for Challenge Course Technology and the DuPage Foundation.

Tom earned his B.A. at The Pennsylvania State University.

Rod is founder and Lead Ninja of Down Set Lead. He helps leaders, professionals, and organizations get unstuck and grow into what they want to be. That happens though coaching, executive trips and retreats, training, and facilitating mentoring programs.

Rod manages continuing education curriculum and specializes in workforce development and contract training. He coordinates large conferences and events, including fundraisers and galas. Rod also serves as Project Director (through CCBC) of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Baltimore program.

Rod is the author of Down Set Lead!, a guide to the chronology of team leadership, written especially for young professionals, all with a football motif and a few movie quotes thrown in for good measure. Rod shares this methodology for creating a well-oiled, high-performing team.

As a Strategic Business Leader coach, Rod is able to leverage his diverse experience and deep knowledge to help owners, professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs be more successful.

Rod earned his MS in Organizational Development from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School and his BS in Business Administration from Towson University.

Nancy is an accredited coach with the International Coach Federation, bringing over a decade of coaching expertise and more than two decades of facilitation experience to her role. Specializing in coaching leaders across diverse sectors, including Fortune 100 companies, private enterprises, consulting firms, government agencies, small businesses, and startups, Nancy has made a significant impact in cultivating effective leadership.

As a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, Nancy draws on the transformative principles of Dr. Brené Brown's empirically based courage-building program, Dare to Lead™. Her commitment to fostering courage and authenticity in leadership positions her as a sought-after professional in the coaching realm.

Nancy began her career as an engineer for NASA. After completing her Masters, Nancy transitioned to developing engineering managers. She expanded her career into Leadership Development, Organizational Development, and Executive Coaching.

Having worked with clients such as NASA, NOAA, NIH, Department of the Interior, Kimley-Horn, Chief, BetterUp, SkillSoft, ASRC Federal, Northrup Grumman, and more, Nancy brings a wealth of experience and insight to her coaching practice.

Nancy holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and an MA in Instructional Systems Development from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is an avid paddleboarder and actively contributes to the community by serving on the board of the Live Water Foundation in Annapolis, MD. The foundation facilitates watersports programs to support veterans, underprivileged and disabled youth, and advocates for clean water education.

Brandon came into coaching after building an extensive and diverse background at the executive level across multiple industries. With more than 20 years’ experience in strategic planning, financial optimization, and operational excellence, he has successfully guided numerous companies in shaping their futures.

A graduate of Northeastern University, Brandon holds a dual major in Finance and International Business, complemented by a minor in Spanish. His career began internationally, where he served as CFO for various companies in the residential and commercial real estate sectors, as well as a founding partner and CFO of an adventure tourism destination. His experience also includes project management in construction, leading turnaround initiatives for a casino, and owning and operating a fitness facility.

Since returning to the US, Brandon has been instrumental in startup leadership, facility launches with Amazon, system implementations for financial institutions, and consulting with international companies to advise on their US expansion.

Brandon is a certified Project Manager with the PMI and Six Sigma Black Belt from SSGI, among various certifications. Now based in the Annapolis area, he is leveraging his global insights and extensive experience to help small and medium-sized businesses and leaders elevate their organizations to new heights.

Christopher‘s eclectic background, engaging personality, and empathetic approach equip him to be a dynamic business coach. He is entrepreneurial and yet has served in many organizational roles. Retired from the US Army, he founded and ran his own executive protection firm, Loriakin Seven Protection, for a decade and has been a consultant, teacher, and business development executive.

Christopher has strong leadership skills. He has operated in high-stress, volatile situations in complex, ambiguous environments. He has shown discretion, finesse, and confidentiality in dealing with leaders in boardrooms and government-secured facilities.

Christopher earned his Bachelors in Criminal Justice from University of Maryland Global Campus. After his Army career, he earned his MBA from the University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business, focusing on entrepreneurship, international business, and emerging markets. He was involved with the DC I-Corps Federal Tech Venture program, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Jumpstart Workshop, and, in South Africa, Studying Abroad Emerging Global Markets Program.

Christopher’s pursuits include being an athlete - he played baseball in college and rugby in the Army and now plays with his local rugby club - and, as an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster, helping the next generation gain skills in leadership and problem-solving and to develop the work ethic needed to become productive adults.

Christopher’s family is his number one priority: he seeks to exemplify a “team first” mentality for his children.

Leigh is Forrest Consulting’s virtual assistant. Her Ohio-based firm is Victoria Leigh & Co., LLC, which provides general administrative and creative services to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Leigh earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from The Ohio State University.

Leigh began her VA business to help other businesses achieve their goals as well as to help create the life that she and her husband want. They recently became new parents.Description goes here