Recommended Professionals

by Dr. James Bailey
Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy

Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy

Executive Director, ICSB

Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy is currently an Associate Teaching Professor of Management at the George Washington University’s School of Business. He is an award winning author and teacher, just been recently awarded the Most Outstanding faculty voted by students four years consecutive – 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Dr. Tarabishy is the only faculty in the GW School of Business that teaches in two nationally ranked programs. He developed the first Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Creativity courses offered to MBA and undergraduate students throughout the school of business.

Dr. El Tarabishy is also the Executive Director of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), the oldest and largest non-profit organization across the globe devoted to advancing small business research and practices. ICSB is a coalition of more than a dozen national organizations across the globe and represented in over eighty countries.

Professor Scheherazade Rehman

Professor Scheherazade Rehman

U.S. News & World Report Columnist

Dr. Rehman is the Director of the European Union Research Center (EURC), Professor of International Finance/Business, and Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University, Washington D.C..

The EURC holds the European Commission Award for “EU Center of Excellence in the U.S.” via its American Consortium on EU Studies (ACES) of EU Centers in Washington D.C..

Dr. Rehman is also a Senior Fulbright Scholar.

Kate Ebner

Kate Ebner

The Nebo Company

Kate Ebner, organizational strategist and executive coach, founded the Nebo Company in 2004 in Washington, D.C. Kate’s keen awareness of the challenges and opportunities that face leaders at the top — along with her belief that leaders need partners, not just resources and support — have enabled her development of a forward-thinking model for working with leaders at all levels.

At Nebo, Kate has developed a talented team of coaches, facilitators and strategists who leverage extensive firsthand experience in guiding change in corporations, educational institutions, non-profits, government, associations and organizations focused on social change. This first-hand knowledge, combined with a solid understanding of the success factors critical to effective leadership, is what distinguishes The Nebo Company.

An executive mom herself, Kate has brought her insights about meeting the dual challenges of work and parenthood to serve women in leadership through the MOMreturns program and other Nebo for Women offerings. She walks the talk when it comes to women’s leadership and has established cutting edge programs and methodologies for supporting women’s career and life success.

Today, Nebo serves clients across sectors, bringing expertise in leadership coaching and organizational development consulting. We demystify the process of creating and leading from an inspiring vision. We are committed to working with people who want to make a positive difference for the future.

Dr. Tjai Nielsen

Dr. Tjai Nielsen

C-Suite Future

Dr. Tjai Nielsen is the founder and managing director of C-Suite Future, LLC. He leverages his experiences as a top leadership development consultant and management professor to integrate science and practice to unlock and capitalize on leaders’ full potentials. He concentrates on working with high-potential executives and university leaders who are deeply committed to their personal and professional development.

Tjai has worked with leaders from numerous organizations ranging from large corporations to the United States Congress. He has worked in numerous countries across Asia, North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. In his academic work, Tjai has published research in leading scientific journals, given over 60 invited talks and scholarly presentations around the world, and was recently invited to join a United Nations Expert Group focused on international investment. Tjai has also won multiple teaching awards for his work leading classes at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and research awards for his work on leadership development, team performance, and international investment strategies. 



In addition to his client work, Tjai is currently a professor of management at High Point University (HPU; www.HighPoint.edu) and an international faculty member at Copenhagen Business School (www.cbs.dk). Prior to joining HPU in 2012 to escape “big city life,” he spent almost nine years in Washington, DC as a faculty member at the George Washington University School of Business (www.business.gwu.edu), most recently as Director of Executive Education, Dean’s Research Scholar, and management professor. Tjai currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and three young children.

Gary Brackett

Gary Brackett

Super Bowl Champ & Chairman of The Impact Foundation

Although I was fortunate enough to enjoy a successful NFL career and am now owner of Brackett Restaurant Group, I was a disadvantaged kid first. Growing up in New Jersey with dreams of making it big and making a big difference, I worked hard and promised to reach back and impact others if I ever made it big. Keeping my promise, my wife Ragan and I started the Impact Foundation back in 2007. It was right around then, when we began to realize that the number of low-income and at-risk youth exceeded the availability of resources in our community. We knew in that moment, we must do something that will have a positive and long-lasting IMPACT on the lives of underserved youth. Months later, the Impact Foundation was launched. Since its inception, more than 200,000 youth and families have been impacted by our work.

At the start, we focused on chronic and critically ill children and their families. Now, as I have been in the hospitality field for some time, I have witnessed a disproportionate number of minority and low-income applicants who are unprepared to compete for jobs due to lack of knowledge on how to present themselves in the best possible fashion. As a result, we added two new programs – Impact READY and Impact WORKS. Together with Gary’s Locker and TendHER Heart, the Impact Foundation is transforming lives across Central Indiana in big and meaningful ways. On behalf of the lives we transform…I personally thank you for making an IMPACT!

Anthony Silard

Anthony Silard

CEO of The Global Leadership Institute and the President of The Center for Social Leadership

Anthony Silard, Ph.D., is the CEO of The Global Leadership Institute and the President of The Center for Social Leadership. He was once named Visionary of the Year, and featured at the Presidential Summit for America’s Future and America’s Promise. As a leadership trainer, Anthony has coached thousands of CEOs and senior executives of Fortune 100 companies, small businesses and the world’s largest nonprofits such as GE, Disney, Nokia, Bank of America, IBM, CARE, Save the Children, The United Way and the American Red Cross. He has also coached political leaders, including G-20 cabinet ministers.

Anthony holds a Ph.D. in leadership from IESE Business School, which he received with First-Class/Excellent Distinction. He also holds a Master’s in Public Policy focused on leadership from Harvard University and has received two of Harvard’s most prestigious awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Award and the Manuel Carballo Memorial Award. His leadership programs have helped thousands of people in over 40 countries to create positive, breakthrough personal and social change in their lives and the lives of others.