Our Team

/ EMILY BERMES, CEO /

Emily Bermes began consulting in 2000 and has significant experience in executive coaching, organizational and executive assessment, leadership development, ‘new-to-role’ officer transitions, and culture shaping disciplines. Her work has covered a wide spectrum of industries in the Fortune 500 environment including financial services, commodity, CPG, pharmaceutical and life sciences.

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Her unique consulting approach blends her skills as a social science researcher with her 15+ years of experience as a senior-executive coach, organizational consultant, and facilitator to address the most complex organizational and human capital challenges. Emily’s portfolio of skills and business experience have made her a widely sought-after coach to “C” suite executives and a trusted advisor to senior management teams and Boards of Directors.

Prior to career in professional services, Emily was a Resident Faculty Member at Indiana University-Purdue University for twelve years. While in academia, she was an Honors Faculty member, published researcher, and the academic administrator of the University’s largest program.

Emily holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication and a Master’s Degree in Business and Professional Communication from Purdue University. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC); a credential widely recognized as the most prestigious and rigorous in the executive coaching industry.

/ Erin Correa, Executive Coach & Principal Consultant /

Erin has spent the past 15 years in roles helping people grow and develop. She’s been the Executive Director of a leadership development company, authored leadership development curriculum, facilitated leadership development programs across the United States and led the executive development efforts of a Fortune 300 company.

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In her corporate financial services work Erin helped lead a company-wide culture transformation, built and implemented an employee engagement strategy and collaborated with company officers to define and develop critical capabilities needed to accelerate talent and drive strategic business priorities.

Erin is a trained Co-Active coach who is known as a relationship-builder, connector of both people and ideas and a catalyst for change. She believes a company's success begins and ends with its people. Erin loves what she does and is passionate about helping others feel the same. Erin has a Masters in Education and a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from James Madison University.

/ Donna Krone, Executive Coach /

Ms. Krone is a Professional Certified Coach with a 30-year business background in financial and health care services. Her vast experience in business, combined with her warm interpersonal skills, gives her a unique presence as a powerful leadership coach. She is a member of the Institute of Coaching Professional Association (ICPA), affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

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A trusted partner who consistently exceeds expectations, Donna helps promote meaningful and sustainable change in individuals and organizations. Donna uses a multi-dimensional approach in her unique offerings focused on Professional Development, Leadership Training, Creativity and Innovation.

Donna received her coach training and her Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC) certification at The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), the premier international coaching school accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). She also earned the prestigious Professional Coach Certification (PCC) credential from the ICF. Donna is a graduate of a yearlong CTI leadership intensive in Northern California, which develops both internal competencies and high impact front-of-the-room leadership skills. Donna is a teacher and curriculum designer for the True Purpose Institute™ and Life Change Artists™, training coaches and consultants in advanced level coaching skill mastery. Donna recently completed a term on the board of directors for the Life Planning Network. Donna is an Executive Coach with Kinsley Group, where she brings her powerful coaching style to senior and mid-level leaders. She also has a private practice in Boston, where she works with leaders, and individuals seeking to bring more meaning, purpose and creativity to their personal and professional lives. Donna holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts.

/ Susan Bean, Executive Coach /

With over 16 years of experience in organizational effectiveness and talent management, Susan's work has spanned a broad spectrun of industries, both in the U.S. and overseas. Her experience is complemented by an MSc in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from the University of London.

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As an Organizational Development Consultant, Susan designs and facilitates customized programs focused on all aspects of leadership effectiveness, team alignment and brand refinement, corporate culture, talent management, high-potential leadership, and succession planning for Fortune 500 firms. Working with leaders transitioning to positions of business impact, she helps individuals address leadership, environmental, and cultural barriers to greater effectiveness.

Susan’s methods for working with leaders — whether it be in the C-Suite or on the front lines — deliver powerful, lasting results to individuals and organizations.

/ Zahra Saigar, Executive Coach /

Zahra combines her breadth of experience across a range of industries, from Pharmaceutical and Consumer Healthcare to CPG, and disciplines, from Marketing to Change Management Consulting, to understand the landscape her clients face in their personal and professional worlds.

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As a management consultant, Zahra worked alongside leadership from Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries (CPG to Consumer Healthcare and Pharmaceutical), learning the inner workings of complex organizations. At the same time, being a member of a small team in a boutique consulting firm, showed her the unique challenges and incredible opportunities leaders here face as they forge their trail.

Her experience, coupled with formal education from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and certifications from the CoActive Training Institute (CTI) and International Coaching Federation (ICF), provide Zahra with a solid foundation with a balance of hard and soft skills. As a Leadership Coach, Zahra leverages the transformational power of sustainable and incremental change over time to deliver palpable results to her clients. She combines an entrepreneurial spirit, professionalism as well as warmth to instil confidence in those she works with.

/ Patty Oji, Executive Coach & Principal Consultant /

Patty Oji is a solutions-driven leader committed to building and enhancing leadership that is discerning and courageous to achieve transformation and impact for individuals and organizations. Patty leverages 20 years of multifaceted experience managing high-level projects and initiatives for national and local clients to guide strategy and planning, organizational sustainability, talent development, new ventures, and more.

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As a dynamic executive coach - with an innate aptitude for listening - she is known for bridging cultures, motivating client performance, and developing leadership competencies. She has a strong and proven track record of employing her significant training and education in human/organizational development to galvanize and elevate client performance and outcomes.

Integrity, growth, conscious leadership, and values-aligned accountability are hallmarks of her leadership and professionalism. Her clients describe her as a trusted advisor, highly qualified, capable, passionate, a collaborator, committed, and knowledgeable.

/ Sonia Checchia, Principal Consultant /

Sonia Checchia is a seasoned communications executive and management consultant with 13+ years leading executive communications, internal communications, branding, messaging and positioning strategies for management consulting, government, higher education, and not-for-profit organizations. Sonia’s communications expertise is in the fields of human resources, diversity and inclusion, leadership development, and learning and development.

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Prior to joining Emily Bermes + Associates, Sonia was the Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Senior Communications Consultant at LEA Consulting Group and the Creative Director at Creative Types Consulting.

Sonia has a masters degree in Sociolinguistics (Georgetown) and is an expert on the interplay between language and culture. She specializes in identifying misunderstandings that take place in corporate environments and creating customized solutions.

Sonia is fluent in Italian and Spanish and is energized by intercultural exchanges and the opportunity to leverage her foreign language skills.

/ Antonio Estrada, Principal Consultant /

With 25+ years of experience in investment banking and structured finance, Antonio understands both the demands of business and the human aspects of leadership development. He works with leaders to build executive presence, improve their performance management, develop team-building skills, manage difficult conversations and negotiations, and polish their public speaking skills. Antonio also manages and debriefs 360-degree assessments.

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Having worked in private corporations as well as large multinational institutions and governmental entities, including the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, he has a broad understanding of the demands on today’s leaders. Antonio’s multicultural background contributes to his intuition and vision when facing business complexity. His financial and business acumen together with his Engineering analytical skills have been key to identifying relevant drivers to resolve convoluted situations. Antonio’s effective negotiation and strategic planning skills contributed to successfully implementing and achieving solutions in protracted transactions involving numerous stakeholders with non-aligned incentives.

Antonio holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar and an MBA in Finance from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, both in Venezuela. Antonio is an International Coach Federation certified Professional Certified Coach (PCC). He is also a certified 360-degree feedback assessment consultant by The Ken Blanchard Companies (Leader Action Profile II) and by The Booth Company. Antonio is proficient in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

/ Krista Bridges, Proj. Manager /

Krista recently joined Emily Bermes + Associates as a Project Manager. Her former 10 year+ background in marketing and events provided her with unique opportunities to take ownership of many high profile client initiatives, working directly with brand and senior leadership team executives.

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Her resourcefulness allows for dynamic problem solving, a critical skill when managing multiple teams, timelines, deliverables, and project work. She is thrilled to bring her natural attention to detail, organization, and management experience to the Bermes + Associates team.

Krista holds a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from the University of Rhode Island, summa cum laude. She recently extended her personal development education, obtaining her Diploma in Personal Training & Fitness from the Premier International Training Academy in London. Krista brings the same professional level of dedication to her clients both inside and outside of the office.

/ Sloan Canaday, Leadership Coach, Facilitator, Trainer, and Consultant /

Sloan Canaday is an independent coach, facilitator, trainer, and consultant specializing in leadership and team development. In her 20+ years of corporate experience, she helped organizations enhance their operations through financial and business analysis, project management, software development, business process outsourcing, and business process engineering. She worked in the healthcare, manufacturing, and insurance industries and has experience coaching and consulting for non-profit and start-up organizations.

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When Sloan's role expanded to include leading the company's first outsourcing initiative to transition back-office operations to an offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, she worked with an executive coach. The coach's knowledge, perspective, and support helped her thoughtfully plan approaches and gave her the confidence to step into new situations with courage and ease. From that experience, she knew she wanted to become a coach to pay it f orward and play the role of coach for others. After completing the coach training course, Sloan created internal coaching programs for multiple departments within the organization and was also responsible for Argo Group's Global Operations team's communication and talent development efforts, including leadership coaching. Coaching is important to Sloan because she knows there's increasing pressure on individuals and leaders across all types of organizations to innovate, create more with less, and enhance the bottom line. Sloan believes that the answers, solutions, and way forward lie within each individual. By connecting questions, ools, techniques, and frameworks, she helps leaders uncover and unlock their own power and potential to optimize their leadership capability and effectiveness and achieve their best. Sloan lives in Richmond, VA with her husband Brian.