Our Team
Nicole Smart
Founder | Principal Consultant
Nicole Smart is an accomplished leader with extensive experience driving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and cultural initiatives, operational excellence, and leadership development. She has worked with a variety of organizations, including the National Football League (NFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
In 2017, Nicole became the first Diversity Director at Actors’ Equity Association, where she established a pioneering department to advance inclusion in professional live theatre. She later founded Smart EDI Solutions LLC to support businesses in strengthening their culture and inclusion efforts. Nicole has collaborated with startups and Fortune 50/1000 companies, driving impactful cultural and inclusion initiatives and enhancing employee engagement through innovative programs.
In recognition of her contributions, Nicole was honored with the 2024 Caribbean Life Impact Award. She also teaches a graduate course on the business of professional sports at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport and serves as an advisor, board member, and contributor for leadership and engagement initiatives through her roles with NYU, Cornell University, Women in Sports and Events (WISE) NYC Metro, and Chief.
Nicole holds a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Leadership and Management Studies from New York University.
Melissa Schulz
Contractor | Executive Coach | Corporate Trainer
Melissa has a proven track record of developing strong leaders and high-performing teams. She brings 25+ years of experience in hiring, managing, coaching, training, facilitating, and presenting to her role as an Executive Coach and Corporate Trainer.
Melissa spent much of her career working at some of the world’s best advertising agencies, but her true passion has always been in leadership development. In her last big agency role, Melissa hired and managed a team of over 32 direct reports. She helped develop and then implemented a new way of integration for Procter & Gamble and for seven years, this included training over 1000 employees at over 200 agencies, in over 80 countries around the world. She has presented ideas and learning in hundreds of situations from one-on-one to small groups to groups of hundreds.
Melissa brings limitless energy to each and every executive coaching engagement. She partners with her clients to accelerate professional performance and expand leadership capacity. She has worked with a variety of clients across many sectors (communications, healthcare, non-profit, tech, financial, retail, and education), and at multiple stages of their careers, from mid-level managers to C-suite executives.
Melissa has partnered with the Female Quotient to bring “confidence coaching” to as many women executives as possible, and is frequently a speaker at women’s leadership events. She is also a trainer and coach for No Bully, a non-profit that aims to eradicate bullying in schools across the country.
Melissa graduated with honors from Boston University, received her Executive Coaching Certificate from the iCoach New York program at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, and is a member of the International Coaching Federation.
Melissa’s specialties include: Management & Leadership Development, Executive Presence, Emotional Intelligence, Presentation Skills, Performance Management, Time Management, Conflict Resolution, Developing Respectful Work Cultures, Harassment/Bullying Prevention, Unconscious Bias, and Team-Building.
Randolf Saint-Leger
Contractor | Workshop Facilitator | Executive Coach
Randolf Saint-Leger began his career on Wall Street helping to cover Fortune 500 companies as a research analyst. He left Wall Street to pursue his passion of entrepreneurship, successfully leading a buyout of a qualitative marketing research company, serving as its president. Recognizing the importance of having the right employee talent in the right positions, Mr. Saint-Leger embarked on a mission to help other small and medium-sized companies in the areas of leadership, team building and operations.
His passion for entrepreneurship generated engagements with several startups serving as interim CFO and management consultant where he was instrumental in helping entrepreneurs through the business formation process, talent acquisition, and financial operations. Mr. Saint-Leger is a contractor for Smart EDI Solutions, a consulting practice specializing in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly at the management level.
Mr. Saint-Leger is an author of several articles and holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing and a Master of Business Administration.
Dr. Sabrina Townsend
Contractor | Executive Leadership | Talent Management Diversity & Inclusion | Learning & Development
Sabrina Townsend is a seasoned leader with extensive expertise in talent management, diversity and inclusion (DEI), innovation, and organizational transformation. With a career spanning over two decades, she has built a reputation for empowering high-performance teams, fostering inclusive work environments, and driving sustainable growth through strategic planning and leadership development. Known for her collaborative leadership style, Sabrina excels at aligning business objectives with workforce planning and organizational development to deliver impactful, measurable results.
Sabrina holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University, an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco, and a B.A. in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University. She is certified as a Lean for Healthcare Yellow Belt, a Cultural Competency Trainer, and a Certified Diversity Executive.
Beyond her corporate contributions, Sabrina is an active speaker on topics such as inclusive leadership, generational diversity, and managing difficult conversations. She serves on the boards of the Set Me Free Project, a non-profit focused on sex trafficking education, and the Center for Societal Aspiration, a healthcare IT program. Sabrina is passionate about unlocking the potential of individuals and organizations alike, inspiring innovation, and fostering a culture of inclusion and growth at every level.