About Celestial Consulting
Before starting Celestial Consulting, we wanted to ensure that we offered services that would increase our clients' impact in their work and accelerate the pace at which they could achieve their missions. So we asked leaders across many organizations in different sectors, "what are some of your greatest pain points?" Regardless of sector or size, the responses fell into common buckets: building, planning and managing. Many leaders said they needed help BUILDING (trust, cultural competence & interpersonal awareness, skills, and structures). Leaders also expressed a need for help with PLANNING because they were reorganizing, growing, downsizing, shifting directions, or striving to be more intentionally inclusive and equitable. Others said that guidance in MANAGING was their need, including "managing up," managing others, managing across different backgrounds and social identities, and managing through conflict.
Celestial Consulting was founded to address these pain points, so people can move past friction and get the help they need to build, plan, and manage toward outstanding results. We have successfully helped organizations increase retention rates, create and implement policies to ensure equity, and grow the skills of managers to improve effectiveness and impact. Please see our Services page for ways we may help you.
Celestial Consulting was founded to address these pain points, so people can move past friction and get the help they need to build, plan, and manage toward outstanding results. We have successfully helped organizations increase retention rates, create and implement policies to ensure equity, and grow the skills of managers to improve effectiveness and impact. Please see our Services page for ways we may help you.
Our Founder |
Carrie L. Ellis is the Principal Consultant of Celestial Consulting LLC where she uses her more than 20 years of experience to advise and partner with managers, teams, and organizations as they navigate workplace complexities; she knows first-hand the challenging work of leading. Through her career, with roles including the Vice President of People Development at Teach For America and the Director of Project Management at KaBOOM!, Carrie has developed skills in small and large team management -managing from 3-26 people, effective program design and implementation, strategic thinking and planning (she and her KaBOOM! team were responsible for the completion of projects with over 1,400 communities and 200 funders), and nuanced partnership development techniques. Additionally, as a diversity, equity, and inclusiveness specialist, Carrie partners with teams to help them enact culture-focused, equitable solutions that resolve difficult situations, create sustainable change, and result in better organizational outcomes.
A certified coach, Carrie leads with curiosity, compassion, joy and a belief in people’s abilities and capabilities to do more than they thought possible. As one Executive Director client described, “[Carrie] is extremely competent on the toughest of all topics – people: she gets to know people very well, she understands their perspectives and uses that to figure out how to improve situations, performance, happiness, etc. She has excellent judgment, both real time and stepping back to flesh out a bigger picture course of action.” She is a skilled listener who is able to discern what is most important to people and situations and then translate what’s important into strategies and actions. These skills - coupled with her ability to think critically, focus on results, and develop the systems and processes that enable people to succeed - underpin Carrie’s reputation.
Carrie graduated with honors from Spelman College and the University of Southern California. As an alumna of the American Express Leadership Academy, she was selected to participate in the 2015 and 2018 Global Alumni Summits in New York with other social justice leaders from around the world. She served on the board of Teaching for Change for over 10 years and is an Aspen Institute Fellow. She loves a good cup of tea and learning about herself and others through travel, reading, concerts, and dance.
A certified coach, Carrie leads with curiosity, compassion, joy and a belief in people’s abilities and capabilities to do more than they thought possible. As one Executive Director client described, “[Carrie] is extremely competent on the toughest of all topics – people: she gets to know people very well, she understands their perspectives and uses that to figure out how to improve situations, performance, happiness, etc. She has excellent judgment, both real time and stepping back to flesh out a bigger picture course of action.” She is a skilled listener who is able to discern what is most important to people and situations and then translate what’s important into strategies and actions. These skills - coupled with her ability to think critically, focus on results, and develop the systems and processes that enable people to succeed - underpin Carrie’s reputation.
Carrie graduated with honors from Spelman College and the University of Southern California. As an alumna of the American Express Leadership Academy, she was selected to participate in the 2015 and 2018 Global Alumni Summits in New York with other social justice leaders from around the world. She served on the board of Teaching for Change for over 10 years and is an Aspen Institute Fellow. She loves a good cup of tea and learning about herself and others through travel, reading, concerts, and dance.
Collaborators
Jen Mayer’s work focuses on helping leaders and organizations work from their collective wisdom while building the relationships, skills, and leadership to take action and expand their impact. She is a Certified Professional Coach, trainer, instructional designer, and facilitator with more than 25 years of experience in culture transformation, change management, liberatory-consciousness, and team training and development.
Jen is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She has been trained by the National Equity Project and is a founding participant in Margaret Wheatley’s Warriors of the Human Spirit Fellowship. She’s a certified ChangeBuilders TM and Sacbé Way TM facilitator, and certified to administer several leadership assessments including the Energy Leadership Index and DiSC assessment. Jen was a middle school teacher and teacher trainer before she moved to the nonprofit sector where she has been executive director and held positions in school and nonprofit leadership, organizational development, human resources, and fundraising across organizations including El Pomar Foundation, The Student Leadership Institute, and The Breakthrough Collaborative. Prior to starting her coaching and consulting practice, Jen led Teach For America’s national Staff Learning and Development team which designed and facilitated leadership and liberatory-consciousness-based work.
Meditation, writing, painting, knitting, and jewelry making are all mediums through which Jen hears herself and listens to try to make sense of the world. She loves reading, deep conversations, music & nature, and delights in the ad-hoc performances of her two daughters.
Jen is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She has been trained by the National Equity Project and is a founding participant in Margaret Wheatley’s Warriors of the Human Spirit Fellowship. She’s a certified ChangeBuilders TM and Sacbé Way TM facilitator, and certified to administer several leadership assessments including the Energy Leadership Index and DiSC assessment. Jen was a middle school teacher and teacher trainer before she moved to the nonprofit sector where she has been executive director and held positions in school and nonprofit leadership, organizational development, human resources, and fundraising across organizations including El Pomar Foundation, The Student Leadership Institute, and The Breakthrough Collaborative. Prior to starting her coaching and consulting practice, Jen led Teach For America’s national Staff Learning and Development team which designed and facilitated leadership and liberatory-consciousness-based work.
Meditation, writing, painting, knitting, and jewelry making are all mediums through which Jen hears herself and listens to try to make sense of the world. She loves reading, deep conversations, music & nature, and delights in the ad-hoc performances of her two daughters.
Jovian Zayne is an international speaker and certified leadership and professional development coach with years of experience in change management, global diversity and leadership development. She leads The OnPurpose Movement®, a firm committed to developing values-driven leaders through targeted coaching, public speaking and facilitated experiences. Her firm’s client list includes Google, The New York Times, Goldman Sachs, Columbia University, Harvard University, The Aspen Institute, Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Records, and Teach For America. Her work has been featured in NPR-StoryCorps, The Huffington Post, Facebook Watch - Red Table Talk, Essence and Black Enterprise, among others. Alongside notable individuals such as Tarana Burke, Serena Williams, and Lebron James, Jovian was named to the 2018 Root 100, an annual list of the most influential African Americans.
She is the Founder of the annual International Day of Purpose®, a day created to inspire people of all generations to celebrate and activate the power of their purpose. In partnership with The Obama Administration, KIND Snacks®, Big Brothers Big Sisters, YWCA-NYC; and various organizations and celebrities, its global reach has touched over 16 million people around the world. Prior to entrepreneurship Jovian was successful as a former Managing Director of Talent Recruitment at Teach for America (TFA), and marketing specialist at Black and Decker Corporation. Jovian is a Founding Partner of Becoming Better Together, LLC. Jovian is an IGNITE leadership fellow at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School and an “Its All About Business” fellow at the Wake Forest Graduate School of Business. She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She is the Founder of the annual International Day of Purpose®, a day created to inspire people of all generations to celebrate and activate the power of their purpose. In partnership with The Obama Administration, KIND Snacks®, Big Brothers Big Sisters, YWCA-NYC; and various organizations and celebrities, its global reach has touched over 16 million people around the world. Prior to entrepreneurship Jovian was successful as a former Managing Director of Talent Recruitment at Teach for America (TFA), and marketing specialist at Black and Decker Corporation. Jovian is a Founding Partner of Becoming Better Together, LLC. Jovian is an IGNITE leadership fellow at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School and an “Its All About Business” fellow at the Wake Forest Graduate School of Business. She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sandy Jandu is an information systems consultant, working in all facets of an organization’s operations: designing and maintaining CRMs and wikis; honing fundraising and program tools; and training countless staff and peers on all facets of systems and tools, virtually and live. Her past clients have included The Resolution Project, 100kin10, Axis Talent Partners, Offor, National Museum of Math, School Board School, Muddy Paws Rescue, Democrats for Education Reform, and DataKind.
Starting her career as an English and Visual/Media Arts high school teacher, Sandy excelled with a practical-but-creative teaching approach and positive reinforcement methods. She brought that same vigor and passion for education to her education reform career, working within organizations like Teach For America, New Leaders, and iMentor. Sandy has previously managed complex operations and technology team structures and budgets, research and fundraising operations, and created countless fiscal progress dashboards and reports.
Sandy also is an avid lifestyle content creator @elleehome, passionately showcasing home solutions and design for real life.
Starting her career as an English and Visual/Media Arts high school teacher, Sandy excelled with a practical-but-creative teaching approach and positive reinforcement methods. She brought that same vigor and passion for education to her education reform career, working within organizations like Teach For America, New Leaders, and iMentor. Sandy has previously managed complex operations and technology team structures and budgets, research and fundraising operations, and created countless fiscal progress dashboards and reports.
Sandy also is an avid lifestyle content creator @elleehome, passionately showcasing home solutions and design for real life.
Tai A. Dixon’s work focuses in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, talent management and talent acquisition. Tai brings over 15 years of experience to this work centered on leading in a variety of sectors.
Most recently, Tai was the Chief Talent and Equity Officer at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Network where she led the Talent Management Team. Prior to joining staff at E.L. Haynes, Tai was the National Director of State Offices and Field Operations for the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), a national child policy, community organizing, and advocacy organization. In this capacity she led an 80+ person team and directly managed CDF’s state office Executive Directors, national community organizing staff, CDF Haley Farm staff, national Beat The Odds Scholarship Program staff, and CDF Internship Program staff.
Tai has dedicated her career to advocacy, social justice and developing others to become ever stronger leaders and agents of change. She’s held prior roles leading fundraising for Teach For America- Baltimore and leading National Talent Acquisition for Teach For America. She’s also practiced law as a civil litigator at Goodell DeVries, LLP in Baltimore, and she taught 7th and 8th Grade English and ESL in Houston Texas.
For the past 12 years, Ms. Dixon has worked as the Assistant Coach and now adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy for the Charles Hamilton Houston National Moot Court Team at her alma mater, Howard University School of Law, helping law students of color hone their oral advocacy and appellate brief writing skills. In addition to her Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law, Tai holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Spelman College and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas.
Ms. Dixon is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but has lived in the DC/ Maryland area for the past 15 years.
Most recently, Tai was the Chief Talent and Equity Officer at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Network where she led the Talent Management Team. Prior to joining staff at E.L. Haynes, Tai was the National Director of State Offices and Field Operations for the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), a national child policy, community organizing, and advocacy organization. In this capacity she led an 80+ person team and directly managed CDF’s state office Executive Directors, national community organizing staff, CDF Haley Farm staff, national Beat The Odds Scholarship Program staff, and CDF Internship Program staff.
Tai has dedicated her career to advocacy, social justice and developing others to become ever stronger leaders and agents of change. She’s held prior roles leading fundraising for Teach For America- Baltimore and leading National Talent Acquisition for Teach For America. She’s also practiced law as a civil litigator at Goodell DeVries, LLP in Baltimore, and she taught 7th and 8th Grade English and ESL in Houston Texas.
For the past 12 years, Ms. Dixon has worked as the Assistant Coach and now adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy for the Charles Hamilton Houston National Moot Court Team at her alma mater, Howard University School of Law, helping law students of color hone their oral advocacy and appellate brief writing skills. In addition to her Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law, Tai holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Spelman College and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas.
Ms. Dixon is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but has lived in the DC/ Maryland area for the past 15 years.
Karen Smith brings more than 20 years of leadership coaching experience and a demonstrated track record of achieving life-changing outcomes with children and adults. In particular, her coaching around equity - especially for black and brown people - has impacted and shifted a myriad of cultures in educational and philanthropic organizations. She is a master at building and dismantling cultural constructs and empowering people to do the “real work” that leads to lasting change.
Karen’s strategic, direct, tailored approach to coaching has allowed her to help her clients truly lead people, change existing cultures, and accomplish results they had never imagined... results clients have called “game-changing.” While Karen has developed and tuned her practice for years, she appreciates the foundation that her degrees have provided: a B.A. in English from Hampton University, a M.A. in Secondary Education from The George Washington University and a M.S. in Supervision and Administration from Trinity University.
Karen’s strategic, direct, tailored approach to coaching has allowed her to help her clients truly lead people, change existing cultures, and accomplish results they had never imagined... results clients have called “game-changing.” While Karen has developed and tuned her practice for years, she appreciates the foundation that her degrees have provided: a B.A. in English from Hampton University, a M.A. in Secondary Education from The George Washington University and a M.S. in Supervision and Administration from Trinity University.