Organizational transformation.
Our team.
Deborah Urbanik
Co-Founder and Principal Consultant
My background
I thrive when I am helping organizations to grow by creating inspired human connection at work. Throughout my 25-year career I have partnered with many diverse Fortune 500 leaders. I am passionate about the co-creation process; helping your employees and customers shape your most important culture strategies.
Why do you add mental health (hope@work) to your culture work?
My inspiration has come from daughter Haley’s journey with her mental health. Sharing in her experiences as she navigated a university and employment led me to the realization that there is a tremendous gap in organizational awareness and understanding around mental illness that must be addressed.
Giving back.
Today I volunteer on the Board of Directors for New Hampshire Family Network, a program of the National Alliance On Mental Illness in New Hampshire. In response to COVID-19, I co-facilitate their first state-wide virtual family support group. Through NAMI NH I am trained in Support Group Facilitation and Suicide Prevention.
Human-centric solutions for organizations.
My personal and work worlds have come together to offer human-centric solutions for organizations wanting to improve their culture.
Haley Urbanik
Co-Founder & Director of Operations
My background
I have a BA in Business Management with a focus on Organizational Psychology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. I am also the Chairperson on the Board of Directors for New Hampshire Family Network (NHFN) a program of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in New Hampshire (NAMI NH). I run the NHFN’s Life Under Construction social media pages and am an active volunteer.
Why do you add mental health (hope@work) to your culture work?
Having been faced with mental health challenges including anxiety and depression, I have learned first-hand the importance of leaders and managers understanding how to create psychologically safe cultures on their team. I have experienced how a lack of understanding and stigma inhibit employee potential. It is not an employer's job to solve mental health challenges, but it is their responsibility to create environments where people feel safe and empowered to seek help. I’d like to help make that a reality across businesses and universities.
"The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don't feel valued, neither will your customers.”
- Harold Schultz - Founder of Starbucks
Collaborators & Partners.
Christina Itzkowitz
Principal Owner of BLUEPRINT BY DESIGN LLC Consulting
Christina Itzkowitz is a design-thinking and results-focused business consultant with a proven track record of engineering agile and scalable solutions to meet the business and workforce demands of the ever-changing market and industry landscape to propel an organization forward.
Christina is a seasoned practitioner with 20+ years of mastery in the multi-faceted spectrum of the employee journey along with expertise in process improvement, HCM implementation, project management, change management, and strategic internal and external global communications. She has a knack for mapping out customized business, culture, talent, people, and communication blueprints to align with the strategy and distinctiveness of each organization.
Her global industry expertise includes Fortune 200 (ranks within the top 200 spots on the Fortune 500 list), Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 2000 companies (largest companies in the world (based on sales, profits, assets, and market value) in Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology, Global Operations, R&D, Retail, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Biotech, Real Estate Brokerage Services, Defense and Transportation.
Christina’s motto is that a one-size solution “does not” fit all. When you partner with Christina, she takes the time to listen, learn, and collaborate with you and your organization in designing customized solutions to meet your strategic imperatives and business objectives.
Jenn Smith
HR Consultant and Career Coach, Flourish Careers
Jenn Smith is an HR consultant who partners with companies to craft and implement deliberate human capital strategies. Constantly researching the latest trends in business and talent and recognizing new ways companies design HR strategies is part of her DNA. She diligently integrates this research into her practice, serving clients with the most relevant information.
As a former corporate HR leader, Jenn's progressive experience spans over 15 years across multiple industries – including Fortune 200 companies – in biotechnology, food & beverage manufacturing, and technology distribution/sales. Jenn is recognized for her high learning agility, trustworthy leadership, and natural ability to lead complex global projects. What this means to her clients is an unmatched combination of comprehensive strategic guidance, practical tips, and inspired thought partnership.
When she's not working, Jenn can be found outside exploring with her husband, Jeremy, and beloved Newfoundland dog, Tula. They love getting outside and adventuring across the Western NY region.
Ben Cook
Founder Redpill Strategies
Ben Cook is the founder of Redpill Strategies, a boutique strategy shop focused on solving the problems leaders face operating in muddy waters across their organizational ecosystem.
Redpill Strategies works to empower leaders navigating unrest across the manufacturing, healthcare, professional services, consumer, transportation, real estate, nonprofit and finance sectors. Drawing on native fluency in information-era community dynamics – alongside expertise in employee engagement, crisis management and brand strategy – RPS helps organizations manage workforce, patient, activist or other stakeholder audiences.
Ben has crafted change and crisis management strategies for Fortune 500 companies including Exxon, Verizon, Aetna, John Hancock, GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim. Previously, he led commercial strategy at a business intelligence startup, and consulted on countering ISIS recruitment for the White House.
Peter Ashworth
CEO, Humanity One
Strategy, Branding, Marketing, Storytelling, Web.
Peter brings a deep understanding, experience and expertise in all things related to helping clients develop smart strategies, build relevant brands, tell great stories, and connect with their customers.
In a world of fragmented, chaotic and non-strategic customer connection, Peter has 30 years experience building brands, target marketing, engaging storytelling, media, and smart traditional and web based tools that connect with, and create engagement with clients and employees. He and his agency have expertise in data-driven marketing strategies, personalization touchpoints and customer-centric storytelling.
He is an expert, along with his non-profit marketing agency Humanity.One (humanityone.ai) on building and executing cost-effective AI-based experiential marketing automation systems, exciting brands, helping businesses tell their unique story, digital and traditional media, and intelligent strategies to achieve business performance.
He has worked with several Fortune, and hundreds of medium and small businesses in the US and globally.
He also is CEO and Principal of a not-for-profit charity, Humanity We (humanitywe.org), a new collaborative approach to address humanity's greatest problem; Poverty.
