Accordant Advisors Welcomes Annie Merkle as Associate Partner

January 25, 2023 – Stephanie Sandberg, Managing Partner at Accordant Advisors, announced today that Annie Merkle has joined Accordant Advisors as Associate Partner, 

“We are delighted to have Annie onboard,” says Sandberg. “She brings deep experience in organizational strategy and leadership consulting across multiple industries and a terrific blend of strategy and implementation skills with an inclusive, human-centered approach.”  As Associate Partner, Annie will lead client engagements along with the launch and implementation of the new Accordant Advisor Inclusion Survey & Index. 

In addition to running her own consulting firm for over fifteen years, Annie recently worked for Slalom Consulting and, previously, The Exetor Group and EY. From 2018 - 2022, Annie was Associate Vice President of IT Strategy, Planning and Engagement at NYU, where she also served as a Global Inclusion Officer.  

“I am excited to join Accordant Advisors where I can realize my passion to have meaningful, positive impact on people and organizations,” says Merkle. “I love working with clients to design and implement solutions that make their organizations more inclusive and effective.” 

In alignment with Accordant Advisors’ foundation in Emotional Intelligence, Annie is certified in the MSCEIT Emotional Intelligence assessment, a methodology co-developed by Accordant Advisors’ Partner David Caruso. She is also a leadership coach certified by the Newfield Network and ICF, and has a master's in organizational psychology from Columbia University.  

Accordant Advisors Announces New Associate, Zena Collins

Nikia Burch and Mela Toro Waters are Promoted

September 6, 2022 – Accordant Advisors Managing Partner Stephanie Sandberg announced today that Zena Collins, formerly Associate Director, EY, has joined Accordant Advisors as Associate Partner.

“Zena brings an ideal set of skills and experience to our work,” said Sandberg. “Not only has she spent years in change management, she is trained in MSCEIT Emotional Intelligence assessment and coaching, a methodology co-developed by Accordant Advisors partner David Caruso. Zena instantly expands and builds on our approach to creating welcoming work environments.”

Says Collins, “I’m delighted to find a home at Accordant Advisors, where I can carry out truly meaningful work with partners who share my vision of building inclusive organizations, in part through equipping leaders with the emotional intelligence required to make it sustainable.”

Mela Toro Waters has been promoted to Director of Product and Training, responsible for capturing the consultancy’s unique approach to culture change through disciplined frameworks and Emotional Intelligence, while also facilitating and coaching in engagements, leveraging her expertise in Organizational Psychology. Waters also is trained in MSCEIT assessment and coaching.

Finally, Nikia Burch has taken over as Director of Finance and Administration for Accordant Advisors, which encompasses operations and HR as well as Finance and Administration. Her responsibilities range from overall project management to data analysis for the organization.

Accordant Advisors helps organizations identify and tackle cultural gaps in their business. We use evidence-based processes that allow for the development of practical solutions that create and nurture diverse, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent workspaces.  Our mission is to create psychologically safe organizational cultures that value everyone,  allowing people to be more engaged, respected and effective.

Stephanie Sandberg Named Managing Partner of Accordant Advisors, LLC

Announcement Comes as Inclusion-Focused Consultancy Enters its 4th year

July 25, 2022 -- Accordant Advisors announced today that they have named Stephane Sandberg Managing Partner. Ms. Sandberg joined the group – which focuses on creating inclusive workplaces – in the spring of 2021 and became Partner earlier this year.

Accordant Advisors co-founder and former Vice President, Global Diversity for Chevron Shariq Yosufzai says, “Stephanie has had a profound impact on our work since the day she joined, from helping us articulate what we do to quickly becoming an integral part of assignments, as both team member and engagement lead.”

Co-founder, philanthropist and former senior retail executive (Weston/Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart) Andrew Faas adds, “Stephanie is the right leader at the right time for Accordant Advisors – her skills and experience will bring our unique tools and applications around Emotional Intelligence and Stakeholder Engagement to the next level.”

“This group of supremely talented professionals bring extraordinary discipline and passion to creating welcoming work cultures,” says Sandberg; “I’m thrilled to lead the team, and continuing to learn from them, every day.”

Stephanie was previously Executive Director of political action committee LPAC; Managing Director of DEI consultancy Out Leadership; Executive Publisher of Columbia Journalism Review and President & Publisher of The New Republic, among a host of leadership positions in media. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her wife, with whom she has two daughters.

Accordant Advisors helps organizations identify and tackle cultural gaps through evidence-based, practical solutions, which create and nurture diverse, inclusive, and emotionally-intelligent workspaces. Its mission is to create organizational cultures that value each individual and are psychologically safe, allowing people to be more engaged, respected and effective.

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David R. Caruso, a psychologist who specializes in the study of emotional intelligence and has worked with Professors Mayer and Salovey, said it has gotten to the point where a person’s definition of emotional intelligence has become a Rorschach test.

“When you ask people, ‘What does that mean and how do you hire to that?’ that’s where folks slow down and either don’t answer or really indicate what they mean,” he said. “And even if they say ‘people skills,’ what is that? In our work, we’re pretty explicit.”