Who We Are

Deborah Goldstein is a recovering restaurateur who founded DRIVEN Professionals to assist companies in attracting, retaining and promoting exceptional talent. DRIVEN’s programming is designed to address the pandemic of stress, to build cultures of workplace trust, to promote intentional productivity, and to empower human capital to leverage the kind of corporate emotional intelligence that will lead to an engaged workforce.

Deborah has been featured on Bloomberg Surveillance, and is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Iris. She is also on the Global Advisory Council of IMPACT Leadership 21, the NYC Leadership Council of BIAAG, and the Board of Directors at SEEK Safely.

Deborah rejuvenates her energy by dedicating herself to a robust exercise program and creating countless Fresh Market meals for friends and loved ones. She splits her time between NYC and Putnam Valley, NY, thriving in the stillness of her country home to contrast the intensity of NYC life. Balance is an aspiration, if not a perpetual reality for Deborah. She is grateful to manage a well-integrated life, often reminding folks that she is DRIVEN’s best student.

As a career/life management coach, Kathleen has dedicated her career to helping people define and achieve their goals and dreams.  She started her career at Columbia Law School and went on to serve as Assistant Dean of Career Services at Fordham University School of Law.  She has worked at various law firms in Staff Recruitment and Professional Development.  She is also a founding member of NALP Foundation for Research and Education and the author of four published books on career management.

Click on the links below to purchase books by Kathleen Brady:
Mastering the Art of Success
Get a Job: 10 Steps to Career Success

Virginia is a Licensed Social Worker who has a private practice and has worked as a Program Coordinator, Trainer and Lead Educator at various agencies, schools and businesses.  She has written, taught and trained other professionals and has developed comprehensive curricula focusing on parenting skills and anger management.  She addresses family dynamics, communication, coping with grief, the challenges of the panini generation and healthy family re-organization following separation and divorce.

When Michael went from high school teacher to Broadway producer in under two years people started to ask him how he managed it.  Michael began his career as a high school English teacher before producing Off Broadway and then on Broadway. This combination of experience in the arts and entrepreneurship led to Michael starting an arts incubator program to teach more artists about building and growing their own businesses (PLAE). Eventually, he decided to develop a workshop on networking which grew into a full time consulting practice and that became Small Pond Enterprises.

Michael took a short break to work as the V.P. of Operations and as a Director of Business Development for an NYC Ed. Tech Startup which introduced him to the New York Startup community. Most recently, Michael founded The Connecting Connectors Conference (ConnectorCon).

Phyllis White-Thorne has joined the per diem faculty at the Sanctuary Institute at the Andrus Center for Learning and Innovation. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Master’s Program at Mercy College, has presented workshops at New York University’s School of Continuing Professional Studies. Additionally, she is a panelist on Brooklyn Savvy, a weekly talk show on WNYC-TV. Phyllis retired from Con Edison where she was Manager of Public Information, serving as a company liaison to community and government leaders and not-for-profit organizations in Brooklyn. She is co-chair of the Board of Bridge Street Development Corporation, serving the Bedford Stuyvesant Community in Brooklyn. Phyllis also serves on the Boards of the NAACP Act-So, and chairs the Board of Managers for the North Brooklyn YMCA serving the East New York Community, which is one of the largest underserved communities in Brooklyn.

Cara Power is an executive leadership coach whose disciplined, high-energy approach facilitates partnerships with aspiring, newly-transitioned, and existing leaders who seek meaningful transformations in their business and personal lives.

In the coaching domain, Cara specializes in Personal Branding, Professional Networking, and Goal Setting & Achieving – topics on which she is a sought-after speaker, trainer and facilitator. For her thoughts on Personal Branding, Cara was quoted in Fast Company magazine.

As a Positive Psychology Practitioner Cara provides coaching, training, and facilitations across a range of topic areas including: Shifting Mindset, Real Time Resilience, and Productive Communication.

Valia Glytsis is CEO and Founder of The Paradox of Leadership, a boutique leadership education firm based in New York City and serving clients globally. As an Executive coach, trainer, and speaker, Valia works with leaders and organizations that yearn for a more meaningful and impactful way of working, communicating, and leading. This talent development focus delivers subtle yet profound mindset shifts that revel in the paradox of leadership – it all begins within. Valia’s passion for leadership is driven by rich professional experience in marketing, branding, and consulting with one common denominator – the ability to drive transformational success through a fierce commitment to the human side of business.

Debi Silber is a recognized health, weight loss, fitness, wellness, lifestyle and personal development expert. She’s a speaker, spokesperson and author of 2 books recommended by Brian Tracy, Marshall Goldsmith, Jack Canfield and many more. Debi’s branded The Mojo Coach® because she’s led countless others to achieve their ultimate body, mind, image and lifestyle; inspiring them to “get their mojo back” and helping them transform into their personal and professional best.

Dr. Veronica Ruelas graduated at the top of her clinical class from SUNY Optometry in 1998 specializing in ocular disease and refractive surgery.  She spent the last 7 years traveling to Peru, India and Brasil conducting free eye clinics and various volunteer missions while living in ashrams. It was on these trips that she was exposed to, and became knowledgeable in, all the wisdom that living in an ashram under a guru provides. During this time, she completed her yoga teacher training and advanced teacher training programs, as well as, advanced scriptural, philosophical, psychological, and meditation curriculums.   While traveling between NYC and abroad, Veronica began designing her own line of ashram clothing and accessories, drawing tremendous inspiration from each setting. She created a line that reflected her own urban style while maintaining the respected spiritual environment in which they were to be worn, hence ashramchic™ was born (www.ashramchic.com).   Her charity is called ThirdEyeVision Foundation (www.thirdeyevision.org) and she has her optometric practice in Battery Park City called ThirdEyeChic Optometry (www.thirdeyechic.com).  When Veronica is not ʻeye doctoringʼ, she loves reading, yoga, running and simply enjoying life.

Jenny R. Craig is a transformation specialist, utilizing her expertise in assisting leaders in creating authentic, profound, long-lasting impact in their organizations and personal lives. Jenny leads the Live Your Power Alliance and helps people break through their challenges with transformational coaching. As an innovator in brain-training tools, Jenny is the creator of the “ I am grateful for™” ring, numerous train-the-trainer programs and a six-week self-guided curriculum on emotional intelligence. Her curriculum has helped people move past self-sabotage and train their brains to break through to higher levels of success.

Jan Nolte is an international Executive Communication and Voice Coach.  Her method integrates over 25 years of professional acting, directing, producing with certified professional coaching skills.

Today Jan is changing the voice of leadership as she directs senior execs at Fortune 500 companies, global not-for-profits, start-ups and professionals and political candidates to speak, with confidence and authenticity, to listen strategically and to follow their instincts.  They gain powerful Executive Presence that moves business forward in every conversation.

Eva is a leadership and career coach working with senior executives in the corporate, academic and not for profit worlds. She is a certified Ontological Coach with twenty years of experience in her field.  She holds a Masters degree from New York University in Counseling Psychology and career counseling. Eva has designed, managed and delivered innovative global leadership programs and coached Senior Executives of Fortune 500 companies as a Senior Vice President at Manchester (now Right) a Human Capital Management firm.  She has travelled extensively and lived abroad on three different continents.  She has been interviewed and quoted by various media organizations such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Eva is fluent in English, Hungarian and Hebrew.

Deborah received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.  Deborah’s professional experience includes positions in government agencies, law firms, and educational institutions helping leaders, teams and organizations with professional and personal development, leadership, diversity and strategic planning.  She has travelled extensively and is also a board member of the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science and author of Repairing the Quilt of Humanity: A Metaphor for Healing and Reparation.

Click on the link below to purchase this book by Deborah Howard, Esq.:

No Winner Ever Got There Without A Coach: A Guide to Personal & Professional Success

Caroline graduated Cum Laude from Fairfield University with a concentration in Communications. She has experience at Warner Brothers Studios and The Walt Disney Company and worked for a number of years as a Publicist at Random House before her newest venture in Marketing and Ecommerce at C. Wonder, a lifestyle brand created to offer women an entirely new retail experience.

Jodi Weinstein, MS, RD, CSO, CDN is a Registered Dietitian, Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition, and a Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist in New York City. She worked for many years as a Senior Dietitian at the Mount Sinai Medical Center specializing in oncology nutrition, weight management, and wellness nutrition. Jodi is the author of Tell Me What to Eat Before, During and After Cancer Treatment: Nutritional Guidelines for Patients and Their Loved Ones.

Sunny Gandara is a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Fitness Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, as well as a professionally-trained chef with the Institute for Culinary Education in NYC. Using food and her unique recipes as her primary tool, Sunny works with female entrepreneurs who are interested in adopting a plant-based diet, and seeking inspiration in the kitchen while losing weight, increasing their energy and achieving overall optimal health. To learn more about Sunny, see her about.me page.