Meet Our experts

CEO & 

MANAGING PARTNER 

Rochelle Campbell is the  CEO, and Managing Member of Leadership Elevated. She is an accomplished board advisor and recruiter, DEI thought leader, columnist, and speaker. She focuses on governance, policy, diversity, coaching, and board succession planning. 

She has had a successful career supporting boards and executives, across industries and sizes, customizing, developing, and delivering in-boardroom services including evaluations, skillset matrixes, custom education, and custom board recruitment services. She spent almost a decade with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) where she led the NACD Board Advisory and Board Recruitment practice. Through her work, she has placed directors on boards ranging from the F500 to large family-owned, private, and nonprofit organizations, across industries. She led the industry with an 85% diversity placement rate on boards. 

Rochelle speaks nationwide on governance, diversity, and board recruitment-related topics and has advised thousands of directors on leading governance and composition practices. She has coached over 700 military flag and general officers (1-4 stars), helping them successfully transition their military experience into the private sector. 

She is on the board of the Private Directors Association, DC Chapter, and serves as Programming Chair. 

She has also served as chair of the nominating and governance committee on the board of Civics and Service International, for over 7 years, an international organization working to improve the lives of children, and their families, affected by war, poverty, and discrimination. 

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Mary Beth Vitale is a public company director and former CEO with 25+ years of P&L experience and proven strategic, IT/cyber, marketing, and execution capabilities in building companies. She was CEO/Chair of Westwind Media, President/COO of Rocky Mountain Internet, and President & corporate officer for AT&T. 

Mary Beth currently serves as chair of Pareteum, Inc, a leader in providing a global cloud-based software platform. She also serves as Chair of Nom/Gov for Luna Innovations, Inc., a leader in optical technology; and Chair of the Risk and Technology committee with GEHA, Inc., an association providing insurance products. She is also on the national board of Women Corporate Directors. She has served on several other boards throughout her career.

She is an SEC qualified financial expert and is known as a board Cyber expert, receiving the NACD Cybersecurity Oversight Certificate, Leadership Fellow, and holds NACD Board Certification. She was a Commissioner for Colorado Governor Owens Commission on Science and Technology for nine years. She was recently recognized as one of NACD’s top 100 directors and Corporate Board Magazine recognized her as a “Top Director to Watch”. She chaired the successful Colorado legislative resolution to encourage women on public boards and is Co-founder and Principal of Pellera, LLC., a consulting firm that focuses on delivering education to boards. 

FACULTY TOPICS: 

She is an author and frequent speaker on Cyber and general board governance topics around the world. She is a board/CEO coach and advises boards on several topics including, technology, cyber security oversight, growth, chair transitions, and board evaluations. 

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Josh Klein is a Board Member, CEO, Strategist, published author, and podcast host. He has worked with most of the Fortune 500 using his broad technical expertise and deep domain knowledge to provide oversight and strategic insight on the most disruptive technologies and trends.
 

He has served on an advisory board for BP and shared his expertise with organizations in the board space, including NACD, on a variety of topics from Cybersecurity to AI, with a focus on issues such as policy, oversight, leadership, and process, across industries.
 

Over the past two decades, Josh has spent most of his career at the leading edge of business disruption. From developing the first e-commerce engine to launching shortcodes in the US Telco industry to deploying the first cloud computing EKG analytics instance he has worked with organizations as diverse as IDEO and most of the US Intelligence agencies.
 

He has published three books on Innovation and hosted three television series - on the history of technology innovation, advancements in games, and China's disruption. He has published numerous articles and interviews in outlets from Fortune to Oprah and has hosted countless talks at events from WEF's Davos, the TED Mainstage, to keynotes at private corporate events, worldwide. 

Josh translates the latest technical findings to actionable strategies across audiences, working closely with leaders from board members to mid-level managers. Most recently he is co-host of Accenture's Built for Change, granted "Thought Leadership of the Year" by AdWeek two years running.

FACULTY TOPICS: 

Josh works with private and public companies and focuses on the board's role in innovation, disruptive technology, technology and cybersecurity in the boardroom, technology, committees, and more.

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

D'Anne Hurd is an SEC-qualified financial expert and ESG authority with nearly four decades of experience as a member of, and consultant to, boards of mutual funds, and public, private, ESOP, and family-owned companies in a diverse range of tech and heavy industries. 

D'Anne is a former CFO and General Counsel for multiple companies in the tech industry (holding both an MBA and JD). She has deep experience in digital transformation, disruptive technologies, complex M&A, regulatory/legal, and strategic direction challenges to realize full shareholder value. 

She currently serves on the board of Pax World Funds/Pax Ellevate Fund, as an independent trustee, on the audit, and nom/gov committees, and the boards of Peckham Industries, Inc. and Martin Engineering as audit committee chair. She formerly served on the board of Eileen Fisher, Inc. as chair of the governance committee.

In total, her board service has included two mutual funds, three public, and eight private corporate boards—including serving as board chair, lead independent director, and chair of the audit, governance, finance, and compensation committees — in cloud-based SaaS, technology, medical devices, pharma/biotech, financial services, telecommunications, retail, and manufacturing industries. 

She is a frequent corporate governance public speaker. She is known as a change catalyst and collaborative problem solver who listens and communicates well, quickly analyzes issues, and builds consensus.  

FACULTY TOPICS: 

D'Anne has expertise in ESG, digital transformation, board evaluations, board governance, board strategy,  deal-making to drive growth, audit committee and financial issues, IPOs, acquisitions, M&A, strategic partnerships, alliances, capital infusions, and exit strategies for start-ups and early-stage companies. 

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Britt Ide is a public company board member with 30 years of experience as an engineer, lawyer, and business leader (CEO, CSO, CLO). 

She currently serves as CEO of Ide Energy & Strategy, consulting on energy, sustainability, climate change, and ESG. She serves on the board of NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE), a natural gas and electric utility, on their HR and governance committees. She also serves on the boards of ATLIS Motor Vehicles, an electric battery, and work truck emerging company, and on Cleantech Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: CLAQU). She serves on the advisory board of 3Degrees, a B-Corp that helps companies (including Microsoft, Etsy, and Bank of America) meet their climate goals. 

Her previous board service includes as the independent chair of PCS Edventures (OTC: PCSV); on the Int. advisory board for Reactive Technologies Limited, a UK-based energy tech company; and the DC-based nonprofit Coalition for Green Capital, leveraging public funding with private investment for climate solutions.

Britt was appointed by the US Secretary of Energy as a Women in Clean Energy Advisory Board Member for a collaboration with Stanford and MIT. She frequently speaks nationally and internationally on corporate governance, ESG, and climate strategies and is passionate about increasing DEI in executive ranks to boardrooms. She holds an M.S. in Enviro. Engineering, JD, Harvard Certificate in Mediation, and is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow. 

FACULTY TOPICS: 

She specialized in corporate governance, ESG, climate strategies, DE&I issues, ESG communications, ESG strategy for investors and customers, climate-intensive industries, conflict in the boardroom, board coaching and mediation across generations, red/blue and urban vs. rural divides, and M&A

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

  Anthony Lopez is a global leader and board member specializing in healthcare/healthcare technologies,  pharmaceuticals, IT Services, and consumer and industrial products. He has extensive experience in C-Suite and board leadership in publicly traded companies and a P&L of $1B with almost 4000 employees. 

Tony is a widely recognized leadership expert, strategist, business advisor, keynote speaker,  executive education facilitator, coach, and organizational architect. 

He was CEO of AZZUR and President of Ansell Healthcare from 2011-17. Before that, he led CareFusion Respiratory ($750M) and held executive roles with J&J in Engineering. His experience includes GM, Ops, Engineering, Manufacturing, S&M, R&D, PR, DTC, and HR. 

His board experience includes governance, audit, HR, and as board chair for a 20,000-person organization and served as Chairperson for HOLA.

He is the author of several books including “The Legacy Leader”, “Breakthrough Thinking", The Leader’s Lobotomy”, "The Leader in The Mirror", and "The Legacy Leader As Superhero: Legacy Women", and the forthcoming, The Legacy Leader’s SuperPower – Driving Cultural Intelligence from the Boardroom to the Mailroom” (Oct. 2022). 

He currently serves as the founder of L&L Associates, a consulting, leadership training, and executive coaching firm. 

He is a former US Air Force Officer and has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Commendation and Achievement Medals, the Air Defense Service Medal, and the Aerospace Primus Award. With J&J he was awarded the ETHICON quality award, J&J Standards of Leadership, President’s Award, and Burke Award for Marketing Excellence, plus the Telly Award (2x).

FACULTY TOPICS: 

Tony specializes in boards and executive leadership, strategy, executive education, development, governance, growth, DEI, M&A, risk management, organizational and Board Culture and oversight, and championing and enabling culturally intelligent and diverse leaders.

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

The Honorable Michael Montelongo, a career soldier, former presidential appointee and Senate-confirmed official, and corporate executive, is president and chief executive officer of GRC Advisory Services, LLC, a private firm specializing in board governance matters and most recently was chief administrative officer and senior vice president for Sodexo, Inc (Euronext: SW). A frequent board governance speaker and panelist, an audit committee financial expert, and NACD Board Leadership Fellow and faculty member, Michael serves on the boards of Civeo Corporation (NYSE: CVEO), Conduent Inc (NASDAQ: CNDT), and Leadership Roundtable. 

A former Bush White House appointee who served as the 19th assistant secretary for financial management and chief financial officer of the US Air Force and the first Latino in that role, Michael is a public policy expert and lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Michael was an executive with a global management consulting firm, a regional telecommunications company, and completed a career in the US Army, a Congressional Fellowship in the US Senate, and service as an assistant professor teaching economics and political science at West Point. 

Besides corporate and military awards and the highest decorations for Exceptional Civilian Service in the Air Force and the NASA, he is featured in NACD Directorship magazine’s Board Fellow Spotlight, Private Company Director magazine’s Directors to Watch, and several nationally-recognized Latino publications including being twice-listed in Hispanic Business magazine’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in science from West Point and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. 

FACULTY TOPICS: 

Mike focuses on public, private, and family boards. He has led strategy; talent/leadership/culture; leader development and inclusion and diversity; dynamic enterprise risk management and compliance including crisis/cyber/ESG/regulatory/geopolitics/public policy matters; and audit committee functions

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Gerry Czarnecki is Chair & CEO of The Deltennium Group, Inc., a consulting practice helping individuals and organizations with effective strategic marketing, managerial leadership, and board governance.
 

He has held several executive positions in the banking, technology, and financial services including General Manager of the 4th largest bank Trust Department in the country; CFO of the 8th largest bank holding company; the CEO of a large, publicly held bank and another large privately held bank. Gerry was an SVP of HR and Administration with IBM Corporation and later served as President of UNC, Inc., an NYSE aviation company.
 
He served on the board of State Farm Insurance, as a member of the Executive Committee, and as Audit Committee Chair; also on State Farm Bank; State Farm Fire & Casualty companies; and MAM Software Group, Inc., where he was chair of the board.
 

Gerry is the founder and chair of The National Leadership Institute: a member of the Board of Trustees of the National University, where he is former Chair; the Board of Governors of Junior Achievement Worldwide, Inc.; an advisory board member for Private Capital, Inc.; and was chair of the NACD Florida Chapter. He is also an NACD Board Leadership Fellow, 

He has authored five books on leadership including, “You’re In Charge… What Now?”, and “You’re a Non-profit Director…What Now?”, which is a primer on corporate governance principles for non-profit organizations.

Gerry holds a B.S. in Economics from Temple University, an M.A. in Economics from Michigan State University is a CPA, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from National University.

FACULTY TOPICS

Gerry is a frequent consultant, facilitator, faculty member, and speaker on board governance matters, helping organizations achieve peak performance through effective leadership. He focuses on strategy, effective organization, sound financial management, and small and high-growth technology companies.  
 

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Erin Essenmacher has 25 years of experience in content development, education, training, and corporate governance. Her work has centered on helping boards and c-suite executives understand their evolving role in oversight of strategy and risk in a dynamic environment. 

She left NACD as President, after nearly a decade of leading programming, board engagement, education, and content strategy. There she was responsible for the design and delivery of board member training, new product development and thought leadership innovation. Erin worked with thousands of directors, supporting their professional development and boardroom effectiveness.  She was an early advocate for board education in areas like cyber security, digital transformation, corporate culture, strategy, ESG, and the converging forces shaping competitive disruption. Under her leadership, NACD saw a 400% increase in revenue and the organization more than doubled its membership.

She has served on boards across sectors including the iconic clothing retailer EILEEN FISHER where she chaired the People and Culture committee and helped designed the company’s succession plan. She currently sits on the boards of Docs in Progress and Sustainable Innovations and on the Advisory Board for the Future Directors Institute and the New Community Transformation Fund.

FACULTY TOPICS: 

Erin is a frequent author, advisor, and speaker on the board’s role in strategy, risk, governance, culture and corporate leadership and her work has helped thousands of board members become better stewards for the organizations they serve.
 

PRACTITIONER & 

FACULTY MEMBER

Judith Alper Smith (Judy) is an Executive Search Consultant with over 25 years of experience leading executive and board of director searches. Judy has worked with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) since 2008 when she launched their proprietary recruitment service to match accomplished director candidates with boards seeking independent members.
 

Prior to NACD, Judy worked for two decades at Heidrick & Struggles, a leading global executive search firm where she joined the Office of the President and CEO and the Director Practice. She worked closely with organizations in fields ranging from manufacturing and utilities to financial institutions and tech firms, recruiting C-suite, senior management and directors for corporate boards. For seven years before Heidrick & Struggles, she was an independent search consultant in Boston.
 

Judy has been elected multiple times to the Brookline, MA town meeting and she served on the advisory/finance committees as well as on the Park and Recreation Commission. She was also elected five times to the board of governors of the Longwood Cricket Club and was the President of the Badminton and Tennis club. In addition, she serves on the advisory council of The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.

Judy has earned multiple no. 1 rankings as a senior women’s tennis player. She competes in US Tennis Association tournaments, has won four national championships, and has represented the US in international competitions. In 2013, she was inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame and the Wheaton College Yowell Athletic Hall of Fame.
 

Judy holds a Master’s degree in Education from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. 

FACULTY TOPICS

Board Recruitment

New Board Member Onboarding

New Board Building 

Board Referencing