Our Team
Chris Lambert
Founder & CEO
chris@liferemodeled.org
Dr. Chris Lambert is the founder and CEO of Life Remodeled, award-winning author of Next Level Nonprofit, and founder of the Next Level Nonprofit organizational operating system. It’s not the career trajectory Chris envisioned when he studied marketing at Indiana University, planned for law school, or dreamed of a lucrative career as a real estate developer. But a new call took shape after a spiritual awakening during his junior year of college, and Chris went on to earn his MDiv and doctorate in preaching from Fuller and Gordon-Conwell seminaries, respectively. Moving to Liberia, Chris and his wife helped a village mobilize support to drill a well, acquire farm animals, and construct their very first school building. Upon returning to the U.S., Chris founded a church called Ekklesia. In 2010 he launched Life Remodeled, which repurposes vacant school buildings into one-stop hubs of opportunity and helps create neighborhood revitalization that lasts.
From recognition on the TEDx stage to lists like Crain’s 40 Under 40, Building Design + Construction 40 Under 40, and SMART BUSINESS Dealmaker of the Year, Chris’s reputation precedes him. But it’s the journey ahead—and the people who are helping to lead the way—that excites him most.
Jen Friedman
Next Level Nonprofit Director & Certified Coach – Huntington Woods, MI
jen@nlncoaching.org
Dr. Jen Friedman is an esteemed organizational consultant and leadership coach. She blends her psychology background with 20+ years of experience in nonprofit leadership, mental health, and education. Her profound knowledge of the intricacies of systems thinking and human emotions elevates those with whom she partners. Jen’s expertise lies in developing leadership, enabling personal growth while building cohesive teams, and creating effective systems to help organizations evolve. Her exceptional ability to inspire positive change and foster growth has earned her recognition and admiration from clients across various industries. She works locally and nationally, and speaks widely about growth mindset, emotional intelligence, and servant leadership.
Ben Shat
NLN Certified Coach – Oakland, MI
ben@nlncoaching.org
Ben Shat is an accomplished tech executive with a track record of success in business development, sales, and executive management. He’s created and led global sales teams at Amazon, built the North American business of an international software start-up to a successful $100M+ exit, and managed large sales teams responsible for over $500M in annual revenue. Ben is a certified Next Level Nonprofit Coach who excels at building teams and leaders, cultivating organization culture where talent thrives, and driving growth through strategic planning and execution. Committed to empowering others, Ben finds fulfillment in coaching executive leaders and mentoring youth, leveraging his innate ability to cultivate potential and inspire personal growth. Ben is passionate about helping missional organizations grow and amplify their impact to the people and communities they serve. Outside the boardroom, Ben cherishes time with his wife and two children, serving at his church, traveling, and indulging his adventurous spirit through mountain biking and snowboarding.
Marc Hehl
NLN Certified Coach – Lake Orion, MI
marc@nlncoaching.org
Marc is a seasoned executive coach with experience across nonprofit, technology, and professional services sectors. As a former COO for a Detroit-based technology company dedicated to the nonprofit space, he spent the last eight years building organizations that actively listen and respond to their constituents. His past leadership helped the organization win the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work for” Award for eight consecutive years. Marc is a certified Next Level Nonprofit (NLN) coach who has implemented other nationally-recognized
April Stercula
NLN Certified Coach – Naples, FL.
April Stercula is a seasoned CEO who has launched, scaled, transformed and sold businesses for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she has managed all aspects of business including Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Risk Management, Finance, Administration and led huge transformation projects as both a C-Suite Executive at Fortune 100 companies as well as a leader of her own SaaS company. She has managed staffs of thousands of people across multiple sites across the U.S. and the world including Canada, England, Ireland and Spain.
Her experience makes her uniquely qualified as a Fractional COO to assist her clients transform, scale and transition. She can quickly assimilate information from a variety of sources, map a path forward and lead the team in executing for optimal results. April loves helping CEOs and leadership teams unleash their potential and realize their vision.
Nancy Imhoff
NLN Certified Coach – Carmel, IN.
Transitioning to the nonprofit sector, Nancy earned her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management, Development, and Executive Leadership from IUPUI’s Lilly School of Philanthropy. She has held various leadership roles, including Development Director and Executive Director, before founding her own firm, Philanthropy Forward Partners. In addition to her consulting work, Nancy coaches and provides philanthropic advising, specializing in legacy building and impact investing. Recognized for her expertise, Nancy speaks and leads workshops on these topics, inspiring others to engage thoughtfully in their own philanthropic pursuits.
Additionally, Nancy actively contributes her expertise by serving on several nonprofit Boards of Directors.
Chris Barnes
NLN Certified Coach – Murphy, TX.
I exist to bring people together and leverage our collective strengths, so that we can maximize our combined potential. That’s my purpose. I have a lot of range across disciplines to help me facilitate my purpose. That includes operations, IT/Cybersecurity, and most importantly leadership and individual development.
Danielle Ross Wroblewski
NLN Certified Coach – North Olmsted, OH.
Danielle is an accomplished CEO with a growth mindset and a talent for transforming organizations. She excels at identifying obstacles to growth, resolving challenges at their root, and building profitable, sustainable organizations. Danielle’s upbeat leadership style, combined with her strategic thinking, inspires teams to align with organizational goals and drive success.
A career highlight was leading the turnaround of a mid-sized manufacturing company during a crisis. By assembling top talent, securing key customers, and optimizing operations, she positioned the company for a successful acquisition.
Danielle is skilled at fostering accountability, unlocking team potential, and cultivating a healthy company culture. Fluent in Spanish and having lived in Europe and South America, she brings a global perspective and the ability to work with diverse teams. An avid traveler, she has visited over 19 countries, expanding her worldview and adaptability.
Joanne Giordano
NLN Certified Coach – Bothell, WA.
jgiordano@
Joanne is a take charge operations executive with a passion for building culture based on a company’s mission, vision and values. She has the gift of cultivating people, opportunity and innovation and creating a clear road map for successful implementations and measurement. She helps companies capitalize on these strategies to deliver high octane initiatives that elevate companies to the next level by delivering top and bottom-line results.
Joanne began her career in insurance where she was the go-to person to handle high profile and crisis related issues and still savors working in high pressure and high stakes environments. Moving back to her native Pacific Northwest, Joanne then joined a national retail, food and franchise business where she took over as President after four years as Chief Operations Officer. Joanne gained a deep appreciation and understanding of the Visionary role and learned that the hat that fits best is the Integrator role as it helps her to showcase her gifts, talents, and creativity.
Joanne approaches life and work with a positive, “can do” attitude, and her energy is infectious. She lives with her family in the Seattle area and is grateful for all the beauty and opportunity it has to offer.
Kevin Hooiveld
NLN Certified Coach – Fonthill, Ontario, Canada
An electrical engineer turned MBA, I have spent the last 25 years building and scaling manufacturing, construction, and highly automated distribution companies around the world.
Along the way, I had the pleasure and privilege to lead these companies to incredible success – rapidly scaling YOY revenues, driving REAL $$$ to the bottom line, and building some amazing corporate cultures along the way.
That said, I’ve also faced the challenges of growing businesses first-hand (inadequate ownership, inexperienced leadership, operational limitations, cultural conflicts, cash flow challenges, etc), and I understand the difficulty of making time to “work ON the business” while immersed in the day-to-day chaos of “working IN the business.”
As a PBCA certified coach, I apply my real-world knowledge and experience to help you implement a winning combination of strategy, culture and execution that will drive personal, professional and profitable growth.
Lisa Lunsford
NLN Certified Coach – St. Paul, MN.
Lisa Lunsford is a certified business coach, consultant, and fractional COO who specializes in helping organizations and their teams find clarity, eliminate obstacles, and achieve growth. With a diverse background in education, IT, consulting, legal, and professional services, she is a trusted strategic partner to leaders, aligning people, processes, and strategy and building accountability across the organization. With a collaborative and values-driven approach, Lisa Lunsford helps organizations operate like well-oiled machines, setting them on a path for long-term success.
Pete Palermo
NLN Certified Coach – Chapin, SC.
Pete Palermo has been advising, coaching and achieving results for founders and CEOs for over 30 years. His diverse career started at a Fortune 100 consumer goods company, where he honed his skills in sales, marketing, and operations, setting a strong foundation for his future as a strategy and operations leader.
In a recent role as the COO tasked with modernizing an 85-year-old textiles manufacturer, Pete orchestrated a complete transformation – from establishing annual goals and driving quarterly priorities, standardizing procedures and putting the right people in the right seats to establishing an operating rhythm and cadence for every department and team. This transformation yielded significant increases in revenue and profitability, making the company the leader in North American team sports apparel.
Pete’s experience spans multiple industries. His commitment to delivering value for all stakeholders has earned him trust and recognition as a valuable partner to founders, CEOs, and their teams.
Thomas Hoover
NLN Certified Coach – Yukon, OK.
I have owned, operated, bought and sold several companies across diverse industries. I have well rounded skill sets and have honed my talent in leadership development. Sought after international public speaker. I am a recognized expert in critical thinking and a communicative collaborator. My previous roles have strengthened my capabilities in problem-solving and leadership, including a keen attention to detail and accuracy. I have been helping companies solve problems, create processes, scale and grow as a Fractional COO/Integrator for the past 6 years.