Our Team
Our Team
Wayne Powell
CEO and Owner
Denise McNerney
Chief Strategy Officer
Wayne is a leader who thrives on helping organizations increase their impact. He believes organizations that consistently take timely action on what can and must be done to optimize performance are more successful and likely to realize their stated vision and mission, consistent with the desired organizational culture and values. His career is defined by accomplishments across public, private and nonprofit organizations. During his 25-year career as a Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Federal Reserve senior executive, he gained extensive, increasing and diverse experience in providing strategic direction and leadership to a variety of business functions including finance, operations, administrative services, risk management, corporate and marketing communications, and community investment.
Wayne brings expertise in defining and executing strategy, leading and optimizing the performance of organizations and teams, leading complex initiatives, instilling customer focus and optimizing use of technology. He currently serves on the University of Kansas Medical Center Advancement Board of Directors as well as the Crux KC Advisory Board, and recently served as Chairperson of the Health Forward Foundation Board of Directors, as President of the Hope Leadership Academy Charter School Board of Directors, as well on the Executive Committees of the Central Exchange and Nonprofit Connect boards of directors.
Wayne holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College. He also completed Executive Education coursework at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Lynne Brown
Vice President Strategic Planning
Lynne Brown brings more than 25 years of experience to i BossWell. Lynne began her career working on the staff of non-profit health care organizations where she gained front line experience in fund-raising, lobbying, member and community relations, as well as the art and science of working with board committees and volunteers.
Lynne has assisted a diverse list of clients in the non-profit sector to develop and prepare to implement their strategic plans, to enhance the capacity of their boards, and to coach leaders and staff to achieve high performance. Her clients have included government agencies and NPOs in health care, human services, education, and the arts. In addition, she directs the marketing and training efforts for WePlanWell, an online strategic plan development tool and strategic management system created by iBossWell.
Some of Lynne’s greatest insights come from her extensive experience as a volunteer organizer of non-profit events and activities and as a leader of non-profit boards. She recently assisted the Association for Strategic Planning in the planning and presentation of World Strategy Week 2014, a global forum bringing together international experts and leaders in a series of virtual and live events to discuss how organizations can most successfully develop and execute strategies in a volatile and increasingly unpredictable environment. She is currently chairing the Association’s Branding & Marketing subcommittee. She received ASP’s Distinguished Member award in 2014. She was previously chair of the Johnson County Library Foundation and currently chairs the Foundation’s Fund Development Committee.
Lynne is a graduate of the University of Kansas and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.
Terry Trafton, MS, LPC, NCC
Consultant and Coach
Terry works with organizations to support leadership and educate employees to build strong organizational and team culture that includes resilience and mental health wellness.
Terry brings more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit and healthcare settings including behavioral health, community, and hospital healthcare. He has served in executive leadership roles at CommCARE Behavioral Health, Alternatives EAP, Two Rivers Behavioral Health System and Truman Medical Centers Behavioral Health (now University Health KC.)
Terry builds organizational health through one-to-one coaching and team leadership training and customized services that focus on operational effectiveness, strategic planning, and employee support services. Terry holds certifications to build organizational engagement and employee resilience through appreciative inquiry, energy-based operating systems, and is trained in trauma-informed culture transformation.
Terry currently serves as the President and Chair of the Missouri Mental Health Foundation Board of Directors and is a Board Member of the Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation, Scholarships and Public Relations committees and the Health Forward Foundation, Governance and Equity committees.
Terry holds a National Certification and License as a Professional Counselor in the State of Missouri with a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Avila University. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Kansas City Business Journal Leadership Trust.
Liz Sutherlin
Consultant and Coach
Liz is a Business Consultant with over 30 years of experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit business segments specializing in general management, coaching and mentoring, strategic planning, team and leadership development and achievement of business results. She began her career in the pharmaceutical industry working in manufacturing, sales, marketing and sales management. As Vice President of Sales at Merck & Co. Inc, she led an 800-person sales team developing effective managers and customer focused sales associates who delivered more than $1.8 billion in sales.
After retiring from her corporate career, Liz agreed to be the pro bono Executive Director and board president of HappyBottoms, Kansas City’s Diaper Bank, taking it from start up to sustainability. She successfully raised sufficient funding to transition the organization to a fully paid staff. The expertise Liz brings in sales, leadership, human resource management, fundraising, business development, customer service, strategic planning, marketing, collaboration and crisis management make her uniquely qualified to help clients develop achievable plans that allow them to deliver on their mission.
Liz holds a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, PA and is a licensed pharmacist in the States of Kansas and Pennsylvania.
Terri Harmon
Technical Translation and Support
Terri Harmon offers clients a diverse set of skills and experiences that has been developed during her more than 20 year career in all aspects of business management and operations. Her career began in management roles with Best Buy that took her to stores throughout the Midwest. Terri also served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City for more than a decade, taking the organization from a newly established 501c3 to a fully functional arts advocacy agency supporting the Kansas City metropolitan area. The variety of duties embraced by Terri during her tenure at the Arts Council included strategic planning, fundraising, board development, technology implementation, grant making and succession planning.
Terri is passionate about creating effective strategies and organizational growth through operational efficiency and effective change management practices. Her experience in both small and large organizational structures and as both a staff member and a board volunteer allows her to make a positive contribution to each client she advises.
Beth Malone
Bookkeeping
Beth Malone joined the i BossWell team in June of 2018 as Bookkeeper and Office Support. Beth graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Math & Computer Science. Her background includes working as project manager in the IT departments of several companies for more than 30 years. She brings more than 15 years of bookkeeping and accounting experience with QuickBooks. She has also owned her own photography business since 2013.
Denise founded i BossWell more than 20 years ago, and is a Business Consultant specializing in strategic and business planning, organizational change, leadership and team development, and executive coaching. Denise has more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, strategic planning, healthcare service delivery, business operations, team dynamics, and customer relations.
As Executive Director of Managed Care and Corporate Accounts at AstraZeneca, Inc., Denise directed business operations of national and regional accounts; book value of $4+ billion and a team of more than 200 associates and 17 corporate directors. She has hired, developed and coached hundreds of managers during her corporate career.
Denise has special expertise in strategic planning. Her scope and depth of experience offers the extraordinary capability of developing highly efficient, focused plans, as well as the ability to position the organization to effectively implement the plan through processes, systems. Additionally, her skills also guide the advancing of the organizational culture needed for exemplary performance. With extensive experience developing high performing teams, Denise has successfully facilitated strategic, business and reorganization planning, taking organizations from needs assessment and situational analysis all the way to strategy development, redesign and implementation. She has co-authored the book, “The PeoplePACT™ – Achieving Exemplary Performance through Humane Leadership”. It is a culmination of her extensive experience in leadership development and excellence in performance.
Denise holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, a Master’s degree in Counseling, and additional work towards a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.
Heather Ehlert
COO and Senior Consultant
Heather has dedicated her entire career to serving nonprofits and the lives they touch in carrying out their missions. She brings extensive experience in all aspects of organizational development, management, growth and program services. Prior to joining i BossWell, Heather served as Chief Operating Officer for Byrne Pelofsky + Associates, LLC, a national fundraising consulting firm created through the merger of two companies serving the nonprofit and public sectors and prior to that, was COO with Jeffrey Byrne + Associates, Inc. In these roles, Heather led the areas of administration and finance, including establishing protocols and systems for administrative and client management; talent acquisition and retention, including onboarding and integrating personnel through assessment and coaching in roles and responsibilities; marketing and sales, including spearheading internal and external communications efforts as well as brand and identity development; strategic partnerships, aligning goals and core values to create unified visions; service delivery optimization; direct fundraising counsel; prospect research; and grant and professional writing.
Previously, Heather served as Vice President – Global Development for Heart to Heart International based in Olathe, Kansas; Executive Director of the Maison de Naissance Foundation and Director of Development, Marketing and Communications for The Barstow School in Kansas City, Missouri. Heather also worked with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in management, fundraising and program services capacities. Heather’s efforts consistently result in quality improvement in service delivery, alliances with a broad spectrum of constituencies (including Boards, staff, volunteers and clients) and the establishment of meaningful strategies, protocols and desired outcomes. Heather has led hundreds of organizations in increasing their capacity to serve and creating sustainable paradigms to support their missions.
Heather graduated from the University of Kansas with Highest Distinction with a B.A. in Economics.
Nicole Jacobs Silvey
Consultant and Coach
Nicole is a coach, consultant, speaker and writer – but above all, she is a connector. Driven by a desire to connect people to their purpose and passion so they can reach their potential, Nicole focuses on executive coaching and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consulting. Nicole is also a sought-after speaker and writer with an expertise in topics related to DEI, leadership development and women's empowerment.
Nicole utilizes a listen-learn-lead approach that engages clients in crucial content, strategy and action. Nicole meets clients where they are while challenging assumptions, identifying blind spots and encouraging personal reflection and action. Her most celebrated DEI work is in not-for-profit Board development. After over 20 years in the not-for-profit sector, she was inspired to develop a training series called At the Table that focuses on fostering a Board culture of inclusive leadership and shared power that promotes the intentional recruitment and retention of people of color.
A servant leader at heart, Nicole is passionate about philanthropy and volunteerism. Nicole is active on several Boards and committees, including The Coterie Theatre, KC Rising's DEI Advisory Committee, KC Ballet's Education and Engagement Committee, Executive Women's Leadership Council (Greater Kansas City Chamber), C3KC Community Advisory Committee (Junior League) and St. Peter's Catholic School Board of Directors.
Nicole was selected to the 2018 Class of Rising Stars (The Independent Magazine) and was also named the 2018 Emerging Volunteer by Nonprofit Connect. She is also a graduate of KC Tomorrow and the AHEAD program (Central Exchange).
Nicole has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rockhurst University and also earned her Not for-Profit Fundraising Certificate from the UMKC Bloch School of Management.
Kai Allday
Consultant and Coach
Kaiulani Alday has over 18 years of management experience. She is a certified High Performance Coach and brings her experience in organizational growth, leadership and employee development from her years working for a national non-profit and one of the largest privately-owned corporations in the U.S. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs and began working in the family business before entering high school and continues as an active member in its management. Kaiulani is particularly skilled at creating positive change and raising up leaders. She has been a part of many difficult teams where she was able to facilitate cohesion and create a high performing environment. She has mentored many toward promotion and success in their careers and has also played vital roles in growth and expansion projects.
Kaiulani is extremely passionate about leadership and organizational health and is dedicated to the idea that a healthy organization begets happy staff and in turn a thriving community. Her love for people coupled with her business acumen gives her the ability to offer support in both stagnant and changing environments. As a consultant, she works with organizations and executives to focus their goals, create strategic plans for growth and navigate the change while maintaining focus on serving its mission and people.
Cathy Basse
Research and Administrative Support
Cathy has worked in the wellness/healthcare sector for more than 35 years. Combining her nursing background, passion for disease prevention, and strong sense of community, she forged a unique career path in public and private sectors.
Cathy worked with Dr. Andre Weil, a practitioner and teacher of integrative medicine, supporting product design in his programs, publications and productions. Cathy served as an Executive Director with Natural Nectar Corporation, and was instrumental in establishing its philanthropic arm, Nectar Tunes, a contributor to arts and artists of all genres and supporter of humanitarian, environmental and education projects around the world. Notably, she was part of a team partnership with Dr. Noel Brown, Director of the United Nations Environmental Program, in the Earth Trust’s Flipper Fund, recognized as the world’s most successful dolphin-saving program.
By designing stress management and health recovery programs, Cathy continues to assist individuals in their personal wellness journeys and is a member of the Functional Nutrition Alliance. A nurse, Cathy is also a licensed Natural Therapy Practitioner from The New Mexico School of Integrative Therapy and holds an AD in liberal arts from Johnson County Community College.
CONTACT US
913-642-1416
Mailing Address
3965 West 83rd Street, #196
Prairie Village, Kansas 66208