NECS Bios

Suzi Pomerantz

Suzi Pomerantz, CEO of Innovative Leadership International, LLC is an award-winning executive leadership coach with 30 years experience coaching leaders in 250+ organizations internationally. Suzi specializes in leadership strategy and leadership influence, helping executives, teams and organizations find clarity in chaos. She was one of the first executive coaches to receive the MCC (ICF Master credential) 24 years ago and is a thought leader in the coaching industry.  In 2017 she was named in Corporate Vision magazine’s Coaching Top 50 as well as Six Figure Coach magazine’s Top 200 Coaches to Follow Online. Her company was selected Most Outstanding Executive Coaching Company of the year 2018 by Global Business Insight. She was awarded the Platinum Coach designation at the Association for Coaching Excellence, and in 2021was awarded Silver in the category of Best Americas Coach by CoachAwards. She serves on the advisory boards of Harvard Business Review as well as the international journal Philosophy of Coaching.

Michele Roden

Michele is a sought-after Master Certified Coach for high-stakes conversations. Clients say she creates safe space for challenging conversations- particularly with teams who have to work together well. Michele’s advanced certification in Organization & Relationship Systems is enhanced by other certifications in the Leadership Circle 360 Profile, Team Culture Survey and Team Diagnostic Assessments. She is the principal designer of the LeadingAge Iowa Emerge Leadership Academy emphasizing experiential learning with real-life application. Michele has owned consulting and coaching firms for over 25 years, including being a principal and co-founder of BluOpal Consulting. In her free time, Michele enjoys cultivating her vegetable garden to preserve the summertime tastes for all-year long. She’s always planning an event or party and enjoys being with family and friends- appreciating the moments that matter with those she loves.

Alba Contreras Rodriguez

Alba Contreras Rodriguez is Owner and President of FonS (Focus on Solution), LLC. FonS provides executive coaching, team coaching, and consulting for leaders and organizations to excel and enable transitions and transformations, focused on human readiness. Alba has been recognized by Influence Digest as one of the Top 15 Coaches in Detroit in 2021. Alba spent her career in Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and KPMG management consulting; gaining international and global experience in operations, lean manufacturing, industrial engineering, vehicle launches, management consulting, information technology, and e-commerce. Demonstrated ability to improve organizational effectiveness and bottom- line performance. Alba previously served on the boards of Directors for the Cancer Support Community and Madrinas, a Latina Leaders Network. She was the Creator and Champion of the Women’s Network in Mexico, Co-Chair of Ford Women in Manufacturing and executive collaborator for the Ford Hispanic Network. Most recently, she Co-Founded the Ross Executive MBA Women’s Initiative University of Michigan and Co-Chair of Inforum’s Mosaic Affinity Group. Alba is fluent in Spanish and English, conversational in Portuguese.