Meet the Excelerate Team
Leadership Team
Jana De Anda
CEO and Co-Founder
BACKGROUND
CEO and Co-Founder at Excelerate with 15 years of experience guiding Fortune 500 organizations across many industries through development of go-to-market strategies, identification of new product innovation and optimization of operations standards to drive clear financial benefit.
SUPERPOWERS
Transformational Change Leadership. Customer Experience Optimization. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis. Strategic Planning.
FOR FUN
Cherishing time with my community of friends and family. Exploring different cultures and their histories. Watching my daughter, nieces and nephews learn and grow. Listening to live music.
BELIEFS
Lead with both your mind and your heart. Be an active listener. Never stop learning. Live an intentional life.
Nilay Thakkar
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder
BACKGROUND
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Excelerate with more than eight years in consulting as a Principal and VP/Market Lead with North Highland. Prior to that, eight plus years in Financial Services with HSBC and Wells Fargo.
SUPERPOWERS
Process Optimization. Portfolio Prioritization. Capability Gap Assessments. Market Assessment. Agile Transformation.
FOR FUN
Spending time with family. Traveling. Running. Yoga. Schooling my kids in hoops!
BELIEFS
Appreciate complex problems. Network a lot and help connect others. Do good.
Ted Winschel
Associate Director, Account Management
BACKGROUND
Associate Director at Excelerate with 11+ years of experience consulting in the Energy & Utilities, Footwear & Apparel, Manufacturing, Transportation and Aerospace & Defense industries.
SUPERPOWERS
Storytelling. Program/Project Management. Business Case Development. Business Process Modeling and Optimization. Group Facilitation. Team Building. Problem Solving.
FOR FUN
Creating memories with my wife and two young kids. Trail running. Backcountry skiing, camping and just about everything else outdoors. Traveling the world to experience cultures and cuisines.
BELIEFS
Be present in the current moment. Take nothing for granted.
Dannielle Lowe
Associate Director, Learning & Workforce Management
BACKGROUND
Associate Director at Excelerate with 10+ years of experience in aerospace, retail, supply chain, healthcare and energy industries. Expertise in manufacturing and lean operations. Leading teams through critical transitions, taking a facilitative approach to finding creative solutions to complex problems.
SUPERPOWERS
Process Improvement and Optimization. Communications. Organizational Change Management. Project / Program Management. Digital Transformation.
FOR FUN
Exploring new cities, restaurants and museums. Perusing old bookstores. Cheering on the Portland Trailblazers, Timbers and Thorns. Catching a play or concert at the Schnitz. Visiting the Portland Flower Market and creating floral arrangements. Spending time with family and friends.
BELIEFS
“Age Quod Agis” — do well whatever you do. Live with intentionality. Speak with authenticity. Lead with vulnerability. Serve with integrity and practice empathy.
Patrice Cannataro
Senior Director, Operations
BACKGROUND
Senior Director of Operations at Excelerate with over 12 years of leadership and operations experience focusing on capacity and resource management, situational leadership, process implementation, and employee performance and development.
SUPERPOWERS
Organizational Development. Capacity Modeling. Building High-Performing Teams. Leadership Training and Development.
FOR FUN
Hiking. Snowboarding. Rock climbing. Camping. Board games and jigsaw puzzles. Live music. Discovering new passions.
BELIEFS
Blame the process, not the people.
Amy Stencel
Associate Director, Delivery Differentiation
BACKGROUND
Customer Experience (CX) leader with 15 years experience in financial services and healthcare, across key players in the payer, provider, and biopharm space. Previously worked in consulting at North Highland, and in industry most recently at Delta Dental Insurance Company. Passion for aligning teams around customer insights and empathy to meet customer needs and deliver business value.
SUPERPOWER
Customer experience optimization. Human-centered design and product innovation. Interactive workshop facilitation (in person and virtual via Miro). Communication and storytelling. Organizational change management.
FOR FUN
Cuban salsa and other Latin dancing. Quality time and enjoying life's simple pleasures with family and friends. A mix of "city discovery" urban hikes and "forest bathing" nature hikes, in the Bay Area and beyond!
BELIEFS
Try everything at least once. Give credit and show appreciation — even for the little things. Be open to new possibilities.
Nick Bravo
BACKGROUND
Senior Marketing Manager at Excelerate with over a decade’s experience increasing, nurturing, and converting Marketing Qualified Leads through highly accessible and informative content.
SUPERPOWERS
Research, organization, and communication. Writing.
FOR FUN
AMC A-Lister, lifelong Coachella-goer, and world-class walker.
BELIEFS
Take care of you and yours before you take on the world; Things won’t always get better, but you always can!
Justin Braun
BACKGROUND
Senior Manager at Excelerate with 7+ years of experience in consulting and advisory services. Leverage expertise in data storytelling and process optimization to help clients navigate complex challenges. Passionate about uncovering insights from data and guiding companies through transformative change.
SUPERPOWERS
Data Storytelling. Process Optimization. Program Leadership. Collaborative Problem-Solving. Turning the unknown into the known.
FOR FUN
Always up for a round of golf, game of pickleball, hike, or bluebird snowboarding day. Busy building a backlog of new restaurants or hole in the walls to try or traveling with my fiancée (32 countries and counting).
BELIEFS
I believe in the power of communities to lift one another up—at work, in family, and in life. “Never try to be better than someone else. Learn from others and try to be the best you can be. Success is the by-product of that preparation.”
Atosa Dabney
BACKGROUND
Senior Manager at Excelerate with an expertise in change management consulting within government agencies, financial institutions, technology firms and freight companies.
SUPERPOWERS
Requirements Elicitation, System Analysis, Process Optimization and Visualization.
FOR FUN
Traveling. Road trips with great playlists. Hiking. Zillow browsing. Fighting game button-mashing, Resident Evil spectating.
BELIEFS
Smile more. Laugh often. Seek the silver lining in every situation.
Bryn Ritchie
BACKGROUND
Senior Manager at Excelerate with more than 15 years of project and program management experience, primarily in the non-profit industry. Experience in leading cross-functional teams through critical transitions and process development. Prior to that, played professionally for the Portland Timbers.
SUPERPOWERS
Process Improvement and Optimization. Project / Program Management and Oversight. Organizational Change Management.
FOR FUN
Spending time with my wife and four children. Exploring in our camper and visiting as many national parks as we can. Hiking. Hunting. Playing golf. UFC fight nights and watching movies.
BELIEFS
There is always more to learn. Every challenge is an opportunity for transformation. Life is a journey; the destination is the purpose.
Kiera Shepard
BACKGROUND
Senior Manager at Excelerate with extensive experience in project/program management and business operations. Skilled at leading cross-functional teams and strategic initiatives. Expert in designing efficient, scalable processes that enable sustainable business growth. Passion for leveraging data to achieve high impact results.
SUPERPOWERS
Project/Program Management. Data & Analytics. Process Design and Implementation. Continuous Improvement. Stakeholder Engagement. Risk Management.
FOR FUN
Playing with my dog Scooby. Sunset walks at La Jolla Shores Beach. Traveling to new places. Enjoying homecooked meals and wine with friends and family.
BELIEFS
Believe in the kind-heartedness of others. Trust yourself. Keep learning.
Ali Yorra
BACKGROUND
Senior Manager at Excelerate with over a decade of experience advising clients across various industries including retail, CPG, hospitality, grocery, technology, healthcare, and transportation.
SUPERPOWERS
Strategic Communications. Problem Solving. Project / Program Management. Service Design. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis. Change Management.
FOR FUN
Getting outdoors and adventuring with my family, dogs and the occasional foster dog. Hiking, snowshoeing, paddleboarding and long dog walks are just some of the things that I can be found doing outdoors to stay active.
BELIEFS
Kindness in all things, the rest will come. Always learn why. Like Lao Tzu once said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Mike Butler
BACKGROUND
Manager at Excelerate with more than 17 years of experience in B2B and B2C subscription software. Expertise in sales and marketing process optimization and go-to-market strategy development.
SUPERPOWERS
Process Design and Optimization. CRM and Marketing Automation Implementation. Strategic Planning. M&A integration.
FUN
Spending time with my wife and two young daughters. Snowboarding. Skiing. Cross-training. Grilling and smoking meats.
BELIEFS
Intangibles matter – strong work ethic, positive attitude, kindness, humility, integrity and a willingness to learn. Family and friendships.
Adriana Cantu
BACKGROUND
Manager at Excelerate with over 10+ years of public and private sector experience working in Technology, Defense, Insurance, Manufacturing, Finance, Agriculture, Government, Oil and Gas and Apparel and Fitness Industries. Passion for finding efficient and innovative optimization solutions for purpose-driven organizations.
SUPERPOWERS
Connecting large, diverse groups and helping them find commonality. Serving and leading teams. Strategically using data to help drive a company’s mission.
FOR FUN
Spending time with son. Coaching. CrossFit. Basketball. Personal Development. Learning new things.
BELIEFS
Everything is figureoutable. You can accomplish anything you set your mind on. Life doesn’t happen to you; it happens for you.
Samantha Goldenhersh
BACKGROUND
Operations and People Strategist with a Master’s Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with 10 years of experience streamlining operations, scaling startups, driving organizational development, and enhancing employee experience. Passionate about creating efficient, people-centered workplaces by optimizing processes, improving workflows, and aligning people strategies with business goals.
SUPERPOWERS
Organizational Development. Employee Experience. Process Improvement. Leadership Development. Data-Driven Decision Making. Operational Excellence. Strategic Program Management.
FOR FUN
Competing in pickleball tournaments, salsa dancing, surfing, hiking with the dogs, and spending time with friends and family.
BELIEFS
Approach challenges with curiosity. Keep learning and adapting. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Austin Juarez
BACKGROUND
Manager at Excelerate with experience in data analytics through consulting in various industries including automotive, medical device, advertising and tourism. An empathetic servant leader who is skilled in analytical problem solving and translating data into actionable business recommendations.
SUPERPOWERS
Data Visualization. Scripting, Data Translation. Storytelling, Data Analytics. Strategic Planning. Servant Leadership. Technical Communication.
FUN
Surfing Tourmaline. Golfing at The Crossing, Snorkeling at La Jolla Cove. Traveling for new experiences. Morning coffee walks. Exploring the outdoors.
BELIEFS
Live a life that matters. Be kind. Always put your shopping cart back.
Allison Rynne
BACKGROUND
Strategic leader with a passion for building and scaling businesses that put people first. Extensive experience in project management, marketing, and business operations. Thrives on untangling complex challenges and aligning teams to deliver exceptional results. Expert at managing change and building relationships across organizational boundaries to help new ideas and processes take root.
SUPERPOWERS
Go-to-Market Strategy. Building and scaling high-performing teams. Turning ambitious ideas into operational realities.
FOR FUN
I love learning new things, going on adventures with my husband, hanging out with friends, and taking long walks with my dogs.
BELIEFS
Try things, learn stuff, repeat. Mistakes? Fuel for growth. Feedback? Bring it on. Joy is everywhere if you’re looking – and kindness is non-negotiable.
Philip Croome
BACKGROUND
Business Process Improvement Leader with more than 20 years of global experience enabling clients to achieve sustainable process efficiency improvements across Operations, Finance, Supply Chain and IT. Expert at managing change and building relationships across organizational boundaries to enable new process adoption.
SUPERPOWERS
Process Analysis and Design. Change Impact Analysis and Management. Program management. Ability to rapidly absorb and interpret ambiguous or new information to drive decisions and action.
FUN
Multi-generational family time. Gardening. Road cycling. Cooking, Wine and Craft Beer.
BELIEFS
Be kind. Always be learning. Seek to understand. Recognize that analysis will only take you so far and needs to be spiced up by a bias for action. Believe in what you do but don’t take yourself too seriously.
Heidi Halsey
BACKGROUND
Commercial Growth Advisor with Excelerate with over 20 years of in-house industry and strategy consulting experience in consumer products, digital entertainment and aviation. Focused on leveraging data and customer insights to develop & implement strategies that maximize the global market potential of products, enhance the customer experience (CX) and maximize profit. Previously held global leadership positions at Disney, Paramount Pictures and was the Principal of an Aviation Consulting Firm.
SUPERPOWERS
Data-driven Insights. Customer Experience Optimization. Strategic Planning. Financial Analysis. Design Thinking. Opportunity Prioritization and Implementation.
FOR FUN
Anything outdoors, ideally done with family or friends. Watching my two girls get enjoyment out of their own activities. Binge watching the latest TV drama. Traveling to explore new places.
BELIEFS
Value collaboration and communication. Be kind. Have empathy. Laugh often & have fun!
Mia Goldwyn
BACKGROUND
Twenty-plus years of experience in media & technology. Global executive and thought leader with a proven track record for building new businesses and driving growth and innovation. Former Chief Content Officer at YouTube MCN, Paramount Pictures VP of Digital & Licensing, digital strategy at Nike, NBC Universal, AI and next gen media advisor.
SUPERPOWERS
Strategy and business development, consumer insights, data & analytics, all things tech & media including AI, social media, and content creation and distribution.
FOR FUN
Adventures and laughter with my kids, travelling, snowboarding, diving, surfing, hiking, Byzantine history, art.
BELIEFS
Integrity in everything you do, staying curious and positive, collaborating and empowering people to be their best.
Phil Hovey
BACKGROUND
Ten-plus years of experience consulting in sporting goods, apparel, financial, and energy industries.
SUPERPOWERS
Project & Program Management. Strategic Planning. Process Improvement. Collaborative problem solving.
FOR FUN
Spending time outdoors skiing, mountain biking, climbing, and backpacking. Traveling with my wife. Woodworking & camper van building.
BELIEFS
Live with intentionality and positivity while exploring and finding new challenges. Be empathetic and seek understanding.
Sarah Parsons
BACKGROUND
Consultant at Excelerate with 15+ years of experience in the retail, sports entertainment and healthcare industries. Expertise in project management, marketing and creative operations.
SUPERPOWERS
Portfolio, Program and Project Management. Process Improvement and Optimization. Team Development. Strategic Planning. Digital Transformation.
FUN
Spending time with family and friends. Game nights. Reading. Travel. Outdoor exploration.
BELIEFS
Ask the right questions. The value is in relationship (with both people + data!). Be hard on the problem, not on the people. Above all, give grace.
Megan Miller
BACKGROUND
Consultant with 15 years’ experience in high tech, retail apparel, and energy industries leading organizations through complex local and international change with a focus on organizational strategy and high-level change management initiatives.
SUPERPOWERS
Curiosity, understanding connections, mitigating risks, connecting authentically in partnership.
FOR FUN
Volleyball, gardening, and renovating houses; parenting, exploring, and adventuring.
BELIEFS
Strive to solve problems at their root instead of dealing with them only when they sprout above ground. For every “what” we should always ask “why?”
Liam Saracino
BACKGROUND
Program Management Leader with over 15 years of experience delivering complex technology initiatives that drive enterprise transformation across retail, defense, and government sectors. I specialize in leading cross-functional programs that align business strategy with technology execution, establishing governance structures that promote alignment, transparency, and measurable impact across IT and business operations.
SUPERPOWERS
Seeing the big picture and connecting the dots between business and technology.
FOR FUN
I enjoy spending time outdoors, cheering from the sidelines at my sons’ sporting events, and catching games at Petco Park or Snapdragon Stadium.
BELIEFS
Lead with empathy. Understand all points of view and focus on what really matters.
Brittany Spence
BACKGROUND
Senior Consultant at Excelerate with over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, achieving results in program management, workplace strategies, fundraising, marketing, sales, business development, service operations and human resources. A dynamic and focused leader who is particularly effective in building strong relationships and cohesive teams that accomplish results.
SUPERPOWERS
Positivity. People-Centric Approach in finding Creative Solutions. Facilitation. Relationship Building. Attentive Listener.
FOR FUN
Enjoying time with family, friends and pup Jack Murphy. Surfing. Yoga. Walks on the beach. Aiming to live each moment with intentionality and compassion.
BELIEFS
Be kind. Be humble. Find gratitude. Soak up every heart-burst moment.
Lauren Piva
BACKGROUND
Talent Acquisition Leader with more than a decade of experience across both agency and in-house recruiting. Scaled organizations from startup to global presence, led teams through change, and built structured, equitable hiring practices. With a foundation in employer branding, full-cycle recruiting, and talent strategy, she brings a holistic perspective to the hiring journey.
SUPERPOWERS
Talent Acquisition Strategy & Execution. Recruiting Process Optimization. Employer Branding. Team Leadership & Development. Candidate Experience Design. Stakeholder Collaboration. Market Research & Sourcing.
FOR FUN
Spending time with my husband and two sons. Antiquing. Beach days. Trying new restaurants. Lounging with a good book.
BELIEFS
Love what you do and who you do it alongside. Do the right thing, even if it’s not an easy path. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Take ownership and get it done.
Shawn Parr
BACKGROUND
Twenty-five plus years of practical brand, innovation and business-building experience, helping leaders of Fortune 500s and purpose-driven startups manage change. Works with leadership and executive teams at large, multinational companies, and passionate entrepreneurs to launch new products, brands and companies. Trusted advisor, coach, and guide.
SUPERPOWERS
Intent listening, question asking, problem identifying; guiding people to their purpose, story, and path forward.
FOR FUN
Surfing, hiking, cooking, adventure travel… laughter.
BELIEFS
Be kind, generous, thoughtful, and grateful.
The most significant challenges can be solved, and the biggest opportunities unlocked when you bring focused people with shared values, clear purpose, simplicity, and common sense together.
Jean Freeman
BACKGROUND
Principal + CEO of Zambezi leading a highly awarded, independent advertising agency that is proudly women-owned. Grew Zambezi from a startup to what it is today – a thriving agency named Small Agency of the Year by AdAge and a seven-time Inc. 5000 honoree.
SUPERPOWERS
Building and scaling companies.
FOR FUN
Watching my kids play high school sports and playing bad tennis.
BELIEFS
Tough times don’t last, tough people do.