About Us
Our History
We formed Pilgrimage Professional Development Group in 2008 to bring our career experiences together and to create an organization that could provide the kind of professional development work that we like to experience – focused, smart, creative, high-impact, and challenging interactions that create insights and changes in both thinking and behavior. (Click to read more About us)
We formed Pilgrimage Professional Development Group in 2008 to bring our career experiences together and to create an organization that could provide the kind of professional development work that we like to experience – focused, smart, creative, high-impact, and challenging interactions that create insights and changes in both thinking and behavior. (Click to read more About us)
Our early career experiences working for amazing organizations like Outward Bound and The Center For Creative Leadership instilled an appreciation for learning through experience and we cultivated an understanding of leadership science and program design that is foundational to our work today. The relationships that we maintain with our staff and consultants are collaborative and leverage the collective knowledge of these partners to produce extraordinary outcomes. Our history of working with thousands of leadership professionals from all over the world has informed our approach and helped us learn and grow as leadership consultants. We strive to bring the best thinking in leadership development to our work and believe that we have a unique blend of experience, education, and exposure that qualifies us to assist the best leaders in the best organizations globally.
We decided to call the business “Pilgrimage” because we like the imagery that the word evokes. We have trekked and traveled through some of the world’s most amazing places, and find our clearest thinking and greatest insights when we journey purposefully and intentionally. We believe that, at its core, leadership is about purpose and intention. Our work is about helping others bring these elements to who they are and what they do.
We decided to call the business “Pilgrimage” because we like the imagery that the word evokes. We have trekked and traveled through some of the world’s most amazing places, and find our clearest thinking and greatest insights when we journey purposefully and intentionally. We believe that, at its core, leadership is about purpose and intention. Our work is about helping others bring these elements to who they are and what they do.
About Our Partners
Glenn Newsom, PhD
Senior Partner, Co-Founder
Glenn has worked with thousands of professionals from large and small organizations and believes strongly in the power of focused and intentional personal and professional development. He particularly excels in helping senior leaders become more effective within their work environments. Glenn's coaching work specializes in assisting executives, mid-career professionals, and high potential individuals who are striving to take their skills to the next level. He understands the multiple challenges and roles required of modern professionals and how developing an individual's skills and competencies can provide positive impact for organizations. His background as a psychologist/counselor, his understanding of organizational systems, and his past coaching relationships continue to inform his action-oriented, person-centered approach. Glenn is also the author of The Balance Equation.
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Originally from North Carolina, Glenn received his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master's degree in Counseling from the Pennsylvania State University, and a Doctorate in Counseling with a Minor in Business at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Originally trained as a psychologist/counselor, Glenn has been working as an executive coach and consultant since 1998. He served as faculty member at The Center For Creative Leadership between 2000-2004, and in 2005, Glenn founded his own consulting firm that grew to become Pilgrimage in 2010. As part of that work, he designs and delivers custom leadership and management training content, provides individual, team, and organization assessment consulting, and engages in executive coaching relationships with an international clientele.
Glenn’s consulting work has occurred across a myriad of industries including for-profit, non-profit, and educational organizations. Consistent professional development engagements within large manufacturing companies, management consulting firms, retail, healthcare, high-tech, pharmaceutical, and finance organizations have defined the majority of Glenn’s coaching and consulting experiences over the span of his career. Specific focus as a trusted advisor and coach to the most senior leaders and their executive teams are key areas of interest and expertise for Glenn.
Originally trained as a psychologist/counselor, Glenn has been working as an executive coach and consultant since 1998. He served as faculty member at The Center For Creative Leadership between 2000-2004, and in 2005, Glenn founded his own consulting firm that grew to become Pilgrimage in 2010. As part of that work, he designs and delivers custom leadership and management training content, provides individual, team, and organization assessment consulting, and engages in executive coaching relationships with an international clientele.
Glenn’s consulting work has occurred across a myriad of industries including for-profit, non-profit, and educational organizations. Consistent professional development engagements within large manufacturing companies, management consulting firms, retail, healthcare, high-tech, pharmaceutical, and finance organizations have defined the majority of Glenn’s coaching and consulting experiences over the span of his career. Specific focus as a trusted advisor and coach to the most senior leaders and their executive teams are key areas of interest and expertise for Glenn.
Peter Hazelrigg, MS, MDiv
Senior Partner, Co-Founder
Peter's has been working with leaders for more than 15 years as a coach, facilitator, and consultant. His coaching clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds including corporate, healthcare, higher education, non-profit, and religious organizations. His particular area of interest is in developing leadership capacity in senior leaders and leadership teams through a combination of professional coaching, education, and assessment. Peter received his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Denver, a Master's in Counseling from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Peter is also the author of The Balance Equation.
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Peter believes that knowledge of self is critical for strong leadership. His assessment for development approach offers leaders a blend of insight, skill development, and leadership science. Believing that all leaders can grow and improve, he focuses on a process that challenges old assumptions, sets measurable goals, and facilitates a culture of constructive feedback. He has partnered with hundreds of organizations to add value through coaching engagements, customized professional training programs, and assessment services that increase organizational impact.
In his coaching work with leaders, Peter recognizes the challenges of being a professional in a hyper-connected, never really off, digital era that can can be exhausting. The discipline for successful leaders is finding their own unique balance with professional, personal, and community roles. His coaching methodology helps clients figure out how to become more efficient and impactful with their time, reset boundaries to make professional life sustainable, and reclaim the values that make it all worth while.
Peter is also Affiliate Faculty for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a Board Certified Coach (BCC).
In his coaching work with leaders, Peter recognizes the challenges of being a professional in a hyper-connected, never really off, digital era that can can be exhausting. The discipline for successful leaders is finding their own unique balance with professional, personal, and community roles. His coaching methodology helps clients figure out how to become more efficient and impactful with their time, reset boundaries to make professional life sustainable, and reclaim the values that make it all worth while.
Peter is also Affiliate Faculty for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a Board Certified Coach (BCC).
Jonathan Vehar, MS
Partner
Jonathan works with organizations to develop leadership and innovation solutions necessary for growth. Fast Company calls him an “innovation thought leader,” and Forbes refers to him as an “innovation geek.” Jonathan regularly works with Fortune 100 companies in the consumer goods, electronics, pharma, and entertainment industries as well as small- to mid-size enterprises and various government agencies. His focus is on developing teams’ capacities as they create great results. The results of this work have helped companies save hundreds of millions of dollars, developed market-winning new products and game-changing strategies all while helping teams work together and across boundaries more effectively, and with less drama and conflict.
Click here to read more about JonathaN
Jonathan served as the chief product officer and member of the global executive team of Dale Carnegie & Associates, a training organization with operations in 50 states, 90 countries and 32 languages, where he revitalized the product offerings including face-to-face training, virtual instructor-led, on-demand video, and AI-based apps. Jonathan joined the Center for Creative Leadership in 2012, where he serves as a senior faculty member, and had portfolio management responsibilities for innovation, technology-based learning solutions, and individual leadership development solutions. He also spent 14 years as the President and Co-Founder of New & Improved, LLC, a global training and organizational development firm focused on creative thinking and innovation leadership skills.
Jonathan is an adjunct faculty member with the U.S. Joint Special Operations University and has served as adjunct faculty at Northwestern University, SUNY Buffalo State College, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in communication (corporate culture and instructional systems design) from Ithaca (NY) College, and his Master’s degree in Creativity, Innovation, and Change Leadership from the State University of New York’s International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Publications in which Jonathan has been quoted or interviewed include Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Newsday, Investor’s Business Daily, Entrepreneur, EuropeanCEO, HR Katha, BusinessWorld (India), and Road & Track. He is the co-author of three books: More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams; Sell! The Way Your Customers Want to Buy; and LEAD: How to Build a High-Performing Team, and he also wrote the book, Manage Your Boss, published by the Center for Creative Leadership
Jonathan is an adjunct faculty member with the U.S. Joint Special Operations University and has served as adjunct faculty at Northwestern University, SUNY Buffalo State College, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in communication (corporate culture and instructional systems design) from Ithaca (NY) College, and his Master’s degree in Creativity, Innovation, and Change Leadership from the State University of New York’s International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Publications in which Jonathan has been quoted or interviewed include Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Newsday, Investor’s Business Daily, Entrepreneur, EuropeanCEO, HR Katha, BusinessWorld (India), and Road & Track. He is the co-author of three books: More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams; Sell! The Way Your Customers Want to Buy; and LEAD: How to Build a High-Performing Team, and he also wrote the book, Manage Your Boss, published by the Center for Creative Leadership
Kesha Farrow
Chief Operations Officer
Kesha has over 25 years of experience specializing in operations for executive coaching and leadership development. She has a reputation for leading teams to streamline operations, building global processes, and successfully executing large scale and multi-million dollar programs and events. She has the keen ability to scan the environment, collect relevant data and provide useful and clear interpretation of complex issues. She has been successful in managing client relationships and establishing an excellent rapport with individuals on all levels of the organization. Previously, as Head of Coaching Operations at the Center for Creative Leadership, she helped double revenue and increase margin while building an agile team, creating systems, and standardizing business processes.
About Our Consultants
Prisca Peyer
Principal Consultant, Europe
Prisca leads global training and coaching projects for Pilgrimage. She is based in Zurich, Switzerland and has more than 25 years experience working as a leading HR / Development professional in a global, corporate environment. Prisca is equally an expert in the leadership development arena as well as in the field of financial services. She works as an executive coach and management consultant to executives and teams from diverse industries including engineering, technology, manufacturing, insurance & reinsurance, pharma, and automotive. She works primarily in German, English and French. Her other interests include music and exploring new countries and cultures.
Prisca leads global training and coaching projects for Pilgrimage. She is based in Zurich, Switzerland and has more than 25 years experience working as a leading HR / Development professional in a global, corporate environment. Prisca is equally an expert in the leadership development arena as well as in the field of financial services. She works as an executive coach and management consultant to executives and teams from diverse industries including engineering, technology, manufacturing, insurance & reinsurance, pharma, and automotive. She works primarily in German, English and French. Her other interests include music and exploring new countries and cultures.
J. Scott Young, PhD
Principal Consultant
Scott directs the Physician Development Process for Pilgrimage. He provides coaching and team development for medical providers and healthcare teams. He is also a professor and former Chair of the Department of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He operates from the perspective that leadership coaching is an interpersonal process through which professionals learn to demonstrate for their teams what success entails, to articulate a vision, to challenge processes, to enable teams to reach synergy, while providing necessary encouragement and support. He has coached individuals across a range of backgrounds and industries including health care, technology, manufacturing, accounting and finance, and service, among others.
Scott directs the Physician Development Process for Pilgrimage. He provides coaching and team development for medical providers and healthcare teams. He is also a professor and former Chair of the Department of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He operates from the perspective that leadership coaching is an interpersonal process through which professionals learn to demonstrate for their teams what success entails, to articulate a vision, to challenge processes, to enable teams to reach synergy, while providing necessary encouragement and support. He has coached individuals across a range of backgrounds and industries including health care, technology, manufacturing, accounting and finance, and service, among others.
About Our Affiliate Consultants
Chuck Ainsworth
Affiliate Consultant
Chuck is a global leader in the field of executive coaching and leadership development. He works with top executives and C-suite teams when the stakes are high. He knows what it takes to build and lead high performing teams, foster trust and influence change across boundaries. Previously, as Head of Coaching at the Center for Creative Leadership, he grew one of the largest coaching practices in the world. Chuck is a sought after and dynamic communicator, consultant, and coach with a refreshingly authentic, practical, no-nonsense and inspiring style. He gets results and strives to create deeply meaningful learning experiences and emotionally intelligent leaders. Chuck’s unique expertise includes large-scale coaching for organizational impact, developing internal coaches, and helping organizations build a culture of emotionally intelligent, feedback rich conversations leading to psychological safety and enhanced performance.
Becky Edmunds
Affiliate Consultant
Becky has over 25 years of experience in providing organizations with comprehensive organizational development services, including executive coaching, talent management, succession planning, team and leadership development and strategic change management. Her executive coaching expertise is extensive with experience in diverse industries including manufacturing, medicine, financial services, legal services, insurance, and education. She custom-designs programs that support and align business strategy and enhance senior team interaction, as well as assist organizations in creating and cascading systemic comprehensive leadership development initiatives to build leadership at all levels in high-performing organizations.
Scott Evans
Affiliate Consultant
Scott is a trusted nonprofit leader with over 20 years experience in small to large organizations. Growing up in Africa (Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa) with parents who worked for an NGO, Scott learned how to care for the needs of others and appreciate different cultures and diversity. His authentic leadership style has centered around people management, coaching, conflict resolution, training, recruitment, and volunteer engagement work. He has a proven track record of successful change management and cultural shifts within work groups and organizations. He received his Master’s in Leadership and is an avid learner. While coaching leaders and volunteers has always been his MO, Scott began his formal executive coaching journey in 2019. Scott and his family spend copious time at the beach, and some of his favorite outdoor activities include running, biking, paddle boarding, hiking, and body surfing.
Charlie D'Amico
Affiliate Consultant
Charlie works to empowers people to leverage self-awareness, build learning capacity, and create meaningful impact in their professional and personal lives. She has a passion for creating opportunities for leaders to thrive in exciting and challenging career environments. Her deep, practical experience in both leadership development and corporate consulting uniquely positions her to understand the complexities and opportunities facing executives today. Her shared mission in coaching engagements is to partner with her clients to put issues and opportunities on the table, and then think strategically and creatively to make progress towards their goals. As a leadership program facilitator and designer, she seeks to create a warm and dynamic environment that encourages participants to take an active role in their learning.
Robert Goldberg
Affiliate Consultant
Robert has been assisting organizations implement strategic, cultural and other changes, develop executive teams to effectively lead their organizations, and build individual leadership capacity through training and coaching for more than 3 decades. In 1998, he founded Organization Insight, a consultancy dedicated to help clients sustain their competitiveness through their people. Before that, he managed the Change and Team Leadership practice at the Center for Creative Leadership. Robert is sometimes labelled a ‘street-smart egghead,’ whose theoretical grounding, direct communication style, and sophisticated program design and facilitation skills are called upon for a variety of complex and sensitive organizational and leadership development needs. In his personal time Robert loves to haunt museums, swing at tennis balls, and strum his guitar. Robert received his MBA in Organizational Psychology from City University of New York, and his BA in Psychology from the SUNY at Binghamton.
Sharon Hull, MD
Affiliate Consultant
Sharon has a decade of experience as a professional executive leadership coach and is the founding director of an executive coaching program for faculty in a large academic medical center. Sharon helps direct the Healthcare Sector for Pilgrimage. She has been a family physician for over 30 years and is dually board certified in both family medicine and in general preventive medicine and public health. Her areas of coaching expertise include physician leadership development, career strategies, communication skills, organizational and institutional awareness and time and energy management. She has a particular passion for working with women leaders in academic medicine. Her primary goal as a coach is to help clinician leaders become the best version of themselves, in service to their own values, and to the benefit of their patients, stakeholders, organizations and the broader community.
Jackie Kindall
Affiliate Consultant
Jackie is the founder of Kindall Evolve Consulting and specializes in coaching executives and leaders (Director level and above) who are leading significant change within their organizations, building an inclusive organizational culture, and/or creating high level, sustained individual/team performance. Her clients describe her coaching style as inspiring, supportive and engaging. She coaches leaders in a wide-range of industries such as media and entertainment, insurance, professional services, engineering, manufacturing, consumer products, non-profit, higher education, associations, financial services, and real estate. Jackie is and ICF certified coach and trained at the Center for Creative Leadership and John Maxwell International. She has a Master of Science in Organization Development and Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University, and a BA in Sociology from UCLA.
Jesus Maximoff
Affiliate Consultant
Jesus uses no-nonsense, evidence-based approaches to help leaders and teams be more effective and human at work. He’s a executive coach and leadership development facilitator, and an advocate for improving your thinking, refining the effectiveness of your daily conversations and getting results with the brain in mind. Jesus comes with two decades worth of experience as a Fortune 50 senior executive, in areas ranging from operations to marketing and strategy, as well as business development and government affairs. His approach is informed by a worldwide cultural and professional exposure, shaped by living in eight different countries and the privilege to have coached leaders and teams from over 37 different countries. Jesus speaks and works in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
Zithobile Nxumalo, Ph.D.
Affiliate Consultant
Zithobile (Dr. Z) was born in Swaziland, southern Africa, and moved to Greensboro, North Carolina with her family when she was 4 years old. She grew up passionate about authenticity, stories, dance, and leadership, and has worked in a number of sectors including higher education, nonprofit, healthcare, and finance. Dr. Z is also 1 of the co-founders of We the People International, a Greensboro-based nonprofit organization focused on activating youth and young adults through education and entertainment for year-round civic engagement, community work and entrepreneurship. In addition to her own work, Dr. Z is an Every Conversation Matters Master Facilitator and Coach with Pilgrimage Professional Development Group.
Robin Schenck, PhD
Affiliate Consultant
Robin is a leadership coach with over 20 years’ experience focused on human behavior, organizational functioning, and leadership development. As part of the Pilgrimage team, Robin supports our Education Sector projects, as well as providing coaching for medical providers and business executives. She enjoys blending her knowledge of human behavior and neuroscience to help adults focus on growth and development in the business environment. Her coaching clients have ranged from individual contributors to newly appointment managers to senior level executives from diverse sectors including manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, pharmaceutical, finance, government, human resources, telecommunications, K-12 education, higher education, medicine, and nonprofit. Robin is an Adjunct Faculty member with the Center for Creative Leadership. In addition to leadership coaching, she enjoys coaching other coaches as they grow and develop their own skills.
CMSAF (Ret.) Kaleth O. Wright
Affiliate Consultant
Kaleth is an organizational leadership consultant, executive coach and professional speaker with an outstanding track record of helping organizations to achieve peak performance through training and mentoring executives in the art of servant leadership and motivating multi-generational teams across cultures and geographies. Kaleth is an Every Conversation Matters Master Facilitator and Coach with Pilgrimage Professional Development Group and he currently serves as the CEO of the Air Force Aid Society where he guides a team that provides $20 million USD per year in emergency financial assistance, scholarships and community programs to service members and their families. He is a thought leader in diversity, resilience and leadership with mastery in the use of interpersonal and mass communications via social media where he hosted the Blueprint Leadership and The New Normal podcasts.
