The Leadership Staff
The Leadership team is a small but mighty group of dedicated people working toward the common goal of providing best-in-class programming to our current cohort as well as our alumni. From the development of engaging, challenging content to the unique selection of venues off the beaten path, each of us contributes to the overall success of the organization.
DAVID SACHS
Executive Director
I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue my professional passion: creating transformational leadership learning experiences for individuals and groups. Having joined The Leadership in 2013, I am excited by The Leadership community’s potential to continue to contribute to Baltimore’s growth and vitality. Spending my career in the field of leadership development, I have served in strategic management, teaching, and program design roles at Harvard Business School, UMBC, Johns Hopkins, MICA, and T. Rowe Price.
CHARISSE NICHOLS
Director of Engagement
I am joining The Leadership after 15 years in the culturally invigorating world of non-profit theater, most recently as the Brand Director of Baltimore Center Stage. My nine years working with Foreman Wolf as Private Dining Director to General Manager helped me learn how to integrate the excitement of producing collateral with the balance of adept thoughtfulness while creating brand redesign. I have an affinity of Norway and am currently learning how to not only speak but also write Bokmal Norwegian.
TAUREN R EL BEY
Program Assistant
I joined The Leadership in September 2019 as Program Assistant. I am a graduate of Frostburg State University with a major in Mass Communications; and certified in competencies of International Law and Global Diplomacy through The Hague at Universiteit Leiden. I am married to my college sweetheart, O’Dellshae; and we are proud parents of our first born son, Tzarean.
RAJAN PATEL
Facilitator
I believe every human has the creative capacity to innovate and make change; my work focuses on catalyzing that potential to build a better world. I co-invented the Embrace baby incubator, a product born of human-centered design that costs less than 1% of a traditional incubator and has impacted and saved the lives of over 500,000 babies across the developing world. I co-founded Dent Education in Baltimore to promote design, creation, and entrepreneurship for local high schoolers. In addition to catalyzing the change-makers of tomorrow, I am grateful for the opportunity to innovate alongside our current leaders through The Leadership Baltimore and other platforms like Stanford Seed and the Center for Asia Leadership.