Meet The Team

Founder & President
Ernest Anemone, Esq.
Ernest Anemone is a professional facilitator and executive coach with over 15 years of experience working with audiences large and small. Using his diverse background as an attorney, filmmaker, and actor, he helps individuals and teams improve communication and navigate challenges with confidence and joy.
Ernest began his career as a trial attorney, where he honed his skills in strategic thinking, problem-solving, and storytelling. After training as an actor, he began using elements of theater education to help organizations build high-performing teams and create cultures of inclusivity. He has since worked with doctors, scientists, engineers, bankers, lawyers, and Fortune 100 executives from across the world. He has also acted as a story consultant on major motion pictures and written award-winning stories of his own.

Vice President
Tali de Assis
Tali de Assis is a Training Facilitator and Coach with a passion for continual development and learning. Her background as a people manager and project manager, and having earned a Green Belt in Lean Management, gives her a particular insight into the experience of those she works with. Her experience as an actor helps bring engagement and humor into her work with participants, bringing content to life.
Tali has worked with a range of organizations from non-profit to Fortune 500 companies, with clients across a wide variety of sectors including law, pharma, tech, finance, government agencies, and aerospace.
Tali excels in working with small group trainings, large scale seminars, and one-on-one coaching. Whether working with entry-level individual contributors or senior leadership, she emphasizes the value of individual approaches and experiences, engaging with participants with transparency and humor.

Secretary, Board of Directors
Ajita Shah, MA, LPC, NCC, ACS
Ajita has been dedicated to creating and enhancing mental health and counseling programs for the last two decades. Her commitment to ensuring high quality care for all led her to opening Innerspace Counseling. Innerspace is dedicated to creating environments where clients feel safe, empowered and heard; as well as breaking the stigma regarding mental health and providing increased awareness of both mental health and the supports available within the community.
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As a Licensed Professional Counselor, she has treated hundreds of clients in a variety of settings (inpatient and outpatient) from ages 8 years all the way thru adult hood and across the life span utilizing a behavioral and trauma informed approach. As an Approved Clinical Supervisor, Ajita believes that education, training, and proper supervision are key to ensuring that clients receive the highest quality of care.
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Treasurer, Board of Directors
Melissa Maranzano, MA
Melissa has 20 years of experience in nonprofit and mental health. Her work and life experiences have led to a commitment to building strong community relationships to promote positive health and well-being and improving outcomes for children and families affected by abuse, mental health, and poverty.
Melissa utilizes her experience to train both professionals and community members. Her expertise in program planning, quality assurance and evaluation assist in the improvement of systems and programs that benefit clients and the community. She believes in arming parents, youth, teachers, and community members with resources and knowledge to better support themselves and one another. Utilizing a trauma informed lens to educate, she works to create protective factors in our homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Workshop Facilitator
Joti Patel
Joti is a British psychology post-graduate and Executive Coach with a multi-faceted
career in business and the arts as an Actress, Presenter/Host and Voice Artist. Joti’s strength is connecting to diverse audiences through a lens of cultural nuance to create authenticity in leadership. Joti’s solid Learning & Development background serve as an ideal foundation for providing high value communication for global organizations as a Facilitator, Coach, Trainer, Presenter and Corporate Role Player in forum theatre, 1:1 and group workshops, training films, live events, and conferences.
Drawing on her expertise as a Speech Coach and professional Match Maker, Joti also coaches in overcoming anxiety, social skills and the art of conversation.
Joti has acted in theater, TV and some independent films before moving to the US with recent credits on Uncoupled and an upcoming role for NBC.

Workshop Facilitator
Andrew Fallaize
Andrew is a British, NYC-based actor and communications coach with a diverse background that spans the worlds of academia, investment banking, and theatre. Educated in Chemistry at Cambridge University, he later ventured into investment banking at Deutsche Bank as a telecoms equity analyst. In 2005, Andrew merged his corporate acumen with theatrical skills to transition into corporate training. Operating from London and New York, he has delivered programs globally across various sectors. His clientele ranges from early-career professionals to board-level executives. Specializing in areas such as leadership, negotiation, and impact presentation, he utilizes methods like forum theatre, workshops, and coaching to impart valuable skills.
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Besides a corporate career, Andrew has an extensive theatrical résumé. He has collaborated with leading theatre companies like the National Theatre and RSC in the UK, and has performed Off-Broadway in the US. His media appearances include roles on TV shows like GOTHAM and various BBC Radio dramas.

Workshop Facilitator
Kathy-Ann Hart
Kathy-Ann Hart is a multi-talented artist and professional with a mission to increase empathy and foster cross-cultural understanding. Starting her performance career in her native Trinidad, she later attended Harvard Law School and practiced corporate law, gaining diverse experience by working for both affluent clients and nonprofit organizations.
After a break from performing, she returned to the arts with significant roles in film, TV, and commercials.
Her multifaceted career also includes work as an acting coach, human rights attorney, show business consultant, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) actor/improvisor. Known for her equanimity, Kathy-Ann has drawn from her extensive background to produce her own short film, "The Mediator," expected to premiere in December 2024.
When not immersed in her varied pursuits, Kathy-Ann enjoys yoga, Spin class, and Zumba, embodying her philosophy that the arts are a lens to better understand humanity and effect positive change.

Workshop Facilitator
Mairi McHaffi
With over 15 years of experience in talent development, Mairi is an expert in designing bespoke leadership initiatives across sectors worldwide. She is the founder of the Women into Leadership program for the UK Parliament and specializes in Behavioral Change and Inclusion. Leveraging technology, Mairi has hosted numerous global virtual learning events focused on change management and behavioral evolution. Her areas of expertise include Influencing Skills, Unconscious Bias Awareness, and Managing Change, among others. She employs her profound grasp of social psychology to foster behavioral shifts, influencing organizational culture positively.
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Trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Mairi also has a successful career in media and acting, including roles as a BBC TV Presenter and in theatre and film. A multi-faceted talent, she has served as a judge for WeAreTheCity.Com Rising Stars Awards and the BBC Apprentice Finals. She balances her professional commitments with motherhood and occasionally performs stand-up comedy.