Today's blog announces an important and exciting transition in our company's leadership. I am thrilled to welcome Elizabeth Smith as our new Chief Executive Officer.

This transition is not just a simple handoff but a strategic move aimed at enhancing our leadership, growth, and long-term scalability. Elizabeth possesses a compelling blend of discipline, structure, and vision. Her extensive experience makes her ideally suited to guide us into the next phase with strength and clarity.

As I transition into my new role as Principal Consultant and Strategic Growth Lead, I will continue collaborating closely with our clients, partners, and internal team on high-impact initiatives, business development, and long-term opportunities. This change allows me to focus on the areas where I am most energized—rainmaking, big-picture strategy, and mission-aligned partnerships—while supporting Elizabeth as she takes on the CEO role, overseeing the company's overall operations and strategic direction.

Meet Elizabeth Smith

Elizabeth’s journey to this role began with a BA in Administration at Kent State in Ohio. After achieving a law degree from the University of Dayton and working for over 30 years as an attorney, her background is rich with insights that will undoubtedly benefit our company. Elizabeth ran a solo practice, primarily focusing on Social Security Disability law.

With no idea what was on the horizon, Elizabeth and I were married in January 2020 at Hemingway House on Key West. But within two months, the world was shutting down! The pandemic presented significant challenges to her law practice; suddenly, everything—from records to people—seemed inaccessible. However, these limitations also opened new doors.

In July 2020, as the world navigated the uncertainties of COVID-19, Elizabeth pivoted to support me in my new consulting role at the University of Pittsburgh. I was excited at the thought of moving into full-time consulting, and Elizabeth had reached a point in her career where she was looking for a new challenge away from the struggling field of Social Security Disability Law. Together, we saw the potential for growth and transformation in our business.

We started as a trio: just us newlyweds and one part-time virtual assistant. Today, we are proud to have expanded our team to include dozens of talented people, all contributing to a diverse range of programs, workshops, and data analytics, each a testament to our rapid growth. Since then, I have been CEO, head consultant, and rainmaker, while Elizabeth has overseen finance, hiring, travel, and all accompanying tasks.

Elizabeth and I learned a lot while working together as a husband-and-wife team. We faced the challenges of balancing our personal and professional lives, and I'm happy to say that we have enjoyed far more good days than bad. We've learned the importance of setting boundaries—like closing the door to the home office at the end of the day!

We’ve experienced an exciting transition in the past several months. First, we have both reached milestone birthdays, which made us introspective about our longer-term goals. I am eager to work on some special projects, doing things to promote the PA profession and helping students be the best students possible; I love consulting and data. As for Elizabeth, she loves promoting the business, improving the company, and giving our team members all the opportunities they need to be excellent at their work. She is enthusiastic and joyous about finding ways to constantly improve our results and offer the best services that are of prime use to our clients.

In her new role, Elizabeth is dedicated to optimizing our businesses, ensuring clarity in our processes, and fostering collaboration among our team members. She has a keen eye for improvement and a passion for involving everyone in the solution-making process. “I love finding areas that need improvement,” she says, “and seeing those solutions come to life.”

What’s next for us?

As we look to the future, Elizabeth focuses on creating a more innovative, scalable business to meet new challenges with clarity and momentum. She is enthusiastic about promoting the company and providing our team members opportunities to excel.

Elizabeth's vision includes enhancing our data management systems and ensuring everyone knows their roles and works together towards common goals. "We are committed to becoming not just a stronger business but a smarter one," she emphasizes. This approach will not only improve our internal processes but also strengthen our relationships with clients and partners, leading to better outcomes for everyone involved.

Elizabeth adds, “We're working to ensure that we collaborate and don't repeat ourselves—that we streamline and refine our processes, have better accountability and transparency, and be in a position where we're lean and mean!  We are committed to this journey of continuous improvement and collaboration, and we're excited about its positive impact on our work."

One of the most exciting projects on our horizon is Edulytic1. Edulytic1 is an intelligent data solution that replaces the manual effort of institutional research, accreditation reporting, and outcomes tracking. In effect, it will be a constantly evolving and personalized solution to maintaining your PA Program’s compliance. Using our proprietary AI, Edulytic1 will automate tasks that previously required a data analyst, compliance officer or full-time coordinator. I can’t wait to share more about this platform with you as it develops.

I echo Elizabeth's sentiments that this transition is grounded in stability, shared purpose, and long-term thinking. I have immense confidence in where we're headed and the incredible team taking us there.

I’ll see you again next week!