Hilary Joel, MBA, PCC
WJ Consulting
Hilary is an executive coach, facilitator, and management consultant with over 25 years of experience across sectors.
As the founder and principal of WJ Consulting, LLC, she partners with the leadership and management of nonprofit organizations and businesses, to help them advance toward their own definitions of professional and organizational success more deeply, quickly, and sustainably than they can on their own.
Hilary’s insightful approach to coaching is informed by her business experience and skills as a strategist. In addition to one-on-one coaching, she also works with teams, facilitating strategy sessions, team workshops and board retreats.
Committed to Collaboration
Hilary partners with each client by tapping into their unique capabilities and together exploring the possibilities. She helps executives shape their professional lives and their impact as leaders through greater self-awareness and the power of choice. Clients say they value her collaborative, practical approach and business-savvy insights.
She builds coaching partnerships that clarify priorities, evaluate context, reframe challenges, and expand each client’s repertoire of capabilities, beliefs, and behaviors. Every engagement yields tangible and sustainable benefits for both the individual and their organization.
“Hilary was indispensable in helping me think through my professional strengths and priorities. Her style was perfect… enough insight and the right questions to help me come up with solutions.”
Before starting her own coaching and consulting firm, she spent ten years in management consulting as a Principal at American Management Systems (CGI/AMS) and at Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Her clients spanned several industries and her focus ranged from strategic planning and business analysis to implementing management best practices.
Well-Equipped for Strategic and Transforming Work
Hilary holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar, top 5%) and a BA degree (cum laude) in Economics from Princeton University. After receiving her MBA, as a Baker Scholar and the first Charles M. Williams Research Fellow, she co-authored 11 business school case studies on a variety of management challenges at companies such as IBM, Marriott and American Red Cross.
“Hilary’s work has been extraordinary… a key contributor to the success of our strategic planning process and board retreat.”
Hilary graduated from the ICF-accredited Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program, where she subsequently served as a faculty observer. Hilary is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF), and is a certified administrator of Myers-Briggs type (MBTI) assessments, the DISC profile, the The Leadership Circle(T) 360-feedback profile and the ESCI (emotional intelligence 360 assessment).
Passionate About Nonprofits
Hilary’s passion for a strong nonprofit sector spans her professional and personal life. Nonprofit leaders and boards comprise a substantial portion of her coaching and facilitation work. She is the creator and lead facilitator for an “Emerging Leaders” leadership development program that targets rising nonprofit managers. Hilary is also a co-founder, current board member, and former Chair of Compass, a nonprofit that engages business professionals in pro bono strategic consulting projects for nonprofits. As the board Vice Chair for CollegeTracks, a nonprofit focused on college access and success for underserved populations, she plays a central role in board and staff development, strategic planning and organizational expansion. Hilary also serves on the board of Washington Improv Theater, leading their strategic planning. After several years of WIT improv classes, she has continued to practice and perform regularly — passionate about the many benefits of improv as a vehicle for collaboration, creativity, agility and personal growth.
“Hilary helped me develop great strategies for managing an increasingly complex job [at my nonprofit].”
Successful Clients
Hilary’s sweet spot is helping leaders understand their strengths, challenges and opportunities from new perspectives to position them to be more effective over the long term.
Representative clients include executives at: Oxfam America, Princeton AlumniCorps, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, DC Central Kitchen, The SEED Foundation and School, International Baccalaureate, Marriott International, MITRE Corporation, Public Power Association, Committee to Protect Journalists, PEAK Grantmaking, Manna Food Center, The Advisory Board Company, Medimmune, Graduate Management Admissions Council, News Literacy Project, Vote.org, Women for Women International, and The Wexner Foundation.