Strategic People & Leadership Advisory

LEAD
WITH
Clarity.

Partnering with senior leaders navigating complex decisions, organizational change, and high-stakes transitions.

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Founder
Led & growth-stage teams
3
Core engagement models
10+
Years operator experience
SaaS
Fintech & scaling environments

What We Do

THREE WAYS
TO Partner

EmberMind sits at the intersection of business performance, leadership psychology, and operational execution. We don't do generic HR consulting — we build the systems that let your organization scale without losing clarity, trust, or momentum.

01

Executive & Leadership Coaching

For founders, executives, and senior leaders navigating complexity and growth. The work focuses on decisions, dynamics, and presence — including inclusive leadership practices and coaching grounded in neurodivergent awareness.

Executive Presence Inclusive Leadership Change Leadership Neurodivergent Awareness
02

Fractional People Leadership

Strategic People leadership without the full-time hire. We embed with your team to build the infrastructure scaling companies need — from org design and talent strategy to compensation philosophy and comp framework development.

Org Design Talent Strategy Comp Philosophy Comp Framework AI Adoption
03

AI-Enabled Performance Architecture

Modern performance systems built for real operating environments. We design feedback workflows, calibration structures, and manager enablement tools — equipping leaders with the confidence and capability to lead through change, not just comply with it.

Manager Enablement Performance Systems AI Copilots Calibration Design
Dana Calder

About EmberMind

DANA
Calder

I'm a People and organizational strategy executive with over 10 years of experience in SaaS and fintech. My background is unconventional by design. I started in commercial and operator roles before moving into executive People leadership. That path shapes everything about how I work.

Most recently at Spreedly, I partnered with executive teams on org design, leadership effectiveness, talent strategy, workforce planning, and compensation philosophy and framework development through periods of rapid growth. Before that, I led teams across sales, operations, and education — including serving as Managing Director at The Iron Yard. I understand the realities leaders face because I've operated inside the business. Not adjacent to it.

EmberMind was built around a simple conviction: organizations work better when humans do. That includes building environments where all kinds of minds can lead and contribute — inclusive leadership and neurodivergent awareness are core to how I coach and how I build systems.

The work is direct, grounded, collaborative. I help leaders build organizations that are sustainable, aligned, and built to scale without burning people out.

Operator Experience
Fintech SaaS scaling expertise, not theoretical consulting
Inclusive Leadership
Neurodivergent-aware coaching and system design
Comp & Systems Thinking
Comp philosophy, comp framework, org design, and performance as connected levers
AI Fluency
Practical AI enablement in People Ops, not hype

Ways to Engage

THE RIGHT
Fit STARTS
WITH A CONVERSATION

Every engagement begins with understanding your situation — not fitting you into a package. Here's how it works.

01
30-Minute Discovery Call

No pitch. No pressure. A real conversation about where you are, what's getting complex, and whether EmberMind is the right fit.

02
Scope Assessment

We identify what kind of support actually fits your stage, your team, and your goals — so the engagement is scoped to the work, not a preset package.

03
Engagement Recommendation

You receive a clear, tailored proposal — not a menu to shop from. Investment is discussed in context of the scope and what will actually move the needle.

Engagement Models

Three ways to work together — each tailored to your stage.

Model 01
Essential Advisory
For founders & early leaders
  • Founder or executive coaching sessions
  • Leadership advising & strategic sounding
  • Manager support and development
  • Light People partnership
  • Async access between sessions
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Most Requested
Model 02
Growth Retainer
For scaling teams & operators
  • Fractional People & Performance Advisor
  • Organizational design support
  • Leadership systems development
  • Talent strategy & retention planning
  • Performance architecture buildout
  • Executive partnership cadence
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Model 03
Fractional CPO
For PE-backed & high-growth orgs
  • Embedded ELT & board-level partnership
  • Full compensation & talent strategy
  • Org redesign & workforce planning
  • Succession planning
  • Investor & board support
  • Leadership team coaching
  • AI-enabled People Ops buildout
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Not sure which model fits? That's what the discovery call is for.

Work Together

LET'S
START A
Real
CONVERSATION

Every engagement starts with a direct conversation. No intake forms, no automated funnels. Tell us where you are and what's getting complex — we'll figure out if EmberMind is the right partner from there.

hello@embermindconsulting.com