Our Core Team

Dr. Bayla Portzline helps business owners close the gap between where their business is and their vision for it. With over 25 years of experience, Bayla is an established leader in program and process evaluation, and organizational development.  Her clientele is diverse, ranging from government, nonprofit, education, health care, and community organizations to the corporate sector.  

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Her clients have achieved such results as scaling their businesses 200%+, launching signature programs, turning side hustles into profitable businesses, increasing long term revenue over 30%, successfully launching product lines, and transition from nearly shutting down their business to becoming profitable. Additionally, she has determined return on investments for her corporate clients and saved corporations hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Bayla has overseen government contracts (8 million+), served as adjunct faculty at the University of New Mexico, published several articles on evaluation and learning, and has many years of volunteer experience helping in her community.

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Bayla is the past president of the New Mexico Evaluators and the New Mexico Association for Talent Development, a mentor for the Stanford University Latino Entrepreneur Scaling Program, a 2022 Diverse Business Leader Honoree, and one of a handful of Certified Return on Investment (ROI) Professionals®.  She also sat on the Board of Rose Family Advocacy, and the Albuquerque West Chamber of Commerce and has given countless hours to mentoring and supporting small business owners across the nation. 

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Using a combination of deep organizational development experience and her intuitive gifts, her work supports a cross-discipline, integrated approach to strategy, which is like no other.

With over 15 years of experience in leadership development, strategic planning, and team facilitation, Liz Benton is a seasoned expert in driving organizational success. She inspires individuals and teams to navigate significant transitions, fostering resilience and enhancing performance. At Organizational Rebel, Liz employs innovative strategies to effect behavioral change and improve team dynamics, equipping leaders with essential tools for effective coaching and program evaluation.

Her strong academic foundation, with an MBA in Organizational Leadership, complements her extensive experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Liz is known for her ability to facilitate engaging sessions that empower teams and encourage collaboration that go beyond verbal communications or surface-level behaviors, allowing for lasting behavioral change.

Her key achievements include driving positive community impact, guiding teams through transitions, and providing leadership training that cultivates high-performing teams. Outside of her professional pursuits, Liz is passionate about continuous learning and community service, integrating values of diversity and inclusion in all aspects of her work.

Theresa is an engaging human capital executive with over 25 years of extensive experience working in the luxury hospitality industry and high-end communities. Theresa is an effective communicator and expert in developing and delivering comprehensive training programs. 

Theresa is an expert facilitator, making learning fun through creative interactions and experiential learning. She thrives on conducting training programs on any human resources and human capital topics such as Recruiting, Interviewing and Hiring; Management 101; Leadership Development; Coaching & Counseling; Building a Company Culture; Creating Recognition and Inspiration Programs; Train the Trainer Sessions; and much more.   She is able to develop customized training based on the clients needs.  

She is a strategic business partner, responsible for policy and procedure development and implementation, change management and organizational development. Theresa also has experience in community and public relations, is a public speaker, and organizes large scale events. Theresa graduated cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in organizational learning and communications.

As a facilitator and coach, Sacil (suh-SEEL) helps individuals and organizations have hard discussions and shift their thinking and behavior around systemic oppression and isms. Her motto is “no blame, no shame, no guilt” because those emotions are often weaponized to keep things as they are. She believes undoing inequality can be fun - using music, movement, vocalization, art, and storytelling to create change.

Sacil focuses on self-care to help clients increase their mental and emotional capacity to stay present in difficult conversations. She uses facts to bind the past to the present and helps clients brainstorm practical and effective ways to create social justice. She offers a place to learn and practice in her online community, the Everyday Activism Habit. Members practice making social justice a habit to gain confidence and inspire others to be the change they want to see.

Karen is a certified coach with many years of experience working with people in all levels of organization. Karen is a coach trainer for a community college and mentors individuals working toward a coaching certification. Karen is a published author, facilitator, and speaker.

Kimberlee Brazell’s career, marked by a deep commitment to excellence and innovation, has been dedicated to managing complex risks, particularly in the Public Sector including Tribal Nations and their enterprises. Her expansive career includes strategic consulting for the State of New Mexico, Cities of Las Cruces, Clovis, Farmington.  Most recently she was appointed as the Chief Procurement Officer, Director of Underwriting for the New Mexico Self-Insurers Fund where she led the efforts to update key systems and processes.  Her accomplishments include the successful integration and implementation of software systems and automations to increase efficiency, accuracy, and accountability into the claims process.  Kimberlee's specialization in Indian Country exposure is unparalleled. She has a profound understanding of the cultural, legal, and operational nuances that come with managing risk for tribal nations. 

Kimberlee's approach is holistic, incorporating traditional risk management techniques with innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of her clients.  Her programs have not only protected assets but have also fostered resilience and sustainability within the communities she serves.

Dr. Jenna Crabb has over 25 years professional experience in higher education, team and organizational development and training, management/supervision, teaching, and counseling. Jenna has worked with various organizations/businesses on team development and training, specifically around topics of building a cohesive team, strategic planning, conflict management, mission, vision and value work, communication, cultural and generational communication, motivational and burn-out skill recognition, internship development, supervisory and management development, workforce development, diversity and inclusion, and much more.  Assisting teams to grow and develop enables organizations to be more successful in all they do for their clients/customers.  Teamwork is truly dream work for Jenna.  

Meredith is a seasoned public outreach specialist with extensive experience in creating clear public policy documentation. At Fairfax County Office of Partnerships, her role involved crafting policies for programs that included both government employees and business leaders.  At the Fairfax County Recycling Program, she helped rewrite policies for clarity and increased public engagement and compliance with new recycling guidelines.  Her efforts in both positions led to both national and local recognition. In addition to her strong public communication skills, Meredith has assisted with the creation of several public facing databases and websites. 

Lauren facilitates assets-based strategic collaboration across industry, higher education, non-profit, and government partners. She is experienced in large- and small-scale facilitation; relationship development; business and entrepreneurship strategy; technical, business, and creative writing; executive and professional communication; grant proposal development and management; and strategic planning and policy analysis. Lauren is also an eagle-eyed editor. She is a certified Strategic Doing practitioner who catalyzes agile, responsive action plans with clients to bring strategic goals to life. Lauren approaches her work with a trauma-informed mindset and cultivates equitable, inclusive collaboration and creative problem-solving.

Roció Holguín, an intuitive coach and facilitator, is dedicated to empowering the Latino community in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A graduate of West Mesa High School and holder of a degree in Business Technology, Roció has channeled her personal experiences and education into supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners. 

As the chair of La Hermandad at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, she fosters personal and business development within the community. Her professional roles as a business consultant, insurance agent, and digital media instructor further highlight her commitment to financial literacy and personal growth. 

Roció is also the co-founder of Latinas a Otro Nivel, focused on Latina women's development, and President of Xpertif Inc, a CBD wine company. Her extensive experience in coaching, facilitating, and mentoring showcases her passion for community development and individual empowerment. Roció currently serves as an intuitive coach and facilitator for Organizational Rebel LLC, continuing her mission to inspire and support those around her.

Lauren is a seasoned business consultant specializing in fractional business and nonprofit consulting, with expertise in business and fundraising development, operations management, contract budget management, internal and external communications, project management, stakeholder relationship management, and program planning. Additionally, Lauren has a UX/UI design and review certification, bringing a user-centered approach to enhance project and service experiences.

Donnie has worked with front-end web development and search engine optimization for over six years. She specializes in digital marketing. Her background is in hospitality and care management and has brought a more profound understanding client's needs to her work process. Her development, SEO, and digital marketing services have helped numerous companies achieve their online goals.

In addition to working in Public Relations at a firm in Cape Town South Africa, her passion and flair for social media was ignited through her work in corporate and promotional events.  Her commitment to helping female entrepreneurs find their voices on social media by creating unique content is both an art and a skill.  What makes her happy is  being  able to show appreciation, support and genuine love to others by just a click of a button on her phone or laptop 

Dr. Monica Mallet has over twenty-one years of experience in the music, film and education industries where she has had the opportunity to empower and transform the lives of many people. She has a doctorate degree from Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership where she was recently selected as one of Pepperdine’s top 40 Alumni.

Dr. Mallet has developed and written curriculum that aligns with the California State Content Standards as well as the Common Core. She travels around the world as a National Staff Developer

for AVID where she has trained superintendents, district and site administrators, teachers, and students in educational best practices. She is a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Certified Facilitator who has successfully trained children, teens and adults in various organizations. Her expertise gives her clients an edge in creativity, self-mastery as well as developing dynamic team cultures by building trust. Dr. Mallet is committed to living a life of passion and purpose, and her mission is to empower others to do the same.

Dr. Shanelle Mennella brings over 14 years of applied research and evaluation experience assisting clients in all stages of the evaluation process, including focusing evaluations, selecting designs, developing and implementing data collection methods, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and communicating and reporting findings. She has extensive experience with collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data using a variety of methods. Dr. Mennella holds M.A. and doctorate degrees in Psychology in the area of Organizational Behavior, with a specialization in evaluation capacity building from Claremont Graduate University. She has published several articles on evaluation and is a certified Return on Investment (ROI) professional.

Christine Michel is a tuning fork sound healer practitioner who is passionate about using sound to facilitate healing and promote wellness.  She is an integral part of Organizational Rebel’s®

Retreat and corporate wellness programs.  Christine's preferred tools for her practice are tuning forks and singing bowls, which she uses to create a soothing and healing soundscape during her sessions. 

Monique is a strategic operations leader. Her areas of focus are business process improvement, program & project management, process re-engineering, cost analysis and reduction, workshop facilitation, vendor relations, and contract management and negotiations. She is a results-focused dynamo with a penchant for turning chaos into coordinated brilliance. 

With a career that has seen more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, she has mastered the art of wrangling processes, herding teams, and charming C-suite execs with finesse.

For over 20 years, Dr Jackie Ng-Osario  has focused on achieving her mission of improving the well-being of Native Hawaiians through research and evaluation with academic and community-based partners. Through this research, she has had the opportunity to understand the greater context of well-being for Native Hawaiians as well as the greater community. Building upon these experiences, her goal is to continue to work with organizations to help them understand their impact on the community through the storytelling of their data while bringing an indigenous and culturally responsive lens to her work.

Marissa has over twenty years of successful work history with progressively increasing responsibilities in internal and external communications, research, facilitation, project management, information and activity coordination, strategic planning, improvement processes, evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and special events.

Proven abilities in healthcare, NGO, and education sectors—demonstrated capacity to design

comprehensive projects, effectively prioritize and plan work, document timelines and progress,

communicate with key parties to assure contributions, and share results. Strong background in

conducting informational interviews. Able to design and execute relevant data collection activities, provide data analysis, and convey concise recommendations based on qualitative and

quantitative data. Passionate about action-oriented research and making information meaningful.

Accomplished communicator with talent for quickly articulating complex ideas, synthesizing, and condensing information, formatting and editing. Very strong listening, observation, and analytical abilities coupled with a creative, solutions-oriented focus. Rapid prototyping to quickly refine approach, plan, and/or product. Extensive interviewing experience with people of wide range of ages, education levels, and cultures

lldi has been a certified coach, facilitator, and trainer for many years. lldi has conducted over 50 job tasks and function analyses for several clients. She is a Professional Certified Cooch (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF) as well as a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT ). She is the recipient of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Award of Excellence for instructional design. She is the founder and creator of Tribal Abundance® a program that helps leaders develop a tribal culture of abundance instead of scarcity.

Shawna applies her 45 years of federal and local government and small business writing experience to provide policy and procedure writing, business messaging, editing services, website copy, social media content, and report writing for Organizational Rebel® and their clients.

With her unique blend of business acumen, emotional intelligence, and love for writing, Shawna has forged successful partnerships with numerous government agencies and their contractors. Together, they have maximized existing programs, created new ones, and meticulously documented the results. This documentation, whether strategic plans or concise policies and procedures, has empowered users, implementers, and officials to perform their roles more effectively and efficiently. 

Throughout her career, Shawna has held various roles, each contributing to significant cost savings for the agencies she served. Her strategic approach, resource maximization, and streamlining of policies and procedures have collectively saved over $6 million. This track record reassures potential clients of her ability to deliver efficient and effective results.

Dr. Eli Shur brings over 30 years of experience in developing human potential. Eli holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Education. His is a credentialed coach from the International Coaching Federation (PCC), the Center for Credentialing and Education (BCC), the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBC-HWC), as well as a Certified Life Coach, Wellness Coach, Breakthrough Coach, Team Coach, and a Consciously-Digital Coach. Eli is certified in the following assessments: DISC, EQ-i 2.0, EQ-i 360, Hogan360, and 12 Driving Forces. For over 12 years, he has coached global leaders in numerous industries, including education, financial services, healthcare, human resources, information technology, law, marketing, pharmaceutical companies, retail, sales, and the United States Air Force (USAF).

Jessica Ballard Thiessen is a creative and business consultant with a proven track record in driving results. With a background in government R&D, non-profits, and startups, she offers a unique blend of project management, solar and clean energy expertise, and a deep commitment to DEI and community engagement.

Jessica specializes in crafting high-impact creative content, developing outside of the box business plans, and implementing effective and morale-boosting strategies. Her passion for social impact is evident in her volunteer work focused on homelessness, STEM education, and environmental justice

Kellie’s greatest asset is creating policies and business practices that address the customer's needs in ways that are measurable to the individual employee, groups of individuals, and organizations. Her specialty is to creating policies and procedures that are clear, understandable, and simple. She excels in recognizing deficiencies in existing policies and performance and devising job aids to bridge those gaps. She can also pinpoint where to bridge performance gaps and enhance efficiency, thereby diminishing redundant tasks.

Ryan Tolman has twenty years of experience in social science research, program evaluation, research design, survey construction, quantitative statistical analysis, and relational database management. His Proficiencies include research design and methodology, designing scales and measures, working with large datasets, utilizing relational databases for analysis, and inferential statistical analysis, including hierarchical linear modeling, longitudinal data analysis, social network analysis, and geographic information systems that have been published in peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, and presented at professional conferences and educational workshops. His experience includes conducting social science research and program evaluation in both the public and private sector with a wide variety of clients across numerous field areas including non-profit agencies, state agencies, international corporations, branches of the U.S. military, and educational institution departments of psychology, oceanography, medicine, and engineering.

Kendra is a collaborative and resourceful development consultant and coach, skilled in engaging at all levels to foster equitable and inclusive organizational cultures. She brings extensive experience in designing and delivering trainings, coaching leaders, and aligning policies, programs, and operations to increase the impact of justice-driven organizations. Kendra is particularly adept at facilitating complex conversations that are essential for organizational transformation. Her strong listening, observational, and synthesizing skills, paired with a creative, solutions-oriented approach, enable her to bridge the gap between principles and practice for her clients.

For the past decade Gizza has helped individuals develop leadership skills and maximize their potential.  As a career and leadership coach, with a range of knowledge from HR to learning solutions, she has been able to connect with numerous clients and organizations by building relationships, leveraging cultural competence and being flexible. Her coaching style is tailored to each client’s needs and goals, which helps them achieve success faster.  From preparing team members for their next role to coaching on effective communication, delegation and team building, jer goal is to empower you to reach new levels in personal or professional excellence.

Erin is a dynamic and highly skilled virtual assistant with a robust background in program coordination. With over five years of experience in managing and optimizing various programs, Erin excels in streamlining processes, ensuring project timelines are met, and maintaining seamless communication across teams. Her expertise spans across multiple industries, including non-profit, healthcare, and education.

Erin's proficiency in utilizing project management tools has enabled her to efficiently handle tasks such as scheduling, resource allocation, and progress tracking. Her keen attention to detail and problem-solving abilities ensure that projects run smoothly from inception to completion. Erin is also adept at conducting thorough research, preparing comprehensive reports, and delivering insightful presentations.

In addition to her technical skills, Erin possesses exceptional interpersonal and communication abilities, which foster strong relationships with stakeholders, clients, and team members. Her proactive approach and adaptability make her an invaluable asset to any organization.

Erin holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and her commitment to continuous learning and professional development keeps her at the forefront of industry trends and best practices. Whether it's coordinating complex programs or managing day-to-day administrative tasks, Erin is dedicated to providing top-notch support and achieving outstanding results.