With over 30 years of experience as an educator, coach, consultant, and senior executive, Dr. Sue Padernacht is an expert in organizational change, leadership, and team development, and learning and development. She works with executives and their teams to drive strategic change and business results by strengthening their mission-based goals, cross-functional alignment, organizational engagement, and skill-based capabilities in order to pivot, innovate or transform amidst market, industry, and cultural volatility.

Dr. Padernacht founded Ncline Leadership Strategies, a consulting firm with expertise in developing the people that drive business success. For over two decades she led the firm to serve hundreds of organizations, from multinational corporations to start-ups in advertising, construction, engineering, entertainment, financial services, government, healthcare, higher education, media, mining, non-profits, publishing, and technology.

Expertise in Talent Strategy & Leadership Development:

• Negotiations and emotional intelligence coaching, assessment, education, and training
• Executive and leadership coaching, assessment, education, and training
• Leadership succession and talent capabilities assessment
• Learning and career needs assessment, strategy development, and execution

Expertise in Organization Development:

• Change management and organizational culture consulting and execution
• Business strategy and innovation facilitation
• Team assessment and development
• Performance management design and consulting

At the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, Dr. Padernacht has taught Negotiations, Executive Leadership, and Talent Strategy & Management courses in the Executive MBA, Health Care Executive MBA and Fully Employed MBA programs. She has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award for Negotiations for Executives, and has served on the faculty of multiple executive education initiatives. Previously, she was on faculty at Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles, Graduate School of Management.

Dr. Padernacht serves on the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association where she has worked on the Audit, Governance, and CEO Advisory committees, and has advised and trained on the organization’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiative. Previously, she served on the Boards of Directors for the American Cancer Society, United Way’s Kellogg Training & Consulting Center, and the Organization Development Network.

Dr. Padernacht earned a Doctorate of Education, Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education in 2022. Her research focus was Physician Burnout in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare Organization and Leadership Implications for Patient Care and Clinical Team Leadership with Nurses. Previously, she earned a Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation and hold multiple certifications in various leadership, emotional intelligence, and personality assessments.