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Cultivating a community of empowered leaders.

Executive mentorship

Mentoring is a cornerstone of every great leader’s career and is a skill that can aid teams in navigating transitions – whether specific to an organization or applicable on a global scale. The demand for this skill is growing now more than ever because mentors can play a crucial role in retaining talent, maintaining an inclusive workforce and building organizational commitment.

Simier Partners Founder, Claire Simier, works with organizations to help establish mentoring cultures. She is also an active mentor to founders of startups and nonprofit organizations. Her work has established the firm’s community involvement with organizations that provide opportunities for educational and professional development to underrepresented groups.

Nonprofits

Many of the Simier Partners team is actively involved in nonprofits that provide valuable services to the community. Below is a small sampling:

Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-
American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects.

In partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education of the French Embassy in the United States, Albertine Foundation promotes artistic, literary and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries.

With additional corporate, foundation, and individual support, administers grant programs in the performing and visual arts, cinema, translation, and secondary and higher education, while providing financial sponsorship to French-American festivals and other cultural initiatives.
Albertine Foundation focuses on new and recent work of living artists and the promotion of bilingualism and the French language. 

Visit albertinefoundation.org for more information.

STEM From Dance is a program that integrates STEM education with dance to empower girls of color. The initiative aims to make STEM subjects more engaging and accessible, helping girls unlock their potential in these fields. Founded by Yamilèe Toussaint, STEM From Dance introduces girls to science, technology, engineering, and math in a way that feels relevant and exciting. By blending movement with technology, the program is proving that STEM isn’t just for classrooms and labs—it can be anywhere, even on a dance floor.  In 2024, Yamilee was named a top 5 CNN hero.

Visit stemfromdance.org for more information.

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Bob Woodruff Foundation was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was wounded by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised awareness about the tough challenges veterans and military families are facing, and invested in solutions to help support them in the next chapter of their lives. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $165 million to ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members and their families — those who stood for us — have stable and successful futures. 

Visit BobWoodruffFoundation.org for more information.

Edukate NYC’s mission is to help students with dyslexia meet their academic potential. By partnering with academic institutions and organizations offering programs tailored for dyslexic students, Edukate NYC provides funding to help cover costs, including but not limited to, diagnostic services, tuition, and related fees associated with the application and enrollment process. The organization operates under the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to meet their academic potential and succeed in school, including all children with dyslexia. 

Visit https://edukatenyc.com/about for more information.

Complementary resources

Simier Partners works with trusted resources who provide services that can complement and enhance advisory and executive coaching engagements. Our team has relationships with resources across a broad range of philanthropic, academic and trade related organizations. We welcome inquiries about resources and are always looking for talented professionals to work with us.  
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Lee Woodruff

Media Coach

New York

lee@simierpartners.com

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Lee Woodruff is a best-selling author, public speaker, journalist and trusted advisor with 30 years of experience. She trains executives in media and communications skills, helping them to sharpen their message and connect with their audience. Lee uses a hands-on approach, employing role-playing with real-time interview and speaking scenarios to help executives improve their delivery. She has worked with clients in a wide range of industries, from technology, financial services, healthcare, automotive and travel to consumer products, fashion and beauty.

Background

Lee regularly conducts Executive Communications Programs for Firms and Corporations whereby they serve as a component of professional development and client engagement initiatives. Programs are tailored to address larger market demands and weave in client objectives, such as unifying client teams around a corporate mission.

Lee founded her own PR company 25 years ago. She is a renowned public speaker and the author of three best-selling books, as well as a successful journalist. Woodruff was a contributing reporter for ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning.

After her journalist husband Bob recovered from roadside bomb injuries while covering the Iraq war, the Woodruffs founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation, a national non-profit organization that assists injured service members and their families with the transition to the home front.

Lee is a trustee and alumnus of Colgate University.

  • Media Strategy
  • Messaging and Branding
  • Public Speaking
  • Speech Writing
  • Legal and Professional Services
  • Finance and Banking
  • Healthcare and Life Sciences
  • Manufacturing
  • Media and Entertainment
  • Technology
  • Fashion
  • Travel and Hospitality
  • BA, Colgate University
  • Colgate University – Trustee, Hamilton NY
  • Musicians Treatment Center – Board Member, Austin TX
  • Women in Communications – Member
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Claire Simier

Managing Principal

New York

claire@simierpartners.com

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Claire Simier is the Founder and Managing Principal of Simier Partners. She is an executive consultant and coach with two decades of talent management and operations experience, having served as a thought partner, principal advisor and crisis manager to senior private equity, legal and banking executives in the luxury and consumer goods, healthcare and life science industries. Claire specializes in designing strategies for organizations and executives working in a multicultural setting responding to international competition and environmental, social and governance challenges. Claire regularly speaks on expert panels about leadership, cross cultural challenges and women’s career development. Claire is a contributing author to Forbes Coaches Council, having published articles on sustainability and leadership

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Claire is a member of the fashion brand Chloe’s Sustainability Advisory Board as a Client Expert. Claire also serves as the Chair of the Board of Edukate NYC, a non-for-profit organization that helps students with dyslexia meet their academic potential, and a Trustee of the Board of the Albertine Foundation, an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through cultural and educational projects. She served as a senior advisor and executive mentor for the Women Initiative Foundation’s Mentorship Program, helping women executives and entrepreneurs navigate the transatlantic economy. Claire also served on the board of directors of Eleven James, a luxury watch company. She is a former president council member of the American Chamber of Commerce in France.

Prior to Simier Partners, Claire was the Managing Director to the Global Chairman and Corporate Secretary of the Global Board of the law firm DLA Piper, where she was deeply involved in organizational development and growth, crisis management, business development, corporate governance, executive communications, and partner recruiting and performance. Prior to DLA Piper, Claire worked as a Marketing Leader at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Claire also served as Deputy Director of Communications to the NYC Housing Commissioner and Press Attaché to the French Consul General and Ambassador in NY.

Claire graduated from the Teacher College’s Executive Coaching Program at Columbia University and is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) certified practitioner. She received her BA from Marymount College. She graduated from the Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse, attended the University of Bordeaux, School of Law. Claire is French American, speaks English and French fluently and is proficient in Spanish.

  • Board Dynamics
  • Cross-Cultural Coaching
  • Talent Management and Executive Presence
  • Transition Coaching
  • Strategic Planning
  • Crisis Management and Communication
  • Private Equity and Banking
  • Luxury and Consumer Goods
  • Legal
  • Healthcare and Life Sciences
  • Chloe –Member of the Sustainability Advisory Board, Client Expert
  • Edukate NYC – Chair of the Board
  • Albertine Foundation – Board of Trustees
  • Forbes Coaches Council – Member and Contributing Author
  • Women Initiative Foundation – Former Senior Advisor and Executive Mentor
  • Eleven James – Former Director
  • DLA Piper – Former Corporate Secretary to the Global Board
  • American Chamber of Commerce France – Former President Council Member
  • Stanford University, BNP Paribas Women Entrepreneurs Certification Program
  • Columbia University Teachers College – Executive Coaching Certification Program
  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) – Certified Practitioner
  • Marymount College, BA in Communications and Journalism
  • Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse
  • University of Bordeaux, School of Law