As the founder of Understory Coaching, Jodi Callahan, Ph.D. PCC has been consulting to leaders across functions, industries, geographies and seniority levels for over 25 years.

Jodi has seen the exponential impact gained by fitting leaders to a role in which they become more effective.​​​​ With a solid academic foundation and deep fascination for human behavior, Jodi approaches real-world engagements with wisdom and an attentive, open-minded curiosity.

Her 20+ years as a professional consultant and coach have provided extensive experience in multi-method leadership assessment and development for a wide range of industries, functional roles, seniority levels and organization size. Six years in internal leadership development at the MITRE Corporation and BAE Systems, Inc. gave her experience leading teams, running corporate leadership curriculum, and developing high potential senior leadership development programs. Her deep expertise in leadership assessment informs both developmental coaching and discerning selection decisions. And working inside large companies gave her greater insight into the client experience of working with external coaches and consultants, sharpening her client service orientation.

People who have worked with Jodi say they appreciate her mix of deep listening, keen insights, reliability and genuine, caring support. She brings her best to each engagement by drawing upon core values of respecting and helping others, applicable mindfulness practices, and keeping a sense of humor and perspective. Jodi lives just outside of Washington, D.C. with her husband, two children and energetic dog, and when not working you might find her working out with friends, gardening, cooking, reading, or practicing patience as a new learner of playing banjo. She provides pro bono group coaching to support people transitioning from homelessness through Homestretch, an inspiring non-profit organization, and serves on the board of the Justice High School Scholarship Fund which provides need-based scholarships for Justice High School graduates pursuing post-secondary education.