Meet the People Behind Leaving Well™
The work of Leaving Well™ began with Naomi Hattaway and a belief that leadership transitions deserve more care and intention.
As that work has evolved, Naomi has built a team of people who bring their own expertise and lived experience to supporting organizations through change.
Today, we want to introduce you to the people behind Leaving Well™.
Naomi Hattaway | President & Founder
Naomi is the founder of Leaving Well™ and the person who started this work. Her experience supporting leaders and organizations through transition shaped the approach that continues to guide Leaving Well™ today.
As the work has grown, so has her vision for a team that can bring additional experience and capacity to organizations navigating what comes next.
Ashley Waters | Strategic Operations Partner
Ashley brings 14 years of experience across marketing, communications, and executive operations. At Leaving Well™, she brings structure, systems, and care to the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the team and its work moving forward.
Kelly Woolf | Succession Planning and Interim Partner
Kelly is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and strategic consultant with more than 15 years of experience supporting mission-driven organizations through transition, growth, and transformation. Her work spans strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership, with a deep understanding of what it means to hold people, culture, and mission together through change.
Latrina Kelly-James | Succession Planning and Interim Partner
Latrina is President of Oya Strategies and brings direct interim leadership experience alongside deep expertise in racial equity, trauma, organizational resiliency, and leadership. She has served twice as an interim Executive Director and currently leads national training and technical-assistance work in community violence intervention.
Austen Smith | Evaluation and Consulting Partner
Austen is a visionary, storyteller, and researcher with two decades of experience spanning community organizing, liberatory evaluation, and program stewardship. Through Our Lunar Intelligence, Austen works at the intersection of housing and land justice, arts and culture, and spirit-led narrative practice.
Maureen Carew | Consulting Partner
Maureen brings more than 25 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations navigate leadership transitions, strengthen operations, and align strategy for lasting impact. Her background spans philanthropy, education, and nonprofit leadership, with work rooted in cultural humility and equity.
Jerry Jones | Consulting Partner
Jerry brings more than 20 years of experience designing learning experiences that transform how leaders communicate, collaborate, and lead through change. With a global background spanning intercultural consulting, inclusive leadership, and content strategy, he brings an ability to hold complexity with clarity and create conditions where teams can get unstuck, aligned, and ready to move.
Beyond the Bios
Of course, the people behind Leaving Well™ are more than their professional bios.
As part of our team introductions, we asked our team to share a photo of a place that helps them feel most like themselves. Their answers gave us a glimpse into where members of our team find joy, restoration, connection, and space to simply be.
Naomi | The Woods (Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia)
“Being amongst the trees brings me peace and so much ease. I feel consistently in awe of the power of the land, and the mushrooms, the ferns, the birdsong, the critters, the way nature interacts with itself and on behalf of something larger than each individual contributor. Growing up as a child on 20 acres in rural Nebraska, and having moved nearly 20 times since … I feel properly rooted and back at home, on our 17 acres in the woods.”
Ashley | Away From Home, By the Water
“I feel most like myself when I’m traveling, exploring new places, and experiencing different parts of the world. This photo is from my first real international trip to Bali, a place that reminded me just how much I love experiencing life beyond what’s familiar. As much as I love the adventure of traveling, being near the water is where I feel most at peace. Give me a chair, a view of the ocean, and nowhere I need to be. Those are the moments when I can slow down, take it all in, and simply be.”
Kelly | Cannon Beach, Oregon
“I first landed on Cannon Beach in 2019 at the start of a solo 25-day road trip down the West Coast. It was the first place I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean, and it felt so special. There’s something about the tide, the rock formations, and the power of the ocean in this spot that forces me to breathe deeply, be present, and wonder at the beauty of the world. It’s a place where I feel connected to myself, nature, travel, and solitude.”
Maureen | The Ocean
“My happy place is playing in ocean waves — anywhere, anytime, any temperature.”
Austen | The Land They Live and Dream On
“This is a photo of me walking past the Mother Tree of the lands I live and dream on. In this photo, I am heading toward the fig tree to harvest leaves for tea blends, simple syrup, and smudge bundles. I chose this photo because when I am not working, I am making medicine and food from the land.”
