Our Team

Maria Nemeth

Maria Nemeth, PhD, MCC

Founder and Creative Director

Dr. Maria Nemeth, PhD, MCC, is the Founder & Creative Director of the Academy for Coaching Excellence. She is a Master Certified Coach and transformational seminar leader whose work has transformed thousands of lives across the world over several decades.

Dr. Maria is also the author of two highly-acclaimed books: The Energy of Money, available in five languages, and its follow-up, Mastering Life’s Energies, both of which have given people worldwide a way to put success principles into immediate practice in their lives. She is the producer of the Energy of Money Podcast and the Coach Training Podcast, and a blog available at her website

Dr. Maria is a lifelong agent of social change who has contributed in areas such as civil rights, racial justice, women’s empowerment, and health & human services. 

Visit her website to learn more. 



Tom LeNoble

Tom LeNoble

Chief Executive Officer

Executive Leader | International Speaker | Confidential Advisor | Philanthropist | Award Winning Bestselling Author

Tom LeNoble is an executive leader, international speaker, resilience coach, and philanthropist. His career spans Fortune 500 giants including MCI (VZ), Walmart.com (WMT), Palm (HP), and Facebook (META), as well as multiple high-growth startups. As CEO of the Academy for Coaching Excellence and a Leadership Coach with the Miller Center at Santa Clara University, he mentors leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide.

He is the bestselling author of the published memoir My Life in Business Suits, Hospital Gowns, and High Heels. His second book, Morning Ground, will launch in May 2026. He is also the creator and host of the Opening Pathways podcast, where he shares stories and insights on leadership, resilience, and reinvention. Having survived multiple life-threatening diagnoses, he lives by his conviction: “I’m Still Here!”

Greg Reinauer

Greg Reinauer, PCC

Dean of Students and Director of Admission

Greg Reinauer is an educational leader, Professional Certified Coach, lifelong musician, and longtime climate and social justice activist who has served the ACE community since 2020. As Dean of Students and Director of Admissions, he provides leadership across student experience, admissions, curriculum stewardship, and program operations — supporting students from their very first conversation with ACE through graduation and beyond.

As a Senior Course Leader, Greg leads and co-leads programs across ACE’s core curriculum — from ACE Foundations 1: Mastering Your Life and ACE Foundations 2: Being Coach to Coaching Skills Group — and, as Dean of Students, oversees the ACE Professional Coach Training Program and leads ACE’s team of mentor coaches. He serves as Program Manager and Course Leader of the Licensed Academy Trainer Program, where he has supported the development and licensing of more than 35 Academy Trainers, and as Lead Course Leader and curriculum steward of the Art of Enrollment, which he has guided through fifteen cohorts of continuous refinement — including a new adaptation now open to the public. He also co-developed the Empowered Together Scholarship Program, expanding access to coach training for communities historically underrepresented in the profession. Across his tenure, Greg has led more than 60 programs serving hundreds of students.

Music was Greg’s first passion, and it still shapes everything he leads. While studying bass performance at Berklee College of Music, he encountered a growing movement of people working for social justice, human rights, and a livable planet — and left convinced that meeting the greatest challenges of our time asks people to tap into their passion and creativity. He spent the next fifteen years living that conviction — co-founding the band Melodeego, touring with 350.org, and facilitating transformational programs with the Pachamama Alliance and at the National Power Shift Conference — while teaching hundreds of young musicians as an educator and program developer. That path led him to coaching, and to ACE.

Greg brings creativity, warmth, and deep listening to everything he leads. What animates all of his work is a single commitment: supporting people to connect with what matters most to them — and to contribute it to the world with clarity, focus, ease, and grace.

Raquel Najera

Raquel Najera, ACC

Program Director

Raquel Najera is the Program Director and a Senior Course Leader at ACE. She believes leadership is about bringing out the genius in others so we can build meaningful change together. Known for balancing strategic insight with genuine care, Raquel creates spaces where people feel supported and equipped to grow.

As Program Director, Raquel bridges vision and execution—overseeing the design and delivery of ACE’s training programs and ensuring a high-quality, cohesive experience for students. She works closely with faculty and staff to steward the integrity of the curriculum, while training and developing Course Leaders and Logistics Supervisors to support consistent, aligned program delivery.

Raquel’s background spans coaching, leadership development, facilitation, curriculum design, and social impact work, including experience supporting initiatives in policy, advocacy, and movement spaces. She brings a systems-aware lens to her work, helping students and clients translate values into both day-to-day leadership practices and broader organizational and collective impact.

Olga Verkhotina

Olga Verkhotina

Program Manager

Drawing on her background in public relations, Olga leads communications efforts and fosters connections within the online campus at ACE. She also supports the full lifecycle of programs, from course preparation and backend management to logistics coordination and the development and rollout of new offerings.

In her career coaching and astrology practice, Olga finds joy in helping people find ways to authentically and creatively express themselves through their careers, and live full lives outside of work.  

Speaking of life outside of work, you can always count on finding Olga planning her next trip, giving way too many treats to her poodle mix Chloe, and exploring Sacramento’s excellent coffee scene.

Temple Robinson

Temple Robinson, ACC

Admissions Manager

Temple Robinson, ACC, is a Transformational Life and Leadership Coach committed to helping individuals and leaders create lives and careers rooted in joy, fulfillment, and purpose.

As a Transformational Life Coach, Temple supports individuals in gaining clarity, taking aligned action, and accomplishing their deepest desires and biggest dreams—so they can live lives they are truly proud of. 

As a Transformational Leadership Coach, she works with professionals and organizations to develop confident, effective leaders to strengthen communication, elevate performance, and lead teams with clarity, authenticity, and impact.

Temple’s work is grounded in a simple yet powerful belief: when people are supported to grow, they create meaningful change in their own lives—and in the lives of those around them. 

Click here to learn more.

Jake Pardee

Jake Pardee, PCC

Admissions Manager

Jake Pardee, PCC, serves ACE as Admissions Manager and Course Leader for The Art of Enrollment. He supports prospective students to get clear on which ACE programs are the best fit for them based on the vision that is calling them to coaching. 

In his coaching practice, he loves to serve creative leaders who are navigating overwhelm, isolation, and burnout and really want to make sustainable contributions to a life-affirming future for their community. Before becoming a coach, Jake got his BA in Sociology from Vassar College, and worked in non-profits, restaurants, construction, and recruiting. He loves playing basketball, exploring public parks, and eating sandwiches. 

Nancy Decandia

Nancy Decandia

Finance Director

Nancy has been part of the ACE team since 2005.  She served as Logistics Supervisor before moving to Financial Director.  She has been through all the courses ACE offers.  Seeing first hand how this work changed her life, she is committed to ensuring the ACE teachings continue to reach as many people as possible.

Rita Saenz

Rita Saenz

Rita Saenz, serves as Special Advisor at the Academy for Coaching Excellence. She was previously CEO of ACE, and in her early years, a community organizer.

She was formerly the Commissioner on the California Commission on Aging, having served 9 years. She is currently a member of the California Department of Aging ADRC Committee, and an at-large member of the Area on Agency on Aging. She was appointed by the Governor as Director of the California Office on Alcoholism, the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the California Department of Social Services, and the Employment Development Department. She has also served as Appointments Secretary under Governor Jerry Brown. She served as California Government Affairs Director for Xerox.

She is also a Special Advisor to California Executive Committee of AARP and is serving as a mentor for Cresciente, a Latino/a manager leadership program.

Our ACE Mentors