Who We Are
LeaderFit is a women-owned, retained executive search firm serving mission-driven organizations. Founded in 2009, we are experts at helping nonprofits and foundations find and hire top leadership talent. We customize every search to meet our client's unique needs. And we are committed to delivering exceptional service with every search.
Our Team
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© LeaderFit 2009 - 2022
LeaderFit® is a registered trademark of LeaderFit, LLC.
Katie McNerney
Katie McNerney founded LeaderFit in 2009 to provide a more efficient and cost-effective approach to identifying, attracting, hiring, and onboarding exceptional talent for nonprofits, foundations and social enterprises. Katie leads executive search engagements and, along with Annie, manages the firm's team, strategy, and operations. In 2016, Katie and the LeaderFit team also launched Purpose Path (www.purposepath.org), an innovative career coaching program that inspires and prepares professionals to pursue leadership roles at social impact organizations. To date, more than 500 individuals have participated in Purpose Path programs.
Katie earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a 2019 Colorado Governors Fellow, a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar, a Praxis Mentor, and volunteers regularly with Girls on the Run and Veterati.
Annie Linehan Czerwinski
Annie Linehan Czerwinski joined LeaderFit as a Partner in 2011. In addition to leading executive search engagements, Annie works with Katie to manage the firm’s team, strategy, and operations. Prior to joining LeaderFit, Annie was a Program Director at the CityBridge Foundation, where she designed and implemented corporate civic engagement programs for the ServiceCorps practice. Annie started her career with AmeriCorps in Washington, D.C., where she taught nutrition through a program developed by the Capital Area Community Food Bank. At UNICEF Argentina, Annie helped build public private partnerships. Her experience also includes corporate marketing with The Advisory Board Company and Corporate Executive Board.
Annie recently completed more than a decade of service on the Board of Higher Achievement, including Vice Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee. She has a MPP from Georgetown University and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.
Shaina Amaya
Shaina Amaya joined LeaderFit in 2013 as Vice President leading executive search engagements for nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises. Shaina joined LeaderFit in 2013, after more than six years at a philanthropy consulting firm. As Vice President of Operations, she was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s operations, financial management, human capital development and marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Shaina served as a key member of the marketing and communications team at Unitus, where she worked closely with the organization’s international microfinance partners.
Shaina has a BA from Western Washington University in Spanish and Latin American Studies.
Ayann Johnson Holloway
At LeaderFit, Ayann advises clients throughout the search process, including identifying organizational needs, sourcing top candidates, conducting interviews, and checking candidate references. Before LeaderFit, Ayann was the Senior Director of Operations at the Greater Washington Community Foundation where she worked in all aspects of the Foundation’s operations, governance, IT management, CEO support, special projects, and fundraising. She also helped the Foundation advance its race, equity and inclusion (REI) strategy and employee engagement.
Ayann holds a M.S. in nonprofit and association management from the University of Maryland University College and a Bachelor’s degree from Hampton University.
Whitney Beecham
As a Vice President, Whitney is focused on client engagement management and candidate stewardship. Whitney believes that building deep, diverse relationships and expanding opportunities for traditionally underrepresented and under-resourced communities are the foundation to creating a more equitable society. Over the past decade, she’s dedicated her time and talents to these beliefs, through her work as a Field Associate and Manager of Executive Operations at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and more recently, as a Senior Associate, Global Development at Teach For All, where she supported stewardship and cultivation of more than two dozen educational equity funders throughout the world.
Whitney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hampton University and completed graduate coursework in Urban Planning at University of Maryland, College Park.
Keturah Gadson
As a Research Associate, Keturah supports our client engagements through a variety of activities including conducting in-depth research to ensure our candidate pipelines are robust and diverse.
Prior to joining LeaderFit, Keturah graduated cum laude from Harvard College with Highest Honors in African American Studies and Sociology with a Secondary in Educational Studies. Most recently she served as a Richardson Post-Graduate Public Service Fellow at Harvard where she directed the Youth Voice & Power Program at The Education Equity Center of St. Louis and managed 4 student-centered school partnerships.
Karelle Fonteneau
As a Director at LeaderFit, Karelle supports our client engagements through a wide variety of activities such as advertising job descriptions, scheduling candidate interviews, and conducting research.
Karelle brings more than five years of experience, most recently from the Immigrant Defense Project in New York, where she worked across the legal team to support casework and where she redesigned and launched the hotline. Prior to her time at Immigrant Defense Project, Karelle was at The Bronx Defenders as an Immigration Civil Legal Advocate. Karelle earned her BA from Yale University.