Who We Are
Stephen Martin
Principal
As a C-suite advisor, senior leader and certified coach, Stephen works at the intersection of communication and executive leadership to drive organizational performance. He is Chief of Staff and a member of the Executive Team at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a top-ranked, global leadership development organization. Previously CCL’s Director of Brand & Communication, he has collaborated with executives on op-eds and columns for many of the world's top media outlets and developed speeches and presentations for corporate, education, and NGO audiences globally.
As an executive/leadership coach who holds the Associate Certified Coach designation from the International Coaching Federation, Stephen is experienced with several leading 360-degree and personality assessments. He coaches both CCL and private clients with a focus on savvy, high-impact communication, drawing on his prior experience as a journalist and columnist specializing in business, education, and social innovation.
Stephen earned a B.A. in English with honors at Duke University and an M.A. in Applied Arts & Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He holds a Certificate in Disruptive Strategy from Harvard Business School Online. He has served as Board Chair of GenerationEd, a large nonprofit provider of Head Start services, and is on the board of Triad Coaching Connection, a North Carolina-based learning provider for professional coaches. No longer able to beat his children in tennis, he has taken his competitive instincts to the pickleball courts.
Dawn Martin
Principal
A former journalist turned PR professional, Dawn founded Martin Writers Group in 2011 to focus her expertise on leading executive communications. Since then, she has provided strategic communications counsel to influential clients in the healthcare C-Suite, education sector, legal community and area nonprofits. In addition, she is a skilled speechwriter and has developed memorable content for client newsletters, magazines and websites – all with an eye toward building brand impact.
With 25 years of writing experience, Dawn began her career as an award-winning journalist in North and South Carolina. From there, she joined the Marketing and Communications team at Cone Health, spending nearly a decade in progressively responsible communications and leadership roles. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Richmond, Dawn has been honored to serve on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, Out of the Garden Project and The Barnabas Network.
In their spare moments, she and her husband Stephen enjoy spending time with their two college-aged children and their very feisty (“good thing he’s cute”) miniature schnauzer.