Stefanie Adams

Leadership Coach and Keynote Speaker

Stefanie Adams is a leadership development coach, facilitator, keynote speaker, former elected official, adjunct university instructor, entrepreneur, wife, and mother. For those who know her best, she is “Cheerleader Stef,” which personifies her personality and leadership style. She has over twenty years of experience leading and training in corporate, nonprofit, and government settings. Due to her passion for DEI, she earned an M.Ed. in Multicultural Education in 2008, and her professional affiliations include the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She is also a certified Forté Communication Coach.

In early 2020, Stefanie launched WNY People Development. In her role as Chief Empowerment Officer, she provides leadership training, coaching, and keynote presentations to grow the next generation of leaders. Her main areas of expertise are first-time/frontline manager development, women in leadership, engaging multigenerational workforces, and building high-impact teams.

She has worked as an organizational consultant for Johns Hopkins University School of Education in Baltimore, Maryland, and as Director of Customized Training for Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina. Most recently, she led the corporate training function for CastleBranch, also in Wilmington.

Stefanie is highly involved in her southeastern North Carolina community. She has served on multiple nonprofit boards centering around youth services, and, in 2022, she was nominated for a YWCA Women of Achievement Award in recognition of her work as school board chair during the COVID pandemic. As part of her community outreach, she also offers free leadership development for nonprofits in and around Wilmington.

Stefanie’s days are fueled by coffee, yoga, new challenges, and building relationships. Her passions are developing others, serving the community, Philly sports, travel, managing the chaos that comes with life, kitchen dancing, and bringing positive energy into every room.