We’re all made for relationships and without them life is less meaningful. A hyper focus on facts and tasks without real connections to others makes life and work dry and empty. Doing life and work in the context of healthy relationships is more enjoyable and purposeful.
About LeaderGov
VISION
We have a dream to see tens of thousands of local government leaders equipped to serve each other and their citizens in an exceptional way so, in turn, those in their communities can thrive.
PURPOSE
Our purpose is to care for our employees and customers and to use our God-given relational and organization skills to help them grow with life giving principles.
MISSION
We help local government leaders fulfill purpose and results by helping others become their best and we accomplish that through world-class workshops and planning.
WHAT WE VALUE
COMPANY LEADERSHIP
Co-Founder, VP Operations & Workshop Facilitator
Tim Fenbert is a Co-Founder of LeaderGov and provides a key role of operational support and learner facilitation. His focus is on creating healthy workplace teams through online learning, workshop facilitation, training and individual coaching. Mr. Fenbert is a certified Wiley Publishing Partner in the areas of Management, Teamwork and Leadership. Prior to LeaderGov, Tim had a diverse career in Financial Services and Investment Banking which included serving local government in the area of economic development.
Tim has over 20 years of group facilitation experience in the business community and in local government. He has facilitated over 300 departmental and organizational planning and learning workshops.
Mr. Fenbert lives in Decatur, Georgia with his wife Katy of 31 years. Together, they have two grown children. Tim attended the Ohio State University and graduated from Ohio Northern University and later received his master’s degree in Business Administration from the Mercer University’s Stetson School of Business. Mr. Fenbert is a founding board member of Water at Work Ministry, as a volunteer at Souly Business Ministry (a men’s retreat ministry) and as Elder at Clairmont Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia.
Co-Founder, VP Client Engagement & Workshop Facilitator
Bill Stark, Co-Founder of LeaderGov, focuses on bringing LeaderGov to cities, counties, and special districts. He has been providing strategic planning, performance management and leadership training services since 2006 and exclusively to local governments since 2012. He has a deep passion for helping government teams develop to their full potential so they can achieve their most important strategic goals for their citizens and stakeholders.
Bill has led hundreds of large and small learning development and planning sessions for local governments. He leverages his communication skills to spur interaction and ownership of topics being discussed, so that concepts are understood and acted upon. Bill previously served at AT&T and Verizon. He co-founded start-up Mindseek, an online learning company in the early 2000s.
Bill and his wife Starwyn, of 35 years, have three grown children and attend The Parish Church in Alpharetta, GA. Bill serves Souly Business, a men's retreat weekend ministry and is on the Board of Directors for Whisper, a high school program focused on reducing loneliness. Bill is a published author of Divine Intersections and has an active faith blog EverPresentHeaven. He is a member of the Georgia City County Management Association. He earned a BA in Journalism at the University of Mississippi.
Gayle Johnson, Senior Workshop Facilitator
Gayle is a passionate organizational leadership trainer and coach. Her moto is “an organization is only as good as its staff and the staff is only as good as its leadership.” Gayle loves to help executives and mid-management work on themselves to show up as their highest and best self.
Gayle brings over 25 years of non-profit, public and private business leadership to LeaderGov where she focused her energies toward making the workplace a place where all staff could thrive. In her work with many local government agencies in the state of Washington, she's helped them better understanding who they are and how they show up better to others. Her approach is using emotional intelligence and other personality and behavioral tools for individuals and for teams to develop self-awareness and self-regulation. Emotionally intelligent workplaces communicate better, build trust with each other, innovate more, retain staff at higher rates and provide spaces for people to show up as their authentic self.
Gayle also has worked with organizations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Race and Social Justice. Gayle attended Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. Gayle has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, from the University of Washington, is Certified in Life Coaching and is a member of the International Coaching Federation, and has had courses in Transformational Leadership from Seattle, University.
Gayle is from an African American Pioneer family in Seattle, WA. She currently resides in Georgia.
Scot Wrighton, Consultant and Senior Facilitator
Scot's specialties include strategic planning, organizational development, executive coaching, designing and implementing governance and structural changes, and teaching government ethics concepts and strategies, and local government performance management and measurement.
From 2003 to 2009, Scot served on the faculty of the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. In this capacity he taught local governance courses, and provided local governance consulting services to elected and appointed officials in the United States, and abroad. From 2009 to 2014, Scot served as city manager of new private city built from scratch in Maharashtra, India; it was intended to serve as a model of how new urban areas can be created and governed in South Asia as a response to the rapid urbanization of India.
From 2014 to 2019, Scot served as city manager of Streator, Illinois; and from 2019 to 2024 as city manager of Decatur, Illinois. Scot has published several articles and books on effective local government supervision, conflict resolution, and contributed to others; most of his publications are related to the management, governance and sustainable development of public sector entities.
Brenda Viola, Speaker and Senior Facilitator
A former news anchor and reporter, Brenda Viola is also an award-winning communicator and author. However, she chuckles that clients are most curious about her brief career as a QVC Show Host!
Her decade as Public Information Officer for a Philadelphia suburb informed the creation of well-received keynotes and workshops. This niche market grew organically with the 2020 publication of her book, The Public Servants’ Survival Guide. Audiences from both the public and private sectors resonated with the message that answered the question,“How can you claim joy in work and life?” The ten points outlined in the book provide the framework for a transformative workshop helping participants recognize signs of burnout and how to course correct.
In April 2024 she released two new books. The first, How to be Heard Without Screaming!, incorporates her 30+ years as a professional communicator into daily exercises that help readers land their messages, whether in personal or professional settings. She leads a corporate workshop based on this content.
Joy Marshall, Senior Workshop Facilitator
Joy Marshall serves as a lead Facilitator for LeaderGov as well as a strategic planning consultant.
Joy has both passion and technical expertise in local government having served in strategic planning and performance improvement positions within local government agencies for over seven years. Her hands-on experience an subject matter expertise combine to create engaging and successful workshop environments.
In her most recent local government role she was the Program and Performance Administrator at South Fulton, GA. In that role, Joy oversaw the alignment of annual budget performance (FY19-20 $98M and FY 20-21 $105M to strategic projects and initiatives. Ms. Marshall led the successful launch of several transparency initiatives for the City which include their first strategic plan, a 24 hour Citizen Response Center, 311 services, data-driven dashboard reporting, policy development, and other tools in support of enhanced service delivery. Previously, Joy has held roles with the District of Columbia’s Department of Employment Services, Georgia-Pacific, Westin Engineering and the Home Depot/HD Supply.
Joy is the Recording Secretary of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Metro Atlanta Chapter (NFBPA-MAC). She also serves as Community Strategist and Advisor for Chess and Community, and is an active member of the International City, County Management Association (ICMA), the national Association of Professional Women (NAPW), and the Project Management Institute (PMI). She is a proud mother, author and speaker who enjoys traveling. Joy resides in Atlanta GA.
Hannah Longoria, Operations Manager
Hannah serves as an Operations Manager at LeaderGov. She is responsible for client onboarding, social media campaigns, cohort learning support and customer support. She joins the team with over 10 years of social media marketing and client support experience. She graduated from Georgia State University with a BBA degree in marketing.
Hannah married her high school sweetheart, Jordan. They have 4 kids and stay busy chasing them around.
Kimberly Oden, Workshop Facilitator
Kimberly Oden serves as a Facilitator for LeaderGov. She earned her BA in Psychology at Concordia University and has been an organizational consultant for the past 25 years. In 2011, she coupled her passion for education, leadership and her faith to co-found a kindergarten - 12th grade leadership academy. In 2020, after leading the merger to create Valor Christian Academy, she began operational, educational and project management consulting for various organizations in the Atlanta area.
Kimberly has successfully facilitated hundreds of learning and development training sessions in her career. She brings a unique perspective to leadership and teamwork given her background in the education marketplace. Her personable and knowledgeable approach combine to create engaging and memorable facilitation sessions for our customers.
Kimberly is a proud mama of four men, and has been doing life alongside her husband, Markel, for over 30 years. They attend Restoration Church where they serve in ministry. Kimberly is a writer, mentor and speaker who loves anything that has to do with leadership, organization, health and faith.
