Our Team
Laila Hajji down, M.S.
Founder
Laila has been speaking for over 17 years and speaking professionally for the last 13 years. She’s spoken to well over 120,000 people in her career. She’s got fortune 500 level sales experience managing a 10 million dollar territory in the production agriculture field and in the advertising realm. She has two degrees in education and is a high demand speaker and leadership development consultant because of her reliability and commitment to her clients.
Don’t mistake her kindness for weakness. She’s a straight shooter. If you’re looking to grow, you’ve found the right consultant.
Rachel Kagay, M.S.
Coach + Consultant + Original Co-Founder
Rachel is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, consultant and original co-founder of Point One Development. Rachel is exceptionally gifted in executive coaching and facilitation. Laila and Rachel continue to partner on work that ties their mission and values. Rachel is intuitive, wise, and reliable. She’s the best at coaching because she asks the right questions and helps clients draw conclusions they otherwise wouldn’t have connected.
Hannah everetts, M.S.
Consultant + Professional Speaker
Hannah has been speaking for nearly two decades and speaking professionally for over 10 years. She is a high school Agricultural Education Instructor and FFA Advisor in Ohio and has extensive facilitation experience with both youth and adult audiences. Hannah is sharp, quick witted and will out work anyone. She’s the best at making you your best.
Erica Baier
Professional Speaker + Facilitator
Erica is a high school Agricultural Education Instructor and FFA Advisor in Iowa. She is a supremely talented facilitator and speaker with experience speaking throughout the United States. Erica brings energy, enthusiasm and compassion to all that she does.
Thomas Paulsen, PHD
Education Guru
Dr. Paulsen taught high school Agricultural Education for over two decades, earned the title of Iowa Teacher of the Year in 2000, and now serves as an associate professor and Department Head of the Applied Agricultural and Food Studies Department at Morningside University in Iowa. How did Dr. Paulsen and Laila connect? Dr. Paulsen served as Laila’s major professor when she was doing research and earning her Master’s Degree from Iowa State University. Laila calls Dr. Paulsen when she needs to deliver any education project with excellence.
Crystal Steen, PhD
Advisor + Talent Management Guru
Crystal is one of the most talented people I know. If there is ever a talent management problem I don’t have a solution to, I call Crystal. She’s a friend for a decade and a half. I trust her judgement on all things - especially when it comes to talent development and employee engagement.
Whitney Kinne
Coach + Career Strategy Guru
Whitney has been coaching professionals to career success since she reviewed her first resume in 2007. She coaches clients at all stages of their career, and focuses on helping professionals pursue alignment in their professional and personal roles. Whitney stresses the importance of self-reflection and targeting talents with her clients. You can count on Whitney to bring energy and ideas to any conversation, and she is naturally ready to activate and maximize on the project or plan.
Ty Booth
Information Systems Consultant
Over the years, we’ve found that a hangup in talent development can be tied to information systems. Any time there’s an IT question, I pick up the phone and call Ty. He’s our team member who handles all things information systems with our clients. He’s a genius. We are lucky to have him!