We are Cassandra-Helenus Partners, LLC. Everything we do is about identifying and solving people problems.
Kate Germano
Kate Germano, Founder & Principal
Dedicated to helping others live the Marine Corps maxim, “Know yourself and seek self-improvement,” Kate is a retired military officer with broad experience as a teacher, facilitator, public speaker, and coach. During a very successful career in the Marines, Kate was chosen to lead the all-women’s 4th Recruit Training Battalion at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. After a tumultuous experience with some spectacular results and a very public firing, Kate left the military and embarked on a journey of self-reflection. Her thirst to improve her knowledge about human behavior led her back to school, where she attained certifications from Georgetown University in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership and Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Program Management.
Kate’s exploration of emotional intelligence and the neuroscience of change helped her understand that true leadership requires vulnerability, empathy, and an appreciation for the perspectives of people from all different walks of life. Believing you can always teach an old dog new tricks, she uses her own experiences as powerful tools to help others be more introspective, accountable, and able to artfully navigate change.
She has been a featured speaker on leadership and gender issues for Allstate, the FDIC, Merck, Kohler, PayPal, the City of York, Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the College at Brockport, and the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale, among other organizations. Kate holds leadership coaching certifications through the NeuroLeadership Institute and the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Joe Plenzler
Joe Plenzler, Co-Founder & Partner
Joe is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach who has more than 25 years of experience helping leaders drive meaningful and lasting change through better communication with an emphasis on neuroscience and applied theories of human persuasion. His focus is on enabling leaders to bring their strategies to fruition by connecting with and inspiring their people.
Joe is also a retired Marine Corps officer and decorated combat veteran who served in the infantry and public affairs branches of the United States Marine Corps from 1995 to 2015. During his time in uniform, Joe planned and executed the largest media embed program in Marine Corps history during the invasion of Iraq, served as the senior U.S. military spokesperson in Northern Indonesia during the international disaster relief mission in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami, and served in the Pentagon as the spokesman, press secretary, and staff group director for the 34th, 35th, and 36th Commandants of the Marine Corps.
Joe retired after 20 years of active duty service in 2015 and has served as an Executive Vice President of Membership and Marketing, and a National Director of Media Relations. He has appeared frequently on national television and radio on various advocacy issues and his writings have been widely published in national outlets to include The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and Foreign Policy.
Committed to lifelong learning, Joe holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Studies from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University. He is a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI fellow, and a graduate of Georgetown University’s prestigious Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership & Facilitation certification programs. Joe is also an adjunct professor at George Washington University where he teaches strategic communication and cross-cultural communication and at the College of Southern Maryland where he teaches speech communication and public speaking.
Joe is also a sweat-equity partner in Data Valuation Ventures - an advanced artificial intelligence and analytics firm helping people know what their data is really worth. When he is not helping clients, you can find him section-hiking the Appalachian trail with his partner, Kate, or planning their next big mountain climb. Joe also holds distinction as the world’s ‘okayest’ guitar player.