Mission

Our mission is to empower ethical leaders to achieve extraordinary results. We provide leadership development consulting and education to leaders and teams in public safety, health care, and business organizations.

Our Promise

Our focus is on ethical leadership development. Too often, “business ethics” or “professional ethics” are practices that merely attempt to constrain unacceptable behavior. Our view of ethics is far more comprehensive: we see ethics as a framework for acting in ways that reflect the very best in us as human beings. We find this view expressed in multiple ethical traditions, from around the world. We bring these classical ideas to bear in contemporary solutions.

We strive to do business in accordance with three principles:

The concepts and techniques we use are sound and insightful.
Our work with clients is relevant and action-oriented.
Our clients and partners take pleasure in doing business with ELA.

We’ll do what it takes to create real value, working with clients in accordance with these principles.

Our Team

Chad Weinstein

Chad is the Founder of Ethical Leaders in action. He provides leadership development and strategic consulting to organizations in for-profit, non-profit and public sectors. Prior to establishing Ethical Leaders in Action he founded the Hill Center for Ethical Business Leadership, a division of the James J Hill library. He has also been an adjunct faculty member of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and a community faculty member of the School of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement at Metropolitan State University.

Chad has been an educator, manager and consultant for more than 20 years serving industries ranging from consumer products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals to mining and petroleum extraction. Most recently he led teams and organizations in market and technology consulting as vice president of client services for Guideline, Inc. Chad holds a Ph.D. in ethics (philosophy) from the University of Minnesota.

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Jamie Fischer

Jamie is a consultant and trainer at ELA and has been with ELA since August of 2020.

Prior to joining ELA, Jamie taught history, leadership, citizenship, ethics, planning, decision-making, and problem solving at the US Military Academy West Point, St. John’s University, College of St. Benedict, St. Cloud State and Cretin-Derham Hall. He mentors developing leaders, consults with companies on organizational effectiveness, and serves on the board of several NGO’s.

He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years of active duty service leading people in a wide array of situations including deployments to Tuzla Bosnia-Herzegovina, Washington DC, and Baghdad Iraq. In these operations, his leadership, situational analysis and planning drove significant improvement in mission effectiveness.

Jamie holds a Ph.D. in history from the Ohio State University. His military education includes Airborne School, Army Ranger Leadership School, and an Advanced Certification in Strategy from The Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth.

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Tom Laughlin

Tom has been with Ethical Leaders in Action since its inception in 2010. He is a consultant and trainer at ELA. He also has responsibility for managing operations and marketing.

He has worked in the field of leadership and organizational development since 1997. In addition, Tom has over 20 years of management experience in both small private and fortune 500 companies.

He has an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and an M.A. in Leadership and Organizational Development with post graduate studies in Psychology from Saint Mary’s University in the Twin Cities.

Tom lives and works in Batumi Georgia (country) and Minneapolis Minnesota USA.

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Fran Lyon-Dugin

Fran is a consultant and trainer at ELA. She also contributes to the ELA Blog and other ELA Publications.

She has a leadership and academic career built upon education and experiences in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Along with her work with ELA, she is an adjunct professor in the Augsburg University MBA program in the areas of ethics, communications and behavior and organizational development.

She has held executive and consultant roles serving nonprofits, with services ranging from youth development to mental health services. Prior to her non-profit roles, Fran held product development and operational roles in several Fortune 500 companies in consumer products, IT and financial services, as well as in a variety of smaller insurance, health care and consulting companies at the beginning of the managed care movement. Her career has focused largely on leading organizations through change.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Iowa State University, an MBA from Marquette University, and a PhD from Tilburg University in The Netherlands, in collaboration with the TAOS Institute. Her PhD dissertation focuses on experienced executive women in transition.

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Martin Scheerer

Martin Scheerer provides strategic consulting and leadership development services as a member of Ethical Leaders in Action. Prior to joining ELA, Martin was an executive and leader in the fire service and in the private sector, and a contributor to fire and emergency medical services professions, regionally and nationally.

Scheerer retired in 2014 as Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management, Medical Services, and Building Inspections for the City of Edina (Minnesota). He also served as a firefighter/paramedic and company officer in the Edina Fire Department. Scheerer is a past president of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association and of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. He has also served on Boards of many organizations, including: Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety Advisory Committee, Minnesota Public Employee Retirements Systems Advisory Board, League of Minnesota Cities Human Resources and Data Practices Committee, Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services Council, National Fire Protection Association Presidents Forum Panel, Hennepin Technical College Advisory Committee, and Century College Medical Advisory Committee.

Scheerer’s recent private sector experience includes leadership as a senior consultant in the Commercial Product and Marketing division at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota where he is credited for growing market share and profits through the development and execution of new and innovative business strategies.

Scheerer is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program of the National Fire Academy. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Minnesota State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Southwest Minnesota State University, an Associate of Arts degree in Fire Science from the University of Minnesota, and Paramedic training in Advance Life Support and Critical Care from Century College.

Mission

Our Promise

Our Team

Chad Weinstein

Jamie Fischer

Tom Laughlin

Fran Lyon-Dugin

Martin Scheerer

Ethical Leaders in Action

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