About Us

Management Team

Mary Abbajay, President

Mary Abbajay, author of the best-selling Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss is the president of Careerstone Group, LLC, a full service organizational and leadership development consultancy that delivers leading-edge talent and organizational development solutions to business and government.

As a sought-after author, speaker, consultant, and trainer, Mary helps clients develop the strategies, skills and sensibilities needed for success in the 21st century. Her expertise lies in helping clients create dynamic and productive workplaces that foster professional and personal excellence and growth. In short, she is committed to creating workplaces where both the organization and the individual can flourish.

Mary Abbajay brings over 20 years of leadership experience, a master’s degree in Organizational Management, and post-graduate certificates from Georgetown University and the Coaches Training Institute. In addition to being an entrepreneur and consultant, Mary has served as adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s School of Management and has taught at both Montgomery College and the Georgetown University Center for Professional Development.

Mary is a frequent expert contributor for television, radio and print publications where she provides practical leadership and career advice. In addition to her role as a Forbes.com contributor, her work and advice have appeared in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, Money, Southwest Airlines Magazine, Monster, and the BBC.

Mary currently serves on the Greater Washington Market President’s Board of BB&T Bank and is a past Chairman of the Board for Leadership Greater Washington where she has chaired and led the adult Signature program, the Youth Leadership Program and the Rising Leaders Program. She was a volunteer mentor for Mentor’s Inc., an urban youth mentoring program and served for six years on the Board of Directors of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Mary was the co-owner of the Toledo Lounge and Crush Nightclub in Adams Morgan.

In 2010, Mary was named as one of Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business and was a Smart CEO Brava Award recipient in 2017.

To request Mary as a speaker for your event, please contact Outspoken Agency at info@outspokenagency.com or call at 646-863-4000

Kristen Shattuck, Director of Facilitation & Training

Kristen Shattuck is a coach, trainer, and facilitator whose experiences have focused on improving the quality and efficacy of the culture and performance of organizations throughout North Carolina and the greater Washington, DC, areas. As Senior Consultant at Careerstone Group, Kristen specializes in designing and facilitating programming that is active, participant-centered, and results-based. Kristen’s work has focused on collaboration, communication, time and organizational management, strategic planning, diversity, cultural competence, and leadership development through a variety of Careerstone Group programs including Managing Up, Conflict Matters, Communication Matters, Teambuilding, and Presentation Matters.

Kristen’s professional experiences include K-12 school principal, teacher, and non-profit administrator; she has translated the leadership and project management skills needed in these roles to support individuals, teams, and organizations through leadership coaching and facilitation. Kristen received her master’s degrees from both Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; her research in both programs focused on reform implementation, policy, and leadership development.

As a school principal, Kristen developed partnerships with Elon University, North Carolina State University, and Alamance Community College to increase middle and high school students’ access to rigorous academic courses, designing curriculum options that provided students with college credits before graduating high school. While managing a $3 million budget for over 500 students and 50 faculty and staff members, Kristen worked to build capacity on the Board and raised the profile of the independent school to a vibrant campus at 105% capacity and a 250% increase in student applicants waitlisted each year.

Kristen transitioned from school leader to consultant in 2012 and has developed significant experience leading teams and providing technical assistance to K-12 school districts, education non-profits, government and commercial clients. At North Carolina New Schools, a public-private partnership pioneering the Early College High School movement, Kristen designed and facilitated professional learning for teachers, principals, district office staff, and community college professors and administrators. These professional learning opportunities focused on scaling up the Early College High School model with large, comprehensive, rural high schools throughout North Carolina. This work resulted in increased school attendance (>95%), Algebra I completion – long known as a gateway to high school completion and college-going rates – and earned college credits and Associate Degrees before high school graduation for over 50% of students in partner schools.

Kristen values work that is collaborative, reflective, and that offers new learning through diversity of people, thought, and experience. She understands the importance of training professionals to learn new skills while keeping motivation, interest, and confidence in implementation strong. Her lifelong interest in teaching and learning has provided her with a wealth of opportunities at home and abroad. She has studied education systems in England, Russia, Ghana, and Australia, as a graduate student, Fulbright-Hays recipient, and project leader.

Robin Goodstein, Senior Consultant

Robin Goodstein is an organizational effectiveness consultant, facilitator and trainer who spent over 20 years in internal consulting, advisory, and leadership roles in higher education. During a brief stint as a solo consultant, Robin discovered that she missed having colleagues and gleefully joined The Careerstone Group.

Equipped with a knack for asking incisive questions and empowering people to solve their own problems, Robin helps teams to resolve conflict and organizations to find better ways of being. She has designed and facilitated professional education experiences for all types of adult learners at every level of organizational life, and prides herself on leading and teaching with empathy, humor and authenticity.

Robin holds a B.A. in Political Science from Kenyon College; an M.A. in English and Teaching Writing from Georgetown University; and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law. She trained in mediation at Community Mediation Services of Central Ohio and earned a post-graduate certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership.

Kristen Wilhelm, Marketing and Project Manager

Kristen Wilhelm is the Marketing and Project Manager for Careerstone Group, LLC. She oversees and develops all of the marketing campaigns including designing the newsletter, writing blog posts, and filming and producing social media content.

Kristen also manages the administration of personality inventories and provides assistance to the team through scheduling and client correspondence.

Kristen graduated cum laude from Goucher College in 2024 with a degree in Business Management. She was a member of Goucher’s athletics leadership academy, worked with the Goucher Prison Education Partnership, and rode on the college’s varsity equestrian team.

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