Who we are

Meet the team

Renaissance Teams is a small, experienced group of facilitators who've dedicated our careers to building innovation capacity. We're not a large firm with ranks of junior consultants. When you work with us, you work directly with the people below.

Small team, deep expertise

Donnalyn Roxey

SOQ Qualified Practitioner | FourSight Certified
BS in Biological Sciences
MS in Creativity and Change Leadership
WHAT DONNALYN BRINGS

Donnalyn has spent over 25 years helping organizations build high-performing teams and navigate complex change. Her expertise spans leadership development, team dynamics, organizational climate assessment, and strategic alignment. Clients recognize her immediately for two seemingly contradictory qualities that somehow work perfectly together: meticulous attention to detail and infectious enthusiasm. She prepares exhaustively for every engagement while bringing spontaneous energy that makes difficult work feel possible.

As a certified facilitator and coach, Donnalyn excels at creating environments where breakthrough thinking emerges naturally. She’s particularly skilled at diagnosing innovation-friendly climates using the Situational Outlook Questionnaire and helping leadership teams strengthen the organizational conditions where creativity thrives. When she facilitates, people feel simultaneously challenged and supported – pushed to think differently while knowing they’re in expert hands.

Donnalyn’s commitment to tailored solutions means she never arrives with cookie-cutter approaches. She invests significant time understanding your context, constraints, and goals before designing engagements. This preparation shows in session design that fits your specific challenges rather than generic templates adapted superficially.

Her generosity extends beyond client work. Colleagues and clients alike describe Donnalyn as someone who gives fully – sharing resources freely, making time for questions, and genuinely celebrating others’ successes. She’s an irreplaceable member of the Renaissance Teams family not just because of her expertise, but because of how she shows up as a human being.

BEYOND THE WORK

Outside the office, Donnalyn and her husband embark on adventures in their converted 1998 school bus, often accompanied by their two dogs. Whether facilitating breakthroughs in boardrooms or exploring new horizons on the road, Donnalyn thrives on collaboration and discovery. The same curiosity that makes her an exceptional facilitator drives her to seek new experiences and perspectives everywhere she goes.

BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS

As a certified facilitator and coach, Donnalyn excels at creating environments where breakthrough thinking emerges naturally. She’s particularly skilled at diagnosing innovation-friendly climates using the Situational Outlook Questionnaire and helping leadership teams strengthen the organizational conditions where creativity thrives. When she facilitates, people feel simultaneously challenged and supported – pushed to think differently while knowing they’re in expert hands

Ryan Hammer

Certified Practitioner in KAI | SOQ | VIEW | CPS 6.1

BS in Engineering Physics | MBA
WHAT RYAN BRINGS

Ryan brings the unusual combination of engineering precision and creative facilitation that makes him exceptionally effective at helping teams solve complex problems. Before joining Renaissance Teams six years ago, he spent his career in engineering and manufacturing operations leadership, managing teams as large as 5,000 people across semiconductor manufacturing, electronics, and logistics. That background means he understands operational realities, resource constraints, and the gap between theoretical solutions and implementable ones.

When Ryan facilitates Creative Problem Solving sessions, his calm patience creates the psychological safety where bold ideas emerge. He never rushes teams through stages or pushes for premature conclusions. Instead, he guides exploration at the pace needed for genuine breakthrough thinking while maintaining momentum toward outcomes. Participants describe feeling simultaneously challenged to think bigger and confident they’ll reach actionable solutions.

Ryan is the team’s systems wizard – the person who makes complex processes feel simple and manageable. Whether designing multi-day workshops, interpreting KAI assessment results for team composition, or troubleshooting why innovation initiatives aren’t gaining traction, he brings analytical rigor without getting lost in abstraction. He connects theory to practice effortlessly, helping clients understand not just what to do but why it works.

His expertise with the Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Inventory makes him particularly valuable for organizations struggling with team dynamics around creative style. He helps teams understand why adaptors and innovators clash, then designs interventions that leverage both styles productively. This work often transforms team effectiveness dramatically.

BEYOND THE WORK

Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics and an MBA, merging technical depth with strategic perspective. He’s a KAI Certified Practitioner and SOQ Qualified Practitioner, bringing expertise in both cognitive style assessment and organizational climate measurement. His engineering background combined with formal training in Creative Problem Solving creates a unique facilitation approach grounded in both analytical thinking and creative methodology.

BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS

Ryan channels his creative energy into stained-glass artistry at Studio 11, a Columbus makerspace where he crafts intricate glass designs. The same precision and patience he brings to facilitation shows up in his art – careful planning combined with willingness to adapt when the work requires it. He’s also a passionate MLS soccer fan and devoted Columbus Crew supporter. Whether driving innovation in workshops or creating beauty through glass, Ryan exemplifies commitment to craft and excellence in everything he pursues.

Sydnie Davis

BA in Political Science and Anthropology
Expert in Creative Environment Design
WHAT SYDNIE BRINGS

Sydnie is a vibrant force of creativity with a keen eye for environments that help people and teams thrive. Her background in political science and anthropology from the University of Memphis focused on built environments – how physical and social spaces either enable or constrain human flourishing. That expertise translates directly to organizational innovation work, where she crafts experiences that unlock breakthrough thinking.

What makes Sydnie exceptional is her ability to design participant-driven environments where people feel energized to engage fully. Whether facilitating virtual workshops or creating in-person sessions, she attends to every detail that affects creative work: physical setup, digital platform choices, session pacing, break timing, visual design, and the hundred small decisions that determine whether people feel comfortable taking risks and sharing bold ideas.

Colleagues and clients describe Sydnie as bringing infectious enthusiasm and fresh perspectives to every engagement. She approaches challenges with genuine curiosity and optimism that proves contagious. Teams working with Sydnie often report that sessions feel engaging and memorable – not just productive, but genuinely enjoyable experiences they look forward to rather than endure.

Her expertise in virtual environment design has become increasingly valuable as organizations navigate hybrid work. Sydnie doesn’t just translate in-person workshops to Zoom. She reimagines engagement for virtual contexts, using digital collaboration tools strategically and designing interactions that work with the medium rather than fighting against it. Virtual sessions she facilitates maintain energy and interaction rather than devolving into passive screen-watching

BEYOND THE WORK

Sydnie holds a degree in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of Memphis, where her primary focus was on built environments that allow people and communities to thrive. This anthropological lens on space and human behavior informs her approach to organizational innovation work. She understands that creative thinking doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it emerges from carefully designed environments where people feel safe, engaged, and energized.

BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS

Sydnie brings her full self to everything she does – the same enthusiasm, creativity, and attention to human experience that makes her an exceptional facilitator shows up in how she approaches life. A self-directed learner with insatiable curiosity, she dives into science fiction novels, watercolor painting, fiber arts, and complex LEGO builds with equal enthusiasm. Her podcast queue jumps from beluga whale social lives to Mexico City’s sewage systems to bead embroidery across cultures. With language studies spanning Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, and German, and a cinephile’s love of storytelling, Sydnie’s anthropological curiosity drives her to explore how people create meaning everywhere. As a devoted mother to her one-year-old son, she finds her greatest joy in sharing wonder for the world with the next generation.

Want to know more?

Questions about working with us?

If you're curious about which team member might be the best fit for your specific situation, or you want to understand how we approach client matching, we're happy to discuss it during an initial conversation.

We'll discuss your context and challenges, then share our thinking on who would facilitate your engagement and why. If multiple team members make sense, we'll explain the options and help you decide what works best for your needs.

Schedule a Conversation