Meet Samantha Maldonado
Principal & Founder, Chaska Consulting | Strategic HR Leader · Organizational Consultant · Executive Coach
A Career Built on People, Purpose, and Possibility
Samantha Maldonado, MBA, SHRM-SCP, is the founder and principal consultant of Chaska Consulting, a Milwaukee-based strategic HR and organizational development consultancy she established in 2018. With more than two decades of experience spanning Fortune 500 corporations, mission-driven nonprofits, and entrepreneurial ventures, Samantha brings a rare combination of institutional rigor and deeply human-centered practice to every engagement.
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Her corporate career includes strategic HR and organizational development roles at Kohl’s Corporation, Northwestern Mutual, and Principal Financial Group — experiences that sharpened her expertise in large-scale change management, talent strategy, leadership development, and culture transformation. That Fortune 500 foundation, combined with extensive nonprofit consulting, gives Chaska Consulting clients the best of both worlds: enterprise-grade methodology with mission-aligned values.
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Samantha’s practice is grounded in Human-Centered Design and a People-First philosophy. She believes that sustainable organizational change is not imposed — it is co-created. That means listening before prescribing, designing solutions with the people who will live them, and measuring success not just in deliverables but in lasting cultural shifts.
Philosophy
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The Ubuntu Principle in Practice
“I am because we are.” This African philosophical concept, Ubuntu, is more than a guiding quote for Samantha — it is the operating model of Chaska Consulting. Every engagement begins with the recognition that organizations are living systems of people in relationship with one another. When those relationships are healthy, accountable, and inclusive, the organization flourishes.
This philosophy informs her coaching approach, her consulting methodology, and her facilitation style — always creating space for honest dialogue, shared accountability, and forward momentum.
METHODOLOGY & FRAMEWORKS
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Proven Frameworks. Practical Results.
Samantha is a certified practitioner across industry-leading tools and methodologies, enabling her to bring structured, evidence-based approaches to every client engagement:
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Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner — applying the ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) to navigate organizational transitions with precision and care
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Hogan Certified — leveraging leadership psychometrics and personality-based assessment to unlock executive self-awareness and predict leadership performance
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CCL Certified (Center for Creative Leadership) — one of the world’s leading leadership development frameworks
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IDI Qualified Administrator — administering and interpreting the Intercultural Development Inventory to build cross-cultural competency in teams and organizations
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Certified Professional Diversity Coach — coaching individuals and teams toward deeper cultural humility and inclusive leadership practice
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Human-Centered Design Facilitation — designing solutions with end users at the center through empathy, ideation, prototyping, and iteration
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Design Thinking & Change Leadership — integrating creative problem-solving with structured change methodology
CIVIC LEADERSHIP & COMMUNITY
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A Leader in Milwaukee and Beyond
Samantha’s commitment to community is as central to her identity as her professional practice. She serves on the boards of Alverno College (Governance Vice-Chair), VisitMilwaukee (Executive Board & IDEA Committee Chair), Marcus Performing Arts Center, and The Opportunity Center (Vice Chair). She is a former Board President of Stellar Collegiate Charter School, where she led a historic merger with Carmen Schools of Science and Technology.
She is an active member of TEMPO Milwaukee, Professional Dimensions, and the Bader Leadership Institute, and has been recognized among Wisconsin’s Most Influential Leaders and as a 2024 Milwaukee Business Journal Women of Influence honoree.
PERSONAL NOTE
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The Name and the Meaning
"Chaska" means Bright Star in Quechua, the ancient language of the Inca people of Peru. Samantha named her consultancy to honor her ethnic heritage and to reflect the firm’s guiding purpose: to act as a guiding light for leaders and organizations navigating complexity, change, and growth.
She is also a literacy advocate and is currently developing Children of the Sun, a children’s book series for grades 1–3 rooted in Incan history and culture — a deeply personal project connecting her heritage to the next generation of young readers.