Our consultants

Anne Dougherty and Sara Conzemius founded The Ele Group to support organizations at moments of consequence. Together they bring experience spanning strategy, research, governance, and enterprise leadership, shaped by decades working at the intersection of markets, institutions, and public purposes.

Anne Dougherty

Founder & Principal

Anne leads work centered on strategy, growth, stakeholder systems, cultural transformation, and measurement frameworks to help leaders clarify direction, navigate uncertainty, and align people and priorities to achieve organizational goals.

  • Strategy, Growth, Culture Transformation & Stakeholder Systems

    Executive strategist specializing in growth, stakeholder engagement, behavioral and market insight, and tactical strategy.

    Selected Areas of Expertise

    • Strategic planning and growth strategy 

    • Brand, mission, and market positioning and alignment

    • Stakeholder systems and coalition building

    • Organizational design and leadership development

    • Behavioral strategy and behavior change frameworks 

    • Learning systems 

    • Program design and market transformation initiatives 

    • Strategy in complex regulatory environments 

    Anne Dougherty advises organizations operating in complex stakeholder environments, helping leaders turn ambiguity into structured, actionable strategy. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, she translates research and emerging signals into decision-making frameworks that drive alignment, execution, and growth.

    She specializes in integrating market dynamics, stakeholder systems, and institutional constraints into strategies that are both operationally viable and commercially relevant. Her work enables organizations to move beyond analysis—activating opportunities while building the internal structures required to deliver on them.

    Her expertise includes growth strategy, market positioning, brand development, behavior and culture change, and measurement and learning systems. She builds practical, performance-oriented frameworks that help organizations adapt in real time and sustain impact in evolving markets.

    Anne co-founded ILLUME Advising, where she led major engagements informing policy development, technology adoption, evaluation frameworks, and equity. Following ILLUME’s acquisition, Anne served as Chief Strategy Officer at E Source, where she worked on enterprise organization, growth strategy, an AI-initiative, and M&A support.

    Anne is a frequent speaker and advisor on organizational change, customer and community trust, behavioral strategy, and leadership under uncertainty.  

Sara Conzemius

Founder & Principal

Sara leads work focused on governance, operations, institutional design, and implementation strategy to help organizations build the internal structures, decision-making frameworks, and operating models required to translate complex external forces into disciplined, durable execution.

  • Organizational Strategy & Strategic Planning, Governance & Operational Design

    Executive leader focused on governance, institutional design and strategic planning, and operational transformation.

    Selected Areas of Expertise

    • Governance design and board effectiveness 

    • Strategic planning/strategic plan development 

    • Organizational strategy and institutional design 

    • Operational and financial stewardship frameworks 

    • Leadership alignment and decision-making systems 

    • Program and initiative design for mission-driven organizations 

    • Organizational integration and transition management 

    • Cross-sector partnerships and collaborative governance 

    Sara Conzemius is an executive leader and organizational strategist specializing in governance, operations, and institutional design. Her work focuses on helping organizations build the structures, decision-making frameworks, and operating models required to deliver meaningful impact—particularly in complex, mission-driven, and policy-influenced environments. 

    Sara is known for translating strategic vision into operational reality, aligning governance, financial stewardship, partnerships, developing strategic plans and setting up internal systems to support accountability, resilience, and long-term sustainability. 

    She co-founded ILLUME Advising, a nationally recognized consultancy integrating research, strategy, and experience into decision-making in the energy sector. Following its acquisition, she served as President of the ILLUME business unit at E Source, where she led organizational operations, governance, and performance during a period of integration and transition. 

    Sara has held numerous industry and civic leadership appointments, including service on state commissions, boards, and executive committees for professional associations. She has advised public-sector initiatives and led cross-sector working groups focused on equity, climate, clean energy, and institutional change. 

    She is also the co-founder of a nonprofit foundation dedicated to expanding access to education and economic opportunities across the globe. 

Together they offer clients a rare combination of strategic clarity and operational rigor, grounded in firsthand experience building, leading, scaling, and integrating organizations. 

While Ele’s roots are in the energy sector, our work is inherently cross-sector, supporting nonprofits, public agencies, foundations, membership organizations, and mission-driven businesses navigating complex regulatory, financial, or organizational environments. 

The Ele Group operates as a collective of senior practitioners, allowing Anne and Sara to engage individually or as a team—and to assemble the right expertise for each engagement.