About

Headway Training relies on the best research in sociology, psychology, and neuroscience to inform our workplace culture programs. We teach employees and organizations how to engage in healthy conversations and improve teamwork. A sustainable workplace culture facilitates a productive workplace.

Centering fairness and belonging, we help companies and nonprofits avoid the mistakes that can prevent workplaces from becoming welcoming and equitable. We integrate evidence-based strategies into a set of actionable programs that work, focused on collaborative problem solving, communication, and behavioral change.

Our courses are designed for everyone — not just managers, consultants and HR folks. We teach course participants the neuroscience behind defensiveness and how to change harmful behavior. We provide proven techniques for healthy communication that breaks down barriers, and how to incorporate inclusion and equity into a sustainable teamwork model. Our focus is on creating change from within, as opposed to having consultants initiate short-term change from the outside.

Our Objectives

Deliver custom programs & training sessions to management and employees.

Sustain momentum by remaining engaged with leadership. Encourage progress, help with concerns & measure improvement.

Train people to become change facilitators in their workplaces. Moderate discussions focused on problem-solving.

Create and regularly update videos, worksheets & downloadable information for our community.

Our Impact

In 2023 to date, Headway has donated 25% of our services by dollar value to nonprofits and as scholarships for individuals.

Our Founder

President & Lead Trainer
Celeste Headlee

Our founder, Celeste Headlee, is Headway’s lead trainer and president. Celeste is an expert in communication whose publications include We Need to Talk, which is used as a textbook in university communications programs, and Speaking of Race, released in the fall of 2021. Her TEDx talk on conversation has more than 36 million views.

An award-winning journalist and 22-year veteran of NPR, PRI and PBS, Celeste has been a leader in the area of diversity and inclusion for more than a decade.

Our Team

Director of Communications
Alexis L. Richardson

Alexis leads the Level 1 Facilitator Training course. She’s an editorial leadership consultant, intuitive coach, and organizational culture facilitator who helps journalism organizations build inclusive cultures and guides individual leaders back to their inner authority through embodied self-leadership. In her eighth year of mentoring as a digital editor with Next Generation Radio, she’s a former Chief Innovation Officer who drove 32% organic growth in one year, and previously co-managed 160+ global freelancers for three years on a prestigious live publishing initiative. A pioneer in trauma-informed, mindful education practices, she brings over two decades of proven results across international schools, digital publishing, and public media. Her distinctive methodology integrates mindfulness, somatic guidance, cultural competence, and solutions journalism to help organizations and individual leaders move from reactive patterns to sustainable excellence rooted in inner knowing.