Mary Tettenhorst
Mary Tettenhorst is the Founder of Impact Talent Strategies, where she partners with organizations to align their people strategy with their business strategy to drive stronger execution, culture, and performance outcomes. As a talent development strategist, leadership coach, career coach, and facilitator, she helps individuals and teams grow in clarity, confidence, and capability in their careers and roles. With approximately 20 years of experience as an internal HR and talent development practitioner, Mary has built and scaled enterprise learning and leadership programs, served as an adjunct university professor, and led a university career center, further strengthening her commitment to helping people succeed at every stage of their professional journey. Mary’s passion for development is rooted in her belief that people do their best work when they have clarity, support, and opportunity to grow. She has worked with a wide range of audiences - from college students and early-career professionals to senior executives - providing coaching, facilitation, and strategic talent advisory services across corporate, higher education, and consulting settings. Her decision to launch her own business was driven by her desire to serve a broader range of clients and create more personalized, high-impact development experiences. Through Impact Talent Strategies, she focuses on helping organizations and individuals move from reactive people practices to more intentional, strategic approaches to talent and leadership development. Beyond her consulting and coaching work, Mary is dedicated to creating meaningful impact while maintaining personal balance and purpose. She values the opportunity to do more of what she loves while also spending more intentional time with the people and activities that matter most to her. Mary holds a master’s degree in Education with a specialization in Human Resource Development from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Economics from the University of Kentucky. Through her work, she continues to support leaders and organizations in building stronger talent pipelines, healthier workplace cultures, and more sustainable paths to growth.
• The Six Types of Working Genius Certification
• Five Behaviors of a Team Certification
• Everything DiSC Certification
• University of Kentucky - BBA, BS, Finance, Economics
• Xavier University - MEd Human Resource Development
• Greater Cincinnati Association for Talent and Development
• Vistage - Trusted Advisory Group Member
• Innovation Women
• Level Up Cincinnati
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my upbringing, my values, and my deep commitment to helping others grow and succeed. Growing up in a rural area in Southeast Kentucky with limited financial resources taught me resilience, determination, and the importance of creating opportunities for stability and growth. Throughout my career, I have been driven by a strong desire to make a meaningful impact by helping others reach their full potential with clarity and confidence. Serving others is at the core of who I am, and I strive to be someone who helps people rise to their goals, pursue their aspirations with courage, and create the impact they want to make in the world. My faith and my church’s motto, “be the light,” have been powerful guiding principles, reminding me to bring positivity, encouragement, and purpose into both my personal life and professional work. I feel incredibly privileged and blessed to use my talents in ways that allow me to give back, contribute meaningfully to others’ success, and make a positive difference in the world through the work I do.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of the best pieces of career advice I’ve ever received was simple: “Know who you are and let that guide your decisions.”
When you have clarity about who you are and what matters most to you, it becomes much easier to make decisions about the work you pursue, the organizations you partner with, and how you show up as a leader. That perspective has shaped the work I do today - helping individuals and organizations grow by aligning their strengths, values, and goals with the impact they want to make.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I feel like women that are just starting out, it's really important for you to be rooted and grounded in who you are as an individual, so that you can remain authentic to that. While also never being afraid to take on a challenge or something that's outside of our comfort zone, because we just never know what we may learn or how we may grow from that.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in talent development right now is that organizations recognize their people are their greatest asset, but many are still working to intentionally align their talent strategy with their business strategy.
Leaders are navigating constant change - rapid advancements in technology, shifting workforce expectations, and increasing pressure to perform. While technology and AI are creating powerful opportunities to scale learning and development in ways we’ve never seen before, the real challenge is ensuring those tools enhance, not replace, the human side of leadership.
At its core, development is still about relationships, trust, and helping people grow.
The organizations that will thrive in the years ahead will be those that combine smart technology with intentional leadership development, treating talent development not as a standalone HR initiative, but as a core business strategy for building stronger leaders, stronger teams, and ultimately stronger organizations.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me are faith, family, authenticity, and impact.
For many years in my career, I was focused on proving myself—working hard, achieving more, and constantly striving for the next opportunity. Over time, I realized that what mattered most wasn’t just what I achieved, but who I was becoming and how I was helping others grow along the way.
Today, I try to live and work in alignment with what matters most: investing in people, building meaningful relationships, and helping individuals and organizations unlock their potential.
Whether I’m working with a leadership team, coaching an individual, or speaking to students just starting their journey, my goal is the same: to leave people better equipped, more confident, and more aligned with who they are meant to be.
