About Cindy
I'm Cindy Chance, founder of FosterChance, LLC—a boutique coaching and consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and organizations move from stalled to strategic.
My approach is different because it's grounded in both rigorous ethics training and real-world operational leadership. I hold a PhD in Philosophy from Georgetown University, where I specialized in ethics, and political and social philsophy, working with faculty from the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. I starting on the academic faculty path, but I didn't stay in the ivory tower. Instead, I worked to transform it. I spent two decades leading change, navigating the exact challenges my clients face today.
From Academic to Executive Leadership
As a leader at Georgetown, I served multiple roles including as Assistant Provost, where I learned how to align complex stakeholder interests and drive institutional change. Then I moved into the professional education and advocacy space, where I spent years in C-level leadership including as Executive Vice President at the Urban Land Institute and CEO of the Appraisal Institute.
As EVP at the Urban Land Institute, I created and scaled online education programs that transformed how the organization delivered value to members. As CEO of the Appraisal Institute, I led comprehensive organizational transformation—navigating board dynamics, cultural shifts, and strategic pivots that required both vision and values alignment.
I know what it's like to inherit misalignment, to face board skepticism, to need results fast, and to wonder if the culture will ever shift. I've been in your seat.
Why I Founded FosterChance
After years of leading organizations through transformation, and hard-won experience, I recognized a clear pattern: the leaders who succeeded weren't just smart or strategic—they were authentic, values-aligned, and willing to examine what was holding them back. The organizations that thrived had leaders who could align stakeholders around a clear vision rooted in shared values.
I founded FosterChance to give leaders what I wish I'd had earlier in my career: a trusted advisor who combines ethical rigor with operational experience. Someone who understands both the philosophical questions ("What should we do?") and the practical ones ("How do we actually do it?").
My Approach
I work primarily with leaders in service, consulting, and education-related businesses—people building "high trust" enterprises where relationships and reputation are everything. My clients are typically:
Founders and CEOs who are stuck and need to get unstuck fast
Executive teams facing cultural misalignment or strategic drift
Boards struggling with governance challenges or stakeholder conflicts
Organizations ready for renewal or complete reinvention
I accelerate growth through fierce advocacy paired with deep listening and hands on effort. I ask hard questions. I challenge assumptions. I dig in. I help you see what you can't see about yourself or your organization. And I do it all through the lens of ethics—not as abstract philosophy, but as the practical foundation for sustainable success.
What Makes My Work Different
Most coaches focus on behavior change. Most consultants focus on strategy. I focus on alignment—between your values and your actions, between your team and your mission, between what you say and what you do. Misalignment is expensive. It creates friction, slows growth, and burns out good people. When you get alignment right, everything else becomes easier.
I've developed proprietary tools like the Ethical Capital Quotient (ECQ) to measure and improve this alignment. I've taken businesses from $1M to $2M in revenue while improving margins by 40%. I've helped leaders find breakthrough clarity in a single 12-week sprint. And I've done it by treating ethics not as a constraint, but as a competitive advantage.
Beyond Consulting
I'm a regular writer on Substack, where, each week. I explore one topic in self-leadership, one topic in organizational leadership, and one “real world” observation. I believe in sharing what I know—not hoarding it. You'll find me writing about governance, transparency, character, and the human skills that matter most in a tech-dominated world.
I also created a Newsletter, Ethical Capitalism Weekly, to invite contributors with expertise to share, inspire and inform people looking for a better way. We build great businesses and organizations, and ultimately, a better world through our individual values-driven efforts, working with people doing the same.
Let's Talk
If you're a leader who's tired of being stuck, if your organization is ready for real transformation, or if you're simply curious whether alignment might be the missing piece—let's have a conversation.
I offer a complimentary 30-minute discovery call where we'll explore what's holding you back and whether we're a good fit to work together. No pressure, no sales pitch—just clarity.
