President, Engels Leadership LLC, Rochester, NY

 

 

Nick Engels is founder and president of Engels Leadership LLC, headquartered in Rochester, New York.  Through individual coaching and group teaching, Nick works with next-generation leaders in family businesses, professional firms, and not-for-profit organizations.

 

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Quinnipiac University and a master’s degree from the University at Buffalo. As an undergraduate, he was elected president of Quinnipiac's on-campus consulting organization, heading a team hired to document relationship dynamics in management groups. 

 

Nick is also a graduate of our Advanced Leadership Course and is a regular participant in our Annual Leaders Retreat. He is currently enrolled in the postgraduate training program at The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington, DC.

 

Early in his career, Nick supervised a highly regarded research project at the University of Rochester’s Mt. Hope Family Center, studying the multigenerational impact of trauma and anxiety on children and families. He applied that knowledge as a counselor in clinical substance dependency settings.

 

A graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Nick spent three months backpacking, canoeing, and living with native people in remote regions of northwest Australia. Navigating through extreme conditions and intense relationship challenges helped Nick learn the importance of regulating anxiety in the face of threat, managing discomfort by focusing on expedition success, and taking responsibility for high-consequence decisions. 

 

Those lessons were reinforced through intensive cultural experiences in Bangladesh villages, the Peruvian Andes, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, and a year-long hitchhiking excursion across the contiguous 48 states, through Canada, and into Alaska.

 

He currently volunteers his time in a discussion group with inmates inside Wyoming Correctional Facility.

 

Nick resides in Upstate New York. When he’s not coaching and volunteering, he writes, hikes, and connects with his community. He also enjoys biking, weight training, and pickup basketball games.