Founder & CEO, Modern Work Consultancy
Dr. Cherise
Bernard
PhD · ICF Certified Coach · Culture Strategist · Upcoming Author
I started my career studying how systems behave at the cellular level. Now I study how they behave at the human level. The methodology is the same: diagnose with rigor, intervene with precision, and build for durability.
Dr. Cherise Bernard
Founder & CEO, Modern Work Consultancy
I didn't set out
to build a consultancy.
I set out to solve a problem.
Early in my career, I kept seeing the same thing everywhere I worked and everywhere I consulted: organizations full of talented people, slowly suffocated by environments that didn't know how to hold them. Brilliant contributors dimmed. Leaders who cared but couldn't translate that care into systems. Cultures built by default, not by design.
I had a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology from Rutgers University. I knew how to diagnose a broken system. I knew how to design an intervention. And I knew that if you build the right conditions, things grow. Modern Work Consultancy is the answer to that problem.
"You can have the best policy on paper. If your managers don't model it, it means nothing. Culture isn't what's written on the wall. It's what happens when no one is watching."
Before founding Modern Work Consultancy, I spent over a decade embedded in high-performing organizations across pharmaceutical, entertainment, advertising, and biotech industries. At Spotify, McCann Worldgroup, Invitae, and Elsevier, I watched culture shape everything: who stayed, who left, who got to do their best work, and who was quietly diminished.
My scientific training gave me something most culture consultants don't have: a deep belief in rigor, measurement, and evidence. Every framework I've built, every engagement I've led, and every coaching relationship I've held is grounded in behavioral science, organizational psychology, and a commitment to outcomes that are real and durable.
Today, Modern Work Consultancy works with Fortune 500 leaders and scaling organizations to transform workplace culture through consulting, executive coaching, and proprietary frameworks. I've coached 100+ leaders, facilitated 100 strategic sessions, and partnered with organizations including Warner Bros. Discovery, AstraZeneca, Wells Fargo, and DailyPay.
I am also the designer and upcoming author of Green Flag Your Culture: Micro-Wins that Lead to Macro-Change, a sought-after keynote speaker, and a Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business cohort member.
Foundation
BS, Biology — Spelman College
Atlanta, GA
The Science
PhD, Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology — Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
The Practice
Culture, DEI & Organizational Development
Elsevier · Invitae · McCann Worldgroup · Spotify
The Work
Founder & CEO — Modern Work Consultancy
Serving Fortune 500 organizations nationwide
Recognition
Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business
Cohort Member · ICF Certified Executive Coach
Five convictions
that guide everything
we build.
These aren't aspirations. These are the rules we actually operate by. They shape every assessment we design, every workshop we facilitate, and every coaching relationship we hold.
Equity as Strategy
We design equity-centered work that drives outcomes, not optics. Inclusion isn't charity; it's how you retain your best people, access your best ideas, and build organizations that are built to last.
Culture as a System
Culture isn't vibes. It's behaviors, power, and patterns. You can't fix belonging without examining leadership. You can't fix accountability without examining clarity. We help you see and shift the whole system.
People Shape Performance
Organizations don't change. People do. And we support people with the tools, frameworks, and coaching to lead better at every level of the ladder, from emerging talent to the C-suite.
Clarity is a Catalyst
When expectations, roles, and values are clear, cultures thrive. Ambiguity is not neutral. It is where inequity hides. Our frameworks make the invisible visible and the unmeasured measurable.
Accountability Builds Trust
Accountability isn't punishment. It's how we show respect, protect equity, and build psychological safety. What doesn't get measured doesn't get done. What doesn't get done doesn't get better.
"Culture by design.Not by default.That is the work."
Signature Framework
Green Flag
Your Culture™
Culture isn't invisible. It leaves signals. Green Flag Your Culture™ is our flagship framework for making inclusion actionable, measurable, and human. It transforms culture transformation from a one-time program into an ongoing behavioral ecosystem.
Built on five core pillars, it gives leaders and teams a shared language and a practical system for identifying, amplifying, and sustaining the micro-moments that build high-trust cultures from the inside out.
01 / 05
Trust
The foundation everything else is built on. Trust is built in micro-moments and broken in them too. We make it measurable.
02 / 05
Psychological Safety
People do their best work when they can speak, question, and be themselves without fear. We design for that condition.
03 / 05
Clarity
Ambiguity is not neutral. Clear roles, expectations, and values aren't bureaucracy. They're the infrastructure of belonging.
04 / 05
Belonging
Not a program or a month. Belonging is the daily experience of being seen, valued, and included in the work that matters.
05 / 05
Accountability
How we close the gap between values and behavior. Accountability is not punishment. It is the highest form of respect.
Culture Assessments
Diagnostic tools that measure your organization's green flags and reveal where the culture gaps live.
Workshops & Playbooks
Hands-on experiences that turn the framework into practice. Custom-designed for your organization's needs.
Certification Path
Coming soon. Deep-dive certification for culture champions and internal practitioners. Join the waitlist →
Client Voices
What it's like to
work with us.
Cherise delivered beyond expectation. Her ability to hold the strategic vision while driving day-to-day execution is rare. We saw measurable improvement in employee sentiment, leadership engagement, and team performance.
Cherise's coaching changed how I lead. I gained tools to navigate difficult conversations with confidence and build stronger relationships across difference. She brings empathy and accountability in equal measure.
She didn't just give us a strategy. She guided us through how culture could drive business growth. Her ability to connect data, leadership buy-in, and long-term planning gave our executive team exactly what we needed.
Signature Keynote
Your Brain on Ambiguity™
Speaking & Keynotes
Science-backed.
Story-driven.
Always memorable.
Dr. Bernard has delivered to thousands of professionals across industries. Her sessions are research-grounded, never off-the-shelf, and designed to leave people with tools they can use the moment they walk out the door.
Let's Build Together
We're not here to
check a box. We're here
to build something better.
Whether you need a culture overhaul, a coach for your leadership team, a keynote that shifts how people think, or a fractional HR partner to build your people infrastructure, Modern Work Consultancy meets you where you are.
Book a Discovery Call
30 minutes · No commitment required
Invite Me to Speak
Keynotes, workshops & facilitation
Explore Executive Coaching
Individual & group programs
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The Modern Work Memo — culture insights & tools
Send a Direct Note
hello@modernworkconsultancy.com