
Chris White
Founder and Principal

Rick Haller
Executive Consultant
Rick was President and COO of Walbridge for almost 25 years. He was part of a leadership team of four civil engineers who came to Walbridge in their 20’s to grow the company from a small regional general contractor in southeast Michigian to a 43X larger multinational and multifaceted company. He developed service offerings, competencies, and processes to serve diverse manufacturing, technology, and institutional customers in North and South America, Middle East, and occasionally Asia and Europe.
As Rick matured in business he began to recognize the critical and lasting impact that a positive culture has on measurable business success, including improved operating results, exponential improvements in safety, creativity, and loyalty, and an ingrained ability to adapt and change to remain relevant and successful. He knew and guided building cultures that valued people, and in doing so his company was able to thrive.
Rick spends much of his time with family.

Melanie weaver barnett
Executive Consultant

Robin W. klein
Executive Consultant

Ron May
Executive Consultant

Rich Smalling
Executive Consultant

Sarah Kurtz McKinnon
Consultant
Personally, Sarah has never met a racquet sport that she didn’t like.

Katy White
Project Manager
Katy’s mission is to create spaces that allow people to activate their best-self through deep connection and reflection. Throughout her professional career in Higher Education, this mission has been embodied through student coaching and program management. She has served as a coach to both undergraduate and graduate students studying in fields such as psychology, business, architecture, and computer science, helping them discover and engage their strengths and values. Program management for Katy has taken many forms, including guiding student ambassador programs, organizing events on campus, and engaging teams in professional, personal, and team development. No matter the project, Katy grounds her work in purpose, growth, and efficiency.
Katy believes that genuine care and trust are essential parts of what unlocks an organization’s or team’s potential. Positive strategic culture transformation teaches and embeds organizational norms that foster these values.
Katy’s family and friends are the heartbeat of her world. She especially loves taking family walks with her husband (Chris), toddler (Crosby), and dog (Ringo) and hosting game nights (favorite games include Mysterium, Splendor, and Salad Bowl) with friends and extended family. Other favorite hobbies include producing puns and rewriting lyrics of popular songs for special occasions.

Amy Bunch
Senior Consultant
Amy Shively Bunch has spent more than two decades working to effect positive change in society, organizations and individuals. She works with clients to drive a wide variety of organizational development and culture-building initiatives and serves as an executive coach.
Since 2009, Amy has worked within the University of Michigan in several roles to develop and implement strategies designed to engage stakeholders in a vision for positive change; support diversity, equity and inclusion goals, increase employee engagement; and drive organizational performance. Prior to joining the university, Amy spent 12 years working with nonprofit organizations and issue campaigns providing expertise in message development, leadership positioning, stakeholder engagement, organizational strategic planning, and communications strategy.
Amy integrates Positive Organizational Scholarship into her work as a change agent and coach, with a particular focus on developing real-world, tactical interventions that support deep change in individuals and organizations. A passionate and dedicated learner herself, Amy helps leaders at all levels imagine what’s possible and turn vision into action.
She lives in Ann Arbor, MI, with her husband and two daughters. They enjoy traveling, spending time with friends, and undertaking a wide-variety of home improvement projects.

Lisa Simon
Administrator

Ushma Mehta
Chief of Staff
Ushma Mehta has over 20 years of experience working with organizations to help transform ideas into reality. She has held senior strategy roles at American Express where she helped lead global expansion, define enterprise-wide growth plans, and launched new businesses. Prior to American Express, Ushma was a principal at Booz & Co / Katzenbach Partners where she worked with Fortune 100 companies on their key priorities. In addition, Ushma held roles at Burson-Marsteller (a WPP group company) and Bear, Stearns & Co. (investment banking analyst in the Media & Entertainment Group).
Ushma holds degrees from Harvard, Columbia & Georgetown University. She sits on the board of the NY League of Conservation Voters and was appointed by the Manhattan Borough President to the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board. She also is co-founder of Think Zero LLC, a waste reduction and diversion firm that works with corporations on their sustainability goals.

Hannah Aronow
Culture and Communications Intern
Hannah is a junior at the University of Michigan, majoring in Organizational Studies and double minoring in Entrepreneurship and Community Action & Social Change. She enjoys taking courses which explore the intersection between positive leadership, innovation, and social impact. Hannah is intrigued by how businesses can leverage their power in ways that promote social good. She aspires to serve in a role where she can utilize positive leadership practices to help organizations develop their culture and create purposeful marketing strategies and materials which encapsulate their core values and mission.
Hannah joined the Riverbank team as our Culture and Communications Intern. She is lending her marketing and design skills to our overall Riverbank marketing strategy, and to the internal Culture Current newsletter.
Hannah is a lifelong Wolverine, having grown up in Ann Arbor just a few miles from the Big House. In 2015, during her sophomore year in high school, her family relocated to Rhode Island where she now spends her time away from school. In her free time Hannah loves spending time outdoors, especially running and hiking. She has spent several summers as a counselor leading backpacking and canoeing trips in Pennsylvania and Michigan. She also enjoys playing guitar and ukulele.
Contact Us
info@riverbankconsultinggroup.com