Throughout her career, Ms. Mentzer's proactive approach and ability to see the big picture and manage the details have been critical in achieving success for herself and her clients.
GERMANTOWN, MD, June 13, 2024 -- Diane Ellen Mentzer has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Mentzer is a distinguished business operations coach and advisor who has dedicated herself to helping small business owners grow their companies in a way that improves the quality of life for them and their staff. Using a strategic, incremental approach, Ms. Mentzer creates clarity for her clients around roles and responsibilities, guides the implementation of proven strategies and tools, and accelerates results by coaching the second-in-command. Now at the helm of Diane Integrates LLC, her career as a second-in-command fueled her desire to equip and support second-in-commands. She saw first-hand that when the owner and second-in-command are partners, each working in their sweet spot, productivity, profitability, and employee retention improve, companies grow, and they increase in value.
A career journey marked by significant accomplishments—doubling a company's size, significantly improving win rates and evaluation scores, building and leading award-winning teams—Ms. Mentzer spent the last 11 years working remotely for Performance Excellence Partners, LLC (PEP), a government contracting firm in Huntington Beach, California. She led PEP's self-implementation of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which improved clarity, accountability, communication, and collaboration, and served as PEP's integrator. As director of projects and business development she improved systems, increased results, coached staff, and effectively designed and managed numerous projects, including virtual events before they were the norm.
Ms. Mentzer credits much of her success to her mentor, Ms. Dorothy V. Harris. She began serving as Ms. Harris' second-in-command in 1992. She quickly learned the importance of always delivering outstanding service, implementing continuous learning and process improvement strategies, fostering a collaborative environment, and valuing diversity. For 20 years, they were a formidable team that won multiple awards and grew the division by 400% (Paltech from 1996 to 2012 and Research Assessment Management from 1992 to 1996). The owner of Echo Electric hired Ms. Mentzer to get him out of the day-to-day details. To accomplish this, she revamped internal operations, formalized processes, and instituted standard operating procedures.
One of the most significant moments in Ms. Mentzer's career was when she and her team were awarded the Outstanding Contractor of the Year Award by the Administration for Children and Families for their work supporting a positive youth development grant program funded by the Family Youth Services Bureau. As project manager, her strategic guidance and coaching were instrumental to the team's success. This recognition highlighted Ms. Mentzer's effective leadership and underscored her commitment to inclusivity and collective success, leaving a lasting impression on her peers and the industry.
Ms. Mentzer's academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in management from the University of Maryland in 1991 and a Master of Science in management and management information systems from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2002. Other professional development accomplishments include earning her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, graduating from the EOS Integrator Master Class, and becoming a certified Catipult coach.
In alignment with her career, Ms. Mentzer is a professional member of the Montgomery County chapter of the Project Management Institute and the Fractional Connections and Fractional Business Partners Communities. Beyond these commitments, she is actively involved in civic associations. She has served as the president of the board of directors for Esprit, A Condominium, since 2008 and volunteers with Friends of Montgomery County Animals. She is also a member of the University of Maryland Alumni Association and the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Ms. Mentzer's contributions have been recognized with awards, such as the 2009 ACF Outstanding Contractor Award from the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, perfect annual evaluation scores from federal government clients in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), and perfect evaluation scores from non-federal clients.
Throughout her career, Ms. Mentzer's proactive approach and ability to see the big picture and manage the details have been critical in achieving success for herself and her clients. Currently focused on her 2iC Fast Track peer group exclusively for second-in-commands and engaging deeply with her advising/coaching clients, she aims to ensure that they all achieve their goals in a way that improves their work environment and enriches their lives.
About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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