Strategy Consultant and Executive Coach
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Mary Jo Mullen is a leadership strategist, executive coach, and management consultant who helps growing firms relieve operational strain before it erodes margin and leadership capacity. With a background as a civil engineer and nearly a decade at FEMA leading national flood risk and mapping initiatives, she brings deep technical credibility to her work with engineering and infrastructure organizations. Through her firm, Advantage Strategy Consulting, she works with technical leaders and executive teams to clarify strategy, streamline operations, strengthen team performance, and build decision-making systems that actually hold up under pressure.
In addition to her consulting work, Mary Jo serves as Mayor of the Village of Lisle, where she leads complex public-sector initiatives and economic development efforts. Her combined experience in engineering, federal program leadership, entrepreneurship, and elected office gives her a rare cross-sector perspective on how strategy, politics, and execution intersect in the real world. She specializes in turning chaos into clarity so leaders can focus, deliver, and scale with confidence.
Founder and leader of a strategy and leadership advisory firm serving engineering and public-sector organizations.
Advise executives on strategic planning, operational redesign, and organizational scaling.
Lead multi-year transformation initiatives for national programs, including FEMA’s Community Rating System.
Facilitate executive decision-making sessions addressing budget allocation, program priorities, and performance metrics.
Translate high-level strategic objectives into structured execution frameworks and measurable outcomes.
Owner – The Sweet Spot Bakery (DBA Baking Through It All, LLC)
Founder and operator of a retail food business with full financial and operational accountability.
Held full P&L responsibility including pricing strategy, cost control, vendor negotiation, and staffing decisions.
Managed revenue forecasting, seasonal demand planning, cash flow oversight, and operational budgeting.
Navigated tradeoffs between reinvestment, profitability, staffing expansion, and operational capacity.
Implemented process improvements to optimize production and margin.
Mayor – Village of Lisle
Chief executive officer of municipal government.
Provide strategic and financial oversight for municipal operations and long-range planning.
Collaborate with staff and elected officials to align budget decisions with policy priorities.
Guide economic development initiatives and stakeholder engagement strategies.
Developed and executed a 5-year strategic growth plan for a 120-person division.
Scaled project delivery group from 9 to 35 staff within three years through disciplined hiring and talent development strategy.
Established performance metrics and quality management systems aligned with business objectives.
Created and launched new line of business in flood mitigation services.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Program Specialist, Region V Engineer, and National Program Leader
Program Area Manager for Policy & Planning with $3M annual funding oversight.
Contributed to strategic objective-setting for national Risk MAP program funded at $300M annually.
Managed $15M contracts during disaster response operations.
Led multi-stakeholder strategic planning sessions and national program transformation initiatives.
B.S., Civil Engineering – University of Notre Dame
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
