Ciara Ungar

Ciara Ungar is an instructor, strategy consultant, and executive coach with nearly a decade of teaching experience and nearly 20 years of professional practice. She’s had the privilege of teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Leadership, Global Management, Communications, Negotiation, Research, and Ethics, drawing on a deeply interdisciplinary background that bridges theory and real-world application.

Ciara has taught at institutions including Columbia University, New Jersey City University, Molloy University, and multiple professional and trade schools. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes empathy-based leadership, critical thinking, and practical skill development, helping students connect academic frameworks to contemporary organizational, social, and ethical challenges. Her classroom approach is experiential and discussion-driven, informed by both pedagogical training and extensive practitioner experience.

Professionally, Ciara has spent nearly two decades working as a strategy consultant and fractional executive for Fortune 50 companies, startups, and mission-driven organizations. She is a Principal and Owner at Y& Strategy, where she partners with organizations to design adaptable, actionable strategies that unlock growth and drive meaningful impact for organizations.

Additionally, Ciara is an ICF ACC-certified executive coach with a specialization in the neuroscience of leadership, a global speaker, author of Leadership Lessons from a Team Captain, and contributor to Business Leadership Today, Forbes, and Entrepreneur. She holds an MBA from Boston University, a Master’s from Georgetown University, a Bachelor’s from Purdue University, and is currently pursuing her J.D. at Fordham University.