Danielle Paulson
Director of Leader Development
Mortenson

Lunchtable Host

Danielle Paulson is currently the director of leadership development for Mortenson, where she leads organizational and leadership development.

At Mortenson, Danielle spearheads the leadership and organizational development strategy, ensuring a robust approach to performance, development, and growth of the talent pipeline. Notably, she led the initiative to establish a comprehensive culture model, providing a unified language of leadership across all levels of the organization that also serves as the bedrock for leadership development programs.

Danielle leads a team of experts who design solutions and programming tailored to every team member, from formal leaders to informal influencers. While leveraging her executive coaching expertise as a form of communication and key to leading change on a daily basis. Her career spans 30 years–the last half in leadership development, organizational growth, and executive coaching, preceded by 15 years as an advertising and marketing executive. The common thread? Understanding and optimizing human behavior.

Danielle's guiding principle in life is to leave everything and everyone she encounters better than she found them—a philosophy that underscores her commitment to personal and professional growth. Her favorite mantra, credited to Maya Angelou, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better," encapsulates her continuous pursuit of excellence.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Danielle finds joy in cooking, reading, and Taylor Swift. She cherishes spending time with her husband and kids,(all six), and is currently channeling her creative energy into remodeling a cabin on the picturesque North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, with plans to transform it into a charming ‘hygge-filled’ vacation rental experience.