MAC Member Profile: Chelsea Makena

Name: Chelsea Makena

Member Since: 2023

Occupation: Founder, Positively Deviant

Resides in: Upper East Side

Family: One dog Tito

Hobbies: SCUBA diving, traveling, connecting with people

Drink of Choice: Loose-leaf tea

Favorite MAC Event: Milwaukee Scavenger Hunt on the S.S. MAC

How She Defines Wellness: “Alignment of head, heart and gut.” 

Hidden Talent: Award-winning floral designer

I first met Chelsea on the rooftop last summer during a Rooftop Rhythms concert. Octavio Arcano was serenading the crowd with his sultry Brazilian samba and Chelsea was touring the MAC and toying with membership. I’d like to think that I helped in her decision to join the MAC, but let’s be honest, the place kind of sells itself. 

We bypassed any small talk and immediately connected on topics that make us tick: books and people. Chelsea is ebullient and engaging. She’s so chipper in fact that you wonder if she’s ever in a bad mood. 

Ever since her first trip to London when she was 13, she’s been enamored with travel. Chelsea actually spent a year traveling around the world, visiting 22 countries and every continent except for Antarctica. That’s just one example of the daring personal experiences she’s had that make her a unique person and professional.

Later that summer, Chelsea attended a scavenger hunt I led on the S.S. MAC and we spent more time talking about our favorite spots in the city. Chelsea is articulate and her exuberance is so infectious that time spent talking with her moves at lightning speed.  

Then last month, I had the chance to learn about Chelsea as a professional and how she is helping business leaders hone their decision-making skills. Chelsea has worked alongside founders and tech executives in a variety of roles to enhance performance and productivity.

Now, she and her business partner Ni’coel Stark are sharing a pedagogy in the STARKLY podcast that's made up of six different strategies to assist with decision intelligence. This is not just another leadership development course, nor is it a checklist of ways to be a better decision-maker. Chelsea and Ni’coel developed a series of six domains of practice that teach new ways of approaching problems and explore a more expansive decision-making process – one that is necessary in our age of advancing technology.

Human decision intelligence refers to how we collect information, learn to source data from less conventional places and acquire new skills to process all of this in more sophisticated and personal ways. Additionally, it examines social conditioning in decision-making to unlearn negative habits and shows us how to source intel from less conventional places.

Ni’coel helped develop this framework from her collective experience of being an entrepreneur and training from the Enneagram Institute that studies the psychology of personalities. They infuse this ancient wisdom to help humanize decision-making, as technology is making virtually every other part of our lives less personal. The duo has worked with everyone from Hollywood producers to fighter pilots and are devoted to helping people become better decision-makers.

Chelsea and Ni’coel host monthly roundtables to allow people to learn and work with these skills. For more information about how to register for an event, visit their website or check out their “Starkly” podcast where they explain each of the core skills in more depth. 

I was surprised to learn how applicable these strategies could be to all aspects of life, not just in the office. And also, how much stress affects the quality of our decision-making.  So if you see Chelsea around the club, be sure to say hello because one of her bright smiles is a great stress reliever, and you’re sure to have an exciting conversation. 

Join the MAC Community: Experience the vibrant culture and engaging events that Chelsea loves. Become a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and connect with inspiring individuals like her.