I’m Danice Woodley, and I am the Founder and Principal of AABL Advisors. 

I am a business, legal and HR professional, with over 20 years of experience navigating complicated people dynamics to successful resolution.  I have a passion for building workplaces that work for everyone, and strongly believe that the right people programs result in the best business outcomes.

I know first-hand how challenging culture work can be, and how productive and rewarding it is to an organization when it is done well.

  • I am highly-skilled at navigating people & culture issues at mission and values-driven organizations, having served as a lead people & culture in-house practitioner. I am experienced in designing workplace culture that is sustainable, high-performing, enjoyable, courageous, inclusive, productive and resilient.

  • My personal, individualized approach to culture work inspires and encourages leadership, managers and employees to address opportunities for improvement with courage, candor and humility. 

  • My experience in designing strategies to operationalize company values produces implementation plans that enhance—as opposed to distract from—the work of your organization. 

  • My experience as an in-house advisor and strategist to C-Suite executives and company leadership on people & culture matters includes expertise in navigating the delicate balance between people & culture, company values and bottom-line business imperatives.

How I Arrived at this Work

Prior to founding AABL, I served as Executive Vice President, People & Culture, at Participant, a premier independent film studio where I was responsible for leading all HR operations, operationalizing the company's values, and stewarding the company’s policies and practices in the area of Values, Culture, Inclusion and Operations.  I was at the forefront of the company's values alignment efforts across numerous corporate functions, including strategic business planning, recruiting and retention, compliance, communications, external relations and partnerships, events and sponsorships, global diversity and inclusion, and vendor relations.  I established this consulting practice to help more organizations experience the transformative benefits that arise from establishing workplace culture as a strategic priority.

During the course of my professional career, I have held senior roles in Business Affairs at Participant, and prior to that, at Miramax, where I negotiated film transactions that delivered on company economic imperatives while ensuring that deal terms remained aligned with the company's unique storytelling mission, values and brand.  I also served as Counsel of Legal Affairs at NBCUniversal where I similarly advised television business executives on legal, transactional and compliance matters.  I began my career as a corporate finance attorney (with a focus on entertainment/media and private equity transactions) at the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP and, initially, at Ropes & Gray LLP, after receiving my J.D. from Harvard Law School.