We are guided by skilled management and clear objectives

Who We Are

We work with a number of corporate and non-profit clients. Validus Group’s consulting approach leverages key insights gained from our years of experience in business and government. Validus Group can assemble and lead a comprehensive team of uniquely positioned individuals able to achieve your goals.

Russ Lipari

President & CEO

Russ is President of the Validus Group LLC, an Atlanta-based Corporate Development, Government Affairs and Strategic Advisory firm. As President, Russ leads Validus efforts to serve clients as an effective conduit among and between business and governmental communities. Russ has previously lead governmental affairs and corporate development efforts for several national healthcare and technology companies (both named to the INC 500 list of fastest growing U.S. companies) and served as a policy analyst for the Georgia House of Representatives.

Active in the local community, Russ has sat on numerous boards including: The Carter Center (Board of Councilors/Visitor), The Governor’s Healthcare Leadership Council, The Conservative Policy Leadership Institute (Founding Trustee) , The United Way (Board of Advisors), The Commerce Club (Chairman, Commerce Society, Member, Programming Committee), The Georgia Free Clinic Network (Chairman, Board of Advisors), The Georgia MicroEnterprise Network (Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors) and The E.D.G.E Connection Business Incubator (Board of Advisors) .

Russ also has served as a volunteer Big Brother (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta) and volunteers at Camp Sunshine (programs for children with cancer).

He has served as a guest lecturer to graduate students and faculty at Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Emory University.

In 2012, Russ was selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow, a highly selective European business exchange program for emerging business leaders. Russ was honored to be part of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2011. In 2008, The Atlanta Business Chronicle selected Russ as one of Atlanta’s “40 Under 40” emerging business leaders. Russ is a graduate of the United Way VIP leadership program and the Coverdell Leadership Institute.

Russ attended Harvard Business School and Emory University, where he completed executive programs on Strategic Negotiations. Russ holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Georgia State University and a Bachelors (BS) degree in business and political science from North Georgia College.

Stacy Williams Shuker, Ph.D.

Partner

Stacy Williams Shuker has been a part of Atlanta’s innovation community since 2006. She started out as a scientific advisor in an intellectual property law firm and community volunteer. In her role as Director of the Center of Innovation for Life Sciences she pioneered the use of social media in economic development. As Director of Partnership Development for Georgia Bio, she initiated an industry outreach program, which resulted in several multi-billion dollar companies visiting our research universities. Her new partnership development firm, Down South Innovation, connects large pharmaceutical and medical device companies with academic and emerging company resources across the Southeast.

She has chaired and served on several committees with the MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta, Georgia Bio and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. She is also a big fan of StartupLounge – an Atlanta based organization that pairs emerging companies with qualified investors. Dr. Shuker will be devoting her professional volunteer efforts to making the Southeastern region a thriving ecosystem for innovation and commercialization.

Dr. Shuker holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Georgia.

Carladenise Edwards Ph.D.

Partner

Dr. Edwards is a seasoned C-level health care executive with experience working in both the public and private sectors. She is a highly sought after public speaker, business development specialist and strategic planner. Her passions are health care and education, but her skills translate to a diversity of sectors.

She most recently serves as the head of The BAE Company and was Founding President & CEO of Cal eConnect Inc., the state governance entity for electronic health information exchange funded through a $38 million stimulus grant awarded California’s Health and Human Services Agency. Prior to relocating to California, she served as the Interim Commissioner, Chief of Staff, and State HIT Coordinator for the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Georgia’s lead health care agency.
In addition to serving the health care industry in the states of California and Georgia, she has worked in the private, non-profit, and academic sectors as a policy analyst, chief of operations, strategy consultant, adjunct professor, and Assistant Dean.

Dr. Edwards earned her doctorate in medical sociology from the University of Florida
She holds an undergraduate degree and Masters of Science degree in Education with a concentration in psychological services from the University of Pennsylvania.

James Satcher JD, MBA, MHA

Partner

James K. Satcher is a native Atlantan who grew up in the burgeoning neighborhood of Buckhead. He attended Woodward Academy and then Westminster Schools, where he graduated with honors. He then traveled to Durham, North Carolina to matriculate at Duke University. He graduated from Duke with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and History. James then turned to the law, attending the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia. James passed the Georgia Bar and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

With his law degree James has performed legal research and writing for the court systems and attorneys. He has clerked for the federal district court, the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court System of Richmond County in Augusta, Georgia. He has utilized his legal research and writing skills by working for the Fulton County Daily Report where he was an Opinions Writer and Verdicts Reporter. He also acted as interim Opinions Editor on two occasions. Additionally, James taught legal research and writing, as well as legal drafting, at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. He eventually became Director over the Legal Research and Writing Department at the Law School.

James has also been involved in real estate as an owner, legal advisor, and real estate manager. He has served on the DeKalb County Board of Equalization as a board member and Chairperson hearing property tax appeals.

Currently James is pursuing his Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration degrees. He is due to graduate in August 2013 and plans to utilize his legal background in a healthcare setting.

Chaz Dachenhaus, MHA/MBA

Partner

A native of Columbia, South Carolina and currently attending Georgia State University for its dual-degree, Health Administration program (MHA/MBA). He received a B.S. degree in Pre-Professional Health Sciences from Bethel University, located in McKenzie, Tennessee. Chaz graduated from Bethel with honors (Summa Cum Laude) in May of 2012. He was awarded the Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges in 2011, the 2011-2012 Biology Student of the Year, and the 2011-2012 Physics Student of the Year. Chaz received a full-tuition waiver as the 2011-2012 Hutchins Scholar recipient, awarded to the senior with the highest GPA (4.0 GPA). Chaz was a team member of the tutoring center at Bethel University where he tutored fellow students in algebra, calculus, probability and statistics, biology, microbiology, cell biology, immunology, anatomy and physiology, genetics, and organic chemistry.

At Bethel University, Chaz was on an athletic scholarship for the men’s soccer team. While playing at Bethel, Chaz was a member of a National Championship team, numerous TranSouth Conference Championship teams, selected to the TranSouth All-Conference team, awarded the NAIA Champion of Character, and was acknowledged as both a TranSouth Scholar Athlete and an NAIA Academic All-American. Chaz has always been involved in the community. He has volunteered as a youth soccer coach for the past 5 years, working with high school goalkeepers, and coaching u12 through u17 boys’ club teams. As a youth soccer coach with a USSF National “D” License, Chaz has aided in the character development of young men, teaching concepts of hard-work, teamwork, and sportsmanship.