Natalia Nicolaidis, Affiliated Fellow

Natalia Nicolaidis, Georgetown Law alumna and current chair of Georgetown Law’s European Law Advisory Board, joined the Denny Center as our first Affiliated Fellow in August 2021. She is currently Chair of Georgetown University’s European Law Advisory Board, and has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law since 2020.

Natalia is an experienced international corporate governance and non-financial performance and ESG risk leader. She delivers insight on the full breadth of strategic issues facing boards, the C-Suite and their advisors. She is passionate about meeting the demands of her clients, regulators, investors and other stakeholders. Natalia founded and is CEO of Dynamic Counsel, a governance, risk management and transaction advisory consultancy that drives change and increases value. She is a leading mentor for and advocate of women’s leadership and diversity & inclusion. Natalia was also Global General Counsel and Global Head of Risks & Controls of the Investment Banking Division of a global investment bank and is currently the Sustainability Liaison of the Securities Law Committee of the International Bar Association, and is on the IBA’s Women’s Interest Group.

Natalia is an independent, non-executive board member of two listed companies. Serving as a member of the Sustainability Committee and Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee respectively. She is also Advisor to Just Capital, a charity that, through research and data-driven tools, empowers market participants to build a more just economy.

Natalia earned a BA in Economics from Yale, a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, an MS from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and a Masters in EU Law from the Collège d’Europe (Bruges).

 

Matthew Leatherman, Affiliated Fellow

Matt Leatherman joined the Denny Center as an Affiliated Fellow in July 2025.

He served as policy director to North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell and subsequently has helped to establish a financial research organization called Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLTGlobal). He is chair emeritus of the John Rex Endowment and a currently-serving director of the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation and the Raleigh Area Land Trust. Matt also advises the Catawba Center for the Environment, one of the largest-endowed university programs focused on the environment, and Reward Value, a Netherlands-based research center experimenting with ways that pay affects CEO behavior. Matt is active in public policy having campaigned to be North Carolina’s Treasurer in 2020.

Matt’s writing has been published in outlets ranging from the Washington Post and Politico to Institutional Investor and Top1000 Funds. Convenors like the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pacific Pensions & Investments, and NASDAQ commonly turn to Matt for his expertise and insight in their program.

Matt earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a Master’s degree from Columbia.