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Presenter Biographies

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Rafe Sagarin

Rafe Sagarin is a marine ecologist and environmental policy analyst at the University of Arizona. He continually works to connect careful observations of nature’s diversity with issues of critical societal concern, from dealing with security threats to improving the adaptability of businesses and teachers. His scientific research was among the first to demonstrate that natural systems were being affected by climate warming in the 20th century and he has gone on to use historical data sets from writers, naturalists, artists, and gamblers to re-assemble historical patterns of ecosystem change, including reconstructing changes to the Gulf of California since the 1940 expedition of John Steinbeck and Ed “Doc” Ricketts.

Dr. Sagarin is a recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship for his writing on biologically inspired approaches to security. He was a Geological Society of America Congressional Science Fellow in the office of U.S. Representative (and later U.S. Secretary of Labor) Hilda Solis in Washington, DC. He currently advises the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security as well as numerous first responders and health practitioners, on how to apply lessons from nature to adaptable risk management. He has taught ecology and policy at Duke University, Stanford University, California State University Monterey Bay, University of California, Los Angeles and University of Arizona. His research has appeared in Science, Nature, Conservation Biology, Ecological Monographs, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security Affairs and other leading journals, magazines, and newspapers. He is the editor, with Terence Taylor, of the volume Natural Security: A Darwinian Approach to a Dangerous World (2008, University of California Press). His upcoming books include: Learning from the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature can Help Us Fight Terrorism, Natural Disasters, and Disease (Basic Books, 2012) and Observation and Ecology: Changing the Scope of Science to Understand a Complex World (Island Press, 2012).

Luncheon Keynote Speaker

Rick Maurer

Rick Maurer, a renowned change management consultant, expert, speaker and bestselling author, educates audiences on how to get results from major change without headaches, cost overruns, and hidden problems…or Change Without Migraines™.

Your audience will be inspired and entertained by Rick’s energy-infused keynote. An engaging and passionate professional consultant and speaker, Rick Maurer delivers insightfully to small and large groups of senior executives, middle managers and staff levels. He has worked with business leaders from a variety of companies throughout the world including major Fortune 500 companies, as well as private companies and nonprofits.

Due to the popularity of Rick Maurer’s books, Why Don’t You Want What I Want?, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, and Building Capacity for Change Sourcebook, Rick’s opinion has been sought by CNBC, NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bottom Line, Investor’s Business Daily, Fortune, USA Today, The Economist, Industry Week, and Nation’s Business.

His expertise helps you identify even deeply hidden resistance, overcome it quickly, and in so doing implement even the most difficult strategic and tactical changes.

Individual / Self Session Presenters

Christi Fath

Ms. Fath is a learning and development professional with experience in all phases of learning and development from developing courseware, leading classes, to managing a portfolio of courses. Ms. Fath began her career developing and delivering instructor-led training and received an award for teaching. She brings extensive experience consulting with clients to design programs to meet business needs. She led program development initiatives and is able to effectively lead others to achieve project goals. Ms. Fath has experience improving corporate knowledge management efforts by redesigning the corporate learning management system (LMS), corporate university web site, and developing strategic training communications for a corporate audience. She develops effective programs while building collaborative relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Ms. Fath has a personal interest in mind, body, spirit integration. She has been a teaching assistant in the CranioSacral Therapy and Healing from the Core: Grounding and Healthy Boundaries classes. She also works with private clients in a CranioSacral and massage therapy practice.

Angela Stevens

Ms. Stevens is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant and is an adjunct instructor at George Washington University Art Therapy Program, where she teaches graduate students the important skills related to strengthening self-awareness, the primary skill necessary for creating strong boundaries and resilience. She is also an instructor for the Healing From the Core Curriculum since 2006 teaching 2-4, four day long classes per year. This curriculum teaches the skills necessary to equip the human brain/mind/body with a connection of awareness that will support the ability and resilience to cope with a 21st century lifestyle. Ms. Stevens primary source of education has been her personal experience of growing stronger, resilient, victorious, and thriving through many profound life events instead of allowing the life events to render her a victim. Ms. Stevens believes in the power of the human spirit to seek what will make it strong and resilient.

Mary Elizabeth Lynch

Mary Elizabeth Lynch, M.A., J.D. is an educator, conflict transformation specialist, and an attorney/mediator. She holds a master’s degree in philosophy and is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. For fifteen years she practiced law and mediated legal disputes in the areas of employment and family law.

Mary Elizabeth co-founded and serves as president of the Personal Transformation and Courage Institute, an organization which helps individuals, groups, and organizations build capacity to overcome attitudinal and emotional blocks to greater health, creativity, and well-being.

She is an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, teaching undergraduate courses which include the newly emerging science of consciousness and positive psychology along with practical ways to change and grow personally. She teaches in George Mason University’s new Advanced Coaching Certificate training program, and also offers courses through the Northern Virginia Mediation Service in Fairfax, Virginia.

Mary Elizabeth is a life-long practitioner of meditation. She believes that reflective practices are the foundation for personal, professional, and organizational well-being and transformation.

Graeme Frelick

Graeme Frelick has over 25 years of experience providing a wide range of training and consulting services to organizations in leadership development, management training, executive coaching, team-building, institution building, strategic planning, and training of trainers. He works in North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. His client include a wide range of organizations, including US government agencies, International Organizations, Non-government Organizations and private companies. Recent clients include: the US Agency for International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, US Forest Service, US Department of Labor, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and International Development Research Center. Mr. Frelick has served for three years as chair of the TRG Board of Directors and on several company governance committees. He is fluent in French, having grown up in French-speaking countries and having worked there for many years as a teacher, trainer and consultant.

Laura Guyer-Miller

Laura Guyer is a talented trainer and management consultant with over 20 years of experience providing training and training management services in multi-cultural environments. Ms. Guyer specializes in the design of professional training programs and all aspects of organizational development, focusing on such areas as strengthening leadership and management skills, communication skills, and performance management. She has worked with public, private and non-profit clients in the United States and throughout the world. Her clients include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Commerce, AMIDEAST, the UNDP, UNFPA, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the World Bank, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Linda Spink

Linda Spink currently works as a senior OD specialist at TRG with clients such as US Agency for International Development, World Bank, and the Ford Foundation. She is a highly skilled organizational development and training professional with over 25 years of experience designing and facilitating team and human resource development in the US and throughout the world including Africa, the Middle East, South America, Asia and Europe. She is a dynamic, creative, and an innovative thinker specializing in leadership and management development, executive coaching, stakeholder engagement, team building and organizational performance. As part of TRG's unique leadership structure, Linda served as CEO from 2001 to 2006 where she humbly walked the talk of participatory leadership and polished her skills in herding cats. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Insight Mediation Society a non-profit meditation retreat center in Barre, MA and TRG in Arlington, VA.

Lawrence Polsky

Since 1993, Lawrence Polsky has inspired thousands of professionals on 5 continents to implement change. He is co-author of 3 best-selling books: Perfect Phrases for Communicating Change, Say YES! to Change, and Phrases for Conflict Resolution.

Lawrence is a Managing Partner at PeopleNRG, a global leadership consulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. He led PeopleNRG's 2011 annual research project, Global Best Practices on Leading Change, a study of 907 professionals in 51 countries and the follow-up study in 2012.

He is a highly entertaining trainer, keynoter and speaker, and has received high ratings around the world including at conferences such as SHRM, Prosci and the Global HRD Conference in Mumbai India. Some of the organizations he has served include GE, LG Electronics, The US Army, WL Gore, The City of New York and NASA.

Leader / Team Session Presenters

Barrie Zucal, MS

Barrie Zucal is a global executive coach, global entrepreneur, therapist, and trainer with twenty-five years’ experience developing the human potential and performance of leaders in the US, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Barrie became a global leader herself when she founded Global Coaches Network (GCN) in 2005, with 175 executive coaches working in 55 countries in 35 languages.

Barrie understands the complex issues for individuals, teams, and organizations in the global workplace where differences such as gender, culture, race, religion, etc have the potential to derail people and processes. In 2012, she is dedicated to developing more women who get to higher positions in organizations, governments, and political office so that the opinions of women will be heard, along with those of men, at the highest levels of influence.

Her clients include GE, Pfizer, USDA, and the University of Maryland University College. She has degrees in education and Family Studies.

Katherine Green, PhD

Dr. Katherine Green, founder of Green Consultant Group LLC, a management and organization development consultancy specializing in leadership, change management and aging workforce issues.

Katherine’s professional experience includes two decades in influential positions and programs in the financial, transportation, trade, international banking, non-profit and government sectors. She designed, and delivered, management, leadership and organizational change programs for government, business and the non-profit sector.

Dr. Green also taught graduate school for the University of Maryland, University College in Organizational Development, and served as faculty for graduate students in the behavioral sciences for The Union Institute. She speaks to local, national, international audiences on topics related to change management in human and organizational systems, leadership and the future.

John B. Mahaffie

John Mahaffie has been a speaker and consultant on the future since 1987. He has authored over 3 dozen futures studies for corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit groups. He is an author and speaker on the emerging markets and change in the global marketplace, lifestyles and values in the consumer market, the future of science and technology, the environment, transportation and infrastructure, health and medicine, work and worklife, telecommunications, and other futures topics.

John’s recent projects have included workshops on scenario development, studies on telecommunications, and research and presentations the future of libraries. He writes extensively on futures methodology on his blog, www.foresightculture.com.

John co-authored 2025: Scenarios of U.S. and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology (1997) and From Scan to Plan: Integrating Trends into the Strategy Making Process (ASAE 2003), and other futures books and studies.

John’s early training was as an anthropologist, and he holds a BA and MA in Anthropology, and an MA in International Affairs.

Katherine Coles

Katherine Coles is a senior consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. She is a result-focused, mission driven organization development consultant experienced in facilitating change through organization assessments, enterprise-wide initiatives, strategic planning, leadership development and coaching, team development and performance, and curriculum design. Katherine is a subject matter expert in group dynamics, team development, process consultation and analysis, adult learning principles, and organizational effectiveness. She has demonstrated ability in influencing at all levels of the organization, and has industry experience in financial services, pharmaceutical, health care, not-for-profit organizations, real estate development, and government agencies.

Katie McAllister

Katie McAllister has eight years of international experience in improving organizational, team, and individual effectiveness, as well as providing an array of change management, organization development and human capital solutions. Ms. McAllister possesses strong communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills and has experience supporting organizations during times of change or transformation. Her work experience includes leading, supporting, and facilitating change initiatives, providing strategic partnership with clients to drive human capital priorities.

Ms. McAllister currently works at Booz Allen Hamilton in the Human Capital and Learning team supporting clients in the civil sector of the Federal Government.

Andrea Howe

Andrea P. Howe is the co-author, with Charles H. Green, of The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust and the founder and President of BossaNova Consulting Group.

A veteran consultant, seminar leader, speaker, and facilitator, Andrea specializes in serving global professional services firms. Howe addresses strategic topics such as customer intimacy, client loyalty, the dynamics of influence, dealing with conflict, and developing business with trust. She is also an improv comedy enthusiast and a firm believer in the power of laughter and shared risk-taking.

Howe holds an MS in Organization Development from the American University/NTL program (2002), a BBA in Computer Information Systems from Texas A&M (1992), and certifications in team development, collaborative problem-solving, and action learning.

When she is not working, Howe can be found in the art studio creating a new mosaic or enjoying her time as a newlywed.

Shawn Westfall

Shawn is the driving force behind the improv comedy school at the well-known DC Improv in Washington, DC, where he teaches beginning improv, advanced short-form and long-form improv, as well as improv workshops focusing on character and non-traditional improv techniques. Shawn’s classes and their performance shows are regularly sold out six months in advance and have been featured in the pages of The Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, and the Legal Times. The Washington Post calls him "...a bright, high energy guy..."

In addition to keeping his rigorous teaching schedule, Shawn has performed improv all over the country, most notably at the DC Improv and the Upright Citizens Brigade (UBC) Theatre in NYC. Shawn has also taught improv as a bona fide business tool to various public and private organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Discovery Channel, and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Organization / Strategy Session Presenters

Carole Napolitano

As principal and founder of Synergies, Carole Napolitano has provided executive coaching, leadership development, and consulting in organizational effectiveness to a variety of types of organizations for 23 years. A sampling of the clients she has served include Xerox, the World Bank, Baltimore Gas & Electric, and State Farm Insurance Companies. Carole holds an MA in English from UNC, Chapel Hill, and has pursued advanced studies in public communication at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a certified coach through the Newfield Network, a member of ICF, and a graduate of the ground-breaking Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) program through the Center for Right Relationship. She co-authored The Leadership Odyssey: a Self-Development Guide to New Skills for New Times published by Jossey-Bass and most recently has written an article about the ROI of AI (Appreciative Inquiry) scheduled for publication in a special addition of AI Practitioner this May. Carole is known for her high-energy style and for the warmth and passion with which she motivates individuals and teams to consider new possibilities for their organizations, their teams, and themselves.

Linda Ferguson

Dr. Linda J. Ferguson is president of New Paradigm Alliance, LLC, an organizational consulting firm specializing in Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. She has worked as an internal and external consultant with businesses, government, and non-profit agencies. Linda also is an author of two books and a management coach.

Linda has been involved with the OD and Learning and Performance field for the past 15 years, serving as past-president of the Valleys of Virginia ASTD chapter, and currently is leader of the CBODN OD book SIG.

Linda earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, and MA in Social Psychology from Indiana University. She’s a member of Who’s Who of American Women, Psi Chi, and Beta Gamma Sigma business honorary society. Linda is certified and experienced in various tools and methodologies to support organizational effectiveness and employee engagement including: the Team Advantage, Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, Myers-Briggs, and DiSC.

Michael Ciszewski

Michael Ciszewski started his work life almost three decades ago on Wall Street. He was an investment banker for the first ten of those years before he found the opportunity to begin working with individuals, groups, and teams as an internal OD consultant. This led to senior roles at a couple of organizations, three years based in London, and work in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Shortly after being much too close to the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, Michael left New York for Washington DC. Once here, he did something he always wanted to do: he started his own OD practice.

To beef up his credentials, he earned a Masters Degree in Organization Development from AU|NTL. He is a member of NTL Institute and the OD Network. He has three beautiful and intelligent children, a wife who says she loves him very much, and a dog.

Michael Randel

Michael Randel has spent the last twenty years supporting the effectiveness of individuals, teams and organizations by advising on and facilitating learning and change. Working at local, national and global levels, Michael has advised organizations in more than twenty countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. He has worked as an internal and external consultant for such organizations as the World Bank, the United Nations, and the US Green Building Council.

Michael’s qualifications include a master’s degree in Social and Organizational Learning from George Mason University, and post-graduate degrees from South Africa. His training as an OD practitioner took place in South Africa and the United States. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network (MAFN), and is a member of CBODN and ASTD.

Bob Dunham

Robert Dunham has been developing world-class leaders and organizational coaches globally for over three decades. He founded the Institute for Generative Leadership, is co-author of The Innovator’s Way, founded Enterprise Performance, was a VP at Motorola Computer Systems, and founded the Company of Leaders, an ongoing community dedicated to developing embodied leadership. He holds two degrees from Stanford University, co-holds two patents for workflow technology, was on the staff that developed the three-year Ontological Design Course for Dr. Fernando Flores, and is an Executive in Residence, Adjunct Faculty, at the Presidio School of Management where he taught in the MBA program in Sustainable Management for three years. Robert developed the action-based discipline of Generative Leadership, offered by the Institute for Generative Leadership in the three-year Generative Leadership Program™. He also developed and leads the three-year community of practice, Coaching Excellence in Organizations (CEO) in joint venture with Newfield Network (www.newfieldnetwork.com).

Case Study / Application Session Presenters

Dona Witten

Dr. Dona Witten is an executive management consultant, organizational psychologist, and certified coach with over four decades of experience in the commercial and public sectors. She provides a range of services including large scale organizational development, conflict resolution, leadership and organizational coaching. Dr Witten is also a regional Baldrige examiner. She is the author of a business development and self-coaching book, Enlightened Management: a Compassionate Guide to Working with People. As an Executive Advisor with R3 Government Solutions, a verified Service disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, she leads their Malcolm Baldrige consulting practice in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Sande Lehrer, Ph.D.

Dr. Lehrer is Director of the Human Capital Strategies and Solutions Division at the U.S. Mint. He previously worked at the Office of Personnel Management as Chief of the Performance and Career Development Branch. Before joining OPM, Dr. Lehrer worked as an OD specialist at the Government Accountability Office.

Dr. Lehrer is a Faculty Associate at Johns Hopkins University and has been teaching in the Business School for twenty years. He teaches classes focused on leadership, organizational behavior and change. Dr. Lehrer also serves on the Johns Hopkins University MBA/OD Advisory Board. Dr. Lehrer has a Ph.D. in Administration and Supervision with an emphasis in organization development, a Master’s in Counseling, and a B.A. in Psychology. He has published articles on motivation, performance management, diversity, and organizational change and has been recognized for his work in these areas with organizational awards at the Mint, OPM and GAO.

Martha Watson

Ms. Watson has been with the U.S. Mint since 1998. She started her career as a writer, eventually joining the Public Affairs Team. She is currently a HC analyst in the Human Capital (HC) Strategies Division. Ms. Watson leads workforce initiatives, including employee engagement, the Federal Employee Viewpoint and Employee Pulse-check surveys, HC Reports, workforce planning/analytics, and training. She has also managed the Black Employment Special Emphasis Program and served as a mentor to interns.

Ms. Watson has 20+ years experience in communications and HC management. Her B.A. is in International Relations/Economics from Trinity College, and her J.D. is from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. She served as president of the Evening Law Students Association and was an active member of the Black Law Students Association.

Ms. Watson has worked as a Legislative Aide to a City Councilor, as a communication lead for associations, organized labor and non-profit institutions.

Brian Emerson

Brian Emerson founded Riverstone Endeavors, an Organizational-Effectiveness firm that partners with organizations to create cultures that ensure strategic success. After completing graduate work in Organizational Communication, Brian worked for the Olympics and then moved to Namibia, Africa to convert school systems from Afrikaans to English. It was there Brian became interested in the impact of change on groups and team effectiveness. Since then, Brian has partnered with clients such as PBS, Natural Resources Defense Council, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Madison Square Garden, Freddie Mac, and MedImmune.

Brian’s book, A Managers’ Guide to Coaching: Simple and Effective Ways to Get the Best Out of Your Employees was selected as April 2008 Book of the Month by the American Management Association.

Cliff Kayser

President & Founder of Xperience LLC (www.xperienceit.com) and is a certified Master in Polarity Management and Associate of Polarity Management Associates (www.polaritymanagement.com).

Xperience LLC provides organization development, executive coaching, and training services from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The "Kayser Ridge" Retreat & Learning Center located in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia provides an intimate space for small groups/teams to experience and accomplish BIG things!

Cliff is a co-author of “The Love: Of the 5th Spiritual Paradigm” an international collection of over seventy essays, articles, and poems exploring the core message relayed to us by God through the great Prophets. This anthology includes the work of acclaimed New York Times best-selling authors and the generous contributions of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners including Maya Angelou, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Andrew Cohen.

For more information about Cliff and the Coaching, OD, and Training Services he provides, please visit: www.XperienceIT.com , www.KayserRidge.com

Eleanor Bedford

Eleanor Bedford is Team Leader for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives Applied Best Practices & Coordination team. In this role, she guides efforts to expand support for continuous organizational learning and field-led innovation. She has held a number of positions in OTI since late 1997 including: Regional Representative for Eastern Congo; Macedonia Program Manager; Europe & Eurasia Team Leader; Senior Field Advisor; and Senior Program Advisor. She brings nineteen years experience in the fields of post-conflict reconstruction, stabilization, political transition, humanitarian response in complex emergencies and human rights and has worked across Africa, the Balkans, Asia and the Middle East. She has also served as a consultant with the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, U.S. Committee for Refugees, Doctors Without Borders and Human Rights Watch. She has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Contact: (202) 712-0471; ebedford@usaid.gov.

Scott Loomis

Scott Loomis is an accomplished change management and organization development specialist with over 30 years of experience working domestically and internationally.. Mr. Loomis specializes in helping organizations move forward in a changing world through strategic planning, problem-solving workshops, team development, and management and leadership development training programs. Since the 1970s, he has worked with public, private, and non-profit clients in the U.S. and throughout the world helping clients confront and respond to many of the challenges of our time, such as post-conflict transition and stabilization, climate change, pandemic influenza, and homeland security.

His primary clients currently include the the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Loomis has worked with about 30 USAID field missions and offices around the world. Mr. Loomis holds a Masters of Human Resources Development from University Associates and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Texas.

Who We Are

Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network (CBODN) is the premier DC Metro area network for organization development (OD) practitioners. Founded in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, our name pays homage to those elders who made vital contributions to the field of OD.

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