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Richard Lyons

Richard Lyons

Richard E. Lyons has served as a professor of management, department chair, instructional dean, corporate trainer, faculty and staff developer, and independent consultant.  His grounding in sound research and quality management practices, as well as deep learning from his varied experiences, has enabled him to exceed expectations of clients systematically.

Richard launched his consulting and presentation practice in 1999, shortly after the publication of his first book, The Adjunct Professor’s Guide to Success. He has since authored three other books – Teaching College in an Age of Accountability, Success Strategies for Adjunct Faculty, and Best Practices for Supporting Adjunct Faculty. His extensive research on these topics and familiarity with best practices that align with that research undergird his consulting. The strategies that he espouses have been well received not only by clients, but also by audiences in dozens of presentations at varied academic conferences.

Richard has presented on the campuses of community and state colleges, universities and proprietary institutions, in three countries.  Besides traditional institutions, these have included historically Black colleges and universities, historically women’s institutions, and those that serve significant populations of Native American, Hispanic and other diverse populations.  He also regularly utilizes webinars to deepen workshop participants’ mastery of critical learning outcomes. His travel experiences in over forty countries enable him to address issues in a global, futuristic context – a factor of increasing importance at many institutions.

Active throughout his career in professional organizations, Richard presently serves on the board of the North American Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development [NCSPOD].

Richard earned his B.A. in Management and M.S. in Business Education at Western Kentucky University, and his doctorate in college teaching and curriculum at the University of Central Florida.

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Specialties:

  • Achieving improved accountability outcomes in instruction
  • Adjunct Faculty Issues
  • Alternative/Authentic Assessment
  • Board training and development
  • Change Management
  • Curriculum development
  • Customer service
  • Decision making
  • Department chair training and development
  • Eight habits of highly effective people
  • Experiential learning
  • Focus group facilitation
  • Interpersonal relations
  • Interviewing for long-term effectiveness
  • Leadership development
  • Learning styles of students
  • Listening for understanding and problem solving
  • Mentoring
  • Mission formulation
  • Presentation skills
  • Quality improvement
  • Strategic planning
  • Teaching styles [alignment with student learning styles]
  • Team building
  • Train the trainer workshops
  • Trust and relationship building

Randal Joy Thompson

Randal ThompsonFor over thiry years, Randal Joy Thompson has expressed her passion for helping people around the world achieve their dreams through a career in international development.  She has advised senior government officials on key policy changes, assisted local non-governmental organizations establish themselves, organized interest group coalitions, and worked in small rural villages and large urban centers on a variety of development challenges in India, Cameroon, Morocco, Nicaragua, Mongolia, Romania, Ukraine, Kenya, Albania, Bulgaria, and Bolivia.

For the last two years, she has helped staff at the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation in Baghdad, Iraq enhance their management skills and understanding of the global economy.  She facilitated an Appreciative Inquiry with ministry staff during which the group drafted a preposterous proposition which expressed their dream for collaborative teamwork and a democratic, flat organizational structure.  The group made serious individual and group commitments to achieving their proposition.  Randal also taught course in cross-cultural communication and protocol for ten ministries in Iraq.  She is now serving as Chief of Party on another project in Baghdad, responsible for monitoring and evaluating the US government project portfolio and conducting sector studies to support their future strategy.

Randal has been a keynote speaker at several conferences, including the first and second International Women’s Conferences held in Romania in 1998 and 1999.  She delights in inspiring her audiences to see their potential to achieve their dreams and work together on common opportunities to change their personal and social worlds.  She combines humor with serious calls to action. She is particularly interested in helping organizations change creatively through the application of appreciative approaches.   She is President and CEO of an organizational development consulting company in Reno, Nevada, “Getting to Excellence.”

Randal works with government, private sector, and non-profit organizations as well a common interest groups.  She especially enjoys working with women’s groups and organizations.   She also delivers training in international development and how to effectively work in a globalized economy and cross-cultural communication.

Randal has her BA in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley; her MA in Philosophy and MBA from the University of Chicago; and her MA in Biblical Exposition from Capital Bible Seminary.  She also has a Certificate in Organizational Development Consulting from Georgetown University and a Certificate in French Civilization from the Sorbonne.  She has been certified by Company of Experts as an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator.

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Specialties:

  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Change Management
  • Collaborative Decision-making
  • Facilitation
  • Keynote Speaker
  • Organizational Assessment and Development
  • Program/Project Development & Management
  • Program/Project Evaluation
  • Strategic Planning
  • Team Building
  • Visioning and Futuring

Ellen Grondine

Ellen Grondine

Ellen Grondine is the Dean of Law, Education and Social Professions at Northern Essex Community College in Lawrence and Haverhill, Massachusetts.  She has also held administrative positions in the K-12 public education arena specifically related to curriculum and instruction and has extensive teaching experience in both early childhood and special education.

Ellen is an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, a Process Management Trainer and a member of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) team of trainers.  Her expertise in strengths based team building, her understanding of tools for critical analysis, and her work in building effective inter-group coalitions have been instrumental in academic and strategic planning, divisional training and goal setting, and her community outreach efforts on behalf of the college.  She has facilitated collaborations among the college and veteran’s service agencies, community partnership councils and public school settings by providing workshops, program development and resources.  Her work within the K-12 setting also includes the design and implementation of Appreciative Inquiry teacher training as a means of strengthening parent-teacher relationships and facilitating communication among public school administration and community members.

Ellen earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University in Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Science from Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Specialties:

  • Academic Master Planning
  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Community Building
  • Community Building & Community Partnerships
  • Continuous Process Improvement
  • Curriculum Development
  • Developing Enthusiasm in Teaching or Training
  • Process Improvement
  • Strategic Planning