Tag Archives: women in leadership

Maria Schnell

Maria C. Schnell, M.A. has been certified by Company of Experts as an Appreciate Inquiry Facilitator, and has built her practice on creating revolutionary change for Individuals and Organizations. Maria carries an M.A and B.A. in Organizational Communication with an emphasis in the areas of Leadership and Speech Education from the University of Colorado. This background combined with her exceptional experience allows Maria to assist with a variety of change initiatives for you or your organization.

A top-notch trainer with over 10 years of success in speaking, training and organizational development, Maria has mastered the Secrets to creating a life-changing, lucrative corporation.

An expert in interpersonal communication & personal/professional development and a mastermind in program design and facilitation, Maria delights her audiences with her unique blend of humor and insight, openness and sincerity, and complete generosity of self.

Maria exudes passion, and executes facilitation of change with experience and implementation of individualized sustainable programs. Maria is diverse in background; organizational communication, diversity training, leadership training, sales and development, profitability training, and individual development (just to name a few). Clients included in Maria’s repertoire; lia Sophia Jewelry, Goodwill Inc., United First Financial, and the BDCC.  Maria’s skilled performance fulfills clients need and executes transformation.

As an Expert on Call, Maria strives to pursue the mission of the Company of Experts. Maria creates a learning environment that is open, respectful and focused to ensure that your desired result is accomplished.  The opportunity to work with Maria will offer you and your organization tools to immediately use each day in your business.

As a Facilitator of Change, Maria seeks to inspire organizations to thrive through encouraging action and execution of transformation.

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Specialties:

  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Change Management
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Conflict Transformation
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Customized Training
  • Gay and Lesbian Issues
  • High-Impact Strategic Planning
  • Interpersonal Relationships
  • Keynote Speaking
  • Leadership Development
  • Marketing
  • Online Education
  • Oral Communications
  • Professional Development
  • Program Development
  • Project Management
  • Team Development
  • Transformational Leadership
  • Women in Leadership
Bill McGinnisBill McGinnis has had a long and varied career in higher education, including management, trusteeship, and consulting and training. Bill has been certified by Company of Experts.net as an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator.

From 1989 to 2003, he served as an assistant to the vice president for strategic planning, accountability and property procurement; and director of facilities management and services in the California State University system. He also taught political science, served on a system-wide quality improvement planning committee and as a system-wide facilities management coordinator.

Bill served as a California community college trustee from 1992 to the present, with terms as clerk, vice president, and president. He also served on the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) board since 1997 to the present, with terms as vice president and president, and on the advisory committee on legislation and finance.

In addition to his community college and university work, Bill worked as a local government manager from 1973 through 1985: city administrator, city manager, chief administrative officer, and personnel director in California, Oregon, and Florida.

From 1970 through 1975, Bill worked in the private sector as a legislative analyst for California State Employees Association (CSEA) and as an account executive.

Bill has made major presentations for university student groups; community college new student trustees; community college trusteeship and management; community college effectiveness; and effective trustee practices. He has facilitated training sessions on a variety of topics, including: Knowing – Doing Gap, Turning Knowledge into Action; Balanced Scorecard & Strategy Development; Parking Analysis of CSU; Balanced Scorecard for CSU; Measuring Success for Business & Finance; Development of Employee Strategic Goals; Growth Analysis for CSU; Balanced Scorecard for Butte Community College; Integrating Quality Improvement with Strategic Planning and Accreditation for CSU; Gift Receipting Process Mapping Project & Analysis; Balanced Scorecard in City Government; Outlook for Future California State Budgets; Results Based Leadership; Performance Measuring Seminar; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis for CSU; FISH! and FISH! Sticks– Employee Development & Motivation; Leading Change; First Break All the Rules, Improving Employee Performance; Demonstration of PB Views Software for Performance Measuring ; Employee Climate Survey Presentation; Preventing Employee Burnout; Hidden Values: How Extra-Ordinary Companies Succeed with Ordinary People; Employee Motivation & Strategic Planning (Russian-American Business Training Center, Sakhalin Island); Community College Trustee Retreats and Board Development of Long Term Goals.

Bill earned a Master of Arts degree in public administration from the University of West Florida, and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Midwestern College in Iowa. Bill holds credentials to teach public service administration and to be a supervisor in the California community colleges,

Specialties:

  • Board Training and Development
  • Change management
  • Core Values
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Facilities Planning
  • Goal setting
  • High-impact Strategic Planning
  • High Performing Teams
  • Institutional Effectiveness
  • Leadership Development
  • Mission
  • Priority Setting
  • Seven habits of Highly Effective People
  • Process Improvement
  • Quality Improvement
  • Shared Governance
  • Strategic Planning
  • Trustee Training and Development
  • Trustee/CEO relationships
  • Visioning and Futuring

Joan McArthur-Blair

Joan McArthur-Blair Expert Picture

Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair is an inspirational speaker and facilitator. She brings to her consulting practice over twenty years experience in higher education in formal and informal leadership roles, most recently as the President of Nova Scotia Community College. Over a broad ranging career she has worked as a leader in higher education, in faculty development, international projects, women in development and the mentorship and education of other leaders. She has particular expertise in the development of leaders, appreciative inquiry in strategic planning, diversity, women in leadership, and is a sought after speaker in the areas of leadership risk, innovation, change and the development of the inner life of leaders and generating positive change.

Joan has fulfilled faculty, department head, dean, vice president and president roles over her career at four diverse Canadian Colleges. She has been faculty and chair of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges’ National Executive Leadership Institute which prepares academic leaders across Canada. As well, she has worked around the world in India, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United States from her bases in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, Canada. In 2010 Joan amalgamated her experience into a consulting practice with a particular focus on the possibilities of leadership and the fostering of leadership in others.

Grounded in her doctoral research (2005), Joan has made a study of the inner life of leaders and how it is that leaders survive in the day to day of their work. Recently her focus has been on the notion of hope, despair and forgiveness in leadership as three tenets that can guide leaders over time.

Joan has a BA in English from the University of Western Ontario, the British Columbia Instructor’s Diploma, a MEd from Simon Fraser University and an EdD from the University of British Columbia.

Joan has been certified by Company of Experts.net as both an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator and an appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training (AIFT) Trainer.

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Specialties

  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Facilitator and Trainer Development
  • Inclusion and Diversity
  • Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW)
  • Keynote Speaker
  • Leadership as Narrative
  • Leadership Development
  • Leadership Theory and Practice
  • Motivation / Passion for work
  • Narrative Inquiry in Research
  • Positive Change
  • Strategic Planning
  • Vice President and Chair Development
  • Women in Leadership

Jeanie Cockell

Jeanie Cockell Profile Picture

Dr. Jeanie Cockell, is president of a consulting company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jeanie is a dynamic facilitator who is known for her creativity, sense of humour, sensitivity, and ability to get diverse groups to work collaboratively together. She is a leader in Appreciative Inquiry as an organizational and community development process, a research methodology and foundation for fostering collaboration in groups. Jeanie has been certified by Company of Experts.net as both an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator and an appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training (AIFT) Trainer.

Since 1999 Jeanie has worked as an educational and organizational consultant with organizations in the private, public and social-profit sectors. She has extensive experience in facilitating, presenting, training, coaching, conflict resolution, leading and collaboratively designing strategies for individuals, groups, organizations and communities to build positive futures and to respond effectively to change.

Her background includes teaching, presenting and delivering workshops in a variety of areas: appreciative inquiry; team building; leadership; diversity; mathematics; adult learning; instructional skills, planning and design; instructor and program evaluation; and facilitator training. As well Jeanie has had formal leadership roles at Vancouver Community College as Mathematics Department Head, Associate Dean; at the Institute of Indigenous Government where she consulted as Dean in the senior executive team; and at the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education as Project Officer leading a large provincial project.

Her consulting work is based on the expertise that she developed and continues to enhance as an educator and leader, as well as the theoretical/research background she developed in doing her Masters research on “Power and Leadership: A Perspective from College Women” (1993) and her Doctoral  research on “Making Magic: Facilitating Collaborative Processes (2005).

Jeanie has a BA in Mathematics, an MA in Higher Education and an EdD in Educational Leadership and Policy all from the University of British Columbia. She is also an Instructional Skills Facilitator Trainer, Gender and Diversity Facilitator Trainer, Sociocultural Competency Trainer, and Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Trainer.

Publishing includes:

  • Cockell, J. (1999). Power and leadership: A perspective from college women. In Gender and Diversity: Facilitator Guide, 115 – 120. Victoria, BC: Ministry of Advanced Education and Centre for Curriculum Transfer and Technology.
  • Cockell, J. (2006). Making magic: Facilitating collaborative processes. In Research in Action, Proceedings of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (Atlantic Region) conference.
  • Cockell, J. contributor to Reed, J. (2007). Appreciative Inquiry: Research for Change (p. 143, 144, 145). Sage Publishers.
  • Cockell, J. (2007). Making Magic Doing Research. In AI Practitioner: The International Journal of AI Best Practice, 47 – 48, November 2007.
  • Cockell, J. (2008). Appreciative Inquiry. In Four Arrows Don Trent Jacobs (Ed.), The Authentic Dissertation: Alternative Ways of Knowing, Research, and Representation (pp.201 – 205). NY,NY: Routledge.
  • Cockell, J. (2010). The AI Circle. In AI Practitioner: The International Journal of AI Best Practice, 43 – 46, February 2010.

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Specialties:

  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Building Teams
  • Change Management
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Communication
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Developing cultural inclusion in teaching and training
  • Diversity in the Workplace
  • Facilitating
  • Great Teaching or Great Teachers Seminars
  • Instructional Skills Workshops
  • Leadership Training and Development
  • Organizational Development
  • Participatory Learning
  • Presentation Skills Workshops (PSW)
  • Spirit in the Workplace
  • Strategic Planning
  • Teacher or Trainer training and development
  • Visioning and Futuring
  • Women in Leadership

Linda Watkins

Linda Watkins

Linda Watkins has been associated with community colleges for 20 years.

She currently serves as President of San Jacinto College South in Houston, Texas. Before becoming President, Linda taught on all levels from middle school through graduate school. She has served in various administrative roles, including department chair, dean, Vice President of Instruction, and Vice President of Student Services.

Linda has been certified by Company of Experts.net as an Appreciate Inquiry Facilitator. She works with many local organizations in the areas of planning and organizational change. Linda holds a doctoral degree in Secondary and Higher Education, a masters degree in sociology, and a bachelor of arts in language studies. She works with groups to bring about change through systematic planning and by building upon the strengths of individuals and institutions.

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Specialties:

  • Active Learning
  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Academic Master Planning
  • Accreditation and Program Assessment
  • Assessment of teaching and learning
  • Building Teams
  • Community Building
  • Community College Mission and History
  • Creative Thinking
  • Dealing with Difficult Students and Situations
  • Department Chair training and development
  • Group Processes
  • Institutional Effectiveness
  • Keynote Speaker
  • Organizational Change
  • Quality Improvement
  • Restructuring
  • Servant Leadership
  • Transformational Leadership
  • Women in Leadership