Instructor Biographies
Ann Atkinson, Ed.D.
Ann Atkinson, Ed.D., is a speaker, trainer and organizational consultant with an advanced degree in business leadership education. She has had her own consulting practice for more than 30 years, specializing in strategic and organizational planning and design, executive coaching, board of director training, leadership mastery, organizational culture, economic development, emotional intelligence and managing change. She teaches online for Cornell University and in the business doctoral program for the University of Phoenix. Previously, Dr. Atkinson served as vice president of management, leadership and organizational development for Days Inns of America Inc.; director of educational programs for the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, University of Georgia; dean of education and chief academic officer at the Art Institute of Atlanta; and director of training and strategic planning for Georgia Tech. Dr. Atkinson’s depth of knowledge, combined with years of personal experience, enable her to customize programs for each audience. She is also a dynamic and fascinating speaker, captivating audiences with both her style and content.
Michael E. Balmert, Ph.D.
Michael E. Balmert, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Communication Department at Carlow University. He has taught more than 25 different courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Towson State, University of Pittsburgh, University of Kansas, Indiana University, Duquesne University, and Carlow University. Among these courses were Leadership and Ethics, Communication Ethics, Leadership, Organizational Communication, and Conflict Management. Professor Balmert was a member of the Indiana University Forum on Ethics which traveled the state hosting case study discussions on ethics with practicing professionals in business, medicine, media and law. He is an active scholar who has presented scholarships at more than 50 national, international, regional and state professional conferences on a variety of topics including issues of ethics, leadership, and deliberative spaces for complex social issues. Professor Balmert also has consulted with governmental, state, profit, and nonprofit organizations as well as healthcare and educational institutions. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards at the national, international, regional and institutional levels. His teaching style is interactive, adult learner-oriented and discussion-based.
Gary L. Bunch
Gary L. Bunch is vice president of client services with KEYGroup®. He has more than 25 years of organizational development and training experience in creativity/innovation, re-engineering, change management, negotiation and communications. Serving Centerior Energy Corporation for 13 years, Mr. Bunch was manager of employee and organization development and later played a key role in leading the company in a strategic business refocus. His full-time corporate work also included 11 years as training manager with Caterpillar Tractor. A partial list of KEYGroup® clients whom Mr. Bunch has served includes Bank of New York (Mellon), U.S. Steel Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. (MEPPI), SAE International, and Abbott Pharmaceuticals (formerly KOS).
Edward J. Donovan
Edward J. Donovan is a seasoned consultant and trainer with KEYGroup®. He specializes in the design and delivery of employee satisfaction and workplace needs assessments, and the subsequent development and implementation of innovative consulting and training strategies. His focus areas include leadership development, communication styles, team building, conflict resolution and customer relations. Known for his engaging and energetic style, Mr. Donovan’s repeat and referral clients include retail, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector and financial industries. Some of his clients include PPG Industries Inc., Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., Dick’s Sporting Goods, Highmark, UBS-AG, and LB Foster.
Dee Giffin Flaherty, Ph.D.
Dee Giffin Flaherty, Ph.D., has a consulting and therapy practice in Pittsburgh, Pa. She is committed to helping individuals and organizations realize their fullest potential. Dr. Flaherty helps to develop leadership through facilitating organizational learning, through graduate teaching and through individual coaching and counseling. She holds a bachelor’s in sociology from Wittenberg University, a master’s in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s in professional leadership from Carlow University, and a doctorate in leadership and change from Antioch University.
Dean A. Lippold
Dean A. Lippold is associate director of packaging strategic research at Kraft Foods, where he has responsibility for developing advanced packaging materials, innovative package designs and packaging equipment for Kraft’s worldwide businesses. A chemical engineer from Pennsylvania State University, Mr. Lippold has 16 years of research and development experience in the food industry, where he has been responsible for product and package development, project management and organizational leadership. Nearly half his career has been spent gaining extensive, first-hand experience leading and managing multiculturally diverse teams from around the world. Mr. Lippold has conducted business in more than a dozen countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America. He has been responsible for management of groups while living in foreign countries, regional team leadership and leading departments whose members reside in as many as nine locations across the world. He has had the opportunity to observe how culturally diverse backgrounds and distance influence individuals’ decision making, risk taking and working preferences. By contrasting these observations with his own working style, he has come to appreciate how diversity of thought and working style drive team effectiveness, and how undervaluing this diversity can result in ineffective business interactions.
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