Meet our Curriculum FACULTY
Jenni Craswell, – Co-Vice-Chair
Jeni Craswell is a 2008 Leadership Eastside graduate, which was the beginning of a wonderful learning journey into leadership and community engagement. Her current project is partnering with other community leaders to create The Redmond Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a healthy, vibrant and engaged community in the city of Redmond. Prior to her foundation work, Jeni spent 20 years in a variety of roles including human resources and recruiting, training development and delivery, non-profit leadership and political strategy.
Jeni's interests lie in exploring the intricacies of adaptive leadership and using the power of connections and the process of discovering shared vision to build engaged communities. She is an eternal optimist and believes that appreciative inquiry and preferred future planning help organizations move toward their goals more effectively than managing what's wrong, or missing.
Jeni has lived in Redmond since 1993 with her husband Ron, and daughters Allie & Nicole. She sits on the boards of Leadership Eastside and The Pacific Harp Institute. Jeni holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Whitman College and a Masters from Seattle University in Organizational Design and Renewal with an specialization in Leadership and Community Engagement.
Email: jeni@theredmondfoundation.org
Dan Leahy, – Co-Vice-Chair
Dan Leahy, Waypoint Leadership Consulting, LLC , is an innovative personal and organizational development specialist. With 16 years of leadership education experience and another 16 years experience as a clinical therapist he brings a unique blend of interpersonal and organizational perspectives to his work. His professional experience includes serving as President of the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS, Inc.) from 2001 to 2007.
He is committed to leadership development. Since he believes that leadership is fundamentally a dance between the leader, the followers and the organizational mission, his approach focuses on helping the individual develop the ability to both take a stand and stay connected with others in service of the desired results. Given his work in adult education his approach is one that emphasizes inquiry and directed reflection tailored to the individual's circumstances.
He holds Bachelors Degrees in Communication Arts and Sociology from Washington State University and a Master of Arts in Applied Behavioral Science from Whitworth College. His postgraduate training includes the Art & Practice of Leadership Development program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Peter Bloch's Regional School for Managing, Leadership Eastside, and Pacific Integral's two-year Generating Transformational Change program.
Email: dleahy12@comcast.net
Telephone: 206-612-4106
Rose Singer – Curriculum Manager
Rose Singer, Rose brings over 20 years experience as a manager, consultant, facilitator and trainer in the areas of organizational effectiveness, leadership development and diversity management. She has provided consulting services worldwide to large and small organizations in a variety of industries including technology and service providers.
She currently serves as Curriculum Manager for Leadership Eastside. Leadership Eastside is the next generation regional leadership development program, distinguished by a focus on enriching leadership capabilities and building regional perspectives in the Greater Seattle area.
Over the last ten years, Rose has provided diversity management consulting and facilitation services on a wide range of projects with Roosevelt Thomas Consulting and Training. Her clients include Albertsons, Coca Cola, Croda, CitiBank, General Mills, HEB Grocery, Honda R&D, INTEGRIS Health, Lexmark, Norfolk Southern Railways, NCAA T-Mobile and United Way of America. Rose also partners with Advance Consulting, specializing in consulting and partnership skills and The Point, LLC. a consulting firm that offers powerful women leadership development programs.
Rose managed the training department at Amdahl Corp. in Sunnyvale, CA. In this capacity she led the development of the leadership curriculum and consulted to senior management on organizational change and team effectiveness. After founding her own consulting business, she acquired clients in technology (Amdahl, Auspex, eGain, Informatica, Organic, Xilinx,) local government (City of San Francisco, Port of Seattle,) finance (E*TRADE, Silicon Valley Bank,) and non-profits (Building Changes.) She has also facilitated workshops for Adaptec, EdFund, Kronos, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, PeopleSoft and Ultimate Software. In addition, she continues to share her passion for training and development with students at San Francisco State University as adjunct faculty in the Human Resources Certificate program.
She holds a master's degree in adult learning from Antioch University Seattle and a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Washington where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. With a commitment to community service and making the world a better place, she serves as a National Board member for the National Council of Jewish Women and Past President of NCJW Seattle Section.
She is principal author of the book Read Your Way to the Top (Bluechip Publishers, 1987). Rose is listed in Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who Among Young American Professionals and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America.
Rose’s ability to engage others through her experience and insight has allowed her to facilitate the growth process for her clients. She has found her work with individuals and organizations committed to development and increased effectiveness to be rewarding and gratifying for all.
Email: rosesinger@leadershipeastside.com
Bob Burgess – Co-Facilitator
Bob Burgess, Burgess Consulting, Inc., is an organization development consultant with over 27 years of experience. The primary focus of his work is helping organizations, teams and individuals move through change and cultural transition.
His years of experience come from working with a variety of industries in both the private and public sector. He has served as a partner in a large Management Consulting firm, which included working with Edward Deming on efforts to implement Total Quality Management. He has had his own consulting business for 18 years. He is a keynote speaker at annual conferences and conventions.
He has assisted small and large organizations nationally and internationally, helping them clarify direction and identifying and removing barriers that prevent them from maximizing performance.
Bob holds an MBA from the University of Puget Sound and an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Industrial Psychology from the University of Oregon. He has extensive post-graduate education in professional and organizational development.
"I work extensively in the areas of Executive Coaching, Leadership and Management Development, Team Building and Change Management. My areas of interest include helping organizations to develop and implement a system's approach to building company cultures focusing on strategic direction, process improvement. Leadership, teamwork, creativity, employee motivation, open communications, and performance improvement."
Email: bob@burgessconsult.com
Telephone: 425.643.7688
Web site: www.burgessconsulting.com
JoAnn Burgess – Co-Facilitator
JoAnn Burgess, Burgess Consulting, Inc., is an organization development consultant with over 25 years experience in Human Resources Development, Training, and Consulting. She has served as an external consultant to organizations for over ten years and worked internally for fifteen years.
Her areas of focus include the following:
- Executive and Professional Coaching
- Leadership and Management Training
- Team Development and Training
JoAnn is certified in the use and delivery of the 360-degree Clark Wilson Leadership Assessment Tool. She is also certified in the delivery of numerous management and professional development workshops.
JoAnn served as an adjunct faculty member of Bellevue Community College where she has taught classes in their Leadership and Supervisory Series for over six years.
She has a Masters Degree in Organization System's Renewal (Organization Development) - Whole System's Design and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.
"I believe that Leadership can be learned and that it is an 'inside-out' process. The more a person knows about themselves, the better they are able to lead; self-awareness is at the core of highly effective Leadership."
"I work with Leaders to develop balance between the bottom line, objective skills and the subjective, communication skills that are so critical to move people forward through change. The common themes of my work are helping people through change and transition, and enhancing communication skills in the workplace."
Email: joann@burgessconsult.com
Telephone: 425.643.7688
Web site: www.burgessconsulting.com
Sherryl Christie-Bierschenk – Co-Facilitator
Sherryl Christie-Bierschenk is the founder and primary service provider at Best Practice, Inc. (www.bestpracticeinc.com). The mission of her company is simply to help grow leaders, which she does primarily through a combination of coaching and team facilitation. She is the co-author of the Practical Leader Management Series, an eight-month training process for managers, and a contributor to the development of the Peer Mentoring course with her long-time colleague, Steve Trautman (www.practicalleader.com). She is currently co-authoring a how-to book for new managers; scheduled to be published by McGraw-Hill in Fall 2008. Following that, she will be completing her second book, titled The Curse of the Competent Woman™ (www.competentwoman.com).
Sherryl has owned and operated her own business for 20+ years and in that capacity she has directly managed both employees and contractors. She is a Master Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and her client list includes leaders and managers at REI, Eastman Kodak, Boeing, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Motorola, Hill-Rom, Allied Irish Bank, Deloitte and Touche of Canada and eTecK in Trinidad, West Indies.
Sherryl moved to Washington State in 1982 and lived and worked in Issaquah until 1995. She currently lives on Whidbey Island with her husband, 12 chickens, three ducks, an African goose and a beagle named Maggie. She and her husband have three (mostly adult) children and one grandchild, whom they spoil at every opportunity (the grandson, not the children!).
Email: sherryl@bestpracticeinc.com
Telephone: 425-501-5025
Diane Branson – Co-Facilitator
Diane Branson is a world class Organization Development professional with 20 years experience designing and enhancing high performance cultures by aligning leadership, strategy, culture and technology. Diane is highly effective in partnering with executive leadership and strategic business partners to identify priorities and align organizational capacity for effective and efficient strategic business results. She has strong business acumen, outstanding communication, consulting, coaching and problem solving skills, and is experienced in large scale systems change efforts.
Diane has owned and operated her own business for 15 years. During that time she has worked with small start ups to F100 companies and assembled virtual teams of 2 to 250. Diane has worked domestically and internationally and her client list includes Microsoft, Starbucks Coffee Company, AT&T Wireless Services, International Parliament of World Religions, Attachmate, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Weyerhaeuser, Olympic Resource Management, AVI BioPharma, Seattle Genetics, Avenue A and Birla in India.
Diane has lived in Washington State since 1975. She currently lives in Woodinville with the love of her life, Coal, his side kick Puppy, 4 chickens and a host of chicken predators. She has one grown son, a new daughter-in-law and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild, which has yet to be conceived. She recently became certified as a beekeeper.
Email: dbranson@earthlink.net
Beth Hannley – Co-Facilitator
Beth Hannley is president of Catalyst Consulting, Inc. a management consulting firm specializing in leadership development, business performance, customer relations. Her pragmatic approach is based on perspective gained in twenty-one years in healthcare management and a successful consulting practice since 1993. Beth's skills were further enhanced in 1992 with the completion of an Executive Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington. She also has a Master's in Speech Pathology from the University of Arizona.
Beth is sought after as a speaker on leadership, teamwork, customer relations, and the business value of a positive work environment. She has been a featured instructor since the beginning of Leadership Eastside .
As a leader and facilitator, Beth assists groups to achieve operational and service improvements. She designs and conducts team-building and strategic planning retreats for board, management and staff, helping the group to set clear, achievable goals and implementation plans.
Beth develops and presents values-based leadership training programs, teaching personnel management skills, which increase employee performance and organizational success. Customer service training programs led by Beth are known for their upbeat style and long-term effectiveness in changing behaviors. Her training programs are based on adult learning theory for immediate application and transfer to the job setting.
Beth is widely recognized for her ability to bring individuals together in common purpose, transforming concepts into operational realities.
Email: bhannley@aol.com
Nancy Hawman – Co-Facilitator
Nancy Hawman, director of human resources, The Seattle Times, leads a team of Human Resource professionals in their work as business partners at The Seattle Times Company, the leading news and information provider in the Northwest. She joined the company in 1998 as a training specialist and held management positions in Training, Organizational Development, and Employment before being promoted to Director of Human Resources in 2007. As a senior member of the Human Resources team, she has current leadership responsibility for Employee Relations, Employment Recruiting, Training, and HR Technology.
Her training and facilitation background includes over 15 years experience creating opportunities for adults to learn from and with each other. At The Seattle Times she is responsible for the corporate training & development curriculum. She has designed and delivered a wide variety of training programs for local government agencies, volunteer organizations, not-for-profit healthcare organizations, and private corporations. Her students have been as diverse as her subjects. Nancy has taught basic literacy skills to adults, Quality improvement methods and tools to physicians, Cultural Diversity workshops for front line workers, and leadership development to executives. When not in the classroom she manages a professional staff and is often called upon to facilitate team building retreats, and coach individuals in strategies for personal effectiveness.
Nancy also works with company executives at the strategic level helping to drive organizational structure and culture changes.
Nancy is a member of the curriculum team for Leadership Eastside and was privileged to act as master facilitator for the class of 2008.
Nancy holds a Bachelors degree from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and earned a Masters Degree in Education from Penn State University. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources, SPHR.
Nancy lives in Seattle with her two best friends, Jeff and Bosco, (husband and chocolate lab, respectively). They enjoy playing in the outdoors and spending weekends "off the grid" at their cabin in Eastern Washington without plumbing, electricity or cell phone reception.
Email: nhawman@seattletimes.com
Sam Magill – Co-Facilitator
When a current client was asked recently what she would say to someone thinking of working with Sam, she said the first word that came to mind was depth with sensitivity to looking both at surface issues and beneath the surface. Another client described him as being both firm and flexible and as drawing awareness and ideas from his clients rather than imposing his own. Sam has been coaching informally for 30 years – it is part of his nature – and formally as an executive coach since about 1993. The International Coach Federation considers him a Master Certified Coach and he is a member of the Academy of Coaching Supervision in London, England. He has worked in diverse settings including a 150 year old family corporation, The Boeing Company, Pacific Northwest National Labs and hospitals. He has supported state government officials at the level of Governor's cabinet and with the Country Director of an NGO in West Africa. He is a member of CoheChange, an international network of executive coaches and consultants based in Paris. In addition to being a coach and coach supervisor (mentor coach), Sam is a poet and photographer and teacher in leadership programs. His rich and eclectic experiences offer clients a powerful partner who is able to see life as it is, a coach who calls out their best performance and a trusted ally who allows them to explore the most difficult challenges of leadership.
Besides being an experienced coach, Sam's solid experience as an organization development consultant also spans 30 years. His favorite work involves designing and facilitating small and very large meetings in which participants engage each other and change their organizations for the better. He draws on a wide array of tools and invents his own as needed by clients. Organization redesign, leadership development, conflict management, vision and organization grief are natural applications of his talents.
Email: sam@sammagill.com
Telephone: 425-787-0846
Web Site: www.sammagill.com
Colleen Ponto – Co-Facilitator
Colleen Ponto teaches at Seattle University where she is a core faculty member of the Organization Systems Renewal Graduate Program which specializes in helping adult learners to become designers and leaders of systemic organizational change. Colleen is also an independent educational and organizational consultant and one of her current projects is teaching systems thinking to groups within organizations and to individuals in public workshops. Colleen also leads a nonprofit organization in her community focusing on creating a sustainable future through park preservation, community collaboration, and innovative educational experiences. Before becoming a professor and consultant, Colleen worked as a pulp and paper engineer for the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company. She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University, her master's degree in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University Seattle, and her bachelor's degree in Paper Science and Engineering from the University of Washington.
Email: cponto@ponto.com
Telephone: 425-489-0549
Jill Sheldon – Co-Facilitator
Jill Sheldon has been helping Puget Sound area nonprofits reach greater levels of impact and service for 20 years. For the past six years, Jill has offered the nonprofit and philanthropic communities capacity building consulting and leadership coaching through her company Open Road Coaching and Consulting. She has facilitated numerous strategic planning efforts and board retreats, helped a number of organizations create effective long-term fundraising plans and worked as a leadership coach with many executive directors in the foundation and nonprofit communities. Please see Jill’s resumé for a client list.
Before she became a consultant and coach, Jill served education, social service, social change and environmental organizations in many capacities including: Program Manager, Assistant Director, Development Director, Board Member, Committee Chair, Consultant and Coach. She has a Masters of Arts from the Leadership Institute of Seattle and a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College.
Email: jill@openroadcoaching.com
Telephone: 206-328-4281
Web Site: www.openroadcoaching.com
Guy Silver – Co-Facilitator
Guy Silver has been a professional teacher, trainer and mentor for the past 20 years, and loves his profession. He is passionate about providing the highest quality of teaching and support to our future leaders, because believes that he has been called to stewardship and service. Helping others discover and achieve their full potential is of paramount importance in his life. He is driven to be the best mentor hecan be. He believes that Leadership Eastside’s goal of reaching out to people who are committed to creating a legacy of leadership and mentorship is closely aligned with his life's work. Outside of his corporate job, he enjoys the visual arts: paint, sculpture, architecture, and design. He is especially sensitive to the effect that art can have on our lives. By vocation, he is the employee communications director for Costco Wholesale, based in Issaquah, WA.
Email: gsilver@costco.com
Eric Svaren – Co-Facilitator
Eric Svaren is founder and principal of Groupsmith, Inc., a Seattle-based firm specializing in helping people get traction–by facilitating change, clarifying strategy, strengthening trust, and improving communication. He helps individuals, teams and entire organizations achieve breakthrough results. Eric is particularly known for his creative application of the latest research and theory.
A master facilitator, Eric also designs and facilitates retreats and off-sites, conflict resolution, teambuilding, regulation negotiation, and labor contract bargaining.
In addition to his consulting and facilitation work, Eric teaches mid-career professionals for the Cascade Center for Public Service and the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program both at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. He has developed unique workshops on Leading without Authority and Dangerous Decisions (how to involve people in decision making).
Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Harborview Medical Center, the state of Washington, University of Washington, Washington State University, Sound Transit, the Port of Seattle, Safeco, Unitus, Eddie Bauer, and the cities of Seattle, Redmond and Bellevue–as well as dozens of other companies, and non-profit and government agencies. He has also presented at dozens of conferences, such as the National Labor Management Conference, the Housing Washington conference, and the Public Sector Performance Conference.
Before launching Groupsmith in 2000, Svaren managed a joint labor-management program for the City of Seattle designed to increase employee participation in the improvement of service
delivery. He also worked as a public policy analyst for Seattle city councilmember Tom Weeks and city departments, and as a human services planner for a regional nonprofit. He earned his
Master's Degree in organizational sociology and social psychology from the University of Washington. Eric's volunteer activities have included pro bono consulting and training, serving
as board member and officer for several non-profit organizations.
Email: svaren@groupsmith.com
Telephone: 206-352-2400