About Our Speakers

January 25th Speaker

Dr. Laura L. Koppes, Ph.D

Laura L. Koppes, Ph.D., is Chair and Professor, Department of Psychology, University of West Florida (UWF), and is also Co-Director of the UWF Center for Applied Psychology, a consulting and research group affiliated with the psychology department. Prior to joining UWF, Dr. Koppes was the President of LK Associates, a global organization and human resources consulting firm, and was Director of Work-Life at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Koppes earned her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology from Ohio State University in 1987. She has over 100 articles, book chapters, notes, peer-reviewed and/or invited presentations, and grants, and has recently edited and published the only comprehensive scholarly text on the history of I-O psychology (Historical Perspectives in Industrial and Organizational Psychology). She is a U.S. Fulbright scholar, and was approved as a Fulbright Senior Specialist candidate to provide consulting in other countries. Previously, Dr. Koppes served as an Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, directed graduate programs in I-O Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and has over 20 years of experience in teaching, research, and consulting.

Presentation Description

This presentation was an overview of a leadership development process. Specific attention was given to the assessment of individuals, and the role of assessment for building leaders and leadership capacity. The use of coaching in assessment was also reviewed. Sited resources during this presentation include the following:

February 22nd Speaker

Jason Haag

Jason Haag's professional interest and background is in learning technology and standards. Mr. Haag has been involved with SCORM and ADL strategies for more than eight years as a technical lead for the Navy’s ELearning program. He currently works for the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative funded under the Office of the Secretary of Defense to provide Systems Engineering & Technical Analysis (SETA) support. As a Learning Technology Analyst with ADL, Mr. Haag serves as a liaison for all of the DoD Components in supporting their learning initiatives. He is a graduate of the University of West Florida, member of both the IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC), and is a native of Pensacola, FL.

Presentation Description

Never heard of the Sharable Content Object Model (SCORM) until now? Tasked with creating SCORM-compliant content? Wondering what SCORM is and where to get started? This presentation will introduce you to the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative and will cover the following SCORM concepts:

• Define key terms (such as assets, sharable content objects, reusability)
• Describe the main contents in each of the SCORM 2004 books
• Discuss major considerations when planning a SCORM content development project
• Direct you to other ADL resources based on your specific needs

Click here to download Jason's presentation.

March 29nd Speaker

Dr. Steven J. Kass, Dr. Sherry Schneider, Ms. Brittany Bjorklund and Ms. Liza Navarro

Dr. Steven J. Kass earned a Ph.D. in 1993 from the University of Central Florida in Human Factors Psychology and an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of West Florida in 1989. From 1993 until 1998 he was a Research Psychologist for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division where he helped develop training programs and interventions for the Fleet. He currently holds the rank of Professor of Psychology at the University of West Florida where he is also the Coordinator of the master's program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Co-Director of the Center for Applied Psychology. He teaches such courses as Training & Development, Industrial Psychology, Advanced Organizational Psychology, Human Factors, Psychology of Learning, and Military Psychology.

Sherry K. Schneider, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of West Florida (UWF) as well as a consultant for the department's Center for Applied Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has taught at the Eller College of Management at University of Arizona and in such countries as Australia, Japan, Germany, Hungary, and Poland. In Australia, she served on the Industrial-Organizational (I/O) faculty of both the University of New South Wales (Sydney) and Monash University (Melbourne). She studies leadership, organizational identity and work-life effectiveness. She teaches such courses as Social Psychology, Psychology of Workforce Diversity, Group Dynamics, and Organizational Development and Change. In 2009, she won the President's Award for Leadership in Diversity for her contributions to the University of West Florida.

Ms. Brittany Bjorkland is a recent graduate of the Industrial Organizational Psychology program at UWF and will discuss how her education has prepared her for the challenges faced early in her career.

Ms. Liza Navarro is a current graduate student in the program who will discuss her experiences as a student about to enter the workforce.

April 26nd Speaker

Jeff Harris, SkillQ

Jeff is President of SkillQ and leads the creation of eLearning and Corporate Communication products for clients across many industries including Healthcare, Financial Services, Power Generation and Not-for-Profit. SkillQ products are known for blending video, animation, and interactive exercises to achieve both training and communication objectives. SkillQ is an Adobe Certified Training Center and specializes in helping students employ digital media tools to improve business communication and deliver workforce learning.

Prior to launching SkillQ, Jeff founded the eLearning development program at The Home Depot. This group pioneered the use of Flash, and 3D modeling techniques in eLearning design. The products of this initiative changed the company's training strategy and earned several eLearning design awards. Jeff has been a session facilitator at national conferences including ASTD and Elliott Masie's annual "Learning" conference. Jeff is Vice President of the Pensacola Chapter of ASTD.

May 24th Speaker

Michael Mendelssohn, The Mendelssohn Group, Inc.

Michael Mendelssohn is CEO of The Mendelssohn Group and a BrandsFormation Strategy partner. He brings over 17 years of experience developing people, leading multi-million dollar sales organizations and creating winning brand strategies for businesses nationwide.

Bestselling author and BrandsFormation® founding partner Chuck Mefford calls Michael one of the best of the best. “Michael consistently knocks it out of the park for his clients who always become “fans”.

As a BrandsFormation Strategy Partner Michael helps small business ranging from 1 to 20 million category “get to the next level”. His experience, street level marketing knowledge and ability to think outside the universe make him the perfect fit for any business owner that’s “been there and done that.” If you’ve tried all of “shortcuts” and “gimmicks” and ready to get real and start a path toward real measurable growth, it’s time you have a chat with Michael.

June 28nd Speaker

Craig Deao, The Studer Group

Craig Deao is the Research & Development Leader for Studer Group, a national healthcare consulting firm based in Gulf Breeze. As a member of the senior leadership team, Craig is responsible for several areas of operations including new product development, research, marketing, business development, and their education division which includes monthly educational institutes and a 20-person speakers bureau.

Craig has a passion for identifying and spreading best practices across the healthcare industry. His areas of interest include patient safety, patient perception of care, and the intersection of evidence-based medicine with Evidence-Based LeadershipSM.

Prior to joining Studer Group, Craig served in several capacities at VHA in Dallas, Texas, where his primary role was sharing best practices among the executives leading VHA’s 2,200 member healthcare organizations.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Craig received bachelor’s degrees in both Mass Communication and in Animal, Dairy and Poultry Science from Louisiana State University. Yes . . . Poultry Science.

He received his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota and currently serves on their Alumni Board of Directors. Craig is married to Julie and is the proud father of two-and-a-half-year-old Sam and his little brother jack, who just turned three months old.

July 26nd Speaker

Brian Jones, The Table Group

Best known as the former senior consultant with the Leadership Institute, Brian Jones has over fifteen years experience helping organizations achieve real results in the areas of organizational and leadership development. Brian originally served as Director of People Development at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, FL. Brian was instrumental in that organization’s recognition as Training Magazine’s “Top 100 Training Organizations in America” for five consecutive years and Fortune magazine’ s “Best Places to Work in America” for four consecutive years. Brian also demonstrated expertise in the areas of succession planning and was a principal creator of the succession planning tools used at Baptist Health Care. These were key in Baptist Hospital, Inc. being awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2003, only the second hospital to achieve the prestigious award. Brian’s expertise and consulting became so demanded by other organizations that in 2003, he joined the Leadership Institute full-time and traveled the world delivering outcomes-based consulting to companies and senior leadership teams.

Brian first became acquainted with Patrick Lencioni in 2005 when he was chosen to be Principal Consultant of The Table Group, and he began facilitating high-impact sessions for senior leadership teams and other intact work groups. Brian is also the co-author of the book “Ordinary Greatness” (Wiley, 2009), which helps leaders develop greater levels of employee engagement in their companies. “Ordinary Greatness” will be published in Chinese in 2010.

Brian is a sought-after expert on teamwork and workplace issues, having been quoted recently in USA TODAY, The Denver Post, The Miami Herald, and other publications. He lives with his wife and three sons in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Pam Bilbrey, The Table Group

Pam Bilbrey is a management consultant, coach and speaker that assists organizations in maximizing their strengths to yield extraordinary results. She has lead cultural transformations in some of the most respected organizations in the United States, Canada and Europe. More than 9600 leaders have participated in her workshops and seminars. She is one of only 15 individuals worldwide certified as Affiliates of The Table Group, the consulting firm of Patrick Lencioni, New York Times best-selling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Her work with the Table Group focuses on executive level team effectiveness and executive coaching for high performance.

Pam has authored three books (BreakOUT: Unleash the Power of Human Capital, Reflections on Leadership: Rants, Raves and Realities and Ordinary Greatness: It’s Where You Least Expect It…Everywhere) and over fifty articles on employee engagement, leadership and team development and organizational change. She received the 2007 Individual Professional Excellence Award from AHA’s Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development and was named one of the Top 100 People in Leadership Development by Leadership Excellence in 2008.

She served as the founder and President of the Baptist Health Care Leadership Institute. During her tenure, the firm guided over 200 organizations to achieve best-in-class results in employee engagement and patient satisfaction. Pam held the position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Baptist Health Care, a Fortune 100 Best Places to Work organization and a Baldrige National Quality program recipient. She was responsible for initiating Baptist University, an award-winning leadership program and for developing a much touted branding and communication strategy.

Pam holds a Master of Science degree, a MBA and has over 25 years in executive leadership positions.

August 23nd - Panel Discussion

Participants Coming Soon!

September 27nd Speaker

Athena DuPre, UWF

Program Description Coming Soon!

October 25nd Speaker

Jay Massey, COCO Designs

Program Description Coming Soon!

November 15th Speaker

Coming Soon!