We’d like to thank these people for their service to BACN.
Biographical Info
Since 1988, Eve Abbott has pioneered brain-based performance systems for executives, business owners and their teams. Eve combines the latest in brain research with best practices on streamlining offices, paper and computer information so everyone can work 25 percent more productively while reducing stress. Eve is the author of How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain and A Brain New Way to Work.
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Judy Baker helps consultants take bite-sized actions that deliver results. She works with creative professionals, authors and speakers to create strategies and action plans that are sustainable, flexible, effective, profitable and in alignment with their values. Judy is a Certified Action Plan Marketing Coach + Graphic Artist who creates effective marketing solutions that transform you and your business. She is a popular speaker, trainer, coach and designer with expertise in publishing (print, video, audio, and social media), performing and making connections. Judy is the owner of brandvines and is blogging a book, http://www.yourmarketingalmanac.com
Judy chairs the programs committee and frequently leads Creating Connections and Members’ Forum sessions at meetings. She created the BACN logo.
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Mike Baldus was assimilated into the BACN Borg in March 2014. He brings extensive experience with non-profit organizations, including, Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, Toastmasters International, and Rotary.
As a consultant, Mike helps clients solve problems that keep them awake at night. He is recognized for his skills in insightful questioning, understandable explanations, and collaborative team building. He has more than twenty-five years’ experience providing personalized solutions for business owners in professional services, agriculture and construction.
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Ulrika Brattemark is a writer, speaker, and coach who provides a dynamic and playful approach to time management. She has twenty years of global experience at a large software company where she was a key evangelist for the grassroots implementation of Agile.
Ulrika leads groups of heart-centered female service providers, offering tools for intentional productivity and compassionate accountability. Her mission is to help amplify her clients’ positive impact on the world. Learn more at Soul Sisters for Good.
She is an ex-yoga-teacher, beginner SUP’er, who loves to dance and can occasionally be found sailing on the bay or telemarking down mountains!
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Barbara Chan’s career experiences give depth and range to the expertise she brings to her role as executive coach and organizational consultant. Since her first independent consulting engagements back in 1986, Barbara has developed and grown her expertise and trusted reputation by helping hundreds of executives and their teams increase their effectiveness and personal satisfaction. She earned several credentials, including the Certified Management Consultant (CMC®) certification from the highly respected Institute for Management Consultants USA, whose Code of Ethics she adheres to strongly.
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Alice Collier Cochran, M.Ed has been consultant in the field of organization effectiveness for over twenty years. She currently focuses on developing college leaders, facilitating inclusive strategic planning, increasing collaboration in groups, improving meetings and facilitating “ Done-In-a-Day” planning retreats and off-sites.
She has been a board member of the Bay Area Organization Development Network and the American Society for Training and Development. She’s past president of the Golden Gate Tall Ships Society and a convener of the Marin Advisory Council of the American Cancer Society.
Alice wrote Roberta’s Rules of Order for nonprofit boards and other teams (published by Jossey- Bass/Wiley in 2004). The book was nominated for the 2005 Terry McAdams nonprofit book award by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.
Alice joined the BACN Board in July 2014.
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Karen Colligan, founder and principal of PeopleThink, is an industry-recognized leader in the field of leadership, team and career development. For more than 20 years, she has been helping companies achieve competitive advantage by improving team performance, employee engagement and organizational excellence.
Karen was one of BACN’s founding board members. Between 2003 and 2007, she co-chaired the Programs Committee.
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Jeff Daniel is an organizer and process improver. Jeff specializes helping IT organizations create PMOs and hone their project management practices. He helps leaders gain visibility into their operations, find efficiencies, and manage demand. Jeff’s experience spans hi-tech start-ups to corporate giants like Google and AT&T. He has a toolkit of solutions that range from making meetings more efficient to defining organizational strategies and converting them into action plans
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Angela is the Introvert’s guide to LinkedIn. Do you feel awkward about self-promotion? She works with Coaches & Consultants to refine their personal brand, expand their influence and increase opportunity. Her 10 Day Challenge has helped over 100 Entrepreneurs since October, completely transform their businesses and the way they use LinkedIn. She has been working for 7 years as a LinkedIn Consultant, Coach, Sales Trainer, and Social Media strategist. Angela, a former high school rodeo champion, is also a hiker, author and NFL fan (Go Packers!). Watch for her upcoming book, Conversations with Skunks.
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Volker Frank is a synthesizer, combining business performance with human potential, systems thinking with intuition, and strategic management with organizational awareness. He brings his passions to the business world as an executive coach, leadership trainer and agile management consultant.
Volker worked for twelve years as a software consultant for different size companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. He became known for his ability to organize chaos. He is able to translate the way people collaborate and organize business processes into mission-critical applications. With this foundation, he now supports companies with the transition to Agile software development practices and dramatically improve the effectiveness of their work.
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Sanford Friedman literally grew up in a small business. His business career began at the age of 10 when his father decided he would take over the family business. He works with businesses of 100 or fewer employees in all business sectors whether they sell expertise, services or products. His niche is complementing his client’s professional expertise with his business management know-how.
Sanford served on the BACN Board from 2004-2010, including two years on the Programs Committee and valuable service in strategic planning.
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Rich Friesen is an innovator of trader training systems, financial software design and development, and intellectual property creation and management. He founded Friesen Consulting in 2001 in response to the needs of floor traders to thrive in an electronic environment. His background in psychology has been instrumental in his development of the training programs that produce profitable traders and trading systems, and in making behavioral finance practical for his clients with his innovative Mind Muscles™ training program.
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Bill Gage is a senior business practices and information management professional with strong capabilities in operations and financial management. He is particularly skilled in bridging business needs with systems solutions by understanding strategic objectives and existing environments, and in developing operations and financial management systems and processes. Though a founding member of the Bay Area Consulting Group, Bill now works at Savitar Consulting.
Bill maintained the BACN membership roster and managed the mailing list and registration system for many years. He retired from the board in 2011.
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Terry created, led, and managed The Henderson Group’s outsourced Executive Communications practice. This initiative expanded their existing consulting, 1:1 coaching, and training communication services business. Terry served as an outsourced Consulting Executive Communications Director at Xamarin (Acquired by Microsoft), MarkMonitor (Spun off by Thomson-Reuters Spinout), Prezi, and Climate Corporation (Acquired by Monsanto), and Serena Software (Acquired by Micro Focus).
Terry was the VP of Services from 2002 through 2008. In that role, he oversaw all operations, curriculum, and services. In addition, he managed a team of 11 professionals. This entailed the selection, training, and development of all consultants. Terry has been a consultant with the Henderson Group since 1997.
In 2010 responding to client requests, Terry launched a video production company named EinsteinFilms.com which produces short, hi-impact video clips to help companies “illustrate your complex message in a simple, fun way so that anyone can understand it in 3 minutes or less.”
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Prior to becoming a consultant, Sallie Goetsch (rhymes with “sketch”) translated, directed, produced, and was sometimes forced to act in Greek and Roman plays, as well as founding an electronic journal. Sallie suffers from multiple business personality disorder, but has been concentrating her efforts on her WordPress web development business for the last few years. In addition to serving on the BACN board, Sallie organizes the East Bay WordPress Meetup and has just been recruited as a director of the Oakley Chamber of Commerce.
Sallie presents many BACN Bits & Bytes segments, chairs the website redevelopment committee, and maintains the BACN website.
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Shelley Golden is a Professional Presence Consultant and Zoom Make-Over Guru who helps professionals up-level their image in-person and online to feel empowered to stand out and feel more confident in how they appear to others when they walk into a room or participate in a Zoom meeting.
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Jim Harrison was an early member of the BACN board. He ran Lincoln Engineering, an independent consulting firm that works for electronic manufacturing companies who want to gain a competitive edge by having the best possible components in their product — components with the best availability, best reliability, best performance, and lowest cost. He is now West Coast Editor for Hearst Media.
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Ginny Kuhel has over 25+ years as a human resources professional, her specialty is working with small business owners, who do not have a HR professional on-site. Ginny enjoys handling all those HR needs and concerns that most business owners get frustrated with or do not have time in their busy days to handle. Maneuvering through the California landmine of labor laws and regulations can be daunting, and Ginny assists owners in staying in compliance and avoiding costly labor lawsuits.
Ginny has expertise in working with the trade businesses and service industries such as construction, landscape, restaurants, painters, roofers, and retail. As an advisor for Marin SBDC, she helps new business owners understand the labor laws and develop their orientation processes, and policies and procedures.
Ginny has a passion for teaching. She provides executives and employees with interactive, fun and educational training in the required Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment, Small Business Labor Law Requirements, Bridging the Communications Gap, Leaders vs Managers, Engagement of Employees, Motivational Techniques, and Career Development.
Ginny’s motto is: Let me handle your HR needs, So you can concentrate on building your business.
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Generations Now LLC is a marketing agency in Oakland, California that serves companies selling to people age 50 to 105. Our clients are healthcare companies, financial services, technology, in-home care and lifestyle products.
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Janet Moore has worked in both business development and recruiting. She served on the BACN Board in 2006-2007, before leaving to take up a full-time job. She is now a direct hire recruiter at Nelson Staffing. You can still spot Janet at the occasional BACN meeting.
Biographical Info
Michael North is a principal at Emergent Horizon, which provides strategic executions solutions for small businesses. He has been engaged in Sales, Project Management and Sales Operations for 30 years. Most recently, he has been working with small businesses and leadership teams to convert their strategic planning process into a strategic execution methodology. This connects the customer’s desires to the company’s strengths and uses Agile Management skills to rapidly adjust the company’s approaches based on internal and external feedback, creating improved momentum and synergy.
Michael handles coaching the monthly BACN speakers, as well as co-facilitating the BACN Board’s own strategic execution process.
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Ron Person has devoted his business career to helping people and organizations learn the best practices that are critical to success. After 26 years as an independent consultant and road warrior, Ron joined Sitecore as the Director of Analytics. Ron is the author of 26 books, the most recent of which is Balanced Scorecards and Operational Dashboards with Microsoft Excel.
Ron served with Sanford Friedman on the Programs Committee for entirely too many years, before stepping down in 2009.
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Ted Prodromou started working with the internet since 1991, long before Al Gore invented it. His company NetBizExperts specialized in helping people get more web traffic and earn more money online. He has just released a new book about LinkedIn.
Ted acted as resident geek, built a Joomla 1.5 website for BACN, and presented many Bits & Bytes tips before taking a day job at Sitecore and stepping down at the end of 2009.
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Marla Rosner, principal of Instill Leadership, has excelled as an organizational development and training professional for twenty years. As consultants and working internally, Marla’s team has a proven track record in guiding and executing employee development initiatives to produce bottom-line business results. Marla is a vibrant and engaging speaker, group facilitator and instructor as well as a seasoned project manager. She is a book author and writes for SFExaminer.com about topics such as digital citizenship and netiquette.
Marla sits on the BACN program committee and leads Members Forum sessions at meetings.
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Janet Schieferdecker is an emerging leader’s secret weapon. She helps experienced professionals, who are motivated to have a fulfilling career, clarify their “personal why”, create and communicate boundaries around what really matters, and then teaches the art, practice and skill of asking for, understanding and giving feedback.
Strategic Alchemy: using a unique combination of business savvy and deep experience in personal development and communications modalities, Janet helps leaders to create more impact on the change they would like to see in the world.
When she’s not working, you can find Janet out on the trail with her dog, or at the barn grooming and leading horses at an organization that provides equine therapy.
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Penny Schultz, Principal of Schultz HR Consulting, LLC, has over 20 years of experience in the human resources/training management field. Drawing from years of senior level experience in the corporate environment, Penny and her team provide HR services to a wide variety of small businesses in California. They take the fear out of legal compliance and the mystery and challenges out of employee relations.
Penny was an early board member, helping to organize programs for BACN.
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Tom Ucko is a seasoned executive coach and organizational consultant with a unique blend of tough-minded business sense and psychological savvy. His work helps leaders and leadership teams resolve the troublesome dilemmas that keep them from meeting their business goals and reaching their potential. He brings to his work a passion for working with bright, competent leaders who are committed to their own learning as well as the development of their teams.
Tom attempted to civilize the board meetings during his tenure on the BACN board.
Biographical Info
Gary White started Pacific Crest Marketing in 1986 after seven years on both the agency and client sides of the advertising business. With over 20 consecutive years as a consultant, Gary is valued not only for his strategic vision but is recognized as an innovator in the field of facilitated meetings. He has personally designed and conducted over 1,000 such meetings including everything from focus groups and customer advisory boards to brainstorming and strategy sessions.
Gary serves on the board’s sales and marketing committee, chairs board meetings, and helps find star speakers.