Consortium of Trainers

PNDC Trainers:
Sharon Ellison
Ami Atkinson
Michael Bell
Mercedes Martin
Mady Shumofsky
Vicki Dello Joio
Fabienne McPhail Naples
Kevin Jones
Dr. Monza Naff
Margaret Benson Thompson
Dr. Kostas Bagakis

 

 

 

Sharon's vision has been to collaborate with a network of highly seasoned, independent professionals in order to provide transformational learning for her clients. Each person in the PNDC Consortium is an expert in his or her own field as well as being highly trained in Sharon's methods. She also works with a wider circle of trainers with special talents.

While each trainer has particular areas of expertise, all are versatile in any training environment. For example, some trainers have primary experience in corporate settings, healthcare, law, or with non-profits, while others have a background in education or therapy. All of these trainers are commited to community building.

They are dynamic, straightforward, articulate, and compassionate. They also understand that finding humor, even in stressful situations, is essential to the learning process. They are adept at using a wide variety of creative training tools, whether providing individual coaching, facilitating workshops and group interactions, or presenting at conferences.

Sharon Strand Ellison, Founder and Executive Director of IPNDC, is an award-winning speaker, author of Taking the War Out of Our Words, and the creator of the Powerful Non-Defensive Communication™ (PNDC) process. Sharon was a Scholar in Residence at St. John’s University and is a pioneer in developing methods for eliminating defensiveness. Her audio-book, Taking Power Struggle Out of Parenting won a Benjamin Franklin Award. She provides training programs and keynotes for both professional and personal growth organizations. Her client list includes Hewlett Packard, Nordstrom, Wells Fargo, Lockheed Martin, and the Centre for Dispute Resolution in London.
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sharon

Ami Atkinson, Director of IPNDC, is a graduate of Mills College and co-author of the audio-book Taking Power Struggle Out of Parenting. As Sharon’s daughter, she has been an active participant in the discussion and development of this model. Ami has done psychosocial research at Stanford Medical School, been on the Newborn and Parent Advisory Board at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, and worked with severely emotionally disturbed children. Ami provides coaching and workshops for parents as well as training programs for professional organizations. Her client list includes General Dynamics, Habitat for Humanity, and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
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ami
Michael Bell is a founder and principle of InPartnership Consulting, specializing in business assessments and change management strategies for both profit and non-profit organizations. He is astute and tenacious. He is a core member of two national think tanks, including Fetzer's "Healing the Heart of Diversity." Michael provides workshops, training and conference presentations internationally.
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Mercedes Martin is a founder and principle of InPartnership Consulting. A native Spanish-speaking international consultant and conference speaker, Mercedes introduces cutting edge organizational development tools and works does intensive work with corporations in European and Latin American countries as well as in the United States and Canada. She is a member of three national think tanks, including "Consensus Building Processes for Organizations and Communities."
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Mady Shumofsky is an award-winning mediator and a black belt in Jujitsu. Combining the discipline and strategic thinking of her martial art with her emphasis on community building, she teaches conflict management and does mediations for a wide range of government, corporate, community, and individual clients. She has ten years of experience working with attorneys on employment disputes and trains attorneys and mediators in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She also offers workshops on Group Facilitation. Mady is on the Board of Directors of the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California.
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Vicki Dello Joio teaches Chi Kung, one of the foundational martial arts. She guides people to use their energy with power and intention transforming obstacles into possibilities, empowering them to achieve individual and professional goals. She brings over 30 years of Martial Arts and 40 years of theater experience to her work as a workshop facilitator and conference speaker. As a member of Playback Theater, Vicki has participated in conflict resolution work of historic proportions, for example, with survivors of the Holocaust and descendents of Nazis.
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Fabienne McPhail Naples - A founding member of the Women Against Racism at the University of Iowa, Fabienne has over twenty years of involvement as a trainer with a focus on women's empowerment and leadership, as well as issues confronting African American Women, cross-gender dialogue, and violence in the workplace. A dynamic facilitator, she challenges women and men alike to examine how their own attitudes affect their individual and group performance. She speaks at conferences nationwide and works in educational, non-profit and corporate settings.
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Kevin Jones - A communication consultant with nearly twenty years experience, Kevin is also an actor, a jazz guitarist, and a magnetic speaker. He incorporates an understanding of the impact of "social rank" on the functioning of people at all levels of the hierarchy in any organization. Kevin works well with "difficult" groups. He focuses on organizations undergoing change in direction, structure, markets, and/or personnel. Kevin also works with African American men on confronting their own history, healing, and achieving their goals. His clients include AT&T, Kaiser Permenente, and Microsoft.
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Dr. Monza Naff - A writer, speaker, teacher, and facilitator of workshops on creativity, ritual and spirituality, Monza is an proponent of arts in the workplace, demonstrating how reading a poem or doing a small ritual can create deep relaxation, increase morale and bring a fresh approach to problem solving. Always honoring diverse traditions, she has an extraordinary ability to bring people together in community. Monza offers creative writing classes and various workshops for the public. She is the author of an award-winning book.
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Margaret Benson Thompson - A therapist and trainer, Margaret offers workshops and conference presentations with a focus on viewing individual psychological issues in within a cultural and community context. In her work she draws on Chi Kung, a meditative martial art. She has worked extensively with high risk adolescents. Margaret presents on a range of topics including, mentoring youth, American history from a multicultural perspective, solution focused therapy, child abuse assessment and prevention, and collaborative practices for community problem solving. She also has a private practice.
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Dr. Kostas Bagakis is a bi-lingual, Greek-American man and an early member of the "Unlearning Racism" movement who has a unique approach to community building. He focuses on the essential, often ignored, issue of "class" as a major factor in organizational breakdown and, ultimately, a key to enhancing the meaning people find in their work and their ability to live together in diverse communities. Kostas speaks at conferences and facilitates training nationwide, as well as teaching at San Francisco State University.
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Ellison Communication Consultants
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Phone: 1-800-714-7334 or 1-510-655-8086
info@pndc.com

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