Center for Leadership and Innovation instructors are not only engaging teachers, but renowned researchers, practicing professionals, consultants and authors as well.
Joe Candido
Joe Candido has over 26 years of experience in sales, marketing, consulting, technology, and advanced training methods. Joe is a consultant who works with his clients to develop competitive differentiation in their market place, and then build both strategic and tactical sales and marketing plans which leverage that differentiation.
Throughout Joe’s career he has worked with wide range of clients and industries, often creating in-depth, multi-year programs. Joe has worked with several multi-national corporations, regional companies, and nonprofits. He has in-depth expertise in:
- creating intellectual property
- manufacturing, eCommerce
- health care
- telecommunication and
- Information Technology
Joe owned and operated an IT consulting firm, held positions of Director of Sales, and VP of Sales and Marketing, VP of Innovation, worked with leading research and advertising firms, and delivered a wide range of technical and executive training programs, some which have been accredit by ACE and Champlain College.
Joe recently built and implemented a sales and marketing plan for a manufacturing firm that drove sales from $20MM to $30MM in 3 years during which time profits increased by 850%. He then positioned the company for a very successful acquisition. He served as a director of Hill Associates, Inc.’s Board of Directors for 3 years. He also consults/coaches with several executives on an individual basis.
Joe has been trained in adult learning and several sales methodologies and often includes their Principles when creating custom sales performance improvement programs for his clients. Joe graduated from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh with a BS in Business Management.
Bruce Chadbourne
Bruce Chadbourne, PMP, PgMP, PMI-RMP, is an instructor for PMCentersUSA with more than three decades of experience in engineering project and program management. Bruce has an extensive history in independent assignments, providing support to executive management in technical domains including: shipyard and industrial environments, nuclear engineering, chemistry, software and hardware engineering, information technology, government and military sensors and communication systems.
Bruce’s extensive career in project management began with the U.S. Navy serving as an officer in ADP, Surface Warfare, and Nuclear Engineering. While serving in the U.S. Navy, Bruce worked on requirements management, risk management, software engineering, project management and CMMI. Bruce served as an independent NAVAIR/NAVSEA technical representative at IBM for the development of LAMPS MKIII Helicopter Avionics and Shipboard Electronics projects. Working as a Senior Software Designer for GE Aerospace (now Lockheed Martin), Bruce coordinated the process, tools, methods and metrics utilized by over 300 software engineers on the AN/BSY-2 Submarine Combat System in a CASE-intensive UNIX workstation network.
More recently, Bruce has been actively presenting project management and risk management curriculum associated with the Project Management Institute, with a specialization in Earned Value, Business Requirements Analysis (UML/OOA) PRINCE 2, Estimating Techniques, Critical Path, and Critical Chain Scheduling techniques. Bruce has lectured on business analysis, requirements management, system testing, and Agile project management techniques. He is an honors graduate from Cornell University with a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. Furthermore, he has achieved top Navy academic achievements and service qualifications.
Annmarie Curley
Annmarie Curley is a senior project management consultant with over 18 years Information Technology experience. She has extensive experience managing global teams and complex projects across financial, healthcare, and IT consulting services sectors. With hands-on experience of the full software development lifecycle, Annmarie promotes smart and effective use of process improvement, project management and software lifecycle methodologies and tools to ensure continuous improvement and best practices. She has a track record of focusing on high risk areas of a project or program, realigning projects that need rescuing, and delivering improved processes and technical solutions that result in tangible business value.
Annmarie has demonstrated experience assisting clients with strategic IT planning, project management, project risk analysis, business process improvement, business analysis, team leadership, organizational change management, project management best practices, and software development process improvement.
Originally from Ireland, Annmarie moved to Vermont in 2006 after spending 10 years in New York City. She enjoys all the outdoors activities that Vermont has to offer and can be found on the ski slopes with her family in the winter, and hiking or spending time on the lake in the warmer weather!
Annmarie has a BSc in Applied Computing from University of Ulster, Ireland.
Rocki-Lee DeWitt, Ph.D.
Rocki-Lee DeWitt is the former Dean and Professor of Management in the School of Business at the University of Vermont. She earned her Ph.D. at Columbia University in strategic management, her M.S. at The Ohio State University in Agricultural Economics and her B.S. in Marketing and Management at New York University. Prior to her arrival in 2002, Dr. DeWitt was the Associate Dean for Professional Masters Programs at the Pennsylvania State University. While at UVM, Dr. DeWitt has been responsible for hiring 15 of the school’s 27 tenure track faculty, played a leadership role in increasing the number of endowed faculty fellowships and professorships, and helped build a management development and executive education presence. Dr. DeWitt has received numerous teaching awards and has discussed teaching innovations at multiple national conferences. Her research on downsizing and restructuring has been published in top tier journals. Dr. DeWitt is a member of the Board of Governors of Beta Gamma Sigma, a member of the Board of Directors of Yankee Farm Credit (an ACA), and sits on various community boards including the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Burlington Industrial Council.
Connie Emerson
Connie Emerson, an instructor and consultant for PMCentersUSA, has over 30 years of practical experience in the field of Project Management, including projects in engineering and construction, manufacturing, information technology, retail, insurance and financial services. As a project management consultant, Connie has extensive experience optimizing project management within organizations through focused training, implementing best practices in project management, coaching project and program managers in client organizations, and facilitating client-specific planning and requirements sessions.
Some of the engagements Connie has led include the creation and optimization of Project Management Office services, along with development of processes and templates to meet an organization’s needs/governance model. She has also provided project manager coaching services including project plan evaluations, project re-planning support, and process reviews. In addition, Connie has supported project managers in the baselining of new initiatives and in the recovery of troubled projects. Connie also has demonstrated skills in the facilitation of team kick-off meetings and work sessions to develop project requirements, product design specifications and comprehensive project plans to ensure project success. Among the many clients Connie has worked with are Inland Steel Corporation, Nationwide Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, L.L. Bean, and Albridge Solutions, formerly part of PNC.
Connie earned her Project Management Professional certification (PMP) in 1999. She earned her MBA degree from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Business in 1984, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Delaware.
Karen Fleming
Karen has over 25 years of strategy, marketing, product development and research experience with leading traditional and non-traditional organizations. Karen is the University of Vermont, Vermont Business School Instructor teaching Strategic Marketing Management. Her career includes such notable companies as Procter & Gamble, Ocean Spray and Application, Inc., Stonyfield Farm, and Seventh Generation. She has also worked as a growth strategy consultant at CDI (now part of Mercer Consulting). As Vice President of Marketing at Stonyfield Farm and Seventh Generation, she developed and launched the two most successful product lines in the company’s histories and helped establish these companies as leading brands in their respective categories.
Karen also was co-founder and CEO of Coates Walker, Inc., a manufacturer of “green” cabinetry that served residential and commercial markets.
Karen is a board member of the Vermont Green Building Network, a member of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Peer to Peer network, and the marketing instructor for the Vermont Women’s Small Business Program. She is also the Director of the MBA Program in Sustainable Business and Associate Professor at Green Mountain College, and founder and president of her own marketing and sustainable business consultancy.
Karen earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, and her MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.
Susan Hughes, Ph.D., CPA
Susan Hughes is an associate professor of accounting. She joined the UVM faculty in 2006. At UVM she teaches undergraduate accounting courses and the MBA Business Analysis and Consulting. Prior to joining the UVM faculty, Susan spent 17 years at Butler University where she taught financial and managerial accounting, and the MBA Integrative Capstone course. She also coordinated and taught in three, 14-week executive education programs designed to improve physicians’ business acumen, offered in conjunction with the Indianapolis Medical Society The results of her research have appeared in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, theJournal of Accounting Education, Strategic Finance, Management Accounting Quarterly, Credit and Financial Management Review, and the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. Her co-authored paper on Intel’s finance function received the Institute of Management Accountants 2006 Lybrand Gold Medal and was selected by the International Federation of Accountants for inclusion in Articles of Merit Award Program for Distinguished Contribution to Management Accounting. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, and has designed and conducted executive education programs for the Vermont Business Center, Temple-Inland, Roche, Norwood Promotional Products, and various public accounting firms.
David Jones, Ph.D.
David Jones is an Associate Professor in Management at the School of Business Administration, University of Vermont. David completed his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Calgary in Canada. He is a passionate teacher who was recently honored as the recipient of a University wide teaching award.
In his research he focuses on employees’ perceptions of fairness in the workplace. David studies the processes through which employees judge fairness and unfairness, and though which they respond through cooperative behavior, turnover, revenge, and counterproductive behavior (e.g., wasting time, theft). He also conducts research on employee recruitment and selection. David is active in presenting his research at scholarly conferences like the annual meetings of the Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and has published his research in top academic journals that include the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and the Journal of Management. Dr. Jones is currently a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
In his work with organizations, David served for two years on the Board of Directors, and a term as Chair of the Board, for a non-profit organization called the New Sudan Education Initiative (www.nesei.org) whose mission is to build secondary schools in South Sudan. David has also applied principles of workplace fairness to projects within government, retail, and information technology sectors. More recently, David has worked with the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) Foundation to study how GMCR’s company-funded volunteerism program affects employee attitudes and behaviors.
Joe Lukas
Joe Lukas, Vice-President of PMCentersUSA, has over thirty years experience in project management encompassing project portfolio management, and international project management. His projects have spanned numerous industries including manufacturing, product development, information technology and construction.
Among his varied strengths, Joe has demonstrated expertise in scheduling, earned value analysis and risk management. He has published over 30 articles on various project management topics, and is regularly invited to be guest speaker for companies and organizations seeking to improve performance and meet strategic objectives through effective project management.
Joe is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and has been a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) since 1985. While living in Rochester, NY, Joe was very active with the PMI Chapter, serving in various positions including two terms as Chapter President. His efforts in growing the Rochester Chapter were recognized in 2001 when Joe was honored with an award for his outstanding contributions to the Chapter.
Early in his career, Joe received his Professional Engineer license following his graduation from Syracuse University where he earned B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. He went on to become a Certified Cost Engineer (CCE) for the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE), and has served on the Genesee Valley Section Board in various positions including Section President.
Tim Lybarger
Tim Lybarger is an instructor in the University of Vermont Professional Certificate in Leadership and Management and joined the Vermont Business Center Board of Advisors in 2004.
Tim is a Human Resource and Organizational Development professional with a total of eighteen years of hands on experience in results-focused line management roles in the small business environment, followed by thirteen years of providing HR performance solutions within the large corporate environment. In his corporate roles, he has functioned as a strategic business partner with business leaders at all levels to facilitate the design and delivery of interventions to solve problems and develop programs in support of enterprise-wide initiatives.
From 1998 to July of 2008 Tim held a position as Manager of Training and Development with Nestlé University, the Human Resource Development group for Nestlé USA. From that role he provided HR development and performance consulting services to Nestle organizations throughout North America.
Prior to Nestlé, Tim functioned as an organizational development consultant for Centerior Energy, an Ohio-based electric utility and as an internal change management consultant for ALLTEL Information Systems, a telecommunications software developer.
Tim’s education includes a B.A. degree in Business Management from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio and a M.S. degree in Organizational Development and Analysis from the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
He holds additional certifications in the areas of: Personal Leadership, Time and Project Management, Effective Interpersonal Communications, Principled Negotiation Skills, Team Effectiveness, Personal Style Preferences, and 360 degree Feedback Instruments.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Tim moved with his wife, Linda, and son, Adam, to Vermont in April of 2003.
Barbara McIntosh
Professor Barbara McIntosh has been actively involved in examining aging labor force issues for over 25 years. She is a professor in the School of Business Administration at the University of Vermont where she teaches human resources management, organization behavior, and a course on aging and employment. She is also Associate Director for Policy of the University of Vermont’s Center on Aging. She has been honored by being named a Fellow of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) in 2001 and a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA)in 2010.
Dr. McIntosh received her Ph.D. in Administrative Sciences from Purdue University; her M.L.I.R. in Collective Bargaining from Michigan State University; and her B.S. in Communications from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Jennifer Mincar
Jen Mincar is an independent consultant specializing in IT project management. She divides her time equally in the field and in the classroom. Jen currently manages large-scale, enterprise wide software implementations and upgrades. She also teaches technical and project management classes across New England for manufacturing and marketing companies with sales from $500M-$2B+.
She has in-depth expertise in IT Strategic Planning, Project & Program Management, Procurement Management, Technical & Project Management Training and Team Leadership.
In 2010, Jen spoke at the PMI Champlain Valley Chapter meeting, the VT Women’s Business Owners Chapter meeting, and the Vermont Consultant Network meeting. Prior to becoming a consultant, Jen worked for IBM as a programmer and manager for ten years and then for Burton Snowboards as the Global IT Director for two years. She also owns and operates an entrepreneurial business called Office Squared, a co-working space in Burlington, VT.
She has a BA in Computer Science & Math from SUNY-Potsdam, an MBA from Binghamton University, and is PMP certified.
Merryn Rutledge, Ed. D
Merryn works with clients throughout the country and in all sectors, advising on management challenges and change projects, guiding strategic planning, creating employee development programs, and working with Boards of Directors. Merryn does this work as Principal of ReVisions LLC, an organizational development firm in Burlington, Vermont. Speaking about her work, Merryn says, “I enjoy collaborating with organizational leaders to anticipate and meet challenges and opportunities, plan, and guide change initiatives that help people and organizations grow.”
Paul Travers
Paul Travers is a Senior Instructor and Consultant for PMCentersUSA. He has over twenty-five years of experience in project and program management with global and domestic financial services organizations, as well as with the U.S. Navy. Paul is a commissioned Officer and Veteran who served as Lieutenant Commander of Intelligence for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). He also has demonstrated experience in implementing Global Project Management Offices (PMO), leading executive program steering committees, and managing large, multi-functional resources to achieve business objectives on time and on budget.
During his early career between 1991 and 2001, Paul managed increasingly complex technology projects for a number of organizations including Merrill Lynch Insurance Group in Plainsboro, NJ, Prudential Financial Services in Iselin NJ, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Asset Management in New York City. From 2001 to 2008, Paul served in various capacities for Merrill Lynch & Company including Program Manager for a $22M Anti-Money Laundering initiative and a $30M Finance Globalization initiative. In addition, Paul was responsible for serving as the Corporate Technology Program Office Director managing a $65M development and support budget. In this capacity, he implemented a maturity level 3 PMO in under 6 months. He went on to head up the Global Private Client Services area as Program Office Director where he was responsible for a $75M Client Experience Data Program. From 2006-2008, Paul functioned as the Global Head of Program Management for Merrill Lynch supporting 7 divisions and 2,200 global personnel along with managing a budget in excess of $500M. In this role he designed and executed a standardized career training and certification process.
From 2008 to 2010, Paul served as Managing Director of Information Technology and Client Service Operations reporting to the Chief Operating Officer at TD Ameritrade. In this role Paul was responsible for Project & Program Management activities including project portfolio management and project life cycle controls. He also worked for JP Morgan Chase as Senior Vice President for Home Lending Business Services where he managed a cross functional team responsible for managing projects and programs to increase operational efficiencies in support of the Home Lending lines of business. Currently Paul is serving as Managing Director of Enterprise Technology Services, reporting to the Chief Technology Officer at TD Ameritrade, and is leading Program, Process and Risk Management initiatives. In this capacity, Paul designed and implemented IT Service Management (ITIL) processes in order to scale and optimize resource utilization as well as minimize expense and provide controlled exception processing.
A member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Paul is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). He received his Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University and has served in various leadership roles for the PMI New Jersey chapter, including Judge for PMI NJ Project of the Year and PMP Test Preparation Instructor. He is also a frequent presenter at PMI Global Congress, and is ITIL version 3 Foundation Certified.
Alexandra Tursi
Alexandra Tursi is social media strategist for Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT. She is the former Director of Social Media at Kelliher Samets Volk, a marketing communications agency, where she worked for 5 years with clients in the energy, public health, higher education and sustainability spaces including Concept2, Crane & Co., Efficiency Vermont, Jeffrey Hollender Partners, Mercy College, National Grid, Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, Vtrim, and University of Vermont Continuing Education.
She has lead social media workshops and lectures for organizations including Cornell University, University of Vermont and Champlain College as well as Burlington Social Media Day, Burlington School District, WCAX-TV, Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Specialty Food Association, Intervale Center and Vermont Fresh Network. She is a social media columnist for The Burlington Free Press and WCAX-TV.
Her awards include the 2012 Silver Bell Award for Excellence in Crisis Communications from the Publicity Club of New England, the 2010 Summit Award for Excellence in Social Media, and the 2010 Rising Star Award from Vermont Business Magazine.
Alexandra graduated from Cornell University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Government. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Administration at University of Vermont where she is focusing on the intersection of public health and technology. Learn more at http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandratursi
