Employer Partnerships

Karen Martinsen Fleming, MBA 

Karen Martinsen Fleming brings a valuable combination of practitioner experience and academic expertise to her work and teaching in marketing and business value creation.  She has generated profitable growth for every brand and business she has managed, including leading the brand and product development and national expansion of Seventh Generation, Stonyfield Farm, and Good Earth Organics. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Harvard Business School, Karen is the author of one of Harvard Business School’s most popular marketing case studies. She is currently the CMO of EarthShift Global, a leading sustainability consulting firm, and also provides marketing and strategy consulting services to organizations within and outside of Vermont through her own consulting firm.

David A. Jones, Ph.D.

David A. Jones is the John L. Beckley Professor of Management at The University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior.  He is a committed educator and active scholar who joined UVM in 2004 after completing his PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at The University of Calgary.

As an educator, Professor Jones is passionate about achieving scaling social impact through evidence-based teaching that empowers learners to create value by applying leadership and teamwork skills and win-win managerial practices.  David was the 2009 recipient of a University-wide teaching award (Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award), and from 2015 to 2019 he served as a Program Director of The Sustainable Innovation MBA—the #1 ranked “Green MBA” in the U.S. for three consecutive years (Princeton Review, 2018-2020).  He regularly conducts skill development seminars in leadership and teamwork, and has trained with over 1,400 managers and working professionals through 50+ full-day sessions.

As a scholar, David is an internationally-recognized thought leader in fields of study on how and why employees and job seekers perceive and react to an employer’s socially responsible and environmentally sustainable business practices.  He has published his research in premier academic journals, including Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management where he currently serves on the editorial board.

In his work with organizations, David applies principles of sustainable business strategy and shared value creation, and has helped companies design or enhance their volunteerism programs and assess how their employees respond through participating in community service, commitment to their employer, and retention.  David also served as Chair of the Board for a non-profit organization called the New Sudan Education Initiative whose mission was to build secondary schools in South Sudan.

Dianne Percy, M.Ed.

Dianne consults and teaches for businesses, professional groups, and organizations in the United States and Canada. Her practical and interactive seminars focus on strengthening individual and group capacity through training and development in leadership skills, change and conflict management, communication skills, customer service training, and facilitation tools and techniques. Dianne has served as an educator for over 30 years and has been recognized for her excellence in teaching. She is a practitioner of Malcolm Baldridge Quality Concepts, the Predictive Index, and DISC. She is a certified facilitator for Developmental Dimensions International Learning (DDI) and, as a life-long learner herself, has completed certificate programs in Crucial Conversations, Veterans on Campus, and Disney’s Institutes on Quality Service and Employee Engagement. Her education includes a B.S. and M.Ed. from the University of Vermont.

Jim Martin

James M. Martin has a distinctive record of delivering growth by building and leading high performing and healthy sales teams. He is a strategic leader with demonstrated expertise regarding what it takes for leaders to thrive in their role and in the marketplace.

In 1985, Jim earned a B.S. in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business, where he majored in Management Information Systems. In 2000, Jim earned his M.B.A from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, with a degree in Marketing.

Between 1985 and 1995, Jim worked for the United States Navy Aviation Supply Office, then held various sales and territory management positions with Leica Geosystems, Donaldson Company, and Mack Trucks, Inc.  In these roles he sold technology and industrial products to customers in engineering, transportation, and construction environments.

Between 1995 and 2014, Jim worked with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Green Mountain, first as an Area Sales Manager then in progressively rising roles in sales leadership. Jim led various sales teams throughout his nearly 20 years with the company. Jim specialized in taking leadership of emerging business units and forming teams and sales strategies to grow them rapidly. Jim established a track record of building sustainable businesses in a variety of geographic and channel-based markets.

In 2016 Jim formed JMM Leadership LLC to bring his leadership philosophy and coaching expertise to new audiences.

In 2017, Jim published his book: “The Modern Compassionate Leader – 12 Essential Characteristics of the Rising Sales Leader.” Jim outlines the critical hard and soft skills that leaders must master to build and guide healthy teams that win in the marketplace, while maintaining their own career momentum. Jim’s highly rated book teaches his leadership principles through a series of stories, lessons, and guidance in a practical and readable format.

In 2020, Jim published an e-book: “Working from Home – A Quick Start Guide.” Jim outlines the basics of working remotely from a home office, guiding workers who are working offsite for the first time to become productive and effective in their new circumstance.

Jim also writes about insights in business and leadership in his blog: “Compassionate Leadership” at www.jamesmichaelmartin.com and speaks about these lessons on “Jim Martin’s Compassionate Leadership Podcast.” Jim focuses on guidance for the rising leader in the areas of career development, productivity, selling, and personal empowerment.

Throughout his career, Jim has demonstrated an ability to form and develop high performing sales teams, turn-around declining business units, and build newly formed emerging business segments into growing and profitable business segments.  Jim’s collaborative leadership style, business acumen, and ability to establish positive relationships with others, are the keys to his success.  Aligning teams behind clear strategy and producing measurable success are Jim’s core passions.

Shelly Masson

Shelly Masson, MBA, SPHR, is excited to share her many years of experience in positive organizational development and transformative leadership.  Over the last 25+ years, Shelly has had the opportunity to hold various positions in Higher Education, Healthcare, and Manufacturing. Shelly currently serves as the Director of People and Culture in the Construction industry at Vermont Mechanical, Inc. Shelly is also the Founder and Chief ‘Energy’ Officer of Birch Tree Leadership where she consults and coaches  individuals, teams and organizations to bring about strengths-based growth and positive change.  A favorite quote from Dr. Brene Brown is “Who we are is how we lead” and that serves as the basis for all coaching and training that Shelly does. She enjoys working most with emerging leaders and people who want to make a difference or show up differently.  Shelly has been facilitating experiential trainings and workshops for many years, enjoys creating ‘aha’ moments and believes in the power of play at work.  Shelly is an adjunct faculty member at Champlain College teaching in the Positive Organizational Development program and she serves as a Council of Practice member for the David Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry at Champlain College.  Shelly has her MBA from Bryant University, a Senior Professional Human Resources designation and is certified in numerous personality and strengths based assessments.

Ned Powley, Ph.D.

Edward H. Powley, Ph.D. (Ned) is an Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Defense Management (DDM) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). He teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership, teams, organizational change, and resilience. At NPS, he has facilitated workshops, coaches senior leaders, and teaches modules on leadership and emotional intelligence for the Center of Executive Education (CEE), the Human Resources Center of Excellence (HRCOE). He has also been involved in leadership development, and organizational resilience and culture projects for the Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES).

He is co-editor of the Research Handbook of Organizational Resilience (Edward Elgar) and has published scholarly and practitioner articles on organizational resilience, organizational change and culture, appreciative inquiry, leadership and organizational healing in Human Relations, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Business Ethics, The Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion, and other journals.

Ned has 25 years experience in organizational and leadership development, having consulted and conducted research with a variety of organizations including Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutes, Prudential Retirement, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Navy, Roadway Express, Society for Organizational Learning’s Sustainability Consortium, and Stephen R. Covey and Associates. He also worked for the Corporate Executive Board and for The World Bank Group.

B.A., Brigham Young University, (Anthropology)
M.A. The George Washington University (Organizational Management)
Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University (Organizational Behavior)

Glenn Walberg, LL.M.

Glenn Walberg obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center after obtaining his JD from the College of William and Mary School of Law. Before joining the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business, he taught courses about federal tax accounting for individuals and business entities at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He previously worked as a senior manager in the national tax department of a Big Four accounting firm. He has published in the Florida Tax Review, Tax Notes, Tax Adviser, The Tax Lawyer, and others. His research interests include accounting method and capitalization issues.