Our presenters bring a wealth of experience and skills from around the world. The presenters for Roaring Fork Leadership are uniquely qualified to present the best material in their field in an engaging, interactive way.
Jonathan Clark
For 25 years, Jonathan Clark has been coaching individuals and organizations in the methodology and practices of high performance. His work supports visionary leaders in making a profound difference in the human dimension of their organization - the culture, values and behavior which are esential for any organization to maintain a competitive edge in today's complex and rapidly changing world. His work is designed to create thinking, empowered cultures in business. He has worked with a broad spectrum of people and organizations, from individual entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 executives.
Greg Cortopassi
Greg has been a trainer and leader in personal and professional development for 23 years. He is an innovator and entrepreneur with a solid track record of starting and operating five successful businesses. He co-founded TeamWorks Training Corporation in 1989 with a vision to enhance personal, team and organizational effectiveness. He has extensive experience with over 3,000 professional presentations in hundreds of companies and over 850 schools. His charisma, creativity and willingness to "walk his talk" have influenced thousands of people from the Soviet Union to Alaska. His satisfied clients include Apple Computer, Domino's Pizza, and State Farm. His new company, Launch Your Dreams, connects individuals with their deepest talents and dreams to achieve breakthrough performance. launchyourdreams@msn.com
Tom Crum
Tom Crum is an internationally known author, seminar leader, and martial artist. He leads seminars and training for organizations as diverse as Intel, Walt Disney, Amgen, and U.S. Air Force Academy, General Electric and Franklin Covey. His work has taken him to many hot spots of the world including Russia, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. He has had the opportunity to co-lead a session in Indonesia with the Dalai Lama. He is the author of Journey to Center and The Magic of Conflict, as well as many audio and video tapes dealing with conflict and stress management. aikiworks@aol.com
Ron Gager
Since 1987, Ron has led Gager & Associates, a Boulder, Colorado consulting group specializing in organizational development, quality process implementation and project management. Among other assignments, he has served as Manager of Organizational Effectiveness for Xerox Information Products Division, Director of Organizational Development for Stearns-Roger, the engineering & construction arm of Air Products & Chemicals, and as Program Director for the Colorado Outward Bound School. In January of 2000, Ron joined a team of senior consultants working closely with Rick Wagoner, GM?s newly-appointed CEO, to design and launch ?GoFast!?, GM?s world-wide initiative to create a new culture based on a passion for speed and a sense of urgency. Other Gager & Associates' clients include: Purdue Pharma L.P., Coors Brewery, Morgan Stanley, Tri-Valley Growers, U.S. Robotics, Heller International, Sears Merchandise Group, United Artists, NASA, Bristol-Myers Squibb, United Technologies, StorageTek, and Kellogg Cereals. GAGER35@aol.com
Chris Gates
Chris Gates is the first Executive Director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement. PACE is a new organization founded to bring more attention and focus to the issues of democratic renewal and civic engagement and to encourage more members of the philanthropic ommunity to make these areas a part of their funding priorities. In this role Gates speaks extensively around the country and around the world on the broad topics of civic engagement, including civic education, leadership training, community problem solving, political reform and democratic renewal. He previously served for eleven years as President of the National Civic League (NCL), a national, non-profit organization with offices in Denver and Washington, D.C. The NCL is a 112-year-old advocay organization that was founded by Teddy Roosevelt and focuses on revitalizing America's democracy at the local level. Before serving as President, Gates served for eight years as Vice President of NCL. He has also regularly lectured in a variety of academic institutions, including the University of Colorado?s Graduate School of Public Affairs, and the State and Local Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and is a regular instructor in leadership training programs across the country.In addition, Gates provides technical assistance to communities undertaking strategic planning or visioning projects. Past projects have included Phoenix, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Charlotte, North Carolina. www.ncl.org
Carl Larson
Larson does extensive consulting with both private and public sector organizations on teamwork and collaboration. Carl Larson is Professor Emeritus of Human Communication Studies and past Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Denver. Larson?s main research activities have focused on groups and teams, and on negotiation and collaborative processes. He has co-authored seven books on communication, including Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong, with Frank LaFasto and Successful Communication and Negotiation, with Alvin Goldberg Collaborative Leadership (with David Chrislip) published by Jossey-Bass in 1994, reports research on successful collaborative projects and their leadership. His newest book, When Teams Work Best, with Frank LaFasto, is a 2002 publication and reports research on 600 teams and 6,000 team members. In 1997, Larson received the Driscoll Master Education Award, given by the students of the University of Denver to the outstanding professor of the year.
Kathleen Rutherford
Kathleen has a broad range of experience in public involvement process design, collaborative problem-solving, consensus based decision-making, community relations and education. She has facilitated and mediated policy dialogues, inter-agency regulatory dialogues, and strategic planning and consensus building efforts at the local, regional, state, national and international levels. She draws from this experience to assist clients in the public, private, and non-profit sectors to effectively recognize, raise, and resolve conflicts. Kathleen holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in Environmental Law and Policy Analysis from the University of Colorado and a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She has over 300 hours training in environmental negotiation, group facilitation, conflict management, process design and policy analysis. Kathleen has been an Affiliate Faculty member at Regis University in Denver, teaching graduate courses in Public Policy Advocacy and Conflict Resolution. She has also taught conflict resolution and negotiation at the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado, Denver. Roaring Fork Leadership is proud to have an alumnus as a speaker, Kathleen graduated RFL in 1998.
ELAINE YARBROUGH
Elaine heads The Yarbrough Group, a global organizational development consulting group in Boulder, Colorado, that specializes in communication, change, and conflict management for individuals, groups, and organizations. During the past 35 years, she has assisted hundreds of organizations in the U.S. and has worked in 26 countries on diversity and multicultural issues. Dr. Yarbrough has a Ph.D. in Communication and Human Relations from the University of Kansas. For seven years, she taught at the University of Colorado, where she was the recipient of all university teaching awards given by students and faculty. Her books include Artful Mediation: Constructive Conflict at Work. www.yarbroughgroup.com.
