Business Consortium Workshop Series

Date: Thursday, October 17, 2024

Facilitator: Brenda Meeker

Brenda Meeker is passionate about supporting others in their personal and professional growth. As owner and president of Elevate Consulting, LLC, she provides learning and development, HR, and project-based solutions to meet organizational and employee development needs. Brenda has experience in training and meeting facilitation, human resources, managing projects and events, and developing communication plans and messages. She has worked in corporate and nonprofit settings and Division I athletics, providing a range of experience that informs her work.

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024

Facilitator: Terry Whitson

Terry Whitson is an independent training and development consultant with more than 25 years of experience in corporate training. She earned a master's degree in training and development from Drake University and an undergraduate degree in business with a marketing emphasis from the University of Iowa. Terry has been an adjunct faculty member at Kirkwood Community College since 1988 and Mount Mercy University since 2010. She has worked as a training manager and corporate trainer for several large companies. She also gained valuable insight into customer communications from her early work experience as a customer service manager.

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2024

Facilitator: Sandra Flikkema

Sandra Flikkema delivers a unique combination of experience in coaching, training, and career management, leading managers to make strategic changes in communication, business, and relational skills. Throughout her career, she has partnered with directors, managers, and professionals to leverage their full career potential using practical, skill-building techniques to support business results.

Sandra began her career in human resources and consulting in the Chicago area. Her training expertise includes upgrading customer service, resilience, change management, coaching and leadership skills, and career management. She has a master’s degree in organizational communication and is a knowledgeable and trusted advisor to help client’s reach optimal performance and success.

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Facilitator: Joel Bennett

With over 25 years of people development experience, Joel builds improved organizational capacity by providing consulting, customized training, and coaching services to growth-focused businesses. In addition, his expertise in leadership and organizational development, performance management, and change management allows him to assist leaders in tackling challenging employee and team issues. Joel works with clients in a variety of industries but takes pride in being one of the few firms in the Midwest which specializes in developing leaders in blue-collar environments like manufacturing, construction, and field service.

Joel graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in History and Geography and an M.A. in Organization Management from the University of Phoenix. He is a certified DISC practitioner, and an Actionable Consulting Partner experienced in habit development and impact measurement tools.

In order to achieve that, our workplaces have responsibilities in order to support high value environments, create strong expectations, and to build strong relationships and teams. However, it is each individual’s obligation as well to find ways to create their own happiness and to add value to those around them while steering away from adding drama and negative behaviors to our workplace.

In this session, we will put our hands on the steering wheel and learn how we drive toward influencing and building strong, productive, fun, and engaging environments for all to enjoy and perform in at work!

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

Facilitator: Heather Woody

Heather L. Woody is a success coach who assists individuals personally and professionally to help them experience their greatness. She has a passion for working with people as they pursue their own road to success, goal achievement and fulfilled lives.

Heather is a master certified coach through the Certified Coach Federation and a graduate of Coach Inc., one of the largest international training organizations for professional coaches. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Communications from the University of Northern Iowa. She is also a FranklinCovey consultant/facilitator and certified in The 5 Choices, The 7 Habits Signature, and Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results Leadership.

In this session, first we’ll explore personal values. When they are challenged, it can be a source of contention.

Then, we’ll evaluate how our stress shows up. Are we aware when our body signals that we are in a heightened state of emotion?

Equipped with this self-knowledge can help us regulate our own emotions when faced with challenging situations. We apply this insight to a five-step process of effectively de escalating difficult situations along with things to avoid when responding.

Lastly, we’ll evaluate what’s within our control: our attitude, our tone, our choice of words all contributed to our ability to respond rather than react.

Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025

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Facilitator: Paulette Milewski

Paulette brings energy and 25+ years of experience in leadership, sales, and customer service making training workshops interactive and enjoyable. Through storytelling, real life examples and thought provoking dialogue, workshops provide participants with practical applications. Paulette has facilitated training and coaching with clients in healthcare, insurance, transportation, construction, manufacturing, consumer products and services, utilities, college and universities, and financial services.

Participants will explore the art of coaching as a leadership approach, learning how to empower individuals and teams to reach their full potential through supportive guidance and personalized development plans.

Through interactive discussions, case studies, and practical exercises, students will develop essential coaching skills such as active listening, empathy, and constructive feedback delivery.

Central to this course is the concept of accountability as a catalyst for growth and innovation. Students will discover how to establish clear expectations, set measurable goals, and hold others accountable in a manner that inspires rather than intimidates.

By cultivating a culture of trust and psychological safety, participants will learn how to navigate challenging conversations with empathy and grace, fostering deeper connections and mutual respect within their teams.

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

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Facilitator: Lisa Schaefer

Lisa Schaefer is a John Maxwell Certified Coach, trainer, and speaker. Lisa is an expert in behavioral coaching, organizational psychology, and customer service success strategies, and has served as a professor, staff development professional, and counselor. Her experiences include working for Walt Disney World, and hosting on-air radio programs, as well as more than 15 years of education, corporate training, and executive coaching experience. She holds a master’s degree in counseling and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and marketing from the University of Wisconsin.

Her goal is to help participants have fun while learning why we do the things we do. Her biggest passion is asking questions to learn as much as she can from others. Lisa loves to make people laugh and believes if everyone just smiled more, the world would be a better place.

During this insightful presentation, attendees will delve into the intricacies of designing training programs that not only attract but also retain top talent within their organizations.

We’ll explore strategies for identifying the unique training needs of high-performing employees, ensuring that development initiatives align with their career aspirations and organizational goals.

Through interactive discussions and real-world case studies, participants will gain actionable insights into creating a culture of continuous learning and growth, fostering employee engagement, and ultimately reducing turnover rates.

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025

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Facilitator: Molly Mackey

Molly J. Mackey is an author, speaker and trainer of leaders. She believes that by intentionally intersecting the ongoing journeys of leadership and learning we can create better leaders and Better Leaders = Better Lives ™

Molly is the founder and chief learning officer of the LEAdeRNship Institute. She also serves as the Director of Knowledge Acquisition and Transfer at Optimae LifeServices. Molly has over 17 years of business and speaking experience. Molly holds an MBA from the University of Iowa and a Certification of Professional of Talent Development (CPTD) from the Association of Talent Development. She has a passion for business, strategy, leadership and learning. She has taught business classes at a collegiate level since 2009 and currently partners with community colleges offering continuing education to businesses.

As individuals and small groups, Debra will help all discover how to improve Employee Engagement, providing participants the opportunity to develop their individual Action Plan!

Join Debra in this dynamic session which explains Employee Engagement in a refreshingly impactful manner which you can begin to implement at your business and within your team.

Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2025

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Facilitator: Debra Salz

Debra Salz has been training and coaching since 1993 and is known for her contagious enthusiasm and extreme attention to detail. She is an experienced trainer, facilitator, coach, presenter, and inspirational speaker at the national, regional, and state convention levels. Debra works with local and national, small and large companies and civic organizations forming partnerships between those she works with and for. Her main priority is how she can assist people to "get where they want and need to go."

She provides energized, custom training programs, and keynote addresses to businesses and organizations through her "toolbox methodology." Debra and her programs have been referred to as "dynamic," "thought-provoking," "humorous," and "a pure delight to learn from and listen to!" She enjoys meeting people and exposing them to new ways of looking at life.

Debra is the president and owner of Prevention Services & Strategies, a consulting and training company located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a licensed social worker through the state of Iowa. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Buena Vista University and her Associate of Arts from North Iowa Area Community College.

This fun scenario-based training will involve you in discussions to “choose your own ending” as you practice your skills in relationship-building, decision-making, and leading teams in complex situations.

Test your “what would you do if” skills and learn more in keeping people informed, involved, and inspired.

Date: Thursday, July 17, 2025

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Facilitator: Dr. Celina Peerman

Dr. Celina Peerman serves as an organizational psychologist with over 25 years of experience from front line to senior level positions, in a wide range of industries and organizations. She is passionate about engaging our human resources in innovative ways to achieve even better organizational results.

While she does some traveling for nationally and internationally, Celina is focused on helping Iowa first. Making sure we are well prepared to recruit and keep the best people and companies right here is priority. Celina’s passion is for how people behave at work; the good, the bad and the worst. Her style has been described as dynamic noting the ability to draw in even the most resistant attendees through real life examples and humor.

Celina lives in Waverly with her husband David of 27 years and two teenage daughters, and a really needy dog.

Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025

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Facilitator: Maurice Davis

Maurice Davis is a Certified Professional Coach, Master Life Coach, lifetime learner, and entrepreneur. Maurice was born and raised in the Midwest. He moved to Iowa in 2013 to start his career after leaving the Army National Guard. Maurice has over 10 years of experience leading people and challenging the way they look at a problem. Before starting his marketing agency, Maurice worked in several different industries ranging in size and product scope. He is a dynamic marketer, trainer, and coach because his goal is to see others grow.