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 * Services
   * Business Strategy
     & Transformation
     * Core Business Transformation
     * Engaged Team Performance (ETP)
     * Growth Strategy & Channel Development
     * Organizational Design
     * Product Strategy & Development
   * Technology Strategy
     & Development
     * Technology Strategy & Development
     * Develop the Technology Capability Roadmap
     * Execute Technology Solutions
   * Mergers & Acquisitions
     (M&A)
     * Process Diligence
     * Organizational Integration
   * Process & Performance
     Improvement
     * Engaged Team Performance (ETP)
     * Facility Design & Layout
     * Lean Six Sigma
     * Process Streamlining
     * Supply Chain Redesign
   * Client Capability
     Development
     * Engaged Team Performance
       (ETP) Training
     * Lean Six Sigma Training
     * Agile Project Management
     * Rapid Improvement & Kaizen
     * Lean Simulation Experience
 * Stories
   * Project Summaries
   * Presentations
 * Thought Leadership
   * Newsletters
   * Books
 * Team
   * Leadership
   * Team
 * Contact




 * Services
   * Business Strategy
     & Transformation
     * Core Business Transformation
     * Engaged Team Performance (ETP)
     * Growth Strategy & Channel Development
     * Organizational Design
     * Product Strategy & Development
   * Technology Strategy
     & Development
     * Technology Strategy & Development
     * Develop the Technology Capability Roadmap
     * Execute Technology Solutions
   * Mergers & Acquisitions
     (M&A)
     * Process Diligence
     * Organizational Integration
   * Process & Performance
     Improvement
     * Engaged Team Performance (ETP)
     * Facility Design & Layout
     * Lean Six Sigma
     * Process Streamlining
     * Supply Chain Redesign
   * Client Capability
     Development
     * Engaged Team Performance
       (ETP) Training
     * Lean Six Sigma Training
     * Agile Project Management
     * Rapid Improvement & Kaizen
     * Lean Simulation Experience
 * Stories
   * Project Summaries
   * Presentations
 * Thought Leadership
   * Newsletters
   * Books
 * Team
   * Leadership
   * Team
 * Contact


Results. Our clients have gained over $400 million in validated financial impact
from our services. Delivered. Implementation Partners CLICK HERE Engaged Team
Performance We pioneered the combination of Lean Six Sigma process streamlining
with best practices in team performance. LEARN MORE Consulting or Training? How
much do you want to learn, and how much help do you want in implementation? We
tailor our approach. LEARN MORE Project Stories Our diverse clients have shared
many of their successes, and it's likely there's a situation similar to yours!
LEARN MORE Download the Details See the detailed presentations that we have
delivered at trade shows, as well as a synopsis of our book. LEARN MORE


Implementation Partners LLC is an industry leader in transforming organizations
through strategic planning and alignment, continuous process improvement (CPI),
Engaged Team Performance (ETP), technology deployment, Lean Six Sigma, and Agile
product development. We have delivered consulting services in those disciplines
for the past three decades, with an impressive set of client references and
published stories. Our team members are experts in facilitating transformations
to enable leaders to deliver exceptional results.







RESULTS. DELIVERED.





Implementation Partners LLC exists to inspire every leader to transform their
organizations and deliver exceptional business results by developing efficient
and effective processes and giving every employee a chance to contribute their
best work on an engaged, sustainable, winning team.


OUR SERVICESOUR SERVICES

$ 0



million in financial impact since 1994



0 x



return on investment for clients



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published books and dozens of conference presentations





RESULTS. DELIVERED.





Implementation Partners LLC exists to inspire every leader to transform their
organizations and deliver exceptional business results by developing efficient
and effective processes and giving every employee a chance to contribute their
best work on an engaged, sustainable, winning team.


OUR SERVICESOUR SERVICES




LATEST NEWS





We’re pleased to share our recent webinar on The Joy of Lean that was sponsored
by the American Society for Quality’s Lean Enterprise Division (ASQ LED). Packed
full of stories and real examples, it makes a great case for the value of a Lean
Culture.


LEARN MORELEARN MORE




THE JOY OF LEAN



TRANSFORMING, LEADING, AND SUSTAINING A CULTURE OF ENGAGED TEAM PERFORMANCE





The company has pioneered Engaged Team Performance, combining best-in-class
process redesign, team performance, and change management tools to revolutionize
effectiveness and efficiency, highlighted in two business books published in
2010 and 2016.


LEARN MORE ABOUT ETPLEARN MORE ABOUT ETP

THE JOY OF LEAN



TRANSFORMING, LEADING, AND SUSTAINING A CULTURE OF ENGAGED TEAM PERFORMANCE





The company has pioneered Engaged Team Performance, combining best-in-class
process redesign, team performance, and change management tools to revolutionize
effectiveness and efficiency, highlighted in two business books published in
2010 and 2016.


LEARN MORE ABOUT ETPLEARN MORE ABOUT ETP









Implementation Partners is proud to announce our recent supplier diversity
certification by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a Veteran Owned
Small Business (VOSB).





TEAMCONTACTPRIVACY POLICY



© Copyright 2024 Implementation Partners LLC. All rights reserved.



Design & hosting by AirTight






Implementation Partners is proud to announce our recent supplier diversity
certification by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a Veteran Owned
Small Business (VOSB).






TEAMCONTACTPRIVACY POLICY




© Copyright 2023 Implementation Partners LLC. All rights reserved.



Design & hosting by AirTight









Teri Montz, Chief Financial Officer



As CFO and Controller, Teri is responsible for overseeing Accounts Payables,
Accounts Receivables, Payroll, Human Resources, Benefits Administration and all
daily financial operations.

Before joining the Implementation Partners Team, Teri Montz had over 7 years
with the Internal Revenue Service and 20 years in Public Accounting, 15 of which
she owned and managed a successful accounting and tax practice.

Teri has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Bachelor of Arts in Italian
from California State University, Chico and is a Certified Public Accountant in
the State of California.


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Dodd Starbird, Managing Partner



Dodd Starbird has over 30 years of global business leadership experience in
leading business transformation efforts that consistently achieve exceptional
results by integrating best-in-class business process, technology, and human
change management skills with strategic business management and leadership
experience.

Dodd is the author of two business books, The Joy of Lean: Transforming,
Leading, and Sustaining a Culture of Engaged Team Performance (Quality Press,
2016) and Building Engaged Team Performance: Align Your Processes and People to
Achieve Game-Changing Business Results (McGraw-Hill, 2010).

He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States
Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the University of Denver. He
lives in Atlanta, Georgia.



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Fred Olsson, Vice President, Client Engagement



Fred brings over 20 years of experience in Business Process Improvement to his
role of Vice President of Client Engagement with Implementation Partners, LLC.
He has worked extensively in the financial sector, with the bulk of his
experience in the insurance industry. In his most recent role with a leading
life insurance carrier, he was responsible for launching the Engaged Team
Performance (ETP) program, leading Lean Six Sigma efforts with cross functional
teams throughout the organization, and facilitating Kaizen events for specific
opportunities. The ETP program culminated in a notable shift organization-wide
into a culture of improvement and data-based decision making. He was responsible
for incorporating new techniques, frameworks, and technological innovations, and
he spearheaded the assessment of major improvement projects such as Robotic
Process Automation (RPA).

Fred has been highly attuned to improving workplace morale through initiatives
such as the ETP program and development of a companywide leadership program. The
leadership program effectively provided mentorship and was designed to inspire,
enhance, and retain quality associates across the organization.

Fred has a BS in Business Administration from William Jewell College (Liberty,
MO) and an MBA from Baker University (Ballwin, KS). He is ALMI (Associate of the
Life Management Institute), ACS-Life Insurance (Associate, Customer Service),
and Lean Six Sigma certified. Fred lives in Kansas City, Missouri.


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Terry Parker, Senior Partner, Banking and Wealth Practice Leader



Terry Parker has been in the banking/financial services industry for over 30
years, with hands-on experience in credit and risk management, lending,
corporate/commercial banking sales and relationship management and capital
markets.

As a consultant to banks throughout the US, Canada, UK and Europe, he has worked
extensively with clients to clarify/refine and build internal
commitment/engagement to the bank’s strategy, as well as driving effective
implementation of the strategy through improved role clarity, business and
management practices/processes and team alignment. Terry is highly experienced
at designing and using metrics to assess the progress of change efforts and
employee engagement. His consulting experience includes: Corporate and
Investment Banking; Middle Market and Small Business Banking; Credit and Risk
Management; Private Banking; Wealth Management; Retail Banking; Brokerage; and
Financial Markets.

Terry has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The University of
Notre Dame and is a founder and Managing Director of Strategic Performance
Partners LLC.


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Tiffani Siddons, Senior Consultant, Facility Design Practice Leader



Tiffani Siddons is an experienced industrial engineering strategist with a
proven track record for designing and implementing world-class manufacturing and
assembly facilities. For over 18 years she has played active roles in defining
and executing company visions, working with global teams to support property
strategies across the U.S.

In her most recent role as the facilities engineering specialist and program
manager on a 3,000,000 sq. ft. campus revitalization project, she engaged with
stakeholders to develop the project scope and then guided the team through
planning and execution. As a part of the project, she tactfully defined and
orchestrated a 4000+ asset movement plan without inhibiting ongoing production.
Among numerous facilities projects, she has successfully led an entire $30
million work package to construct and populate a state-of-the-art aerospace
composite manufacturing facility.

Tiffani has a strong mind set for continuous improvement and is proficient in
incorporating Lean Six Sigma methodologies throughout her projects – resulting
in significant bottom-line savings for her customers. By optimizing overall
facility layout designs for process and material flow, she enabled a $4 million
hard savings on a recent project.

With data-driven integrity, Tiffani enjoys engaging teams by building simulation
models and providing 2D, 3D and 4D computer aided designs (CAD) to facilitate
understanding and enable the team to visualize their efforts and overcome
challenges ahead of implementation.

Tiffani received a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
She is accredited in Lean Six Sigma and is a certified Project Management
Professional (PMP).

Her passion for making a vision become reality is contagious.


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James Starbird, Senior Consultant, Technology Practice Leader



A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, James leads our Technology Strategy and
Digital Transformation practice. This is complemented by his expertise in the
areas of business operations improvement. He has worked in the public and
private sectors in technology (SaaS), financial services, consumer products,
healthcare services and distribution logistics industries. He specializes in
driving process improvement efforts by combining business operations and
technology strategy methodologies to develop holistic solutions.

In previous roles, James has worked with Sales Operations teams in an effort to
drive business process optimization, tasked with defining and leading strategic
technology and business initiatives. He has also led efforts in the
identification and implementation of operational and organizational structure
opportunities. Complementing his experience in technology strategy and
deployment, James has experience with business process improvement, business
intelligence, and advanced analytics.

James has a BS in Business Management from the University of South Carolina’s
Moore School of Business and an MBA from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim
School of Business.



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David Athon



David Athon has spent most of his career introducing Lean Enterprise principles
into manufacturing and transactional environments. He has developed a unique
method of integrating Six Sigma and Lean into a single, balanced system. As a
certified instructor in both Six Sigma and Lean, David has been educating and
consulting since 1996, starting with Lean Enterprise and Continuous Improvement
methodologies, adding Six Sigma to his abilities in 2000. A Master Black Belt,
David combines practical knowledge with excellent communication/coaching skills
to enhance students’ understanding and retention of the Six Sigma / Lean
Methodologies. He has been responsible for providing training and mentoring to
all levels of organizations in both Six Sigma and Lean methodologies including
Steering Committees, Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts and
Lean Practitioners/Experts. He has held full time positions in Apparel, Metal
Office Furniture, Sheet Metal, Aerospace and Commercial Air Refrigeration. David
has worked with a wide range of different industries including Consumer
Products, Manufacturing, Medical, Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Insurance, Finance,
and Telecommunications, helping his clients deliver tens of millions of dollars
of economic benefit.

David has a BS in Industrial Engineering Technology from Southern College of
Technology in Marietta, Georgia.



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Jim Athon



Jim has a strong background of Continuous Improvement, having held positions as
an Industrial Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, and Design Engineer. He received
his Black Belt training in 1996 while at AlliedSignal Automotive and generated
substantial benefits for the organization in both the Manufacturing and
Transactional areas. He later held positions as a Black Belt and Master Black
Belt at GE Industrial Systems.

Jim has been consulting for over 17 years. He has experience in several
industries, including: Paper & Printing, Automotive, Consumer Electronics,
Aerospace, Internet Service Provision, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Life
Sciences, and Medical Insurance, amongst others. Jim also collaborated with the
Penn State QMM program coaching and certifying Graduate Black Belt candidates.

Jim has led numerous projects for clients utilizing Lean principles and Six
Sigma problem solving, such as changeover time reduction, establishing pull
systems, improving equipment reliability, and eliminating defects. He has also
implemented Lean Sigma deployments for a variety of clients, most recently a
petroleum refinery that generating $44MM in hard dollar benefit in 2015. He has
trained over 800 Black Belts and numerous Green Belts, as well as coaching and
mentoring over 1000 projects. He has a unique ability to communicate to any
audience at any proficiency level and is skilled at enabling others to
understand complex concepts by using commonly understood language and examples
specific to their industry and projects.

Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Engineering and a Six Sigma
Master Black Belt certification.



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Becky Baybrook PhD



Becky has a passion for developing organizations, teams and individuals to drive
business results. She is an entrepreneurial, innovative HR leader focused on
practical, scalable people practices that drive business results, integrate
cultures and operating styles, and bring out the best in talent.

Dr. Baybrook offers real-world tested expertise in the following:

 * Global M&A: Managing due diligence, talent and culture-fit assessment,
   benefits and pay practice assessment, communication and integration planning,
   and execution
 * Organization design: Providing a sounding board and expert guidance on
   designing an organization and developing capacity to deliver on strategic
   commitments

For over 20 years, in a range of high-tech and media companies, Becky has led
culture and organization transformations. Most recently, Becky has worked with
Life Sciences, Medical Device, and Property Management companies as their People
Strategy & Practice consultant. Prior to that, Becky was Global Chief People
Officer for Saama (big data solutions consultancy); VP Human Resources for
Echelon (embedded control networks), Nanosolar (a solar startup), SST (a fabless
memory chip company acquired by MicroChip) and for PDF Solutions (a process
technology consultancy). She started her career with Knight-Ridder, Inc. a large
media company (acquired by McClatchy).

Becky received a B.A. in Psychology from Westmont College and a Ph.D. in
Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida.



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Sarah Brethouwer



Sarah’s passions are for people and processes. Her diverse background in human
resources, healthcare, operations, and information technology enables her to
holistically drive process improvement, change management, innovation, and
Engaged Team Performance as an on-site project leader.

With project and senior leadership experience ranging from machine shops and
hospitals to banks and insurance companies, she has deployed Lean, Six Sigma,
and Engaged Team Performance tools to deliver results for clients in healthcare,
manufacturing, and transactional/service industries, with an emphasis on
implementing process changes, designing new workflow systems, managing team
performance through both daily measures and trend analysis, and working with
senior leaders to drive organizational change and strategic initiatives.

In her most recent role for a top Denver hospital system, Sarah has supported
clinical and operational projects for patients across the care continuum
(inpatient to outpatient) for three nationally recognized and top 10
sub-specialty service lines and now supports and drives the organization’s
healthcare Innovation Strategy. She brings cross functional and cross level
teams together to execute on quality, operational, cost savings, innovation and
clinical outcomes, and she gets to know her clients’ operational and clinical
team members just as well as the leadership in order to consistently strike the
right balance in aligning people and processes for success. She also serves on
many hospital-wide groups aimed at aligning practices and ensuring safe and
efficient outcomes for patients and staff.

Sarah has a Bachelor’s of Business from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh,
with majors in Human Resources, Operations Management, and Management
Information Systems. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and
also is gold-certified in Engaged Team Performance.



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David Cline



David Cline has over 35 years of business leadership experience, having held
multiple executive roles in manufacturing and transactional environments. He has
extensive experience in operations, strategic planning and strategy,
manufacturing, leadership coaching and development, employee engagement, team
building, process management, quality improvement and balanced scorecard key
process indicators (KPIs) and analysis. He has been a leader and key contributor
in organizations to drive continuous improvement.

David is a motivational manager, a persistent coach, and an expert in inspiring
teams to solve problems and achieve excellence. As an analytical champion of
reducing waste and obtaining high levels of employee and client satisfaction,
David has led over 100 projects utilizing Strategic Planning and Lean Six Sigma
principles such as production cell design, Kanban replenishment, visual
controls, leader standard work, and eliminating defects.

David has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Alabama in
Birmingham. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is gold certified in
Engaged Team Performance. He lives in Rockwall, Texas, with his wife and enjoys
golfing and travel.



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Debbie Curl-Nagy



Debbie Curl-Nagy is an experienced consultant and trainer, with a focus on
Leadership Development and Lean Six Sigma training, coaching and project
facilitation. She has over 15 years of experience developing and providing
training, consultation, and technical assistance in continuous improvement,
evaluation, leadership, critical thinking and effective decision making to a
variety of audiences. She is also an experienced facilitator, enabling
organizations and teams to achieve desired outcomes through effective planning,
facilitation and group decision making.

Debbie brings a wealth of experience from her work in health care, education,
public and non-profit organizations. She has provided Lean and Six Sigma
training, coaching, and project facilitation to health care, education and
social service organizations across the country. In her work with the Veterans
Health Administration, Debbie has worked with executive and mid-level leaders to
develop a Lean Management Infrastructure that transforms the organizational
culture in order to promote, sustain and disseminate continuous improvement
throughout the organization. She has also taught basic through advanced Lean and
Six Sigma courses; and facilitated Rapid Process Improvement events within
public, nonprofit and private organizations.

Debbie was previously employed as Director of Collaboration and Continuous
Improvement for a national nonprofit organization providing consultation and
technical assistance to community partnerships focused on improving urban
education. She has worked in government as a state performance auditor and
project manager to promote efficiency and effectiveness of public programs; has
run programs and taught bachelor’s and master’s level courses in Social Work;
and has worked in the non-profit sector providing crisis intervention and
counseling services to children and families.

Debbie has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Bowling Green State University
and Master of Social Work from Louisiana State University. She received her Six
Sigma Black Belt from the International Society for Six Sigma Certifications in
November 2010.



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Crystal Davis



Crystal Davis is an experienced business management consultant and leadership
development coach with over twenty years of experience in the design,
development, and implementation of Lean Business System solutions. She has
accumulated extensive domestic and international expertise in automotive,
healthcare manufacturing, and consumer packaged industries.

Crystal has assisted clients in formulating comprehensive business and logistics
strategies and in re-engineering distribution and manufacturing operations to
reduce costs, improve customer service and drive sustainable revenue gains.

With Crystal’s vast knowledge and experience, she has played integral roles on
several enterprise-wide Supply Chain Management projects. Crystal has also
trained and coached globally in Operational Excellence at various organizational
levels. As a teacher, consultant, coach and speaker, Crystal uses
practical techniques, innovative methods, and Socratic teaching to engage,
captivate, and add value to those she encounters.

Crystal holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, a M.B.A; is a certified LSSBB,
and a certified John Maxwell Leadership Development Coach.



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Steve Green



Steve Green has over 25 years of federal government and private industry Lean
Six Sigma and Management Systems consulting experience in multiple industries
and environments.  He is passionate about process improvement and facilitating
teams to achieve results.

Steve is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) veteran.  During his service
he held senior positions leading efforts that resulted in substantial
achievements in Supply Chain and personnel support operations.  He also served
as a civil servant for with the USAF where he held senior positions as
Enterprise Architect for Supply Chain Operations business processes, and later
as Course Director/Lead Instructor for the USAF Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
course.  He brings in-depth process improvement experience including defining
and executing strategies, implementing management systems, curriculum
development and delivery, training, coaching, and mentoring.

As a consultant and certified Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt, Steve has in-depth
experience leading multifaceted process improvement teams delivering sustainable
improvements.  His experience and knowledge coupled with his ability to motivate
and facilitate change has enabled teams to reduce operational cycle times and
waste, and to improve quality while delivering exceptional product and
customer experiences. Steve has worked with teams and executives in
the Healthcare, Automotive, Safety, and Medical Supply industries.

Steve earned a Master’s of Science in Management degree from Troy University in
Troy, Alabama.  He also received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational
Education, Major Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University in
Plainview, Texas.



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Melanie Guanci



Melanie Guanci has over twenty years of experience in client-centric process
management with a focus in organizational and employee development. She
currently contracts in a role as the Communications Director for Joppa, an
organization serving homeless individuals in Iowa. She also serves on the Board
of Directors and is a past CEO of the Lupus Foundation of Iowa. As a quality
improvement specialist, Melanie is a strategist in achieving key business
objectives.

Experience areas include:

 * Team Building and Development
 * Training/Train the Trainer
 * Process Improvement and Problem Solving
 * Call Center Dynamics
 * Key Performance Indicator Improvement
 * Building Client Centered Cultures
 * Functional Strategy
 * Organizational Development
 * Sales and Relationships
 * Business and Non-Profit Operating Models
 * Facilitating Change in both Culture and Operations

Melanie has a BS in Business Management, Employee Development. She has a
professional record of increasing revenue, reducing costs, building teams, and
creating lasting cultures, with a focus and passion for serving the community in
non-profit organizations. She lives in Des Moines with her husband and children.



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Jim Janicki



Jim Janicki has over 25 years of global business leadership experience in
consulting, business operations, business strategy, manufacturing, systems,
quality, engineering, regulatory, sales, and supply chain management.

Jim was one of the original certified Black Belts in GE’s Six Sigma program and
went on to become a founding certified Master Black Belt and Lean Master for Sun
Microsystems’ Sun Sigma program, where he was then promoted to lead the
corporate-wide Operational Excellence effort. His team trained and certified
40 Master Black Belts and 420 Black Belts in an organization of 32,000 people.
The program achieved benefits of cost savings and new business from improved
customer engagement of over $1 billion in a three-year period.

Jim is a registered professional engineer and holds three U.S. patents, and he
published an article in the first edition of iSixSigma magazine. Jim also
volunteers as a board member on the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council
for the College of Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The Pennsylvania
State University and an MBA from Western Michigan University. He lives in
Maryland.



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Rodney Jarrett



Rodney has over 25 years of sales/marketing, management consulting, and
executive advisory experience.  Over the course of these years, he has been a
strong advocate for an “outside-in” process design philosophy rather than the
traditional “inside-out” or inwardly focused orientation for undertaking
process optimization, believing that understanding a customer’s desired outcomes
and experience expectations are the best launching points for innovative and
profitable process improvement.

Most recently, Rodney was the Chief Operating Officer at an Intelligent
Automation systems integrator where, as Project Executive, he supported one of
the largest deployments of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the government
healthcare insurance operating environment.  In the first nine months of
production, the new system eliminated an estimated 8 million manual Customer
Service Representative searches; now performed by software robots.

Rodney’s background in Cognitive Document Automation, Machine Learning, RPA and
his expertise in document-centric Intelligent Process Automation, workflow
consulting, and associated solution development has led to similar results
elsewhere:

 * Consulted with the executive operations team at one of Australia’s leading
   financial services firm to improve the delivery of wealth management and
   retirement products and services with an estimated reduction in operational
   costs of $2.8M per year.
 * Guided the financial management team of a global media and entertainment
   conglomerate to eliminate uncollected revenues due to the inability to refute
   questionable credit card charges. Prior to the implementation of the new
   system losses exceeded $100,000 per month.
 * Provided guidance to a large regional health insurance carrier in the
   automation and transformation of their commercial appeals process, decreasing
   expenses by an estimated $1.5M.

Rodney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of South
Florida, Tampa Florida campus and earned a Master of Business Administration
with a specialization in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix,
Orlando, Florida campus.  Rodney is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
awarded by Purdue University’s College of Engineering, a Prosci certified Change
Management Practitioner, and a Medallia Institute certified Customer Experience
Professional.  Additionally, he has received university level certifications in
Lean process improvement, business analytics, and change leadership from
the University of Central Florida, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell
University respectively.



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Kelly Kita



Kelly brings over 16 years of experience in process-based organization design,
measurement, and problem-solving. Her focus is on custom-designing an
improvement approach for her clients that works with their company’s unique
culture, people, and business goals to achieve speedy results. Kelly’s
practical approach was honed in her years in management with American Express,
GE Capital Corporation, and Target Corporation, where she had lead roles in the
development and launch of change initiatives ranging from Baldrige-based
business assessment, to process re-engineering, to Lean Six Sigma. She has
helped to bring success to both the traditional and the non-traditional targets
of process improvement – including distribution, operations,
information technology, marketing, human resources, and more.

Kelly has a proven track record in working across all levels of
the organization. For example, she has led senior management teams in defining
the organization’s core processes, determining process-based business metrics,
and selecting improvement projects that helped to achieve their strategic
initiatives. She has also established and coached project teams, and achieved up
to 40% improvement in performance. Further, she has led international training
teams, with audiences that ranged from Executives to front-line employees,
and programs that integrated classroom and e-learning tools for
higher efficiency and effectiveness. Kelly’s diversity in experience
and expertise helps to ensure her clients they are provided the best services
and solutions to meet their needs.

Kelly holds a M.A. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a B.A.
from the University at Albany, New York.



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Mimi Kokoska



Dr. Mimi Kokoska is an experienced executive leader in value-based care,
operations, network quality and strategic innovations and technology in health
and payer systems.

She is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Accend Health, a healthcare
management consulting company providing organizational audits, strategic and
data insights, population health, customizable artificial intelligence platform
and operational excellence to health systems, payers, employers and
medical groups.

Dr. Kokoska’s prior roles highlight her expertise in organizational growth,
quality, and affordability. She was the Senior Vice-President of Strategic
Partnerships & Innovation and Accountable Care Organizations at Blue Shield of
California with over $20B in revenue, where she assessed and enhanced large
health systems and medical groups to increase network growth, quality, and value
for over 4 Million members. As Senior Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer
of Hospital Based Specialties in Aurora Health Care (now Advocate Aurora), she
led the achievement of many system “firsts”, improving patient access, quality
of care and its P&L. As Service Line Director, Vice-Chair and Professor with
Tenure at Indiana University Health and Indiana University Health Physicians,
she led and managed several successful surgical quality initiatives. She served
as the Chief Surgical Consultant responsible for reviews of seven facilities
across Michigan, Indiana, and Southern Illinois in the Veterans Health
Administration, which were recognized as top 3 out of 130 systems in the
country. Dr. Kokoska has been recognized for healthcare quality, patient
safety, operational effectiveness and costs, whilst mentoring future leaders.

Dr. Kokoska earned her MD from Keck University of Southern California School of
Medicine, a Master in Health Care Management from Harvard School of Public
Health and a Black Belt in Lean Management. She is Board Certified in
Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery. She serves on the Board of Directors and Senior Advisor for the
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (2001-present). As a
member of the board for Rebuilding Together Oakland | East Bay, she advances
health equity through housing equity and safe and healthy homes.



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Rachel Lamb



Rachel is a results-oriented professional with demonstrated ability to deliver
continuous improvement initiatives that have added millions of dollars to the
bottom line. She has extensive experience leading, training, and mentoring
through the use of problem solving and Lean tools. In her most recent role as
the Global Head of Process Capability for Defense Services at Rolls-Royce, she
developed and implemented a Lean Acceleration program. This program enabled
teams across the sector to rapidly maximize business performance through on time
delivery, efficiency gains, and cost reduction solutions. She is
characterized by a strong set of values and high levels of initiative and
commitment. Her goal is to combine her knowledge and fifteen years of
process improvement experience to deliver optimal results for clients.

Rachel has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of
Science in Manufacturing Management from Kettering University. She is a
certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and certified Project Management
Professional (PMP). She spent several years of her professional career working
in Mexico where she became proficient in Spanish.



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Gina LaBella-Tulin



Gina LaBella-Tulin has over 20+ years’ Life Science industry and consulting
expertise in quality and regulatory working with medical device, pharmaceutical,
and combination product companies. She is an expert in product lifecycle
management with a process improvement and project management approach
leading cross-functional teams though design and development, clinical
requirements, and post market surveillance.

Gina is an expert in building the process, procedural infrastructure, and
implementation for Quality Management Systems  for compliance to ISO:13485:2016,
21CFR 820, and EU MDR  through conducting Design Control and DHF gap
assessments/audits and remediations. Her quality system work also
includes considerable experience in CAPA/Complaint Handling and Medical Device
Reporting (MDR), Risk Management, and Supplier Controls.

Among her recent projects include:

 * Leading a Quality Management System design/build for a pharmaceutical company
   for compliance to 21 CFR 820, ISO 13485:2016, and EU MDR in the manufacture
   of their first combination product, a pre-filled syringe.
 * Providing a point-of-care quantitative in vitro diagnostic (IVD) assay and
   diagnostic system instructions for use (IFU) manual and Human Factors
   clinical study protocol to support an FDA submission.
 * Leading a Design History File (DHF) gap assessment, training, hazard
   analysis, and risk/benefit analysis related to clinical and risk requirements
   for a combination product company for compliance to EU MDR, 21 CFR 820, and
   ISO:14971 Risk Management.
 * Conducting clinical trial site Pre-Approval Inspections (PAI) to assess
   readiness for commercial manufacturing, data integrity, and conformance to
   application in support of a pharmaceutical company NDA submission.
 * Leading a Quality System Gap Assessment/Audit and remediation for an
   international combination product company for compliance to FDA CFR 820 and
   ISO 13485:2016 requirements with an emphasis on design controls, complaint
   handling, CAPA remediations, & post market surveillance.
 * Providing Investigational Device Exemptions (IDE) process and procedural
   expertise for a pharmaceutical company standardization of their combination
   product portfolio to support their conduct of clinical studies.

Gina holds a Master of Science degree in Biology from Delta State University and
is a certified ISO13485:2016 Lead Auditor.



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Jena Marcum



Jena Marcum has broad experience leading projects, programs, and process
improvements for a variety of industries. She is known for her ability to
consistently deliver results by breaking down ambitious projects into executable
plans and strategies. Jena has led the planning and execution of multi-year
global technology projects among cross-functional teams including engineering,
legal, test, manufacturing, supply chain, purchasing, and operations. She
also volunteers as a Project Management Professional (PMP) Instructor for
the Project Management Institute (PMI) and as a Wish Granter for
The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Her previous career experience includes Engineering and Technical Program
Management at Rolls-Royce Corporation where she worked with the U.S. Air Force,
U.S. NAVY, NASA, Italian Air Force, Alenia Aeronautica, General Electric, Pratt
& Whitney, Lockheed Martin, and Cessna on various development and
in-service programs.

Jena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University and her Master of Science in Technology degree from
Purdue University. Jena holds PMI PMP and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
certifications, and she is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and a Scaled Agile
Framework (SAFe) Product Manager/Product Owner.



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Staci Nayeri



Staci has spent her career partnering with operations leaders to drive
improvements. She is the Chief Analytics Officer and co-founder of Beyond
Benchmarks, a company that focuses on enhancing process improvement efforts
through operational analytics. This goes beyond simple benchmark comparisons
to competitors. They get deep into the detail of operations and help teams make
the right improvements.

Staci’s previous roles include Business Analytics Director and Lean leader at
Indiana University Health, Industrial Engineering leader at Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles, and Industrial Engineer at the Walt Disney Resort. Her notable
accomplishments include launching an innovative team at Indiana University
Health which provided business intelligence reporting, predictive analytics,
simulation, workforce management and scheduling support. At the Walt Disney
World Resort, she implemented a highly effective attraction efficiency program,
developed space requirements for the largest Downtown Disney expansion to date,
and prepared for the launch of FastPass+ by increasing FastPass availability by
20,000 tickets per day.

Staci has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University
and is completing an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. She is also Gold
certified in Lean.



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Rob Tripp



With over 20 years of focus in the quality management arena, Rob’s breadth and
depth of experience combine to enable significant business results in each of
his client engagements. Rob was trained and certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt
in AlliedSignal’s first wave in 1995; by 1998 he acquired his Master Black
Belt certification, at which time he began his consulting career. Since that
time he has trained, mentored, and certified thousands of Green Belts, Black
Belts and Master Black Belts in dozens of companies across several industries
around the world. Through these engagements, Rob has assessed organizational
readiness, designed and led deployment strategies, developed curricula for
various levels of Lean, Six Sigma, and Design for Six Sigma training,
and mentored Leaders, Champions and Belts through both organizational
and technical aspects of Lean Six Sigma deployments. Rob is a thought leader in
his profession, with several articles in website and print publications, and his
clients have been recognized for deployment excellence and best deployment of
the year multiple times at industry symposiums.

The continuous improvement journey that Rob has shared with his clients enables
him to immerse himself in multiple processes across various functions, including
R&D, sales and marketing, engineering, operations, human resources, accounting,
information technology, and supply chain management. This process experience
comes out of multiple industries, including mining, oil and gas, construction,
automotive, chemical, insurance, banking and finance, software development,
medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and retail. Rob has delivered
training, facilitated projects, and consulted deployments in over 20
different countries; prior to his consulting experience, Rob was an
operations manager and plant controller at AlliedSignal.

Rob currently lives in rural Indiana with his family on a small hobby farm; he
attended Indiana University, Bloomington, where he earned a bachelor of science
in Biochemistry and an MBA in finance.



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Susan Vaughn



Susan has over 22 years of consulting experience, specializing in both
traditional and Agile project management. She has a proven track record of
managing challenging information technology projects and is a results-driven
professional with experience leading multifunctional teams of experts in
initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing complex projects. She
has expertise in facilitation, requirements gathering, and design documentation
and possesses great analytical skills and is a creative problem solver.

Susan is a board member of Women & Hi Tech, a non-profit organization created to
address the specific needs of women in high tech industries in Central Indiana
that encourages more women to consider careers in technology. She has been
actively involved for over 13 years and a board member for 11 years.

Susan received a business degree specializing in computer information systems
from Indiana University’s School of Business and she is a certified with the
Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional (PMP).



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Tiffany Tokarz



Tiffany Tokarz is the CEO of Modern Muse and an Intentional Growth Strategist.
Since 2006, Tiffany has been working with sales professionals and business
owners to help them achieve notable career and business advancements. Some of
the industries where she has focused her efforts are the financial
sector, manufacturing, engineering, veterinary services, and construction.

Tiffany holds credentials as a CPBA, CPMA, and has earned a master’s degree in
Leadership and Organizational Development Psychology. She was recently accepted
into Faculty Row, an elite organization of accomplished academics ranging from
Fulbright Scholars to TED Talk speakers.

Tiffany believes that we have only begun to understand the scope of
human potential and that leaders who create company cultures to better leverage
their human capital will position their companies to thrive in the new economy.
She prides herself on being results-driven while maintaining a healthy balance
between work and play. Taking her own advice, Tiffany can often be found jogging
at Gray’s Lake in Des Moines, teaching yoga, and attempting to cook something
new in the kitchen.



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Elisabeth Swan



Elisabeth has provided process improvement consulting, training and design
services to Fortune 100 companies for the past 20 years. Most recently she
worked on the design and implementation of a Performance Management System for
the Bahamas Telecommunications Company resulting in the alignment of strategic
corporate goals with every layer of the company down to coordinated targets for
front-line technicians.

Just prior to that she coached several improvement teams at Charles Schwab
resulting in a 20% reduction in unnecessary account terminations, a 30%
reduction in rework associated with on-line funds transfers, a 75% reduction in
total account open cycle time from application to funding. In an ongoing effort,
she has been a principal in the design and rollout of the first Lean/Six Sigma
effort in the hospitality industry for Starwood Hotels and Resorts resulting in
average benefits of $30 million per year from 2001-2008 for North America alone.

Elisabeth is the author of a business simulation used worldwide to gain buy-in
and establish leadership awareness in the area of process improvement. Her
clients include: BP, Charles Schwab, Cisco Systems, GE Capital, Fireman’s Fund
Insurance, Federated Department Stores, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Mitre,
NBC, Northrup Grumman, Target, NBC, Raytheon, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide, United Health Care, Vanguard Financial Services, Volvo and Wells
Fargo,.

Born in the UK, Elisabeth holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia
University in New York City, NY. Elisabeth is a certified Black Belt Trainer
with GE Capital and a founding member of BCT (Boston Comedy Theater)
specializing in improvisational techniques to foster organizational change
efforts.



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Deanna Suskovich



A certified Master Black Belt in Six Sigma and Lean Management, Deanna has
worked with Fortune 50 organizations, government agencies, hospitals, labs,
animal science, universities, architecture, engineering, and construction firms,
as well as a variety of service organizations, to design and build
continuous improvement programs; select, educate, and build clients’
change-resource capacity; and implement process improvement projects.

Deanna specializes in leading healthcare Lean Six Sigma deployments, with recent
experience in leading and coaching projects for the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) as a member of their internal consulting team, the Veterans
Engineering Resource Center (VERC). She has invested almost a decade in support
for that deployment, coaching executives in the MyVA transformation, leading
champion workshops for leaders, training black belts, and facilitating rapid
process improvement (RPI) efforts. She has also supported Lean Six
Sigma deployments in other healthcare systems, including Memorial
Hospital (Jasper, IN), Tipton Memorial Hospital (Tipton, IN), DuPont
Hospital (Fort Wayne, IN), Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety, Sisters
of St. Francis Health Care System, and the AHRQ – MRSA North
America Collaboration.

Through the use of Lean, Six Sigma, and Design for Six Sigma methodologies,
Deanna has educated and led on-site client teams on more than 140 Lean Six Sigma
improvement and Design for Six Sigma projects which combined have an 83% success
rate of sustaining improvements for longer than 6 months following the pilot
implementation.

Deanna has a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a BA degree in Marketing from
Purdue University.



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Josh Simons



Josh Simons is an experienced manufacturing systems implementation leader with
over 15 years of experience implementing capability step-changes in production
IT systems and maturity. Broad knowledge across a wide spectrum of manufacturing
software systems and development environments. Adept at converting customer
goals and requirements into solid production solutions. Specialized experience
in new facility and production line design and optimization. Demonstrated
aptitude for information systems integration and training.

In recent experience, he led manufacturing execution system (MES) selection and
implementation for multiple new manufacturing facilities including a large
greenfield aerospace composite Research and Development facility and a
high-volume modern production facility.

Josh has led quality system development and manufacturing systems solutions as
Quality Manager for a state-of-the-art advanced turbine manufacturing research
facility.  Managed global implementation of new MES systems in several tier-1
aerospace manufacturers. Designed, built and effective custom digital shop floor
solutions.

Josh received a BS degree Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue
University, a MS degree in Innovation, Leadership & Technology from Purdue
University.  He is an accredited Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is a certified
Project Management Professional (PMP).



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Beth Rothwell



Elizabeth (Beth) Rothwell provides expert facilitation for strategic business
decisions, particularly for the medical devices and venture capital industries.
She is currently a Board of Directors member for the three VFD Technologies
companies.

Formerly, she served as a Vice President for Monterey Advisors, a Medical Device
consulting firm. From 2002 to 2008, she held several executive positions with
Kyphon, Inc., one of the fastest growing medical device companies in history.
These positions included Vice President, Operations, Quality, R&D,
Program Management and Regulatory Affairs. From 1995 to 2002, Beth served as a
Board of Director Member and Vice President for Intercon, Inc. a
contract manufacturing firm specializing in fiber and electrical assemblies for
a variety of markets.

Ms. Rothwell holds a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University. She is also
a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Women in Leadership Program.



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Carlos Rojas



Carlos is a design and innovation enabler who has helped organizations shape the
conditions that make them more adaptive, creative, and prolific when solving
modern business challenges.

A builder at his core, Carlos is known for his expertise in reimagining all
aspects of an organization and for effectively setting a clear and compelling
enterprise strategy that expands current offerings reach and profit revenues by:
identifying target market growth opportunities, developing new differentiating
offerings and capabilities, and positioning a corporation’s short and long
term readiness to effectively engage the evolving domestic and global consumer
landscape.

He draws from his passion for customer empathy and customer-driven innovation,
twenty years of experience at three Fortune 500 corporations, and a range of
disciplines that serve as a tool belt for reshaping culture, structures, talent,
processes, products, services and experiences.

Born and raised in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where he also completed most of his
studies, Carlos earned both his industrial engineering and marketing
undergraduate degrees from Universidad Privada Boliviana and his M.B.A. from the
University of Florida.



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