Dr. Michael Lawrence Faulkner is a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who served from 1964 to 1970 and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He spent 30 years in a variety of leadership and management (“coaching”) positions with Dun & Bradstreet, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and entrepreneurial start-ups, as well as helping run the family business before moving into the academic world. Today Michael is a professor at the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University. Michael is a member of MENSA, a former two-time national champion of Athletic Dueling, and an International Rotary Fellowship award winner. He has been published in peer review journals, dozens of magazines, newsletters, Web sites, and blogs, and has written half a dozen white papers, including one that was circulated to all elected members of Congress and the major media outlets. He has written or co-authored 11 books.
Dr. Renee Thompson is the founder and President of a non-profit organization, Transitions Education Center (TEC), and employed as an Assoc. Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at DeVry University. TEC is an organization with a strong foundation that seeks to stimulate and expand educational and socio-cultural opportunities for minority and low-income students seeking higher education. Thompson is committed to diversifying the spectrum of college graduates by empowering students to develop professional and leadership skills. She is also the founder of Girlfriends Listen! – a fun-loving core group of women that shares interesting and valuable insight. This group was started to share experiences with other women, to empower others to reach their full potential.
Andrea R. Nierenberg, best-selling author, speaker, and world-renowned business authority, is the force behind The Nierenberg Consulting Group. Called a “networking success story” by the Wall Street Journal, Andrea founded The Nierenberg Consulting Group in 1993. With a stellar 29 years as a leader in sales and marketing, Andrea is an in-demand business expert both at home and abroad. Her company partners with an array of the world’s leading financial and media industry businesses.