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Walter McFarland is the 2013 Chairman of ASTD and a consulting executive focused on the leadership of large-scale organizational change. He is a former Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. About Choosing Change:  How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time What’s your best opportunity for succeeding in business? If there’s one certainty in business today, it’s this: Change is coming your way. You have no choice in the matter. The choice you do have is […]

Gregory S. Smith currently serves as a CIO for an organization in the Washington, DC, area. He previously served for nine years as the vice president and chief information officer (CIO) at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington, DC. Mr. Smith is the author of How to Protect Your Children on the Internet: A Road Map for Parents and Teachers and Straight to the Top: Becoming a World-Class CIO. He has published many articles over his career, including “Talking […]

J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., became executive chairman of Marriott International, Inc., in 2012 after being the company’s chief executive for forty years. He is an American business icon who has successfully created a multi-billion-dollar global hotel company. He divides his time between the Washington, DC, area and New Hampshire with his wife, Donna. They have four children, fifteen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. About Without Reservations:  How a Family Root Beer Stand Grew into a Global Hotel Company In Without Reservations, […]

Amanda Ripley is a literary journalist whose stories on human behavior and public policy have appeared in TIME, The Atlantic, and Slate and helped Time win two National Magazine Awards. To discuss her work, she has appeared on ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX News, and NPR. Ripley’s first book, The Unthinkable, was published in fifteen countries and turned into a PBS documentary. About The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way How Do Other Countries Create “Smarter” […]

Jen Shirkani, founder and CEO of the Penumbra Group, has more than 20 years of experience as a learning and development specialist and executive coach. As a sought-after speaker, she provides insight into human dynamics in a humorous and engaging way. Jen has worked with organizations from the Fortune 50 ($40B) to family-owned entities specializing in the application of Emotional Intelligence. Her corporate career includes learning and development roles at specialty retailer Nordstrom, Select Comfort (the Sleep Number Bed), and […]