JIM MCGUIRK

Jim has been in the field of communications for 35 years, both in New York and Los Angeles. He has worked as a salesman, writer, manager, trainer and consultant. He has trained over 15,000 people on speaking and writing skills. His interest in communication skills training began at the Dale Carnegie Courses. In 1969, Jim went to work for the J.Walter Thompson communications subsidiary, Communispond. There he rose to Training Director of the subsidiary. For five years he was the Vice President in charge of corporate communications and investor relations for Columbia Savings, a 13 billion dollar financial institution. In 1987, he formed his own communication consulting business, Jim McGuirk & Associates.

LEE MELCHOIR

Lee started her business communications career in Chicago with Communispond Inc. She taught presentations skills, consultative selling, business writing and coaching skills. She has trained more than 12,000 business professionals over the last 21 years. Prior to that Lee worked in New York for the investment-banking firm, Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Lee earned an M.A. in English from Western Michigan University and a B.A. from Culver-Stockton College.

WALTER COYNE

Walter started his career as a reporter for a large circulation suburban newspaper, The Record in New Jersey. He wrote columns, features and promotions for Newspaper Enterprise Associates Inc. He worked for 4 years as an account executive for Carl Byoir & Associates, the Chicago public relations firm. Walter was a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson, where he wrote on a range of topics including education, crime, public health and foreign policy. He managed a staff of writers and editors in the production of speeches, publications and press releases for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. For 24 years he was Manager, Executive Communications for ARCO, where he recruited and managed writers, editors and producers. He was the chief speechwriter for four ARCO CEO's. He has a B.A. in English from Holy Cross College.

KATI BRECKENRIDGE Ph.D.

Kati is a psychologist, psychoanalyst and writer. She was Head Clinical Psychologist for Los Angeles County's Department of Personnel. She has taught psychology at California State Univ., Long Beach and at Ryokan College, Los Angeles. Kati is an instructor in psychoanalysis at the Institute of Contemporary Psychology. She is the current president of that Institute. She has written for industry journals and is the author of a book, Mother Care. She has a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas.

BERT BARTLETT

Bert has been a media and speech consultant for 30 years. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, association staff member and a public relations/advertising executive. He was the head of the J. Walter Thompson Company's Washington office. In the past 25 years Bert has designed and conducted classes on communications skills. He has also lectured at American, Georgetown and George Washington Universities. He has been an associate at Jim McGuirk & Associates for the last fifteen years.

ELIZABETH DANZIGER

Elizabeth has taught and consulted on the subject of business writing for 25 years. In addition to her work as a trainer and consultant, Ms. Danziger is a professional writer. She has written four books, the most recent of which, Get to the Point! Painless Advice for Writing Memos, Letters, and E-Mails Your Colleages and Clients Will Understand, was published in 2001 by Three Rivers/Random House. Ms Danziger is a graduate of Pomona College, Claremont, California, and of the Executive Program of the Anderson School of Business as UCLA. She is a member of the American Society for Training and Development, and is certified by the Dun and Bradstreet Expert Marketplace as a Premier Provider of consulting services.

CHARLES REILLY

Charles worked in New York for Communispond as a trainer and as Vice President of Speech Dynamics, a division of Ogilvy & Mather. His background also includes service as Executive Vice President at Patrick Carr Associates, a New York public relations agency. For five years Charles served as Executive Director of the National Catholic Office for radio and television. He is the author of three books, the most recent being You & A Life of Reilly, a businessperson's guide to effectiveness.