Saskia Meckman

Saskia Meckman is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. and has been working in the intercultural field for twelve years. Ms. Meckman’s global relocation consulting experience has included work with a wide variety of multinational companies. She has facilitated programs all over the US, Canada, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America. With extensive experience and interest in working with women expatriate managers as well as families and children, she has written numerous articles on these subjects and continues to write on expatriate issues. Currently, she is focusing her research on intercultural marriages and learning more about the field of executive coaching. As an active member and volunteer with SIETAR USA, she has been attending their conferences since 2000.

Ms. Meckman holds a Bachelor degree from Tufts University in Child Psychology and Education and a Master degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training. Ms. Meckman is bilingual in English and French, fluent in Dutch and Spanish, and conversant in German. She is currently learning Arabic and Sanskrit. US-born Ms. Meckman spent 14 years growing up as an expatriate, living in Europe - France, Germany, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. With an Ecuadorian mother and a Dutch-Austrian-Danish father, she has always felt most at home in international and intercultural settings. Ms. Meckman moved back to the U.S as a young adult to attend college, experiencing repatriation first hand. Currently residing in Boca Raton, FL, she lives with her Palestinian-Jordanian husband, who grew up in Lebanon, Kuwait, and Greece.

Dr. Colleen Braun

Dr. Colleen Braun is a Senior Associates and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She is also a clinical psychologist, educator, and organizational consultant with first hand credentials as an intercultural communications specialist. For more than 10 years, she carries out organizational assessments and developing international business activities for a European based client. A registered psychologist and family therapist, she carries out psychological services in clinical practices in Calgary and Halifax, specializing in chronic pain rehabilitation and disability management. Dr Braun holds adjunct status on the graduate faculties of NOVA Southeastern University, in Fort Lauderdale, and Central Michigan University.

Dr. Braun holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green University, completed Master's and Doctoral programs in behavioural medicine at the University of Cincinnati, and is certified as a family therapist by the Department of Psychiatry at the University Cincinnati College of Medicine. She is holds status as a registered clinical psychologist in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. Among her credits, Dr Braun lists more than 60 publications and presentations in North American and international journals and symposia. An honorary Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, she is listed in Who's Who Worldwide, and Who's Who in Professional Speaking. Dr Braun is an active member of The Canadian Psychologists Association; American Psychological Association; American Counseling Association; Canadian Pain Society; Association for Multi-cultural Counseling and Development; American Society for Training and Development; Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR); International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors; Advisory Board, The Family (IAMFC journal); and National Speaker's Association.

J.R. (Rod) Duncan

J.R. (Rod) Duncan, a fifth generation Canadian now based in Toronto, Ontario, is a corporate intercultural strategy consultant and coach, and a personal intercultural trainer now serving dfa Intercultural Global Solutions within its executive relocation support area. Mr. Duncan has over a decade’s experience as a corporate strategy, structure and reorganization consultant, after fulfilling a diverse range of executive management and governance roles in several corporations variously engaged in private equity and venture capital funding, corporate lending and leasing, insurance, IT, real estate development and construction, publishing, printing, energy, mining and manufacturing.

Mr. Duncan obtained an undergraduate degree in English Literature, followed by post-graduate studies in Political Economy focussed on simulation modeling, and then became a speech writer for a major Canadian public relations firm. After articling with a major international accounting firm he practiced as a Canadian Chartered Accountant specialized in international tax strategies. Thus far he has relocated to Montreal, Vancouver, Geneva, and Tampa, and twice to Amsterdam, and engagements have frequently taken him to many parts of North and Central America, the Caribbean area, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, and across Canada, including the far north. He has acted as an advisor to a former Premier of Ontario, a provincial Minister of Energy, and the Chair of the Canadian Senate’s Standing Committee on Banking, Trade & Commerce. As a volunteer he helps assess the skills of immigrating professionals through a dedicated University of Toronto program, acts as mentor to experienced managers or professionals immigrating to Canada through the Mentoring Partnership (an inspiration of the Boston Consulting Group), serves as a Director of the Toronto Harbourfront Community Association, assists the Institute of Canadian Citizenship to make the granting of citizenship more meaningful for new Canadians, and acts as advisor to several environmental non-profit organizations. For several years while raising his own family he was a foster parent to several children, some of whom were then recent immigrants to Canada.

Tawnya Ganfield

Tawnya Ganfield is a Cross-Cultural trainer for dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. For more than 15 years, Ms. Ganfield has worked with international transferees through program development and management, destination services, and training. Ms. Ganfield’s deep understanding of culture, coupled with her managerial business experience, allows her to deliver insights specifically focused on business. She has lived and worked in Venezuela, Spain and Belgium and traveled to dozens of other locations. As a result, she speaks fluent French and Spanish.

Previously, Ms. Ganfield worked for a major global consulting firm as a manager, consultant and business developer in International Human Capital. Her specialties include international assignment management, expatriate policy development, cross-cultural training, strategy design, and international processes for multinational corporations. Her experience includes industries such as automotive, manufacturing, consumer products, medical technology, communications and financial services. Today, Ms. Ganfield speaks at international organization conferences and corporate meetings on the topic of human resources and its global implications. She also consults with international business executives exploring business strategies that may work more effectively with employees of a different culture. Ms. Ganfield received her degree in Communications from Marquette University, specializing in intercultural communication. Ms. Ganfield is a member of SIETAR, the Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research; IIHR, the International Institute of Human Resources; and AIESEC Alumni.

Marshall C. Hewitt

Marshall C. Hewitt is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions and has been in the cross-cultural consulting field for more than 20 years. Specializing in global project team management, he has assisted clients in numerous international technology trans¬fers, joint ventures, and executive relocation programs, and advises global teams across a wide range of functions and industries.

Mr. Hewitt comes from a technical background. He started in corporate science as a petroleum geologist for Texaco before moving to Kobe, Japan, where he was a research engineer at Kobe Steel. His work, for which several of his designs were patented in Japan, was part of a biotechnology consortium sponsored by the Japanese government. He holds degrees in science and business from Vassar College, the University of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania State University and Harvard University. He has worked extensively with the pharmaceutical, chemical, IT, financial services and many other industries, as well as government officials. His geographic areas of concentration are East Asia, India, the European Union and North America. He teaches about Intercultural Business at Babson College in Boston, speaks Japanese and delivers his services to companies globally. Marshall is an avid pilot who lives in New Hampshire.

Eric J. Kruger

Eric J. Kruger is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions, the global cross-cultural consulting company. He has been working with dfa for over ten years since receiving his advanced training in cross-cultural methodology and practice. He is also a professional executive strategist specializing in leadership development and performance enhancement. His expertise is concentrated in over 25 years’ international experience in four global industries: the telecommunications, computer and information industries; the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector; financial and insurance services; and high-technology transportation equipment. His geographical areas of concentration are the European Union and Central/Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America—Argentina, Brazil and Mexico; and East Asia, specifically Japan and China.

Mr. Kruger holds degrees in international economics from the London School of Economics, University College, London and the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York. He has been a professor at Cornell, Columbia and Pace Universities. He is the author of several articles on cross-cultural communication and books on international business. He works professionally in five of the major languages of Europe and Latin America. Mr. Kruger, who was brought up and educated in Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Germany, lives in Manhattan with his family, but delivers his services to companies globally.

Susan Farwell

Susan Farwell is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions, the global cross-cultural consulting company. She has been working with dfa for over three years. She is also a communication consultant, trainer and coach. She specializes in working with executives on leadership issues such as gaining influence, leading change, motivating audiences, negotiating and managing in a multicultural environment. Her expertise is concentrated in over 25 years of experience in the communications field where she has had the opportunity to work with corporate clients from around the globe. Her clients include multinational firms in pharmaceuticals; financial and insurance services; publishing, consulting and manufacturing. She has worked in Western Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Her coaching clients often include impatriates or recent immigrants from the China, Japan, India, the Middle East, Russia and France.

Mrs. Farwell holds a B.S. degree in Communications at the Eastern Illinois University and an MFA at Lindenwold University. She has advanced studies from Harvard and MIT in Negotiations and Psychological Associates. She was raised and educated in the United States. She lives in New York City with her Egyptian-born husband. She frequently travels globally both on business assignments and for pleasure.

Donna Drewes

Donna Drews is a Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She also teaches English, presentation skills, and U.S culture to global corporate executives. She has worked with executives from legal, fininacial companies, among others. For the last 15 years, she has been teaching oral communication, composition, and English as a Second language at New York University. She has also taught at the China Institute, the Nippon Club, and American University in Paris. She has lived and worked in France and Germany and has traveled extensively in Europe as well as in Africa and Mexico.

Ms Drewes holds a M.A. from the University of Missori ' Kansas City and a B.A. from the Southwest Missouri state University ' Springfield, MO. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and raised in the United States in Minnesota and Missouri. As a radio and television journalist, she worked in Dallas, San Francisco, Connecticut, and New York. She also produced and hosted documentaries for the German Information Center, Bavarian television, and PBS in the U.S. She has lived in New York City for nearly 30 years and counts as her close friends people from around the world.

John M. Daly

Dr. John Daly is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions and has had thirty years' experience in international corporate and academic management, recruitment, counseling, training, contract negotiation, and marketing. He has also taught at seven universities in the United States and abroad and lived and worked for thirteen years in Europe and Saudi Arabia. He has worked for major corporate American, Algerian, German and Arabic companies in the US, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. For the past ten years John has worked for Fordham University's Graduate School of Business Administration as associate director of career services and adjunct assistant professor of communication and media management. He has taught MBA students Communication and Leadership as well as Cross-Cultural Communication and Negotiation, including in Fordham's innovative executive-format Transnational MBA Program, which John also helped market. His other university teaching experience includes teaching a graduate course in Intercultural Management for Mercy College.

Dr. Daly's doctorate is from New York University; his dissertation focused on some key elements affecting the development of cultural identity. He also took graduate courses and pursued research for his doctoral dissertation at the University of Heidelberg under a grant from the German government. Johns bachelor's degree is from Queens College of the City University of New York. He has had much corporate training, especially in the administration of human resources, and for three years served as international director in Area 1 (Delaware to Maine) of the Society for Human Resource Management. John was also once chair of the university-relations committee of HR/NY, SHRM's metro New York chapter, and co-chair of its first international committee. He is fluent in German, proficient in Spanish, and has tourist-level conversational ability in five other languages.

Edwin M. Martinez

Edwin Martinez is a Cross Cultural trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions and facilitator in negotiation, cross-cultural and multi-cultural concerns and third party processes such as mediation, arbitration and conflict resolution of interpersonal and multi-party disputes. He has conducted international training programs and administered relocation programs for multinational corporate executives in the USA and abroad for a number of companies. As a training facilitator with the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, he trained New York City High School principals and master teachers in negotiation and conflict resolution. He has worked with university student government organizations, human rights organizations, local and national law enforcement specialists and various other clients.

Mr. Martinez has traveled extensively throughout the US, Latin America and overseas and has lead several international professional and cultural exchanges to the People’s Republic of China (1988) and the former Soviet Union (1990) for the Citizen Ambassador Program. A native New Yorker he attended the University of Puerto Rico and the City University of New York and resides in the Bronx with his wife and four children.

Tom Peterson

Tom Peterson is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He has enjoyed working with dfa for several years in various capacities. Most recently, his collaboration has primarily taken the form of an intercultural trainer for Living and Working programs in the New England/New York City corridor. Mr. Peterson, a professor at Southern Connecticut University, brings his Communications education and twenty-six years of experience as a trainer, consultant, and business owner to DFA. He has trained individuals and groups from major corporations, television networks, the cable industry, athletics (including the Olympics), the arts, academia, and politics. Widely traveled, Mr. Peterson also greatly enjoys learning about and delving into cross-cultural endeavors, from house swapping in France to climbing the pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico. Tom lives in Connecticut with his wife, and has two adult children who share his love for travel, adventure, and the exchange of ideas.

Dr. Mark L. Usry

Dr. Mark L. Usry is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. Mark has worked with dfa for over a decade. Mark has worked as a consultant and executive strategist for over 20 years. A featured lecturer on things international Mark has traveled extensively internationally. Mark has worked with over 75 companies and 100 school systems on issues including team building, cross-cultural communication and strategic planning. Further Mark has worked with over 25 companies on developing market entry strategies when the companies have chosen to 'go international’.

Mr. Usry earned a bachelor's degree in Marketing from Oklahoma State University, a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and Masters in International Management from Thunderbird, The Garvin School for International Management. A faculty member at James Madison University in Virginia for almost twenty years, Mark recently began teaching at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Mark’s teaching has included: international and domestic business law; leadership; business environment of Europe and the Americas and international marketing. With his family, Mark resides in Charlottesville, Virginia and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

Virginia L. Cutchin

Virginia Cutchin has delivered cross-cultural training sessions for dfa Intercultural Global Solutions since 2003. She specializes in international business strategy, national innovation systems and global workforce development. Ms. Cutchin’s expertise comes from over 20 years’ experience in human resources, financial services and banking, and international education. Her geographical areas of concentration are China/Hong Kong and India, Central Europe and the UK, and Brazil.

Ms. Cutchin holds a BA in Political Science from Hunter College in New York, and an MBA in International Business from the Zicklin School of Business/Baruch College, also in New York. In 2008 she will receive designations as a global mobility specialist and as a certified behavior analyst. She has taught global marketing and international business courses at the Zicklin School of Business, World Trade Institute (Pace University), American University, University of Maryland and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Ms. Cutchin delivers her services in English and Mandarin Chinese. She, was brought up in the US, Italy and England, and currently lives in Alexandria, VA.

Rhonda Coast

Rhonda Coast is an International Human Resources Development consultant, specializing in cross-cultural awareness training and coaching as well as international human resources management with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. Ms. Coast is a trainer, consultant, and keynote speaker in the areas of: Intercultural communications, how to adjust successfully to overseas assignments, cultural differences and learning styles, how to do business in other countries, cultural differences in negotiating, and skills for the global employee. Rhonda’s international experience includes extensive on-site work in Spanish-speaking countries to help establish startup manufacturing operations for a Fortune 100 global company. Ms. Coast also has written and published guide books for business travel to Spanish-speaking countries as well as articles on cross-cultural issues. She is fluent in Spanish and has a good grasp of French. Rhonda has conducted focus group interviews and quality fitness reviews in Spanish at foreign manufacturing sites and has travelled extensively in Latin America and Europe.

Ms. Coast holds a B.A. degree in Spanish and French from Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pa., an M.A. in Spanish from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., and studied at the Universidad Autónoma de México in Mexico City. She also has studied at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Forest Grove, Oregon. A native of western Pennsylvania, Rhonda currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pa., with her husband. She is a member of the Board of Directors and past president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Western Pennsylvania, Inc. Ms. Coast also is a member of the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association, Society for Human Resource Management, Pittsburgh World Affairs Council, Latin American Cultural Union, National Speakers Association, and the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR).   In addition, Ms. Coast has been a featured radio talk show guest, discussing intercultural business issues.

Ellen Jane Baker

Ellen Jane Baker is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. Ellen’s expertise in cross-cultural communication, diversity, global teaming and collaboration, business protocol and the evaluation of how cultural differences impact business, stem from 25 years of management experience with international executives and diplomats in corporate America and the international arena. She is a dynamic consultant who excels at creating relevant and impactful programs and delivering experiential learning, which engages clients in all forums to interact. Her business acumen, networking savvy, market knowledge and keen observation and intuitive skills enable her to guide individual clients to self-discovery and prioritization of their needs in a comforting and reassuring manner. She has been an interpreter/officer for the U.S. Department of State, Senior Vice President of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice President of an international commercial real estate organization, and Director of the international division of a software training company.

Ms. Baker holds a Masters degree in French Studies and a TESOL certificate from the American University in Washington, DC. She earned a Bachelors degree in French from New York University and a Certificat de Langue Française from the Université de Paris. Ellen speaks flawless French, English and excellent Spanish, has experience in 26 countries and has resided in Europe and in Mexico.
She has served on the faculty of the American University, North Carolina State University and the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Mexico.

Vicki Flier Hudson

Vicki Flier Hudson is an Associate and Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She helps global organizations turn cultural differences into productive teamwork. She specializes in the continent of Asia with a focus on India and China, and her programs include intercultural communication, multicultural team building and international business skills. She is a recent recipient of Kennesaw State University’s Instructor of the Year award for International Programs. Previously, in her home of Atlanta, Georgia, Vicki supervised and conducted training for international and domestic Distribution and Manufacturing for Immucor, Inc., a worldwide blood bank automation company with affiliates throughout the globe. She led several German-U.S. teams through successful transitions to centralized software systems.

Ms. Hudson holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She also has an Airman Certificate. In the past, she has lived in Nepal and worked in China, Germany, India and Thailand. She has survived a fifty-five hour train ride across India and ridden a rickshaw, a camel, a cement truck and broken down buses all over the globe. She has traveled in several countries including Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, England, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Mexico and Panama.

Joseph McClure

Since 2002, Joe has been working with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions in the field of cross-cultural training, as Director, New Business Development, Midwest Region. He is also the trainer for dfa programs in the Detroit area. Joseph McClure joined General Motors Corporation in 1964 as a student at General Motors Institute. He received his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and began his career in Human Resources at GM’s Harrison Radiator Division in Lockport, NY. Joe moved to Detroit in 1977 and was involved in bringing the personnel function into the computer age with the launch of GM’s first Human Resources system. In 1981, Joe and his family moved to Zaragoza, Spain where he served as the Manager of Human Resources and Expatriate services for over three years. Joe repatriated to the International Assignment Services staff of GM in 1984 and has worked in various capacities within that staff. Prior to his retirement from GM in 2002, he was Manager of International Policy Development. In this role, Joe was responsible for the development and implementation of a website for the GM expatriate community. Additionally, Joe has been managed the review and revision of GM’s expatriate policies that impact an expatriate population of nearly 1250.

Elizabeth Hermann

Elizabeth is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has more than thirty years’ experience as a corporate speaker and educator and is an accomplished consultant and coach on global cross-cultural interactions. After many years of teaching Teacher Education at South African Universities, she has gained extensive international experience by living and working in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Britain, Holland, Germany, Taiwan, Indonesia and the USA. She has also made frequent longer visits to Australia and has traveled extensively in other parts of the world. In Jakarta, Indonesia she headed her own cross-cultural consultancy.

Mrs. Hermann academic qualifications include two bachelor’s degrees (in Speech and Drama and in Education), from University of Natal, South Africa, and a master’s degree from Michigan State University which focused on cross-cultural education and the development of cooperative learning environments. Elizabeth also has advanced qualifications in Psycho- and Socio-Cultural Linguistics, and the Psychology of Learning. A native speaker of English, Elizabeth speaks fluent German, passable Indonesian, and has a good understanding of Dutch and Afrikaans. Elizabeth is now living permanently in the USA and works out of Hillsdale, Michigan.

Tatyana Fertelmeyster

Ms. Tatyana Fertelmeyster is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions and she has been a professional interculturalist since 1989. She provides Intercultural Communication and Diversity trainings to corporate clients as well as to educators and mental health professionals. She also trains business executives and their families in preparation to their moves overseas for global assignments. As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, her professional experience includes providing resettlement services to the refugees and counseling to individuals and families going through the process of cultural adjustment. Tatyana is certified to administer and interpret Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). As a licensed counselor she is highly qualified to interpret the results of the IDI to both groups and individuals. She served as a consultant in the process of translating IDI into Russian.

Ms. Fertelmeyster received an MA in Journalism from Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia) and an MA in Guidance and Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago, IL). She continues her learning in the areas of cultural diversity and intercultural communication through the annual (since 1999) internship with the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communications in Portland, OR. Tatyana is a co-author of the Russian version of a training tool Cultural Detective™, which popularity is growing among professionals providing intercultural training and companies that use it for intercultural competency training, teambuilding and coaching. She is a Master Trainer of Facilitators in Cultural Detective™ model. Tatyana is an immediate past president of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR-USA) and a former board member of Turning Point, a non-profit agency that is a primary community mental health provider for residents of Niles Township, IL. Tatyana regularly presents at the state- and nationwide conferences, including being a keynote presenter at a number of conferences.

Barbara F. Schaetti

Barbara F. Schaetti, Ph.D., is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. With experience since 1985 in both the private and public sectors, Dr. Schaetti has a particular passion for helping people access their core intercultural capacity. A coach and facilitator, she is one of the three developers of the Personal Leadership methodology, a model of intercultural practice which helps people and teams engage with mindfulness and creativity across difference and in times of change. She is also a member of the faculty of the Intercultural Communication Institute. Dr. Schaetti is internationally recognized as an innovative leader in the field of expatriate and repatriate family services, having initiated the movement to develop on-site systemic transition programs such as those exemplified by the American School of The Hague (ASH) and Jakarta International School (JIS). A founding member of the Board of Directors of the Families in Global Transition Conference, Dr. Schaetti served that organization as Secretary and member of the Executive for four years, and as program chair or co-chair for the six conferences held between 2000 and 2007.

Author and co-author of numerous articles and books, Dr. Schaetti holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (Intercultural Communication: Cultural Identity Development), an M.A. in Whole Systems Design (Intercultural Conflict Resolution), and a B.A. in International Political Science. Earlier in her career, Dr. Schaetti worked in multicultural community meditation and as a diversity trainer with U.S. corporations and government agencies. Her current professional priorities include multicultural teambuilding, expatriate family coaching, and helping her clients develop a professional practice to leverage their intercultural competence. Dr. Schaetti grew up in ten countries on five continents, and moved internationally twelve times by the age of twenty-two. She has dual-nationality (American and Swiss), and speaks and reads French in addition to English. She is currently based in Seattle, WA USA.

Michael Burns

Michael Burns is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He has been working with dfa for over ten years. He specializes in culture and creativity for technology companies based in Silicon Valley. Michael teaches/coaches technology company executives in working and managing across India, China and Japan specifically and other Latin, Asian and European cultures.

Mr. Burns holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Psychology, Master’s in Sociology and a Diploma in Labor Law from universities in Sydney, Australia. Michael's early professional training and experience was as a teacher and clinical psychologist. His work in the areas of organizational change, global vision, strategic planning and goal alignment have been referred to in “Global Work ' Bridging Distance, Culture and Time” by Institute for the Future and “Corporate Comeback” the story of the turnaround of National Semiconductor. He has recently become a correspondent for the Australian Business Foundation’s column “Tales of Silicon Valley”.

Karla C. Van Meter

Karla Van Meter brings a wide business background to her role as cross-cultural trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He has been working with dfa Since 1996, Ms. Van Meter has worked with Dean Foster. She has led hundreds of inter-cultural trainings for a wide variety of participants. From her own business experience, Ms. Van Meter is familiar with the many different functional definitions of such concepts as “on time, deadline, quality and complete”. She often uses a systems approach to inter-cultural learning. Starting with the participant’s own value system, she uses training techniques to which the participants will be most receptive. Starting with a career in sales, Ms. Van Meter was a Financial Consultant for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., followed by industrial sales and marketing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Transferring to the information technology field, she developed products in teamwork with recent immigrants from every inhabited continent. In that capacity, she led cross-cultural team building initiatives in corporate environments. As a senior systems analyst at BZW Barclays Global Investors, Ms. Van Meter was an interface between the American marketing and planning staff and the international software development staff.

Ms. Van Meter holds a MS in Applied Statistics from Virginia Tech and a BA in Mathematics and Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley. For her master’s thesis, she analyzed the impact of an American public health intervention in a Haitian farming village. Born into a Franco-American military family, Ms. Van Meter first relocated at the age of six weeks and frequently thereafter. Married to an Englishman, she lives in the United Kingdom for extended periods of time and now currently lives in California.

Jacqueline Oliveira

Jacqueline Oliveira is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has 15 years of national and international experience in the intercultural and diversity fields. As an interculturalist, she has coached, trained and facilitated countless intercultural negotiations, meetings, project management teams, mediations, and one-on-one trainings. In the field of diversity, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit corporations, and sole practitioners, coaching and facilitating diversity seminars and workshops. Prior to her work in the intercultural and diversity fields, Jacqueline was a legal researcher. She uses the skills developed in her legal work as a researcher and developer of intercultural and diversity training programs for various companies.

Ms. Oliveira is Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University, teaching courses in intercultural management, diversity, and the integration of management theory in the workplace. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her Masters of Arts degree from The School for International Training. She has been a presenter and guest speaker at numerous national and international conventions. She is the author of numerous online publications about specific business cultures, and the author of Brazil ' a Guide for Businesspeople.

Heather R. Keller

Dr. Heather R. Keller is an Associates and Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. Since 1995 Dr. Heather R. Keller has dedicated her career to the field of training and development. As an consultant, trainer, author, and regular conference speaker, she has both practical and theoretical experience in the intercultural field. Dr. Keller has trained expatriates for living and working in Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. She has studied intensive French in Cannes, France; lived with families in Paris, France and Stockholm, Sweden; and served as a project consultant for a German-owned company operating in Pécs, Hungary.

In 2001, Dr. Keller obtained a Ph.D. from Ohio University in interpersonal communication with emphases in cross-cultural and organizational communication. After conducting extensive research with expatriates, the culmination of her doctoral degree was a dissertation in which she developed a cross-cultural training model for expatriates and their families. Dr. Keller also holds a master’s degree in higher education administration, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communication. For ten years, Dr. Keller also taught a variety of management and communication courses at both the MBA and undergraduate levels. Global Leadership, International Organizational Behavior, and Cross-Cultural Communication were among some of the courses she taught. Heather has served as a faculty member for Ohio University, Capital University, Hocking College, Columbus State Community College, Ohio Dominican University, and Franklin University. Dr. Keller also conducts training in the areas of leadership development, team-building, interpersonal communication, public speaking, and business writing.

Nancy A. Dean

Nancy Dean is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions, the global cross-cultural consulting company. She has conducted many cross-cultural programs and has lived the live of an expatriate for many years. A diplomatic spouse for three decades, she lived and raised her two daughters in five foreign countries on three continents. She also spent a couple of years in three African countries and India. When Nancy would have benefited from it most—during her early years living in alien cultures with the U.S. Foreign Service—cross-cultural indoctrination was all but unknown. She is acutely aware of how helpful this training can be for both individuals and families arriving in a foreign country on a long-term assignment having experience it herself.

A Midwesterner by birth, Ms. Dean earned a B.A. degree in journalism at Indiana University. For many years, she taught English as a Second Language on the college level, both overseas (Iran) and in the U.S. She is a journalist by training and was delighted to meld her two major talents while covering the diplomatic corps for Houston’s only daily paper, The Houston Chronicle, including writing a weekly column, Houston International Scene. More recently, she is the founding president of the Houston and Chennai (formerly Madras), India, Sister City Association, which is affiliated with Sister Cities International. She is based in Houston, Texas.

Jan O’Brien

Jan O’Brien is an associate with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions, the global cross-cultural consulting company. She facilitates intercultural communication workshops, intercultural business briefings, global and domestic team building workshops and leadership seminars. She also provides customized intercultural and leadership coaching services for clients. Jan has lived, studied and worked extensively overseas, in particular in the UK, France, Singapore, Thailand and the S.E. Asia region and has worked with clients from many language and cultural backgrounds. She enjoys coaching and motivating others during both the expatriation and repatriation processes and has experienced first hand the benefits and challenges of relocating internationally.

Ms. O’Brien was born in Nottingham, England ' the land of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. She previously worked for the BBC World Service and Foreign Language Services before immigrating to the USA. She was educated in the UK where she majored in Education and French. She has also gained the Certificate in Intercultural Studies through the Centre for Intercultural Communication at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Jan has worked as a core instructor with the University of Houston, Executive Coaching Institute where she has conducted workshops on the topic of coaching in a multicultural workplace for participants in leadership positions seeking to acquire effective coaching skills in order to produce improved interactions and results in others. She is a Board Member of SIETAR Houston (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research), a board member of SIETAR USA, and she Chaired the SIETAR USA 2006 conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is also a member of ASTD (American Society for Training & Development), the International Association of Coaches, the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and the Asia Society. Jan has made her home in Houston, Texas where she is inspired by the rich and diverse cultural environment that the Houston area has to offer.

Ralph Salier-Hellendag

Ralph Salier-Hellendag is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He is a long time student of modern business culture. He has worked for large multi-national corporations in their supply chain organizations and has traveled the world on their behalf. He has worked with many cultures in Europe, South America and Asia. Forging effective business relationships by successfully negotiating international joint ventures and supply contracts, Ralph has developed an understanding of the nuances of modern business culture. While working with Siemens Automotive he hosted a delegation from Israel. In addition, Ralph worked with the Israeli Department of Defense while working at International Truck (Navistar) in a CKD (Complete Knock Down) kitting service provided to the government. This included local value content (Israeli suppliers) and logistics. He has also worked with several Israelis who have come to the US for work assignments.

Mr. Salier-Hellendag has a background in anthropology and archaeology that give him a unique understanding of culture and technology. He earned a degree in Anthropology from Northwestern University and a Masters degree in Business Anthropology from Wayne State University. As a first generation American Ralph grew up speaking German as a first language and hearing Dutch. He also studied Spanish and Chinese along the way. He is based in Houston, Texas.

Denise Kleiman

Denise Kleiman is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has focused much of her recent career on Cross-Cultural Development. These cross-cultural programs have included Orientation sessions for relocating employees, Managing assignments of foreign national employees and visitors to include English Immersion and Executive Development Programs, Foreign Language Instruction, Negotiation Strategies, as well as a variety of Country-Specific programs. Her experience involves work for clients with offices in Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, South America, and Africa including -- Indonesia, China, Singapore, Myanmar, Japan, Algeria, Russia, Azerbaijan, UK, France, Germany, Dubai, Qatar, Israel, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Australia, the U.S. and others. Denise has lived in both Mexico and Spain.

Ms. Kleiman is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and has been an active participant in HR related professional organizations including the Alliance For Higher Education, Techforce 2000, SIETAR, ASTD, SHRM, IIHR, NAFE and NAWBO, and has participated in qualification efforts for the Baldrige Quality Award. She is certified to train more than a dozen management development and feedback instruments. She has over 25 years experience in all areas of Human Resources. She has managed core HR functions such as Recruiting, Training & Development & Development, Compensation & Benefits, Legal Compliance/EEO and Generalist activities. She is currently based in Dallas, Texas.

Adriana Arzac

Adriana Arzac is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has been working with dfa for over 10 years. She brings a vast intercultural perspective and expertise in the areas of global leadership, technology transfer and organizational development with particular focus on performance enhancement and cross-cultural adaptation throughout the American continent and the Caribbean. Adriana Arzac has over 20 years practical experience in executive positions working for international organizations in North and Latin American countries. She was a member of the Trilateral Work Force on Higher Education, Work and Culture for NAFTA and served on the faculty of various universities in the United States and Mexico.

Dr. Arzac holds an M.A. in Social Psychology from the Universidad Iberoamericana (Jesuit University) in Mexico City, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Health from the University of Texas, Health Science Center and was a Research Fellow at the UCLA Hispanic Behavior Research Center. She has published a variety of articles and essays in the areas of intercultural management, executive coaching, team building and behavioral health in the global workplace. Between 1996 and 2000 she served as President of SIETAR International, now the Global SIETAR Network and premier society of interculturalists and has served on several international and global boards. Adriana Arzac who was brought up in Latin America and educated in Mexico and the United States, works professionally in English and Spanish and is currently based in San Antonio, Texas.