Our Facilitators

Marya Danihel has more than 20 years' training and consulting experience in business communication, having worked with associates at all levels in organizations such as AT&T, CNN, Genzyme, Deloitte, and Toyota. She is also one of Hemsley Fraser's chief virtual facilitators for the delivery of federal government leadership courses. Her background as a stage, television, and radio performer informs both her on-site and online training. Marya's other projects include editing books on estate planning and university teaching, contributing articles to lifestyle magazines, and writing for New Hampshire Public Television and Radio. Earlier work includes being a staff writer for a regional business magazine and a newspaper copy editor.

With her combined passions for effective communication and relevant workplace learning, Kimberly's focus is always on providing direct, complete, and compelling deliverables.  In the training room, her focus is on supporting each learner in meeting their specific learning goals.  She achieves this, in part, through engaging and interactive learning that is purpose-driven, enjoyable, and immediately applicable as well as sharing real-world examples and stories.  As a seasoned employee and organizational development professional with a Masters Degree from the University of Miami, she was among the first in the industry to attain ATD’s CPLP certification and has authored Same Training - Half the Time, and two titles in ATD's best-selling Trainers Workshop series: Customer Service Training and Facilitation Skills Training.  Kimberly’s experience extends to city, county, and state government agencies as well as Fortune 500 firms in the US, South America, and Asia.  She has been a contributor to the ATD community both locally and nationally for many years, serving on boards, presenting conference sessions at ICE and ALC, and also volunteering time for ATD initiatives.  You may have seen her in T&D -- now, come learn with her!  Kimberly facilitates ATD's Instructional Design Certificate,  Training Certificate, Essentials of Staying Centered Through Conflict, Fundamentals of Training Design, Training Certificate Plus, Introduction to Training, and Master Instructional Designer Program.

Kathi Edwards is an independent consultant, writer, and facilitator specializing in creating more effective learning environments and strategies. She supports clients in developing learning strategies, designing learning opportunities, and ensuring subject-matter experts (SMEs) have the knowledge and skills they need to facilitate learning. Ultimately, everything she does is focused on those who matter most: the learners. Kathi’s unique expertise in transforming the effectiveness of subject-matter experts who lead learning opportunities is frequently sought by national and international organizations in a variety of fields. In demand as an engaging speaker and facilitator in both corporate and not-for-profit settings, she is a frequent content leader on topics related to learning, learning strategy, and working with and coaching subject-matter experts. In addition to facilitating ATD’s Training Certificate Program, she developed and facilitates, several times per year, the popular three-part webinar series “Essentials of Coaching SMEs to Facilitate Learning,” part of ATD's ongoing “Essentials of...” webinar series. Kathi speaks and writes extensively on learning practice and strategies. She is co-editor and a chapter author for the book “Core Competencies in Association Professional Development, 2nd edition” (ASAE, 2011), and contributed 22 of the ideas in the book “199 Ideas for Enhancing Learning Experiences” (ASAE, 2011). She also served as executive editor of “CAE Study Guide 2015” (ASAE), a comprehensive study resource for those seeking the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential. As part of her ongoing commitment to effective learning regardless of the setting, Kathi is a qualified lead assessor for the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Certificate Accreditation Program. The program is based on ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, which is an American National Standard. Prior to launching her consulting business, Kathi spent 25 years working in a variety of capacities for five distinctly different trade and professional associations. For a majority of that time she was responsible for development, implementation, and evaluation of professional development programs.

Diane Elkins is the president of Artisan E-Learning, a custom e-learning development company specializing in Articulate Studio, Storyline, Lectora, and Captivate. She has built a reputation as a national e-learning expert by being a frequent speaker at major industry events such as ATD's International Conference & Exposition, ATD TechKnowledge, DevLearn, and Learning Solutions. She is also the co-author of the popular E-Learning Uncovered book series as well as E-Learning Fundamentals: A Practical Guide from ATD Press. She is a past president of the Northeast Florida and Metro DC chapters of ATD.

Deb Featherston brings more than 20 years of leadership and consulting experience. Working with companies of all sizes, including emerging entrepreneurial firms and global Fortune 500 companies, her passion is working with leaders, teams, and individual contributors to build organizational talent and develop high-trust relationships. She has managed and delivered large, global talent-related projects including, but not limited to, leadership development and coaching initiatives. Her consulting work often involves building organizational and leadership capability during restructurings, cultural transformations, and mergers and acquisitions. She directs and oversees learning and development initiatives and specializes in leadership and management development, career management, change agility, and resilience that result in maximizing workforce engagement and productivity. Collaborating with leaders, she identifies continuous improvements, focuses on building high trust, and places emphasis on sustainability. Bottom line—Deb partners with organizations to build committed, top-performing individuals, teams, and leaders who are motivated, engaged, and productive.

Prior to co-founding Workplace Partners, Deb held leadership positions with a professional services company, serving as vice president/co-founder of a career publisher where she was the driving force of their revenue growth. Additionally, she designed and implemented systems and processes that provide a foundation to sustain fast growth for its domestic training and product sales.

Helen Fong is a Synchronous Facilitator and Producer for InSync Training, LLC.  With 15+ years of experience in the e-learning field, Helen has had the opportunity to work with many organizations to provide effective synchronous online learning solutions. She has helped transition many traditional trainings into successful and effective online courses. An early adopter of synchronous e-learning, Helen worked for WebEx where she contributed to building WebEx University as a Trainer for seven years. She later moved on to other roles and companies, where she continued to be a passionate advocate for synchronous online solutions. Helen holds a MBA in International Business and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Based in San Francisco, CA, she currently facilitates, produces, and manages projects for InSync Training.

Donald J. Ford is a training and performance improvement consultant specializing in instructional design and process improvement. He has worked in the field of human resource development for twenty years, including training management positions at Southern California Gas Company, Magnavox, Allied-Signal, and Texas Instruments. His consulting clients include Toyota, Nissan, Rockwell International, Samsung Electronics, Orange County Transportation Authority, Glendale Memorial Hospital, and others. For these and other clients, he has developed custom classroom, self-study and web-based training, conducted performance and needs analyses, facilitated groups, managed improvement projects, taught courses, and evaluated results. He teaches graduate courses in human resource development for Antioch University, Los Angeles, and Cal State University Northridge. He has published 35 articles and three books on topics in training, education, and management, including Bottom-Line Training: How to Design and Implement Training Programs that Boost Profits (Gulf Publishing, 1999), In Action: Designing Training Programs (Editor, ASTD, 1996), and The Twain Shall Meet: The Current Study of English in China (McFarland, 1988). Don holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in history and a doctorate in education, all from UCLA.

Cindy Foster has spent more than 25 years delivering and designing training in telecommunications, education and healthcare. She now spends the majority of her time in the virtual environment. Currently she leads courses in Facilitating Virtual Training, Designing Virtual Training and various supervisory and leadership workshops. Cindy enjoys working with people all over the world who she never would have met if not for the virtual classroom. Building rapport and connections IS possible even when we can’t see each other! She delights in igniting enthusiasm for a collaborative, learner-centered experience in the virtual classroom.

Silvia Furniel is passionate about providing a fun, innovative, and interactive learning environment in her workshops.

An enthusiastic, energetic, results-oriented training professional, Silvia is experienced in instructional design and training program development. She brings more than 12 years of experience in designing, implementing, and delivering learning and training in face-to-face and virtual settings for clients of different markets.

Silvia has a master’s degree in communications and education from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and holds three certifications: Certification of Facilitators in the Management of Dynamics for Groups (Gerza, México), Coaching Play, and Change Management Practitioner.

Besides training, Silvia loves technology, voiceover projects, networking, traveling, dancing, and having fun with her family and friends. She is from the Dominican Republic.

Hilarie Gaylin’s passion is to help people and organizations grow their best selves. Drawing upon over 20 years of experience in facilitation, training, instructional design, coaching, and organizational development, Hilarie specializes in customizing learning and development experiences for her clients.

Before starting her business, Cultivating Greatness, Hilarie worked at the U.S. Senate Office of Education and Training, where she consulted with senior staff in individual senators’ offices on organizational development initiatives and assisted in their implementation. Additionally, she created and facilitated customized strategic planning retreats and team building workshops. Through coaching, mentoring, and advising, she also worked with Senate leaders individually to increase their effectiveness. In her training role, she designed and presented over 35 classes’ worth of material, with an emphasis on developing leaders and increasing their skills.

Hilarie previously served as a training specialist for the Capitol Visitor Center and helped prepare its employees for its historic December 2008 opening. She formerly ran the education and training program and coordinated communication projects at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Clerk’s Office.

Hilarie is a certified executive and personal coach through CTI and is also professionally trained in organizational and relationship systems coaching (ORSC) through CRR Global. She earned an M.Ed. from the George Washington University and a B.A. in English literature from Bryn Mawr College.

Joni  Goodman is a certified Learning Facilitator with Russell Martin and Associates. She is also a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) with over 16 years of learning and development experience in the areas of management development, sales training, mentoring, executive coaching and presentation skills to name a few. Joni is the Director at  Solo Learning, where she brings a plethora of knowledge in not only performance consulting, but she is also a published author in the "The Book of Road Test Training Activities", "ATDs Training Toolkit" application, and "101 Ways to Make Training Active". 

As principal of Barbara Goretsky Consultancy, Barbara provides consultative services to corporate clients in the areas of talent and leadership development, executive coaching, learning programs in HR-related topics, and team development and effectiveness. At her previous position with Northrop Grumman, she was responsible for supporting the corporate leadership development strategy, with particular emphasis on designing, developing, and running Northrop Grumman’s core leadership development programs. Additionally, she designed the CEO’s annual leadership conference, 360-degree feedback processes, coaching and mentoring initiatives, and various competency models.  Barbara holds a BA and an MA from the Pennsylvania State University in journalism and speech communications, and a second master’s degree in human resources from American University. She is also a graduate of UVA’s Executive Education Program on Management Development, TRW’s HR Executive Programs at Cornell University and the University of Michigan, and Northrop Grumman’s HR Leadership Program at UCLA, and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and an Associate Certified Coach. 

Peggy Greenberg is President of Peggy Greenberg Training and Consulting.  Peggy has over 30 years of experience in staff and organization development.  Prior to starting her own business, Peggy was the Director of the Office of Education and Training for the United States Senate.  Her office was responsible for the training and development of Senate staff in Washington DC and throughout the country. She has also held Director level positions in large health care systems in Washington, DC and Boston.  Since starting her own training and consulting firm, Peggy’s clients have included the Department of Justice, US Senate, Glenridge Healthcare Solutions, K12, and the City Of Alexandria to name a few. Peggy is passionate about the importance of lifelong learning and the value of developing employees to their full potential. Her clients know her as someone that is very skilled at competently assessing needs and designing learning that is both engaging and relevant.  Peggy’s passion for continuous development drives her to always seek new ideas, concepts and methods to enhance her professional skills. In addition to her undergraduate degree in Nursing and graduate degree in Adult and Continuing Education, Peggy is certified to administer a number of tools and programs including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and The Bridges Managing Organizational Transition program. Peggy also is a trained moderator for Harvard Business Publishing’s Breakthrough Leadership Program.

Jonathan Halls is an author, trainer, and coach. He wrote Confessions of a Corporate Trainer (ATD Press, 2019), Rapid Video Development for Trainers (ATD Press, 2012) and was a contributing author to Speak More (River Grove Books, 2012) and the ASTD Handbook: The Definitive Reference for Training & Development, 2nd Edition (ATD Press, 2014). He is author of the ATD Infoline, “Memory & Cognition in Learning” (ATD Press, 2014) and has written numerous articles for TD magazine. Jonathan is an ATD BEST Awards reviewer and has sat on the advisory committees for the ATD International Conference & Exposition and TechKnowledge. The former BBC learning executive now runs workshops in media, communication, leadership, and creativity. He is on faculty at George Washington University and facilitates ATD’s Master Trainer Program, Training Certificate and Rapid Video for Learning Professionals Certificate program. Jonathan has been training, speaking, and coaching for 25 years in more than 20 countries. He describes his work as “at the intersection of media, communication, learning, leadership, and innovation.”

Tracey Harris-Bennett is an energetic, results-oriented training professional experienced in instructional design, multimedia and training program development.  She has over 25 years of experience designing and delivering training solutions for clients in the pharmaceutical, education, and healthcare markets.  Tracey is passionate in creating interactive and immersive training programs that yield high impact results for her clients.  She currently holds certifications as Master Instructional Designer, Certified Master Trainer, Mobile Certification and Certified Online Training Professional (COTP)

When not working, Tracey enjoys playing golf with her husband Jeff and camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Ann-Marie Heidingsfelder brings to facilitation more than 25 years of direct business and leadership experience at General Electric, Comcast, Hewlett-Packard, DELL, and AT&T. She coaches and facilitates to improve personal, organizational, and professional outcomes with a style that incorporates heart, humor, subject matter expertise. There are few challenges in communication and leadership that Heidingsfelder hasn’t seen, can’t relate to, or hasn’t advised on. This makes her a highly relatable and seasoned professional who applies a genuine passion for development to help organizations and employees succeed.

She has published for YFS Magazine, SalesPro magazine, the Northern California HR Association Magazine, and TrainingIndustry.com. Heidingsfelder authored The 20 Minute Sales Coach: Increase Sales & Improve Sales Performance in as Little as 20 Minutes a Day. It provides a distinctive, hands-on approach for B2B sales executives and their leaders and provides solid sales coaching benefits for organizations.

Heidingsfelder is pursuing a doctor of philosophy degree in organizational and industrial psychology at Liberty University (2022), holds a master of business administration degree from the University of Phoenix, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College, and an associate coaching credential from the International Coach Federation. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, the Northern California HR Association, the Boston College Women’s Council, the Institute of Coaching Harvard Medical School Affiliate, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Dr. Cindy Hill has been an industrial/organizational psychologist at ACT since 1996. She has been a major contributor to the design of the WorkKeys Job Profiling Training program. She has trained and authorized hundreds of job profilers and also provides job profiling services to clients. In addition, Hill has been responsible for conducting content validity studies for the development and review of licensure and certification tests. This includes job analysis, the development of test content outlines, national surveys, data analysis, item writing and review, standard setting, and validating the test scores of off-the-shelf and company-specific tests.

Mason Holloway has an extensive professional background, including 15 years in senior management and consultative positions working in business consulting, business operations, sales, and human performance improvement (HPI). He is a senior analyst, performance technologist, and experienced practitioner of the HPI processes. He has demonstrated skills and expertise in assisting companies in meeting and exceeding aggressive and competitive organizational goals and improving overall business results through HPI processes. Holloway's clients have included The U.S. Navy, National Technical Information Service, L.L. Bean, Social Security Administration, Accelera Corporation, ServiceMaster, and Microsoft. Early in Mr. Holloway's career he focused his skills in the development of marketing and sales programs working with Cellular One (now Cingular). Holloway went on to found and develop a nationally recognized publishing company, serve as digital content delivery consultant to a major content provider, and work with a team developing a contextual learning management system for the United States Government, among other achievements. As a respected consultant in the areas of training delivery and performance, Holloway applies the combination of his extensive real world business experience and acumen with a deep understanding of the fundamental principals of performance in the service of accomplishing business goals. Spanning the disciplines of performance, learning, and development, Holloway's work has included performance-based information taxonomies, performer-centric call center interface design, the development of a contextual learning engine, extensive front-end analysis, online content development and delivery, and performance-based curriculum development. Most recently, working with partner Dennis Mankin, Holloway led the design and development team in the creation of Performance DNA, the most comprehensive and effective tool set for analyzing human performance. Performance DNA has been co-copyrighted by Platinum Performance Group and ASTD and is the only methodology taught in the prestigious HPI certificate program. He graduated with from University of Maryland with B.A. in English and business and continued his graduate studies in management at James Madison University.

Cindy Huggett, CPLP, is an independent consultant, professional speaker, instructional designer, classroom facilitator, and author who specializes in workplace training and development. With more than 25 years of experience, Cindy has successfully designed curriculums, facilitated classes, and led training rollouts in almost every industry and every size organization. She partners with her clients to help them transition from the face-to-face to the virtual classroom, and works with them to design online and blended learning solutions.

Cindy is the author of three books on virtual training: Virtual Training Tools and Templates: An Action Guide to Live Online Learning (2017), The Virtual Training Guidebook: How to Design, Deliver, and Implement Live Online Learning (2013), and Virtual Training Basics, 1st edition(2010). She is the co-author of two Infolines, “Simple, Effective Online Learning” (2008) and “Designing for the Virtual Classroom” (2009). She’s also contributed to several compilations, including the ASTD Handbook: The Definitive Reference for Training & Development (2014) and 101 Ways to Make Learning Active Beyond the Classroom, and written several articles for TD magazine.

Cindy holds a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University. Cindy is also a past member of the ATD National board of directors and was one of the first to earn the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) designation. You can find Cindy sharing training tips on twitter as @cindyhugg, or on her website, www.cindyhuggett.com.

Bahaa Hussein began his career 28 years ago with Procter & Gamble Egypt (P&G), as a van salesman; or as he puts it, “riding a van, roaming the streets of Cairo selling soap.”  He managed to work his way up to became a key manager for P&G in the Arabian Peninsula, heading the sales operation in Saudi Arabia. Since 1988, he has been qualified to facilitate many of the P&G training programs across CEEMEA and Europe. In 2008, discovering his real passion and interest to genuinely and positively impact peoples’ lives through improved human performance; Bahaa shifted his career to Learning & Development. In 2010 he successfully earned ATD’s Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) becoming one of the 1,300 certified learning & development professionals worldwide, and the first Egyptian to obtain this esteemed certification.  Currently, Bahaa is the Head of Learning and Development at Abudawood Group responsible for the development and delivery of all training programs across six regions.  Additionally, he is the General Manager for Abudawood Irag. Bahaa continues to bring the same passion he had when he first started as a van salesman back, to delivering impactful training programs that create future leaders & professional performers in his organization as well across the whole MENA region business environment.