Featured Speakers
The Birkman 75th Anniversary Conference will bring together an exceptional lineup of thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators who are shaping the future of human insight and organizational development. From visionaries to seasoned Birkman Certified Professionals, our featured speakers will share bold ideas, real-world applications, and fresh perspectives on what it means to lead, coach, and connect with clarity. Learn more about some of our featured speakers below!
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Lynn Greene is one of the founders of the Performance Enhancement Group (PEG, Ltd.) and has extensive consulting experience in the oil industry. He has been a Birkman Certified Professional for over 20 years and is passionate about helping others develop systems of metrics for organizational planning and development.
Lynn has been a long-time, strong proponent and purveyor of this particular application of The Birkman Method®, and he has shared the secrets of his success in several venues through the years. We are delighted that he has accepted the invitation to do so one more time. Join him for this entertaining and enlightening session. Who knows – you might just walk out with a new business strategy! Even if you are among the few who are already utilizing Birkman this way, you might gain some new insights that will energize you and your practice.
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S. Blake Lanier, MSW, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer, as well as the founder of The Lanier Practice, Inc., a boutique human-centered design consultancy working at the intersection of mental health and organizational health. For 25 years, Blake has provided clinical services to youth, adults, and families while also delivering training and consultation to both for-profit and non-profit organizations.
Blake is a Birkman Certified Professional, Gottman Method Couples Therapist, and a Mental Health First Aid Instructor for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Previously, Blake served as clinical professor in the graduate social work program at Kennesaw State University and as a Cirque du Monde Master Trainer for Cirque du Soleil’s Global Citizenship Division.
He and his wife, Jill, live, work, and play in Atlanta, Georgia. He stays fueled by third-wave coffee, reading, running, and rhythmic living.
Speaker
Laura Rohde is a learning leader, strategic thinker and focused on creating measurable impacts. She is experienced in all facets of leadership development, group dynamics training, executive coaching, performance management and personality testing. Laura assesses, manages and supports organizational needs to foster an environment that maximizes each employees personal and professional growth by creating clear career paths in the organization.
As a certified instructional designer and facilitator, she is also involved in the design and delivery of course curriculum, as well as creating in-house universities, train-the-trainer programs and leadership development programs. Her experience in the field of learning and organizational development spans more than 20 years.
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Stacey Mason is a Master Certified Birkman Consultant with 20+ years of experience using the assessment. She is also a seasoned Executive Coach, a thought-leadership columnist for several B2B publications, and the founder of the wildly popular platform The Improv Lab. Using insight, perspective and humor, Stacey serves as the leading voice in the conversation of merging the business of art with the art of business.
Her most recent project is the creation of For the Good of the Order, where she shares all her coaching content amassed over the years. And before any of that, she survived a lifetime growing up in corporate America at Walmart Inc.
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Torri Olanski leads Birkman’s Product and Research team, where she helps shape what’s next in The Birkman Method—translating behavioral science into practical, modern tools that elevate human performance at work. A top-rated speaker at Birkman’s 2018 and 2020 conferences, Torri is known for bringing fresh thinking to the Method, advancing the instrument, and making complex insights accessible to coaches, leaders, and teams.
For the past ten years, her work has been grounded in a belief that organizations grow fastest when they understand, appreciate, and develop their greatest asset—people—and when the diversity of personality is treated as a performance advantage, not a complication.
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Amy Shepley is Director of Innovation at Birkman and a third-generation family leader, granddaughter of founder Dr. Roger W. Birkman and daughter of President & Chairwoman Sharon Birkman. With twenty years of experience in organizational behavior, she leads a global network of consultants and corporate clients applying The Birkman Method to modern challenges. She holds a psychology degree from the University of Texas and an MBA from Tulane University.
Before her current role, Amy founded Percepte, an independent consulting practice serving Fortune 500 companies in team effectiveness, change management, and leadership development. Her career began humbly — filing paperwork and answering phones at Birkman — and grew through a formative mentorship with her grandfather, Dr. Birkman himself. She is especially proud of directing the creation of the Birkman Signature Report and the High-Performing Teams workshop.
Speaker
Dewitt Dees is a Principal and Executive Coach at Iridium Leadership, a firm that specializes in creating positive, sustainable change in leaders and their teams. He has over three decades of experience in strategy, sales, and business development, and has held various senior leadership positions, such as CEO, Director, and Senior Vice President, in the water industry, working with global organizations and delivering innovative solutions.
As a Birkman Certified Consultant, a Mindset Certification holder, and an ATD Certified Master Trainer, he uses a range of tools and frameworks to provide insights, feedback, and guidance to my clients to help them leverage their natural talents, enhance their emotional intelligence, and improve their performance and productivity. He is also pursuing post-graduate studies in Family Systems Leadership Theory and Coaching Certification, as part of his continuous learning and professional growth. Dewitt's mission is to raise the bar of organizational performance by empowering leaders and embedding a culture of accountability and growth.
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Mark McGowan is a Birkman Certified Professional Success Specialist at Birkman International, where he partners with organizations to unlock the full value of The Birkman Method across the entire talent lifecycle—from initial solution design through adoption and long-term impact. With more than 15 years of experience in leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and learning design, Mark is known for translating behavioral science into practical, business-focused strategies that improve communication, strengthen teams, and drive measurable performance outcomes. In his current role, he supports both pre-sales and post-sales engagement, delivering tailored product demonstrations, guiding proof-of-concept initiatives, and helping organizations align Birkman solutions to their strategic priorities.
Following implementation, Mark works closely with clients to ensure successful onboarding, adoption, and sustained value—training leaders on best practices, optimizing product usage, and serving as a trusted advisor across Customer Success, Support, and Product teams. Prior to joining Birkman, he led global Birkman initiatives across diverse regions, certifying hundreds of professionals and integrating behavioral insights into scalable leadership development programs. An Authorized Birkman Trainer and Advanced Certified Professional, Mark brings a global perspective and a passion for helping individuals and organizations turn self-awareness into action—building stronger leaders, more cohesive teams, and more effective organizations.
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Mike Harrell is the founder of Latitude Advisors, a Chattanooga-based firm where he has spent 20+ years advising CEOs and senior leaders on strategy, execution, and team alignment. Through long-term partnerships, he helps organizations navigate complexity with clarity. A Certified Birkman Consultant, Mike integrates the Birkman Method into most engagements to build self-awareness, strengthen communication, and develop high-performing teams across organizations including Bridgestone, Autodesk, and the City of Chattanooga.
His approach is shaped by early leadership lessons on the importance of emotional intelligence. Mike is also co-founder and Executive Director of Biblit, a nonprofit creating Bible literature courses for public schools. He holds a degree from Georgia Tech and lives in Chattanooga with his wife, Beth.
Speaker
Jennifer Comella is the CBIZ Practice Lead, Talent Strategy & Organizational Development.
She has 15 years of experience in people & organizational strategy, performance management and professional development. Jennifer holds an Executive Master of Organization Development from Bowling Green State University and is Birkman Certified Professional.
Speaker
Aaron Dawson brings more than twenty years of General Manager and COO leadership across three decades in premier private clubs and hospitality, paired with advanced fluency in the Birkman Method and a track record of governance at the board level.
As a General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Aaron has led teams of more than 300, communities of up to 2,700 members, and clubs generating up to $37 million in annual revenue, with full financial and operational accountability and a long record of major capital projects delivered. Most recently, at Carmel Country Club, he led a Platinum Club of America operation through a post-renovation turnaround, integrating Birkman across the leadership culture.
Aaron is an Advanced Certified Birkman Consultant and Mindset (Perspectives) Certified, among a small group of practitioners applying Birkman at an advanced level in live leadership settings. Through Viewpoint EQ, the leadership advisory practice he founded, he helps executives and teams turn behavioral insight into sharper decisions, stronger communication, and more durable trust.
Speaker
Lisa Marker-Robbins, M.Ed., is the founder of Flourish Coaching® and a Birkman Master Certified Professional who has specialized in helping teens and young adults discover career fit using Birkman since 2010. She holds a Master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of Dayton and is a member of both the National Career Development Association and the Ohio Career Development Association.
Lisa has supported more than 4,000 young people through her career confidence framework. In 2018, Forbes cited her Birkman-based methodology as a valuable first step in increasing the return on a family's college investment. In 2019, she launched her first school partnership and has since expanded Flourish Coaching® to serve public, private, and independent schools, as well as nonprofit mentorship organizations. In 2021, she transformed her proven methodology into Launch Career Clarity®, an online coaching program with live support that extends access to career discovery while continuing to provide intensive coaching for young adults establishing their professional identities. Lisa is also the host of the College and Career Clarity podcast.
Speaker
Dana W. Scannell, PH.D., serves as a coach, counselor, and strategic advisor to CEO’s, Presidents, and Senior Executives as they develop their leadership and functional capabilities, strengthen the engagement of their people, and align their teamwork and organizational effectiveness. He is passionate about the human side of enterprise and the development of human potential. As an Organizational Psychologist and President of Scannell|Wight, Dana specializes in Leadership and Team Development, Executive Coaching, and Organizational Effectiveness. Building on years of experience as a seasoned leader and executive, along with expertise in Organizational Psychology and Organizational Development, he holds a deep conviction about the importance of people as the key to success in any organization. With a passion to help people find, develop, and maximize their strengths and abilities, Dana excels in helping others grow and unleash their full potential.
Dana’s education includes a Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in Organizational Psychology and the Development of Human Potential from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pepperdine University, and a B.S. in Business Administration majoring in Communications from Babson College. He also holds an Advanced Counseling Certificate and Externship from The Allender Center at the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Dana is a Birkman Master Certified Professional, Senior Facilitator, and Master Trainer, facilitating Birkman Certification, Advanced Certification, and Professional Development programs. He has been successfully using The Birkman Method® in a variety of organizational settings as well as his coaching and counseling practice for over 30 years and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Birkman International. Dana is a Certified Coach, Certified Talent Consultant, and utilizes a variety of tools to help people understand their style, validate their thinking, and improve their interactions with others. In addition to his consulting practice, he teaches and coaches at UCLA Anderson School of Management and works with clients in his private counseling practice. Along with his dedication to clients, he fulfills his passion to serve others as Chairman of the Board of Children’s Hunger Fund and The HUB OC, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Speaker
Josh Penzell is the founder and CEO of Imagination Applied, where he helps organizations move AI from pilot to practice. He was previously VP of AI Innovation at ELB Learning, and led learning and innovation work at Skillsoft, Zillow, Zoox, and Amazon. He started out as a theater director, which is still how he thinks about adoption -- people don't change because they were told to; they change because they rehearsed. He speaks internationally on AI and the human side of adoption, including a breakout at ATD's international conference and a keynote at USDLA's national conference this year.