Jackie is known for her ability to align and mobilize organizations to accomplish their most demanding objectives. She guides leaders through the challenges of influencing complex systems and diverse stakeholders. Her signature work integrates expertise in the dynamics of change and effective organization design. She’s a master at developing processes that engage the wisdom of all constituents to achieve an organization’s most important goals – leaving it with genuinely increased capacity and ability to deliver.
As an Executive Coach, Jackie has worked with Senior Executives, Managers of Corporation, Executive Directors and Board Chairs of Non-profits and National Associations. While focusing on the client’s desired outcomes, she coaches the whole person, enabling change based on expanded awareness, increased choice and commitment.
Before starting her own consulting firm, Jackie held consulting positions with two Fortune 50 companies. As Principal Consultant with Digital Equipment Corporation, she designed and implemented an integrated reengineering and change management service which drove profitability, quality, and customer/employees satisfaction. As a Senior Consultant with the Organization Capability Group of BP-Amoco Corporation, she was responsible for organization development consulting and training services which enabled her client divisions to achieve their strategic objectives. By spearheading the use of large group interventions, Jackie accelerated implementation of strategy, new organization design, and the design and implementation of new business processes.
Jackie holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in economics from the University of Michigan, a B.S., magna cum laude, from Tufts University, a Certificate in Business from New York University, and certificates in Organization Systems Development, Group Process, and Consulting with Small Systems from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. She has additional specialized training in socio-technical system design, change management, strategic planning, redesign of business processes, large group interventions, appreciative inquiry, and coaching. Jackie has a certificate in ontological coaching from the Newfield Network, and is an ICF Professional Certified Coach. Jackie has taught in the HROD program at the University of Georgia and is adjunct faculty at the Gestalt International Studies Center.
Having lived and worked in Europe and Africa, and North America, Jackie now calls Atlanta home.
For Alan Schaefer the rock star dream began years ago when his older brother took him to see a stadium concert featuring “The Who” as a birthday present. While his interest in music remained strong, he temporarily shelved his childhood dream and by the time he went to college, he was more interested in the hotel industry than in the music business.
While pursuing a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management he suddenly found himself battling a still unexplained life-threatening illness, which in turn made him rethink exactly what he wanted to do with his life. After recovering, he quit his job at a local hotel, started playing guitar and writing songs eight hours a day and joined his first “real” gigging rock band. He earned his BS in Communications at Florida International University, and then promptly moved to Atlanta to start a band with his twin brother.
After working at WEA Distribution, Alan was promoted to assist in managing up to thirteen label radio reps. Elektra Records then hired him to do radio promotion for heavyweight artists such as AC/DC, Metallica, Tracy Chapman, and Phish.
In 1994 he left Elektra and co-founded Tourdates.com with his twin brother. This was an online music resource for bands and fans that was successfully sold to Launch Media (now Yahoo Music) in early 2000. He stayed on for a year as VP while continuing his musical pursuits. In 2004 he founded the band Five Star Iris and has since performed in 16 countries (including Iraq for U.S. troops), received national airplay, been interviewed in Spin and Billboard, worked with Grammy Award-winning producers, written with hit songwriters and toured with platinum acts.
Alan realized that the valuable lessons he learned from playing in bands could be applied to teams in a number of different environments, including the corporate world. His fascination with why certain bands had success and longevity while others fell apart turned him into a student of collaboration and group dynamics which ultimately led him to create Banding People Together, a dynamic musically themed corporate team building event and workshop.
