Meet the Bud to Boss Workshop Trainers


Kevin	Guy	Sara Jane	Marla	Steve	Valerie

Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin Eikenberry is a two-time bestselling author, speaker, consultant, trainer, coach, leader, learner, husband, and father (not necessarily in that order).

Kevin is the chief potential officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group , a learning consulting company that has been helping organizations, teams, and individuals reach their potential since 1993. Emphasizing the power of learning, Kevin’s specialties include leadership, teams and teamwork, organizational culture, facilitating change, training trainers and more.

Kevin’s philosophy in business and in life is that every person and every organization has extraordinary potential. Investments of time, energy, focus, and money are required for that potential to be realized. He believes learning is an active, ongoing process, not a passive, one-time event. Learning, work, and life should be fun, and if we are doing it right, work (and learning) is play.

Kevin’s students and clients consistently rave about his effectiveness, many calling him “the best trainer I’ve ever experienced.”He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, small firms, universities, government agencies, hospitals, and more. His client list includes the American Red Cross, A&W Canada, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, John Deere, Nexen, OPTI Canada, Purdue University, Sears Canada, Shell, Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Mint.

Kevin also is the creator and content developer of The Remarkable Leadership Learning System, a continual leadership development process focused on developing the thirteen competencies of remarkable leaders with virtually delivered content to leaders worldwide.

He is the bestselling author of Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time and Vantagepoints on Learning and Life (Dog Ear Publishing, 2006), a collection of his e-mail essays on learning from everyday experiences. He wrote #LEADERSHIPTweet (Happy About Publishing, 2009), based on leadership thoughts from his Twitter stream (@KevinEikenberry).

He also is a contributing author to The Handbook of Experiential Learning (2007), Masters of Sales (2007), 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life (2006), and the best-selling Walking with the Wise (2003). Kevin has contributed to thirteen editions of The Training and Development Sourcebook since 1997.

Kevin also produces two e-mail-based publications: Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, a weekly publication read by more than 16,000 worldwide, to assist organizations and individuals in turning their potential into desired results; and Powerquotes Plus, a weekly publication read by people worldwide, featuring a quote along with personal coaching.

As a speaker, Kevin gives keynotes for organizations and nonprofits on remarkable leadership, life-long learning, developing human potential, teams and teamwork, creativity, and more. He has presented to the National Institute of Health, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Speaker’s Association (NSA), the International Society for Performance Improvement, the National Association for Experiential Learning, the American Society for Training and Development, the International Society for Performance Improvement, and many more.

Kevin and his family live in Indianapolis, Indiana. Growing up on a Michigan farm, Kevin says he learned some of his most important leadership skills working with his father. Kevin earned a B.S. with honors from Purdue University, collects antique John Deere tractors, is an avid reader, and loves his family and his Boilermakers.

If Kevin or his team can help you in any way call (317.387.1424 or 888.LEARNER—toll free in the United States) anytime.

Kevin co-developed the Bud to Boss workshop held in cities across North America with Guy Harris.

Guy Harris

Guy draws on more than 20 years of combined professional and military experience when he consults, coaches, or trains in the areas of team and interaction dynamics, communication strategies and tactics, and emotional intelligence.

Prior to becoming a trainer and coach, Guy served as a Nuclear Engineering Officer in the US Navy Submarine force and he worked in leadership positions in both large and small business environments.

Typical client concerns prior to working with Guy are: forging a team from a group of individuals, moving a team past the conflict stage of team development, developing other leaders, expanding personal influence within the organization, communicating more effectively, and developing buy-in for new programs and processes.

With experience and training in technical disciplines and his further training in, and practical application of, human behavior and motivation principles, his unique skills consist of quickly connecting the technical and task accomplishment necessities of business operations with the human factors that often limit rapid implementation and results.

In other words, he helps you understand – and work through – the reasons why your relationships are getting in the way of getting things done.

Past clients have commented on how quickly Guy has been able to help them diagnose their ‘real’ challenges and create plans for overcoming them.

He writes the Recovering Engineer Blog, and he co-authored From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership with Kevin Eikenberry.

Guy has both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Chemical Engineering. He was a qualified Engineering Department head in the U.S. Navy. He is a Master Trainer and Coach in the DISC Model of Human Behavior and a Workplace Conflict Resolution expert.

Sara Jane Hope, PHR

Sara Jane Hope is a certified trainer and coach. She presents the Bud to Boss Workshop.

Sara Jane is has worked in employment and training since 1980 as a training and human resources professional who is dedicated to making a difference in the performance and knowledge for individuals, companies, and organizations. Sara Jane is experienced, dedicated, enthusiastic, and skilled in creating interactive sessions that use many accelerated learning techniques.

Sara Jane develops and conducts seminars and presentations on management development, interpersonal skills, customer service, team building, and leadership. She does strategic planning and client focus group sessions to profit and not-for-profit organizations. She also develops and writes training policies and procedures and training manuals. Sara Jane reviews management and professional manuscripts for Berrett-Koehler publishing company and is working on her first publication. She presents breakout sessions, speaks for professional organizations, and conducts many leadership and management webinars.

Sara Jane earned a B.A. in Social Psychology from Purdue University and a M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from Murray State University. She is also an ASTD Certified Trainer and has a Professional in Human Resources designation. She has completed many other training certifications, including Franklin Covey’s What Matters Most and Focus and Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II.

Sara Jane is active in local, state, and nationwide service and professional organizations including ASTD, SHRM, and the Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband of 24 years are sports enthusiasts, especially college basketball and football. She is an avid reader and is teaching herself how to crochet. Sara Jane is very attached to Allie, the dog they rescued from life on the streets a couple of years ago.

Marla Allen

Marla Allen brings energy, enthusiasm, and passion to her role at the Kevin Eikenberry Group as a trainer and coach.

She has over 20 years of broad based executive human resources and organizational development and training experience. She has a passion for “maximizing people, potential, performance, and profit”. Marla is a gifted leader, professional facilitator and trainer, and works as both a consultant and coach. With her experience, Marla helps move individuals and organizations from analytics to action and improved bottom line results.

Marla is known as a learning and talent management specialist. She has created and managed enterprise learning platforms in large sales and service organizations. Her methods help transform managers into leaders, unite teams, and improve productivity through a unique combination of communication, commitment and trust. Marla’s ‘funomenal’ style and creative workshops motivate participants to become superstar players in their organization’s overall strategic game plan.

She has championed multi-million dollar projects and is grounded in the principals of project management with a thorough understanding of risk, reward, and results. Marla has been fortunate to lead in cutting-edge projects that do not conform to the norm and that require resourceful thinking, cost containment, and strong leadership skills.

Marla earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from Baylor University in the field of Merchandising, with an emphasis on business and her dual Master of Arts Degree from Webster University in the fields of Human Resources Development and Management.

Marla is a native Texan and currently resides in Charlotte, NC. She enjoys volunteering, teaching public workshops, attending theater productions, singing, and riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle to charity events.

Steve Johnston

Steve Johnston has spent his entire business career helping people unlock and ignite their human potential in order to realize their dreams. From emotionally disturbed teenagers, many physically and mentally beaten by their parents, or highly exceptional students misunderstood and estranged from their parents and teachers, to business men and women who found themselves in unchallenging dead end jobs or working for managers or companies who seemed to only care about the bottom line, Steve has tried to present a different view point …of what COULD BE.

The past twenty five years of being an educator, a facilitator, a manager, a creative thinker, a corporate officer, and yes, a student have shaped his approach to life. He believes that people who are able to focus on their strengths and their connectedness to others will find infinite possibilities in their lives.

Steve earned a B.S. in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University and a M.Ed. from the University of Cincinnati. Steve has completed many certification programs including Blessing Whites’ Managing Personal Growth, Helping Others Succeed, and Peer Coaching.

Steve is active in local and national ASTD and SHRM and is an ambassador for the West Chester Chamber Alliance. Steve and his wife Tracy have 2 young adults in college, and a beagle mix named LD (lost dog) who chose to live with them 3 years ago.

Valerie Plis

Valerie Plis is a Master Certified Career & Leadership Coach, Certified Strengths Coach, Facilitator, Public Speaker, and President of StrengthsBUILDERS – a coaching and training practice dedicated to helping leaders and teams achieve their highest levels of performance and productivity. Valerie has over 22 years’ experience in Human Resources specializing in Training & Development, Performance Management, and Career & Leadership Development.

As a Certified Strengths Coach with training from Gallup University, Engaged Solutions, and the VIA Character Institute, Valerie helps leaders and teams identify and leverage their strengths to maximize engagement and improve personal and team performance. Using Clifton StrengthsFinder, VIA Character Survey, DiSC Assessment, or 360® assessments, leaders and teams discover critical insights and down-to-earth strategies to overcome challenges, achieve goals faster, communicate more effectively, and lead with purpose. Valerie also helps professionals “right fit” their jobs by turning the jobs they have into the jobs they want.

Valerie has worked with a diverse group of educational, government, corporate, nonprofit, and private clients throughout the U.S. and other countries. She has presented a strengths-based approach to career and leadership development at various events such as the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, Association for Career Colleges & Schools, Federally-Employed Women Conference, Career Transition Conference for Youth, and more!

Valerie is a member of various civic and professional associations including ASTD and ICF. She loves listening to music, playing the piano, and sitting on her deck reading the latest Harvard Business Review. She and her husband have four children and two dogs (a Sheltie and Australian Shepherd). They love to travel and spend time with their grandbabies.