Professional Team

One of the key advantages of working with Grinnell Leadership is the expertise in its staff. Not only do most of the consultants and facilitators have over 20 years of experience in their specific field of expertise, but they also have a common language and framework. This common language ensures that each interaction with a facilitator or consultant is consistent and of the highest quality.

In addition to the knowledge of our professional team, each consultant takes pride in honoring the confidentiality of our clients. Given the sensitive nature of our engagements, we treat all of our clients with the utmost respect, and keep all dealings with clients within the confines of our company. The quotes and logos you see here on the site are there because those clients gave us permission to use their names because of how strongly they believe in the Grinnell Leadership vision and process, and because of the trust they have in Grinnell Leadership as an organization of integrity and high values.

Dr. John R. Grinnell

President and CEO

John founded the company in 1997. His extensive experience in the behavioral sciences and human relations began 28 years ago. He has worked with leaders of both private and public corporations for 22 years. Based on this experience, John and his colleagues developed Grinnell Leadership’s unique approach to management and leadership development. Their approach uses key business challenges as an “anvil against which to forge better leadership, employee alignment and business results.” Grinnell Leadership’s Project Team Coaching™  and Project Team Scorecard™ as well as the Leadership JumpStart® and Leadership Decathlon® are examples of Grinnell processes that help address significant leadership challenges.

Strategic Associates

Howard "Buddy" Coleman, Ph.D.

Buddy serves as a Senior Consultant for Grinnell Leadership.  He is an experienced CEO who has provided consulting services for corporate, government, and educational organizations for 25 years.  Buddy received his doctorate in Organizational Development and Systems Analysis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He teaches graduate level leadership courses and has published articles in international and national journals.  Buddy has an extensive background in human resource development, assessment, and evaluation.

Deb Blatt, B.S.

Deb’s consulting work for Grinnell Leadership has included organizational assessment and design, consulting, training, dialogue facilitation, and executive coaching services. She has experienced first-hand the need for attention to group dynamics to resolve conflict and to build collaboration in organizations.  She combines her understanding of human behavior, business operations, and building collaboration to provide programs that develop management and leadership skills.  Previously, she worked as the Director of Administration for a 22-lawyer law firm, was the Director of Human Resources and Training and Development for Laura Ashley North America, and the Director of Training and Development for KB Toys. Her extensive retail background includes both staff positions and field management positions.  Ms. Blatt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.  She is a member of the National Storytelling Network and the Organizational Development Network. She is certified in dialogue facilitation and as a de Bono Six Thinking Hats® facilitator.

Ric Brock, B.S.

Ric has over 25 years of experience in the areas of operations and program management in construction, defense, and pharmaceuticals to name a few of the industries he has worked with closely.  His experience includes: strategic planning, risk management, acquisition and divestiture analysis, organizational evaluation and development, team building and leadership development, process re-engineering, program management, operations management, quality management, material management, and automated tool selection/implementation. His knowledge has been gained by working with all levels within organizations to continuously improve operating performance and enhance customer satisfaction.   He possesses a unique ability to go from the field/factory floor to the boardroom; to work across the entire life cycle of a product/program; and to function effectively across all aspects of the supply chain.

Suzanne C. Hidore, Ph.D.

Dr. Hidore has 28 years of experience in human resource development with 14 years of specialization in leadership development and teambuilding.  Her doctorate is in Counseling and Educational Development with a minor in Management from the UNCG Bryan School of Business.  Dr. Hidore has over a dozen publications in refereed professional journals, a book on psychotherapy and numerous articles in the popular press.  She has collaborated on leadership development with Dr. Grinnell since 1994.

Dennis S. Kubasko, Jr. Ph.D.

Dennis serves as a Senior Consultant for Grinnell Leadership. He has extensive experience in qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting. This background coupled with his innate understanding of interpersonal relationships and team dynamics allows him to serve our clients aligning individual behavior with team performance. Dennis received his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at Pennsylvania State University. In 2002, he earned his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  His research has been published in international, national, and state-wide journals, and his work has been presented to leaders around the globe.

Virginia G. Lichel, M.Ed., LPC

Virginia attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and later UNC-Greensboro.  She is currently a Practicing Psychotherapist with a thriving practice in Greensboro, NC.  She is a nationally certified and recognized counselor and trainer.  Her specialty is deep self awareness and insight for personal and relationship transformation.  We are proud that Virginia has been a key Leadership JumpStart® facilitator for over ten  years positively impacting thousands of lives.

William McLaurin, Jr., Ph.D.

Bill is an example of the integration of technical and human knowledge that is characteristic of Grinnell Leadership, Inc. He has employed his MBA as a general contractor and as an entrepreneur, developing and selling interests in several companies. Bill brings a particularly creative viewpoint to organizational issues, utilizing his degree in psychology, and Ph.D. in Cultural Studies. Bill has taught graduate-level courses, published in peer-reviewed journals, and is the co-author (with David Purpel) of Reflections on the Moral and Spiritual Crisis in Education.  His consultancy has included leadership team development, executive coaching, TeamCoaching™ (our approach to collaborative partnering), mediation, leadership succession development, and strategic planning projects.

Linda Mortenson, M.Ed., Ed.S., LPC

Linda is a Senior Consultant at Grinnell Leadership. She works as a Professional Counselor, Mediator and Conflict Management Consultant.  Organization Communication and Executive Coaching are the two platforms from which she works.  Linda is published in counseling journals in the areas of mediation and conflict resolution and has done a great deal of work with diversity issues as well as the management of interpersonal relationships.

Merikay Tillman, M.S.

Merikay acts as a catalyst to help individuals and organizations create positive change to reach new heights in professional and personal performance.  Through her coaching and facilitation, she inspires companies to create an action plan of success that generates results.  Her professional development programs are fresh, energetic, and goal focused.  Merikay has a diverse working background in the fields of restaurant management and dental and health care.  She offers training & development to a variety of audiences including dentists, physicians, corporate executives, managers, supervisors & front line team members.    Ms. Tillman is a certified Dale Carnegie instructor and serves as the leadership advisor for the High Point Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina.  She also serves on the education committee for the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants.