Instructors
With exceptional educational and professional backgrounds, our instructors are experts in their fields. In addition to outstanding interpersonal communication and presentation skills, their on-the-job experience ensures that they deliver the newest best practices and will share insightful secrets and tricks to excel in your organization.
Diane Banic
Dr. Diane Banic is a licensed psychologist specializing in executive coaching, leadership development and team building. She began her career in human resources and organizational development at General Motors and has since led professional development and training for companies such as American Commercial Lines, LLC, Jewish Hospital, US Coal and Churchill Downs.
Tony Belak
Mr. Belak is an internationally respected trainer and consultant in workplace dispute resolution. In his current role as ombuds for the University of Louisville, he provides informal, impartial and confidential dispute resolution services for faculty and staff. He previously served as executive director of the International Center for Dispute Resolution at Sullivan University and faculty member in its online master's in dispute resolution program, as well as senior dispute resolution counsel for the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Brian Buford
Brian Buford is the inaugural director of the Office for LGBT Services at the University of Louisville, the first office of its kind in Kentucky. In this position, he helped implement health insurance and other benefits for domestic partners, added gender identity to the university's nondiscrimination policy, and initiated nine new LGBT organizations to enhance campus life. Prior to that, he worked as a director of organizational effectiveness for UofL's human resources department, where he facilitated supervisory training and employee recognition. In 2010, Buford was selected as one of Louisville's "connectors," people who achieve remarkable results through their unique style of trusted leadership. He counts among his most treasured accomplishments a through-hike of the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail in 2007.
Lee Cowherd
SPHR
Lee Cowherd has over 20 years' experience as a consultant, facilitator and trainer. A graduate of the Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University, Lee has worked extensively in the public sector, developing and delivering training to thousands of government employees, leading planning sessions for top leaders, and developing innovative HR practices. His public sector expertise is tempered by his experience with the for-profit world, having worked with clients from Main Street retailers to Fortune 500 companies. Lee's specialty is helping his clients prepare for the future by identifying key workforce and societal trends and helping them develop the systems, structures and skills they need to thrive in a changing world.
Rebecca Crump
Becky Crump has more than 20 years working with all phases of grant development including proposal reviews. She has a BSW, MA and EdS degree. She is also certified by the Grants Professional Certification Institute, a certification program that measures a grant professional's ability to provide quality grant-related services within an ethical framework. She has served as a peer reviewer for 16 different state and federal grant competitions. As current director of resource development for the Jefferson County Schools (JCPS), Ms. Crump develops and oversees grant development for the district. JCPS is the 29th largest district in the nation with more than 100,000 students. In her position, she has primary responsibility for directing the ongoing search for external funding opportunities from federal, state, private and corporate sources. Prior to JCPS, she worked with grants and contracts at the state level and the University of Louisville. In all her positions, she has developed and implemented grant training workshops.
Virginia Weber Denny
Virginia brings over 30 years of training experience to her participants. Throughout her career, she has helped thousands of participants get the tools they need to excel in their positions. As the director of professional development, she provides strategic consulting and facilitation services to area businesses. Degrees in psychology and organizational communication contribute to a human-potential focus in her work. Additionally, her master's in human resource education provides the most cutting-edge information in the field to help learners get the tools they need to be effective.
Steve Goodwin
Steve has worked for 35 years in the experiential education field for Jefferson County Public Schools, Gheens Academy and Project ID; the Kentucky Department of Education; Emergency Services, UofL; Ivy Tech; the Boy Scouts of America; and the Jefferson County Memorial Forest, where he developed the Experiential Education Institute. He also works as a facilitator for a Metro Government training programs, a facilities manager for Metro Louisville, and a consultant for several organizations. Steve brings enthusiasm to our programs through his life experiences and diversity expertise.
James Hale
James Hale is founder and CEO of PathChoices, a company of risk takers dedicated to helping people ascend on their career paths. His focus is on the journey of change, where people create a work environment different than what they currently have. He loves the classroom and development of video training programs, but also has a passion for personal coaching to help people thrive in their chosen careers and at times of transition.
Maryanne Honeycutt
Maryanne works with business leaders who want to be more productive and reach more of their potential. One of her specific areas of expertise is working with leaders who have multiple priorities and demands, and want to feel less stress and overwhelmed at work and in their personal life. By combining the latest in emotional intelligence and interpersonal techniques, she works with leaders to create sustained and measurable change. Part of her solution includes the Priority Management curriculum - a global leader in workload management training.
Sharon Kerrick
Dr. Kerrick is the associate director of the Forcht Entrepreneurship Center at UofL’s College of Business where she teaches/co-leads the top-ranked Entrepreneurship MBA program and Entrepreneurship minor, a degree she created in 2008. Her research is in teaching entrepreneurship, e-learning and financial literacy. Prior to joining UofL she was one of the founder/owners of a technology firm that grew to over 300 full-time staff and was in business for nearly 20 years. She sold her shares when she turned 40 and decided to pursue her doctorate. Dr. Kerrick has received numerous awards including Business First’s 40 Under 40, Greater Louisville Inc. Technologist of the Year, Women 4 Women Champions for Her, Junior Achievement Worldwide Leadership Award, and was a National Association of Women Business Owner’s finalist and the recipient of UofL’s prestigious Paul Weber Award for Excellence in Teaching. Recent career highlights include accompanying one of her Entrepreneurship MBA business plan teams, after winning a global business plan competition with an award of over $800,000, in ringing the bell at NASDAQ.
Steve Kerrick
Steve Kerrick is a partner in the firm of Mountjoy Chilton Medley, and has 30 years of experience in public accounting. He has worked with many individuals and businesses on financial, tax and estate planning matters. He also holds series seven and series 66 securities licenses.
Elizabeth Krauss
Elizabeth Krauss is an adjunct faculty member in UofL's College of Education and Human Development, where she teaches undergraduate courses in leadership and management. Prior to joining UofL, she was a leadership development instructor for Central Texas College. An Air Force veteran, she also served as faculty at U.S. Air Force Officer Training School. She holds a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma and a master's in kinesiology and health promotion from the University of Kentucky.
Kimberly May
Kimberly May is founder of Inspire Wellness LLC, a partner in Intentional Wellness and a wellness coach specialist at the Institute for Integrative Medicine. She has over 12 years experience in the health and wellness field, providing wellness coaching and leading wellness workshops for companies such as Zappos, Pikeville Medical Center, Metropolitan College and Mercer. Kimberly combines her corporate management background with her experience in wellness to help others to create better health, peace of mind, and greater performance.
Mark Scureman
Mark Scureman is a West Point graduate who retired from the U.S. Army as a full colonel. Col. Scureman graduated from every leadership school the military has to offer, including the prestigious Army War College. He has worked with some of the most outstanding leaders in the military, including General Colin Powel. Following retirement, he discovered that his philosophies of leadership and teamwork also worked well in the civilian world. Since 1992, Col. Scureman has presented hundreds of leadership, management, and communication seminars to both for-profit and non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada.
John D. Spence
John Spence is a program manager and trainer with UofL's Professional Development team. After completing his MSSW degree at the University of Louisville, he served in a variety of leadership and management positions in non-profit health and human service organizations. Prior to joining UofL, he served as an independent consultant and trainer specializing in outcome measurement and organizational capacity building. He has authored or co-authored several papers on outcome measurement, organizational evaluation, and learning. He has a passion for life-long learning and has helped several organizations develop their capacities for program improvement.
Jim Thorp
Currently based in Louisville, Kentucky, Jim brings over 30 years of experience in designing and delivering leadership management training programs to clients around the world. A native of Washington, DC, Jim was on the faculty at Cornell University, the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, where he was also director of the MBA Leadership Program. His management training expertise in the areas of leadership, conflict resolution, team-building, diversity and sexual harassment has been utilized by numerous clients, ranging from training for top level executives to production line workers.
Patricia Thurman
Patricia Thurman is a former director of the Division of Employee Development for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet where she was responsible for developing, conducting and coordinating 21 hours of annual training for 6,000 employees statewide. She is a certified public manager (CPM) and a Myers-Briggs Type Inventory qualified instructor.
Project Management Instructor Team
Kay DeVincentis
PMP
Kay is an IT Project Manager at UPS Supply Chain Solutions and has over 20 years of experience in project management. In addition to her work as a practitioner, she has nearly 25 years of teaching experience for various accredited universities. The twice published author serves as an active member of both the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Kentuckiana PMI chapter, where she currently serves as vice president elect of membership. Kay is also a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, National Mathematics Honor Society. Kay earned her BS in mathematical science in 1990 through the University of Kentucky, her MA in mathematics from the University of Louisville in 1992, a MA in computer resource and information management from Webster University in 1995 and a MS in industrial engineering from the University of Louisville in 2001. In addition to her PMP certification, Kay is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Gary W. Hughes
PMP
Gary, a native Kentuckian, has been a professional trainer and motivational speaker for many years. He spent many years traveling across the United States and Europe training programmers, web developers, project managers, and other trainers. He has a keen ability to take any topic and present it in a way that enable all learning types to absorb, understand and apply the material. With a thorough understanding of adult learning styles, hemispheric brain dominance theories and physiological learning constraints, he is able to conform to any classroom or audience environment to provide a positive student experience. Gary has multiple Microsoft certifications, as well as multiple trainer and teaching certifications. He has delivered custom curriculum to many well know corporations including LG&E, Pacific Gas and Electric, Shell Oil, Dell Computers, Compaq Computers, Kindred Healthcare, Humana, NASA, Six Flags and many others.
Chuck Milhollan
PMP, PgMP, CBAP
Chuck is the director of program management for Churchill Downs Incorporated and has over 25 years' experience in personnel and project management. He earned his BS in management in 1993 through Southern Illinois University, his MBA from the University of Florida in 2000 and a MS in project management from the University of Wisconsin in 2003. Chuck's certifications include: Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI); Program Management Professional (PgMP) through the PMI; Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) through the International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA); Certified Six Sigma Black Belt through the American Society for Quality (ASQ); Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE) through ASQ; and Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE) through ASQ.
Chuck teaches project management, quality management, operations management, and critical thinking courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level for several local universities and developed UofL's (a PMI Registered Education Provider) Project Management Certification Program.
H. Ray Pait
Ray is a working practitioner in his role as the senior program manager for Churchill Downs Incorporated's Program Management Office (PMO) in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2009, he completed his 28th consecutive Kentucky Derby. Additionally, Ray has extensive project management experience with operational marquee events and related projects. He holds a BS in justice administration from Eastern Kentucky University and is currently completing his MS in justice administration at the University of Louisville. Ray has extensive speaking and training experience with the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) and is co-author of the July 2009 PMI article "A Closer Look: Churchill Downs, Inc."
Steven J. Bennett
BSChe, MBA, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt
Steve is an accomplished IT program manager with extensive educational and commercial experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, and an MBA, with a concentration in eCommerce, from the University of Oklahoma. He obtained his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2008. Throughout his career, he has directed and managed process improvement and project management projects. Steve also has broad experience leading quality initiatives including Lean, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), and ISO 9001. Steve is an accomplished speaker and trainer. Students who have attended his training sessions describe him as being a high energy, quality speaker who is able to explain complex and technical topics in "down-to-earth" ways.