Instructor Bios
Instructors at the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning have years of experience, exceptional professional and educational backgrounds, and outstanding interpersonal communication and presentation skills.
To learn more about any of our instructors, simply click their name below.
- Steven J. Bennett
- Brian Buford
- Kathy Clater
- Linda Combs
- Mark Cooksey
- Lee Cowherd
- Becky Crump
- Virginia Weber Denny
- Jeff Fuson
- Steve Goodwin
- James Hale
- Maryanne Honeycutt
- Gary W. Hughes
- Sharon Kerrick
- Amy Newbanks Letke
- Joe Luttrell, PMP
- Susan Mike
- Chuck Milhollan, PMP, PgMP
- Mari Mujica, Ph.D.
- Bonnie Ogle
- Gene Parham
- Russ Ray
- Kenneth M. Rowe
- Mark Scureman
- John D. Spence
- Patricia Thurman
- Dr. Richard Underwood
Steven J. Bennett BSChe, MBA, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt
Steve is an accomplished technology program manager with extensive educational and commercial experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree 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. Steve has broad industry experience leading quality initiatives and change acceleration projects 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 informative, kind, contemplative, and thorough. “Steve has the ability to explain complex topics and technical terms using language I can understand”.
Brian Buford
Brian Buford has been teaching and developing training seminars for the last 16 years, first as a drug/alcohol prevention specialist and now in his current role as manager of organizational effectiveness for U of L's human resources department. In that assignment, he works with supervisors daily to help them lead teams, manage conflict, and motivate employees to achieve their best results. It's a job he loves to do, ever since getting a master's in counseling psychology and realizing his passion for helping people achieve their potential. His own passions include backpacking the national parks, playing and singing roots music, and travel.
Kathy Clater
Kathy Clater, SPHR, is senior consultant with IntegrityHR, a human resource consulting firm. She possesses over 25 years' human resource management experience with Fortune 500 firms, including Toyota Manufacturing , Kentucky, focusing on strategic human resource programs, planning, and initiatives.
Linda Combs
Linda Combs is an experienced trainer who specializes in helping business people improve their communication and management skills. Her seminars and training programs represent over twenty years of research, development and presentation experience. She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Kentucky and taught in the English Department at the University of Louisville.
Mark Cooksey
Mark Cooksey , MBA, BSME has over 20 years experience accelerating process and product improvement for both small and Fortune 100 service and manufacturing companies. Following a distinguished career at General Electric, he introduced and adapted facilitation techniques such as "Workout", 6 Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing to scores of companies worldwide. A consummate facilitator, Mark makes the complex understandable and has adapted his facilitation style to meet the needs of the corporate offices or the shop floor.
Lee Cowherd
Lee Cowherd has over 15 years experience as a consultant, facilitator and trainer. He has worked with organizations from the Fortune 500 to Main Street, helping managers and employees improve their effectiveness individually and in teams. Lee's classes are fun and interactive and participants always come away with practical tools and insights they can use immediately upon returning to the workplace.
Becky Crump
Becky Crump recently became director of resource development at JCPS after serving as an associate director of the Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education’s GEAR UP program. She previously worked in managerial and director positions at the University of Louisville, where she gained 15 years’ experience coaching staff and providing feedback to improve performance and productivity. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Administration.
Virginia Weber Denny
Virginia Denny brings over 25 years of training and consulting experience to her seminars. She has served on teams that created worldwide learning systems, statewide strategic planning processes, and internal consulting systems. As program director of organizational training for UofL’s Delphi Center, she provides consulting and facilitation services to area businesses. Degrees in psychology and organizational communication contribute to a human-potential focus in her work.
Jeff Fuson
Jeff Fuson has devoted much of the last 20 years to developing leaders and leading teams in a volunteer setting. He has led mission teams to U.S. cities and abroad and currently leads a local team of over 100 volunteers focused on making a difference in the lives of teenagers. A rabid learner/practitioner of principle-centered leadership, Jeff currently serves as the Student Ministries Coach at Crestwood Baptist Church and the Leader Coach of Rising Leader Alliance.
Steve Goodwin
Steve has worked for 35 years in the experiential education field for Jefferson County Public Schools, Gheens Academy, Project ID, the Kentucky Department of Education, 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 program, a facilities manager for Metro Louisville, and a consultant for several organizations.
James Hale
James Hale is a former training manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. He has also served as a trainer for the Kentucky Governmental Services Center, mediator for families, and a trainer for prospective foster and adoptive parents. A certified public manager, James was a guest speaker for the National Association of Government Trainers and Developers annual convention.
Maryanne Honeycutt
Maryanne Honeycutt is a professional speaker and trainer whose real-world solutions and techniques have a bottom-line impact on professionals and their workplaces. She uses interactive and creative techniques to make learning practical, meaningful, and fun. Maryanne is a member of the National Speakers Association, the leading organization for experts who speak professionally.
Gary W. Hughes, PMP
Gary W. Hughes, PMP is a professional project manager, learning consultant, adult learning theorist, and application consultant dedicated to the development of cutting-edge learning applications and implementation of complex application solutions. He has been a professional trainer and motivational speaker for many years and has traveled throughout the United States and Europe educating programmers, web developers, and project managers. A certified Project Management Professional, Gary is an active member of the Project Management Institute and the PMI Kentuckiana chapter. He also is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer.
Sharon Kerrick
Dr. Sharon Kerrick is an assistant professor at U of L's College of Business in the Management & Entrepreneurship department for the past 6 years. Prior to joining U of L she was one of the founders of a technology business that grew to over 300 full time staff in 5 states and was in business for nearly 20 years. She holds a Masters in Human Resource Education in addition to her PhD and leads the teaching of the award winning nationally ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship program here at U of L. She is the recepient of several awards including: Business First's 40 Under 40 Leadership Award, Women 4 Women Champion 4 Her award and Junior Achievements Leadership award.
Amy Newbanks Letke
Amy Newbanks Letke, SPHR is president of IntegrityHR, a human resource consulting firm and co-founder of HRReview. She has over 20 years' experience in human resource management and over 10 years' experience teaching certification preparation courses.
Joe Luttrell, PMP
Joe Luttrell, PMP has 20 years of experience in business processes and program management, including eight years as IT systems and database engineer and the remainder as a project/program manager. Joe obtained his PMP Certification in 2003 and currently serves as vice president of programs for the Kentuckiana Chapter for the Project Management Institute.
Susan Mike
Susan Mike, MAT, Spanish, is a retired JCPS teacher who has taught all levels of Spanish including the advanced placement levels of Spanish III and Spanish IV. She is an active member of the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, serving as a mentor to new teachers in the school system. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Bellarmine University, and currently teaches Spanish to adults in the Delphi Center's "Lifelong Learning" program.
Chuck Milhollan, PMP, PgMP
Chuck is director of program management at Churchill Downs. He has over 20 years’ experience in personnel management and 8000 hours of project management experience. Chuck also teaches project management, quality management, operations management, and critical thinking courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level for several universities.
Mari Mujica, Ph.D.
Mari Mujica, Ph.D., is a coach, trainer, and educator with expertise in cultural competency, mindfulness, and leadership. She left her native country of Peru to pursue a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies from the University of Birmingham, England. She obtained a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Iowa . Upon graduating and moving to New England, she taught in area colleges then served as the Equal Opportunity/Diversity Specialist at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth. In 1993 she founded a consulting firm with a mission of empowering individuals and organizations to excel by developing cultural competence, mindfulness, and leadership.
Bonnie Ogle
Bonnie Ogle's 27 years of human resources experience includes twelve with Fifth Third Bank, where she served as Vice President and Director of Human Resources. She left the bank in 1996 to form a human resources consulting firm.
Gene Parham
Gene Parham has spent over 25 years in sales and sales management. He presents his "Powerful Art of Positive Selling" seminar to packed audiences across the U.S. Participants continually report that Gene's concepts and material, coupled with his dynamic presentation, have positively affected their productivity and the financial performance of their companies.
Russ Ray
Russ Ray is a business professor at the University of Louisville. Prior to entering academia, he worked for a Fortune 500 company and the U.S. Department of State. he has presented numerous seminars in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to Fortune 500 companies, federal and local government agencies, non-profits, start-ups, and other organizations. His advice/analyses have appeared in/on Fortune, USA Today, CNN, PBS and other media outlets. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
Kenneth M. Rowe
Kenneth M. Rowe is president of Rowe Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that has trained over 30,000 purchasing professionals—from new buyers to senior executives—representing over 300 organizations. His unique blend of professional experience, his gift of teaching, and his education (MBA and MS, Industrial Management) make him one of the industry’s most sought after speakers.
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 an independent consultant and trainer specializing in outcome measurement, program evaluation, and organizational capacity building. He formerly served as Director of Community Investment at Metro United Way, where he oversaw outcome measurement training, agency capacity building, program evaluation and program funding. He has authored or co-authored several papers on outcome measurement, organizational evaluation, and learning.
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 6000 employees statewide. She is a certified public manager (CPM) and a Myers-Briggs Type inventory qualified instructor.
Dr. Richard Underwood
Dr. Richard Underwood has thirty years of professional experience in the non-profit and for-profit sectors as a consultant, executive, supervisor, CEO, speaker, author, coach, teacher, and clinician. For the past three years, he has served as owner, consultant, executive coach and certified facilitator with Leadership Management Inc. (LMI).
