Brains Behind It with Dave Farrow

Merrick Rosenberg is a keynote speaker and thought leader on personality styles and team development. He co-founded Team Builders Plus in 1991 and Take Flight Learning in 2012. He is the author The Chameleon and co-author of Taking Flight! Merrick has taught more than 100,000 people how to incorporate the personality styles in their work and lives. The DISC training program that Merrick designed, Taking Flight with DISC was recognized as the Best Personality Styles Training Program in the United States by Corporate Vision Magazine.

As CEO of Take Flight Learning, he led his organization to be selected by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the Fastest Growing Companies and Best Places to Work in the Philadelphia area. Under his leadership, his company was selected as the New Jersey Business of the Year by NJ Biz magazine. He received his MBA specializing in Organizational Development from Drexel University who selected him as the Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year. Merrick has also been recognized as the NJ CEO of the Year by AI magazine and Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management.

In addition to speaking at conferences and events for companies, Merrick has spoken to groups, such as: TEDx, Association for Talent Development, Society for Human Resource Management, Vistage International, Project Management Institute, International Society for Performance Improvement, Employer’s Council, American Society for Quality, President’s Club, Pharma Forum, and Young Associates.

Publications regularly seek Merrick’s input, as he has been interviewed by: New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, Huffington Post, Forbes, Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, InformationWeek, Inc., Parents and Glamour. Merrick is also a sought-after guest on radio and television shows. His articles have been featured in PopSugar, Tech.co, Training, T&D, Business News Daily, Young Upstarts, JollyBoss, HR.com, Sales & Marketing Management, and My Customer.

He has worked with people at all levels, from line staff to senior managers at more than half of the Fortune 100 companies in the US and around the world. He has worked with small and large organizations in a variety of industries: AAA, Adidas, Alstom Power, Aramark, Bank of America, Blue, Cross Blue Shield, Campbell Soup Company, Colgate Palmolive Comcast, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, GlaxoSmithKline, Hewlett-Packard, InterContinental Hotels Group, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Lockheed Martin, Lufthansa, Nabisco, NBCUniversal, Nestle Purina, Novartis, PECO Energy, Pepsi, Philadelphia Eagles, Reliance Standard Life, Roche, Samaritan Hospice, Temple University, UnitedHealthcare, and Verizon. Merrick has also worked with government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Interpol, Social Security Administration, US Forest Service, as well as the USArmy, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

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Matt Episcopo has redefined the formula for personal power, leadership and business success. Matt knows that the real way to become effective is to build credibility, trust and solid relationships. When we establish trust and credibility, others will say “Yes” to our ideas, products and services.

His efforts have helped companies around the world improve their leadership, customer retention and employee engagement. From start-ups to Fortune 500’s, Matt is widely recognized as an energizing and engaging presenter. He is author of the book “How To Gain The Upper Hand, P.O.W.E.R. Tactics That Get Leaders Results”.

Real life experience and results are what fuels this relationship-generating powerhouse. A Medal of Honor recipient with more that 21 years of law enforcement experience, Matt will teach you how to engage with virtually anyone.

Matt’s presentations have been given in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, Aruba, Bahamas as well as across the United States.

For more information, visit: www.MattEpiscopo.com

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Marti MacGibbon, CADC-II, ACRPS, CAPMS, is an inspirational speaker, standup comic, certified addiction treatment professional, and author of two nationally award-winning and critically acclaimed memoirs, Never Give in to Fear: Laughing All the Way Up from Rock Bottom and, Fierce, Funny, and Female. She is a Human Trafficking Expert Consultant at the US Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and an Expert Consultant at the US Office for Victims of Crime. Marti is an internationally known author and an expert on trauma resolution and addiction. She holds five professional certifications in her specialized field, including the ACRPS, (Advanced Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist, and the CAPMS (Certified Addiction-Free Pain Management Specialist).

Few speakers have a personal comeback story as riveting and inspirational as Marti’s. She has recovered from and triumphed over nightmare experiences such as being trafficked to Tokyo and held prisoner by Japanese organized crime, homelessness, domestic violence, childhood sexual assault/abuse, severe PTSD and hard-core drug addiction. Marti employed simple, effective strategies to transform her life, and shares them to motivate, encourage, and energize listeners to create positive changes in every area of their lives.

An advocate for victims and survivors, in 2015, Marti spoke at the White House, the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office for Victims of Crime, on mental health and policy advocacy. From 2012-2017, Ms. MacGibbon served on the Indiana Attorney General’s state-wide anti-trafficking task force IPATH, Indiana Protection for Abused and Trafficked Humans. From 2013-2017, she developed curriculum for and taught a life skills class for women with trauma history in Marion County Jail. In 2014, she spoke to California State Legislature in support of new and successful legislation aimed at eradicating child sex trafficking. Ms. MacGibbon is an engaged leader who served for two years on the Board of Directors at HEAL Trafficking, Inc., and currently is a Board Member at MENTARI Human Trafficking Survivor Empowerment Program in NY, NY, and on the Advisory Board at Justice At Last in San Francisco. Marti is a Speaker Trainer Consultant at the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Center.

From 2011 to 2019, Marti was founder, producer, and emcee of Laff-Aholics Standup Comedy Benefit for Recovery, an annual charity fundraiser in Indianapolis that features nationally headlining comedians. One hundred percent of the profits from the show went to transitional housing facilities in Indy that provide access to addiction treatment and mental health services for the recovery community’s most vulnerable. The Indiana Addictions Issues Coalition (IAIC) honored Marti with the 2015 Indiana Lifetime Recovery Advocate Award, and the 2014 Recovery Advocate of the Year Award, for outstanding accomplishments in support of recovery, and her work in breaking away the stigma surrounding addiction, mental illness, and human

trafficking.

Marti has performed at the world-famous Hollywood Improv and at the Comedy Store in Hollywood, and has traveled the U.S. as a professional standup comic. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, the National Survivor Network, the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals.

For more information, visit: http://martimacgibbon.com

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Lee Romanov is one of North America’s top internet marketers, and a well known consumer advocate for making people money.

Lee has been generating revenue online since 1994.

Lee is the president of Income Activator, an all inclusive website builder with 10 revenue streams that anyone can activate.

Anyone can have a website they can operate, even if they’re a one-finger typist and not computer savvy at all, by going to IncomeActivator.com.

Lee Romanov built and sold her referral website, InsuranceHotline.com, to media giant Torstar, hosted her own Talk TV show on CP24 for 4 years on prime time, and was a columnist for both The Globe & Mail and Toronto Star.

Lee has also been interviewed on numerous media networks such as CNN, FOX, CBC, BBC, CTV, and Global TV.

Lee gives presentations to corporations and groups on how to generate online revenue.

For more information, visit: https://www.incomeactivator.com/

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Kevin Carton specializes in empowering people to discover and live their soul’s purpose. He began his journey when he took a leap of faith to leave pharmacy school to pursue his purpose. Within a year he firmly established himself as a budding expert in the personal development industry. 

Now, Kevin is a Life Mastery Consultant certified through the Life Mastery Institute and he has studied directly under its founder, Mary Morrissey, for over 6 years. He has spoken on stage in front of thousands of people, which led to him being described as a young Bob Proctor and the next Tony Robbins.

He shares daily inspiration and motivation on his Instagram @kevinfcarton with an international community of over 14,000 like-minded people soaking in his advice.

As a sought-after speaker, trainer, and coach, Kevin’s workshops and coaching programs have helped hundreds of people breakthrough limitations and achieve greater results than they’ve known before. 

If you’re looking to increase your clarity, amplify your confidence, and achieve your next level of success, Kevin’s proven coaching programs can help you get there.

For more information, visit: http://www.kevincarton.com/

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When I was growing up, my grandmother Pearl told me, “a woman should always have a red blazer in her closet so she can wow them no matter what.” My grandmother was tall with an elegant silhouette, her hair was platinum white and she loved to sparkle and spark up a bit of controversy. She wore necklaces, oversize rings and gold bangles both fake and real and she smelled of Happy, the late Nineties classic perfume by Clinique. Pearl, whom I called Mommom, was my style mentor for all the years we had together.

When I was eight, she sent me a floor-length, white muslin dress with an enormous blue satin bow in the back to wear for my solo violin performance. I was an awful violinist and instead of playing, I turned my back to the audience, boldly showed off my draped satin bow and literally screeched out a few lines. And the audience loved me, my blue bow and the fact that I was finished!

Mommom didn’t just send beautiful things though. As I grew up, she allowed me the freedom to choose what I wanted, within the confines of her good taste. One Christmas, when I told her I wanted bell bottoms instead of a dress in a black toile print with a sheer overlay and velvet waistband, she took it back and sent me money instead. When I asked her for tube tops, she drew the line though and told me no. Today, when I think of that dress I cringe for wanting to wear it now. And when I think of my ten-year old self saved from a falling-down tube top, I bless her!

My first career was in corporate sales and it was great, but it didn’t stick because I wanted to be outside or shopping. So in 2007, I founded The First Look Image Consulting and Personal Styling. By then, Mommom had moved to assisted living, or what she liked to call the old folks home, and I started to shop for her. She used to say, can you believe it Kerry, I’m ninety! Now it was my turn and I sent her a white jacquard blazer with high, rounded lapels, black patent leather flats and a smart, red handbag. She said she was only going downstairs to chat but we both knew she had to have sparkle no matter what. Mommom has passed on now but left me with her dazzling spirit, a few excellent hand-me-downs from her own closet and her words in my ear, “you take care of you now Kerry.”

Art, design, personal style, sparkle and joy – not to mention the basics of color theory, the importance of a polished first impression, the ability of the mind to further one’s success through en-clothed cognition and a love for learning all things style related – that’s what Mommom left me and what I’ve built The First Look Image upon.

For more information, visit: thefirstlookimage.com

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Dr. Kathy Gruver is an internationally recognized speaker and motivational powerhouse. She will move you with her passionate storytelling, provide you with actionable tools, and leave you empowered to change your life. Gruver has written 8 books, which have earned 12 awards, and has presented on 4 continents, 3 cruise ships, and a handful of islands.

Dr. Gruver speaks on topics such as transforming your corporate and organizational culture, enhancing communication, creating true leadership with practical presence, decreasing stress, personal and professional growth, and building a powerful team.

Kathy helped develop a stress reduction program for the US military and has studied mind/body medicine at the famed Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Harvard. Dr. Gruver is an award-winning author, health practitioner, PhD, and TEDx speaker, and is the host of the national TV series, The Alternative Medicine Cabinet.

Dr. Kathy Gruver has earned her PhD in Natural Health and is a Santa Barbara based coach with over two decades of experience in massage and hypnotherapy. She has penned countless articles, contributed as an expert to dozens more, and appears regularly as an expert on radio and TV.

Kathy lives in Santa Barbara, California. For her own fun and stress relief, Kathy does hip hop dance and flying trapeze (yeah, really).

For more information, visit: http://www.kathygruver.com/

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Jen Coken is a keynote speaker, Imposter Syndrome expert, author, humorist, and international executive coach on a global mission to empower C-Suite-level executives and their teams to have the audacity to be themselves and to lead without limits. Jen has been leading women to personal and professional success for over two decades.

For more information, visit: https://www.jencoken.com/

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He delivers over 70 keynote speeches around the world annually and is a dynamic storyteller. He has spoken for iconic brands such as Nationwide Insurance, Discover, Deloitte, Ultimate Software, Wendy’s, Caribou Coffee, SHRM, TEDx, as well as at Global Leadership Conferences around the world.

His books have been celebrated by the global media and as Founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting LLC, he works as a collaborative partner with teams and organizations to develop compelling leaders, culture and visions for the future. Through his books, leadership consulting, culture-shaping and motivational keynote speeches, he strives to make an impact in the world. Every presentation and engagement he does is tailored to meet the unique needs of the audience and maximize the message for each event.

For 10 years, Jason led thousands of people to build 125 houses internationally for families living in poverty and developed a program to serve the homeless on the streets of Columbus, Ohio. In 2004, Jason received a Jefferson Award, a national award given to “Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.” In 2014, Business First named him one of their 40 Under 40 Award Winners.

For more information, visit: https://jasonvbarger.com/

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Jim is founder and president of The Father Daughter Project. He has been a behavioral management specialist for Fortune 500 companies for more than 12 years when he discovered that he didn’t have as close a relationship with one of his three daughters as he thought. He wondered if other dads also faced a complexity when trying to interact with their daughters, so he set out to interview fathers of daughters across the U.S. and Canada. This was the seed that began The Father Daughter Project.

He has also been involved in regional leadership for The Mankind Project (MKP). This is a non-profit men’s training and personal development organization. MKP provided him additional access to the kinds of emotional obstacles that many men face.

Most significantly, Jim is the father of four children, a son age 30 and three daughters age 19 through 26 (he is a father-in-training – he hasn’t quite gotten it right yet, but he is trying).

Jim and his wife of 35 years, Pam, reside in Thousand Oaks, California.

For more information, visit: http://thefatherdaughterproject.com/

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