CHART Speakers - Seattle, WA - February, 2016
Jim Sullivan CEO Sullivision.com
Vulnerable only to Kryptonite and Magic, I am both a former baby and a future skeleton. I grew up in Williamsport PA, a town that time forgot and the decades can't improve. Then I moved to Colorado. That was a lot nicer. I have been a dishwasher, a cook, a manager, a logger, a fire lookout, a forest fire fighter, a Ranger, an author, a brother, son, sib, lad, grad and Dad. I have spent time behind bars. But only as a Bartender. I work in restaurants and retail and like both. I travel a lot. My basic philosophy of life I learned from a Sicilian organ-grinder on the Atlantic City boardwalk in 1903 who said: “Life, she a-no messa with me, and me, I a-no messa with her.” Well-put, and words to live by. The people I admire, the work I do and the way I think have much in common. My family, friends and team members are just the best. How lucky and how nice is that? Sullivision designs and delivers smarter-better-faster training resources in book, DVD, live seminar and app format. Our clients include American Express, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Target, Starbucks, Applebee’s, Supercuts, Jiffy Lube, Chili's, Apple and many others. I learn a lot of stuff and share most all of it on my website at www.sullivision.com on Twitter @Sullivision and my YouTube channel (Jim Sullivan’s Video Channel). I’m a vegetarian. Not a strict one. I eat meat. Along the way I’ve learned key stuff like: • Life and business is all about relationships; the rest is just details. • Every day is Earth Day. • Everything in moderation. But occasionally… • If it is, it is; if it’s not, it’s not. • Mo money? Mo problems. (Biggie was right.) I guess that’s about it. Thanks. Please check out my books 1) Multi-Unit leadership and 2) Fundamentals: 9 Ways to Be Brilliant @ the New Basics of Business. They're available at Amazon, bookstores, or Sullivision.com, Thank you very much for your support!
Bruce Tulgan Founder & Chairman Rainmaker Thinking, Inc.
Since 1995, Bruce has worked with tens of thousands of leaders and managers in hundreds of organizations ranging from Aetna to Wal-Mart; from the Army to the YMCA. In recent years, Bruce was named by Management Today as one of the few contemporary figures to stand out as a “management guru” and he was named to the 2009 Thinkers 50 rising star list. On August 13, 2009, Bruce was honored to accept Toastmasters International’s most prestigious honor, the Golden Gavel. This honor is annually presented to a single person who represents excellence in the fields of communication and leadership. Past winners have included Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters, Art Linkletter, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and Walter Cronkite.
Bruce’s most recent book is Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today’s Young Talent (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2015). He is also the author of the best-seller It's Okay to Be the Boss (HarperCollins, 2007), The 27 Challenges Managers Face (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2014,) and the classic Managing Generation X (W.W. Norton, 2000; first published in 1995). Bruce’s other books include Winning the Talent Wars (W.W. Norton, 2001), which received widespread acclaim from Fortune 500 CEOs and business journalists; the best-seller Fast Feedback (HRD Press, 1998); Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: Managing Generation Y (Jossey-Bass, 2009); Managing the Generation Mix (HRD Press, 2006) and It's Okay to Manage Your Boss (Jossey-Bass, 2010). Many of Bruce’s works have been published around the world in foreign editions.
Bruce lectures at the Yale Graduate School of Management, as well as other academic institutions, and his writing appears regularly in human resources, staffing and management journals, including a regular column in TRAINING magazine called ‘Sticky Notes’ and a regular column in the Huffington Post. His writing has also appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers such as the Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek, HR Magazine, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. As well, his work has been the subject of thousands of news stories around the world.
Before founding RainmakerThinking in 1993, Bruce practiced law at the Wall Street firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn. He graduated with high honors from Amherst College, received his law degree from the New York University School of Law, and is still a member of the Bar in Massachusetts and New York. Bruce continues his lifelong study of Okinawan Uechi Ryu Karate Do and holds a sixth degree black belt. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut with his wife Debby Applegate, Ph.D., who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for her book The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher (Doubleday, 2006).
Amanda Hite Co-Founder BTC Revolutions
Amanda Hite, Co-Founder, of BTC Revolutions (Be The Change Social Media Marketing Agency that specializes in engaging communities and igniting movements. BTC works with best in class brands who also care about making a difference in the world. BTC clients are dominating social media headlines and win some of the top social media awards in the space. BTC also works with humanitarian organizations that are changing the world and has raised over $1 million dollars through social media for those causes. Hite lives her message of “Be The Change” and, for those who work with her and have heard her speak, that message is forever tattooed in their conscience. Amanda is revolutionizing the way companies think about social media, marketing, workplace engagement and maximizing their impact. And most importantly, sheʼs an innovator who shows that itʼs truly possible to make both meaning and money by utilizing social media. Hite's dynamic stage presence has made her a highly sought after International Keynote Speaker. Amanda has been featured as a Social Media influencer and thought leader in several publications, including The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur and Nationʼs Restaurant News. Hite is founding member of the “Changers of Commerce” connected capitalism movement. Amanda is a Federal Club Council Member for the Human Right's Campaign and an Advisory Board Member for Share Our Strength's “Dine Out For No Kid Hungry” and was recognized with their 2011 Advocate Leadership Award.
Curt Archambault Vice President People & Performance Strategies
Curt Archambault brings a real world perspective that connects with clients and participants in a way that motivates them to take the steps necessary to improve performance. The passion, energy, and unparalleled service that he models when working with clients, business partners, and key stakeholders results in tangible actions that lead to quantitative improvements to performance.
Curt Archambault has spent over 25 years in the training and hospitality industry where his career started in operations as a maintenance employee at the age of 16 years old. He has fulfilled every role from entry-level employee to corporate training and development manager and every position in between playing a key role in developing and implementing performance-improvement projects. His background provides him the perspective that can assist in driving strategic change in an organization in a way that motivates the front line employee.
Curt Archambault is a member of the National Restaurant Association’s Certification Governing Board, Past- President of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, and has been a well-received speaker at industry events including the National Restaurant Association Show, Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference, Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers and the Society of Human Resources.
Janet Benoit Director, Product Development National Restaurant Association
Crystina Bukrinsky, CHT Director of Training Mexican Restaurants, Inc.
Crystina started her career with Mexican Restaurants, Inc. 15 years ago as a server and store-level trainer. When she joined the corporate training department in 2005 she discovered a genuine passion for learning and development; when she was introduced to the CHART organization in 2007 it opened a whole new world of opportunities to her. Crystina proudly completed her B.A. in Communication in 2010, but gives a great deal of credit for her success to the skills and tools she acquired through the CHART organization. Early in her career, the training department played a small role in the organization, so she learned quickly how to make a lot happen with very little. Over the years her company has adopted a training philosophy and her department now has an enormous amount of support, but she is grateful for all her experiences as they helped her develop a unique approach to finding creative, cost effective solutions to training challenges.
Crystina is an active participant in the CHART organization and serves as the RTF Director for the Houston area. She attends as many conferences as she can and stays involved in various ways from volunteering to serving as a mentor and serving on the conference team. She lives by one simple motto: if you are not taking the opportunity each and every day to step out of your comfort zone and try something that makes you a little uncomfortable, then you are missing a valuable opportunity for personal growth.
Kristin Burk Director of Training & Development Fox Restaurant Concepts, True Food Kitchen
Kristin Burk has 17+ years of experience in talent & training development for emerging brands. She has joined Fox Restaurant Concepts, responsible for training for True Food Kitchen. And prior to True Food Kitchen, she spent 10 years as Director of Training & Development at Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill.
Kristin has consulted for leading restaurant companies; working with principles to build a learning and people development strategy to improve performance and profits and training program design and deployment for all levels in the organization.
Kristin is more passionate than ever to help people understand their strengths and provide opportunities for continued growth and success for the individuals, the company and our industry.
Kristin joined the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers in 2002 and has been an active member in the organization since; served as Conference Team Director, current member of the Social Media Committee and a Regional Training Director. In addition, Kristin is a member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and a past Board Member. Kristin was certified by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute in 2005, earning her Certified Hospitality Trainer accreditation.
Lexi Burns Director of Training Twin Peaks Restaurants
Lexi Burns is the Director of Training and Development for one of the Fastest growing Restaurant Chains in America. A Training & Development veteran for almost 20 years, Lexi has spent the last 5 years creating training curriculum and continued development programs from ground up for all hourly and management positions within Twin Peaks Restaurants - all while being responsible for opening 64 locations in under 4 ½ years.
Lexi has a passion and talent for developing people and the programs associated with their development. Lexi served as a member of the CHART Napa conference team and looks forward to continuing her services with CHART.
Jeff Drozdowski Manager of National Training Little Caesars Entertainment.
Jeff grew up in Royal Oak Michigan and was a Baseball standout throughout his formative years. He accepted a Scholarship to play baseball at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, MI. As a 4 year letterman and starter The Chippewas won Mid America Conference Titles in 3 of the 4 years he played. Jeff was a major contributer in each of the title years. Along the way he earned a degree in Communications from the school.
Jeff joined Little Caesars Enterprises Inc. (Pizza Pizza!) in 1989 to help new Franchisees open their Little Caesars Pizza Restaurants. Over the next 25 years he has been a Restaurant Manager, District Manager, Recruiter, HR Professional and Trainer, all with Little Caesars.
Since being a part of the National Training Department at Little Caesars he has become an active member of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART). Jeff has participated as a volunteer Director at many previous CHART Conferences and looks forward to doing more in the future. One of his signature accomplishments was being part of the Job Task Analysis Group that helped put together the test and study material for Servsafe 6th Edition (Still in print)
Recently Jeff spoke to The Missouri Milk, Food and Environmental Health Association on Little Caesars best food safety practices. He was also an education session presenter on Diversity at The NRA Show this past May. He considers himself blessed to be with Little Caesars and a part of the Restaurant Industry for the last 25 years and looks forward to many more!
Jay Griffin Director of Training Jim 'N Nicks BBQ
Jay Griffin is the Director of Training for Jim ‘N Nicks Bar B Que based in Birmingham, Alabama. Jay has an extensive background in the restaurant industry rooted in operations, training and development. Prior to his role at Jim ‘N Nicks, Jay worked in Management Training and Development at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Lebanon, TN. He as has also served as an Associate Professor of Marketing and Management at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling CO, where he was awarded the Joel E. Mack award, given each year to the most outstanding faculty member.
Before beginning his career in education, training & development, Jay spent 4 years in the United States Air Force where he was awarded two commendation medals and the Air Force First Oak Leaf Cluster for Meritorious Service.
Jay received his Bachelor’s Degree in Management from the University of Northern Colorado and his MBA from the University Of Mississippi. He currently lives in Birmingham Alabama with his wife Katie, daughter Taylor, and their dog Abner. He has been a member of CHART for 6 years.
Alisha Gulden Vice President of Sales National Restaurant Association
Alisha Gulden has been a trusted advisor for training and certification products for the general food service industry for nearly a decade. During this time Gulden has created and implemented risk management solutions focusing on food safety and responsible alcohol service for her business partners; large national and regional food service brands, state restaurant associations, health departments, liquor control commissions, and independent trainers. Recognized in the industry for her marketing and sales expertise, Gulden is known for her professional presentation and personable nature.
Gulden currently serves as the Vice President of Sales for the National Restaurant Association (NRA); ServSafe Brand, where she manages major accounts, leads a team of approximately 20 sales professionals, and raises the bar for team building and customer service. Prior to joining the NRA in 2006, Gulden spent 5 years running branding and logo development initiatives and sales for computer-based control systems at Trane Co. During that time she designed and executed major campaigns and consistently exceeding performance metrics.
Gulden received her BA in Business Economics and Spanish and a minor in Accounting from South Dakota State University. Gulden currently lives in Chicago and is an avid traveler and outdoors enthusiast.
Jill Harper Legacy Event Productions
Along with owning her own photography company for over 10 years, Jill has joined the Legacy team as an Imaging Consultant. Her passion is to make her clients look their best whether at a photo shoot or on stage. She specializes in portraiture, commercial photography and event planning and management.
Jill graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with Bachelor’s degree in Communication in Advertising as well as a minor in Studio Art. Her background also includes photojournalism and creative writing. She is a member of the Texas Professional Photographers Association and Professional Photographers of America
Donna Herbel Lead Director, Training & Development Perkins & Marie Callender's
Donna Herbel, SPHR, is the Minneapolis-based Lead Director of Training and Development for Perkins & Marie Callender’s, LLC. PMC currently owns and franchises more than 440 full service Perkins Restaurants and Bakeries in 34 states and five Canadian Provinces. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, talent development, leadership development, process improvement, and project management.
A supporter of volunteerism, Donna has served proudly served CHART in the roles of Breakout Speaker, Conference Team Director, and Regional Training Forum (RTF) Coordinator. She currently serves as the President, Board of Directors for Minnesota Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership and Vice President, Professional Development for the Twin Cities Human Resource Association.
Adam Huddleston Director of Training Domino’s Pizza
Over 20 years of hospitality experience, a myriad of ops roles, and more than 10 years as a training executive, and Adam is still motivated by the same two facts:
1) eating, drinking, and traveling are fun
2) providing great environments for people to eat, drink, travel and work is even more fun
He currently heads up the training team at Domino’s Pizza, a 50+ year old mega-brand with over 11,000 global locations, and loves being part of a work environment that somehow maintains the energy, nimbleness, and excitement of a small startup organization.
Adam specializes in strategic planning, organizational development, instructional design, assessment and measurement, and helping others to have fun at work. He holds a BA in English, an MA in Professional Communication, and an MS in Human Resource Management, and he does what he does because he fundamentally believes that the best avenue to personal growth is professional development…and training professionals play a role in paving that road for others.
Kirstie Johnson Chief Experience Officer Enlighteneer Enterprises
Kirstie Johnson has a passion for learning and a talent for designing learning solutions to engage teammates and build business results. She has partnered with operations to build learning platforms generating positive increases in sales, double digit increases in Guest Experience Metrics (landing Maggiano’s in the #2 spot for service on Zagat in 2009 and 2010), double digit increases in employee engagement and decreases in turnover. She does this by building actionable and fun training. She believes solid technical knowledge is the backbone to strong training design and results.
Kirstie is the founder of enlighteneer enterprises, a business solutions company focused on results through training design, people development and communications. She most recently worked as the Sr. Manager of Training for Brinker’s Maggiano’s Little Italy and has additionally held positions in training, communications, human resources, legal/executive, operations, and recruiting for Pier 1 Imports, Dave & Buster’s, and Structure, the former Men’s Division of The Limited. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Drake University.
Jennifer Johnston Management Development Red Lobster
Jen Johnston is an Instructional Designer for the new Red Lobster and supports Management/GM Development, Support Center Team Orientations and facilitates MIT/GM Leadership classes in Orlando, Florida.
Jen joined Red Lobster in 1987 in operations. In her current role she’s instrumental in training and developing leaders. With a foundation in operations, Jen’s held various positions in management and worked in Research & Development at Red Lobster’s Culinary Center. From 2010-2014 she’s supported the development of Darden leaders in all 7 operating companies.
Training and development is her passion and she demonstrates a high level of pride in her role. She brings this passion to CHART where she volunteers and has served as director on several conference teams and as a Board member has planned conferences and led conference teams. Jen joined CHART in 2003 at the St. Louis conference.
Jacob Judd Zone Manager/Trainer Little Caesars
Jacob is an inspirational business speaker with thirteen years professional experience. He spent ten years as a youth program director teaching groups of people from high school through adults. He has spent the last three years traveling the country for Little Caesars meeting with business owners, heads of companies, restaurateurs, and leadership teams. His areas of focus are leadership, business culture, relational management, understanding and motivating different personality styles, employee conflict resolution techniques and customer service training.
Jacob is a National Trainer/ Zone Manager for Little Caesars with many years of experience as a corporate trainer, conference host and speaker, awards show emcee, restaurant manager and multi-unit supervisor. Jacob has developed, led, mentored and maintained several teams of both volunteers and salaried employees for over ten years and is passionate about helping people reach their full potential. He is known for being a highly energetic and dynamic speaker that captivates audiences with lots of expression. He shares real life stories of struggle, defeat, and success to motivate people to make a difference in their world.
Peter (PK) Kirwan Director of Marketing Wisetail LMS
PK graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a BA in Marketing. After college he cut his teeth in storytelling and video production at a Los Angeles based commercial production company before moving back to Montana, working as both an independent copywriter and travel director. As a travel director, his hospitality experiences ranged from guest service management at a 6-star private guest ranch to high-end adventure excursions to on-site experiential promotions for Fortune 50 corporations. In joining Wisetail, PK was able to leverage this passion for hospitality by helping forge partnerships with forward thinking restaurant and hospitality innovators looking to take their training initiatives to the next level. In 2015, he moved into the Director of Marketing role at Wisetail. This new role has allowed PK to expand his passion for telling rich, engaging stories of Wisetail culture and stories from the Wisetail client community. As a means accomplish this goal, he added an in-house video production team which began publishing new content under the Wisetail House Media banner. Wisetail specializes in the creation of video-based content filmed in an authentic, compelling, documentary style. PK and Wisetail are located at the base of one of Montana’s best trail systems in Bozeman. Wisetail is an award-winning, cloud-based Learning Management Software (LMS) company hand-built from scratch in 2009. An elite group of more than 40 discerning restaurant and hospitality companies (Shake Shack, Bar Louie, The Cheesecake Factory, and Smashburger - just to name a few) have chosen the Wisetail LMS to transform their online training, employee engagement and communication initiatives.
Chad Klocke Director of Training Pizza Ranch, Inc.
Chad Klocke began his career in the restaurant industry as a poor and hungry college student looking for spending money and a free meal when he worked. After earning a B.A. in Elementary Education and a few years as a 3rd grade teacher, he was drawn back to the restaurant industry. From there he served various positions in Pizza Ranch locations including General Manager.
In 2000, he was promoted to Training Specialist for Pizza Ranch, Inc. and in 2004, Director of Training where he currently serves. In this capacity, he leads the legendary Training Team of Pizza Ranch for the 185 location brand. Chad is a 10 year member of CHART volunteering in various capacities throughout the years. He is excited for the opportunity to continue serving this wonderful organization that has given so much to so many.
Josh Lowry Director of Content Development DiscoverLink Inc.
With 17+ years in the hospitality industry, Josh has developed more than 400 e-learning courses. He has served many roles at DiscoverLink, which has given him a well-rounded understanding of how technological training solutions are best applied in the field. In his current role, Josh leads our content development team to produce solutions that are as much fun to build as they are to use. He has a passion for the creative, collaborative process that is DiscoverLink content development.
Prior to DiscoverLink, Josh worked as an instructional designer at EduNeering, an e-learning and LMS company. While at EduNeering, Josh got his start designing e-learning courses for the restaurant industry and served as the primary instructional designer for EduNeering’s largest restaurant account in addition to designing courses for various oil and gas, construction, and healthcare companies.
Josh is based in Houston, Texas.
Josh Miller Legacy Event Productions
Josh knows what makes an amazing event. With more than 10 years experience, he has the expertise and leadership to take your event to the next level. A former producer with the Four Seasons in Las Colinas, Josh has produced events for clients such as the NFL, BNSF and American Airlines. Big or small, Josh leads the production team at Legacy Event Productions to make your next event a smashing success.
Zack Phillips Performance Development & Culture Manager (eLearning Specialist) Newk’s Eatery
Zack Phillips has over 15 years of experience in the training industry in multiple capacities. He began in operations, transitioned into MIT training, then new store openings. He now oversees the eLearning development as well as regional MIT training for Newk’s Eatery. His background in operations and training has been key in building a well-rounded program.
The “Newk’s Online Academy” began with the prep room as the main focus. Now, two years later, it has expanded to all stations, MIT training, LTOs and best practices. There are currently more than 5,000 users and growing! We’ve also added certifications for Restaurant managers and hourly partners. The Newk’s Academy has been critical in accelerated learning not only for millennials but also hourly partners who do not us English as their primary language.
John Poulos Partner Discoverlink
John Poulos has been a member of CHART since 2001, and has more than 25 years’ experience working with every facet of the foodservice industry. At the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where he was Vice President, Sales, John worked with state restaurant associations, distributors, academic and national chain customers, and many other industry players to carry out the mission of the NRAEF, including e-learning and training initiatives.
Before joining the NRAEF he was Director of National Accounts and Research and Development for Grecian Delight, a maker of top quality ethnic foods for the foodservice and retail markets. He has also worked with such top chains as Wendy’s, Applebees, Taco Bell, and ARAMARK. John’s thorough knowledge of the industry on every level is a key asset in helping clients develop and implement an e-learning solution strategy that meets their needs cost-effectively.
At DiscoverLink, John leads the Account Management and Finance functions and manages strategic account relationships
Chip Romp Senior Director, Training & Quality National Restaurant Association
Chip Romp is Senior Director, Training and Instructor Quality for the National Restaurant Association. In his role he supports a focus on enhancing and improving the relationship with the National Restaurant Association trainer and instructor communities while providing input and insight into the development of new training products for the industry.
With over 25 years of experience, Romp joined the National Restaurant Association in 2015. Previously he was Vice President of Training for Ovation Brand where is oversaw all front and back-of-house training programs, including onboarding initiatives for new employees and leadership development for all field and corporate employees. Management training, development and overseeing system promotional implementation were also areas of his daily focus.
Romp joined the Ovation Brands team in 2013 and prior he was the Vice President of Training, Development, and Operations Services for Fazoli’s Restaurant for 4 years. Before that, he was Senior Vice President of Operations Services for 14 years at JBC Entertainment.
Romp graduated from Denison University in 1991 with a BA in Economics and a minor in Psychology. He is currently a Board Member of Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) where he is a founding member of Learning Legacy Fund. As past Scholarship Director, Conference Team Director, Mentor and volunteer, he is fortunate for the opportunity to help continue the support of an outstanding organization dedicated to developing hospitality trainers around the world.
Christine San Juan Head of HR & Training Caffè Nero Americas
Christine started working with Caffè Nero about 6 months ago to help lead the development of their people systems as they grow the brand in the US. Caffè Nero currently operates 4 coffeehouses here in Boston with the first location on Washington Street at Millennium Place that opened in 2014. Caffè Nero began about 20 years ago. Gerry Ford, the founder, armed with a passion for coffee had a vision to create traditional Italian cafés across the world. He wanted a local coffee house that served very high quality coffee and acted as a meeting place for the neighborhood. Caffè Nero has never aspired to be a big company; in fact, even today they see themselves as a start-up. They have grown one coffee, one customer and one store at a time – always trying to be the best at what they do. They built their own Roastery and created a unique award-winning coffee blend. Over the years, they have reinvested all of their money back into the business to try to improve it and have carried on with resilience and determination. This has led to a family owned and operated business with more 650 coffee houses in 7 countries worldwide.
Prior to joining Caffè Nero, Christine has spent that last 25+ years in the hospitality industry starting on the front line and working her way up. She worked with great brands in both the casual and fast casual segments such as Chili’s Bar & Grill, Bertucci’s Brick Oven Restaurant, and Boloco – Globally Inspired Burritos. Each of these brands had amazing, authentic, and entrepreneurial teams that made major contributions to how she approaches People projects. She loves the challenge this energetic environment presents and as a trainer, educator, teacher she finds herself learning something new every day.
Christine has been a member of CHART for 15+ years and has held many positions within this volunteer organization dedicated to the hotel and restaurant industry. She has spoken at several national and local industry conferences, including the National Restaurant Association, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) on topics from employee engagement & retention to training and design.
Throughout her career Christine has never forgotten her operations roots and has given credit to her success and achievements to her ability to develop strong collaborative relationships with her operations partners. Working with operations, she has been able to develop and implement business solutions focused on enhancing the lives of people by improving workplace skills and behaviors that deliver bottom line results.
Jen Swan Senior Director of HR & People Development First Watch Restaurants
Strategic, big-picture leader with a passion for hospitality and brand culture. Jennifer has a 20+ year history leading human resources and development for both hotel and restaurant concepts; including Champps Entertainment, Inc., and CSM Corporation (a Hilton, Carlson and Marriott Franchise company). In recent years, she acted as a consultant for Choice Hotels International, Mitchell’s Seafood Market and the National Restaurant Association. During her time as a consultant and VP of Business Operations for Hospitality On Point, Jen solidified her belief that quality service, regardless of the business type, is critical if an organization is to succeed.
Jen has a broad range of talents, including; leadership coaching, workshop facilitation on various business and service related topics, instructional design, process improvement, eLearning and video production (2-time Telly™ Award winner) – her true zest for hospitality lies in enhancing brand culture through employee engagement and creative learning techniques.
In March 2014, Jennifer returned to the corporate world, taking on the role of Sr. Director of Human Resources and People Development for First Watch Restaurants. She relocated with her family from the Minnesota to Sarasota, FL and is loving life on the beach – and working for the best breakfast, brunch and lunch café in the nation. She also loves coffee.
Dan Walker Director of National Training and Development Little Caesars Enterprises Inc.
Dan Walker began his career in the restaurant industry over thirty four years ago at a McDonalds franchise in Newark, Ohio. During his very long career he has managed, supervised and designed training curriculum for a dizzying array of restaurants and retail establishments.
Along the way he has always been recognized for his passion, attention to detail, love of operations and his strong belief that people REALLY make a difference.
In 2001 he joined the Little Caesars restaurant chain as a supervisor in charge of the Ohio market. Within three years he was promoted to Director of National Training and Development. In his current position, Mr. Walker oversees training and development for all company and franchise stores as well as serving on the Diversity Council of Little Caesars.
Working out of the company headquarters in Detroit, Dan travels the country presenting workshops and lectures on people development, diversity, time management and bringing passion to everything that you do.
Kendall Ware VP of Education & Achievement Orange Leaf
Kendall Ware, Vice President of Education & Achievement at Orange Leaf, has 12+ years in the training and hospitality industry. He started off as a young 16 year old bus boy at a local restaurant in Texas and has been contributing to the industry since. His current role leads education/training, operations services, information technology and product development. Ware provides strategic integration that enables achievement of system wide initiatives for their 300+ locations, both domestically and internationally. Starting in 2012, Kendall became involved with CHART and has attended every conference since. As past Hospitality Director, First Time Attendee Director and mentor at multiple conferences, he continues to find value through CHART. He is also an active Advisory Board Member for Tortal Training. Previously, Kendall was a training executive at CiCi's Pizza for 4 years and a franchisee/owner with Patrice & Associates - Hospitality Recruiting. Before that, he held multiple roles within training, operations and new store development at Genghis Grill for over 5 years. Kendall has a passion for developing people and a natural innovative mindset. He pushes himself and others to think outside the box in an effort to seek newer and more efficient methods to execute the task at hand.
Danielle West F&B Training Manager BROADMOOR Hotel
Danielle West, Food and Beverage Training Manager at The Broadmoor, is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing employee and departmental training for multiple restaurants, banquet facilities, and kitchens at the hotel.
Danielle has more than 8 years of experience in the hospitality industry, working with organizations such as Ritz-Carlton, Northstar Ski Resort, and the University of San Franciso, before joining The Broadmoor in June of 2009. During her time at The Broadmoor she has served in multiple position as a Senior Front Desk Agent, Amenities Supervisor, and Amenities Manager.
Danielle has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Hospitality Industry Management from the University of San Francisco.
Jennifer Belk White Vice President of Training Resort Lifestyle Communities
Jennifer Belk White fell into the training world 25 years ago when – as a recent graduate with a drama degree – she realized that a classroom full of GRE students provided her with a captive audience! Over the years, she has broadened her knowledge and experience in Learning and Organizational Development through a wide range of industries. She is currently Vice President of Training at Resort Lifestyle Communities, a fast-growing operator in senior independent living. Prior to RLC, she held positions in Operations and HR/Training with Kaplan Test Prep, Public Storage, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Ignite Restaurant Group. Jennifer has a Bachelor’s degree in Drama from the University of Texas at Austin and completed doctoral coursework in Educational Psychology and Technology at the University of Southern California.
Jennifer serves on the board of the Lincoln, NE chapter of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), and served on the Conference Team for CHART 89 in Napa. She also volunteers in her community as a board member for the Lincoln Community Playhouse.
Kelley Wisley Regional Training Manager Benchmark Hospitality International
Kelley Wisley is the Regional Training Manager for Benchmark Hospitality International based out of The Woodlands, Texas. She brings a variety of operations experience having started her career in the restaurant business and transitioning to hotels. She has worked every position from dishwasher to Training General Manager while working in stand-alone restaurants. Restaurant experience was helpful in Kelley’s move to hotels, working as Assistant Director of F&B for The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. In 2011,she made one more move from operations into the field of Human Resources, focusing on training and development. Kelley’s involved in many facets of organizational training, including creating/managing all employee and management training materials and programs. She was instrumental in the development of the “Be the Difference” culture at the properties and continues to train and develop all levels of leadership.
Kelley joined CHART in 2012 and has served as mentor, volunteer, and worked on two conference teams.
Karen Wollard Associate Director, Professional Development & Continuing Education Florida International University
Karen Kelly Wollard, Ed. D, is Associate Director, Professional and Continuing Education, at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University. Dr. Wollard designs and develops programs, trains and certifies trainers and coordinates conferences, roundtables and symposia. Current instructional design includes trainer development and programming in hospitality and tourism for low-skilled and entry level employees, as well as service excellence, leadership and multicultural programs.
Karen has done research and published on the topics of customer service, employee engagement and leadership. Her previous experiences include 2000+ hours of platform and online program delivery and the development of more than 50 programs.
Patrick Yearout Director of Recruiting & Training Ivar’s Restaurants
Patrick Yearout has been working in the hospitality industry since 1992, but that is not where he intended to end up. After graduating with a degree in Finance from Western Washington University in 1990, he moved into a position as a Corporate Finance Analyst for Dain Bosworth in Seattle, but eventually learned that he was more than just a numbers person and decided to switch careers.
Patrick’s entry into the world of restaurants came soon after his departure from Dain, as he and a friend took over as owners and operators of a local sandwich franchise, where he worked until 1999. Since then, he has been employed for the last twelve years in a training capacity for Ivar’s Restaurants, which owns a mix of quick-service and full-service restaurants in Washington State. He currently works as the Director of Training and focuses his main efforts on creating and developing training programs for the quick-service seafood division.
Patrick joined the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers in 2002 and has been an active participant in the organization – he has attended numerous conferences, served on five conference teams (including one stint as Conference Director), and volunteered as the Northwest Regional Forum Director for CHART from 2006 to 2011. In addition, he is also a three-year member of the Northwest Learning Forum, an organization like CHART that includes a wide variety of employers in the greater Seattle area.