Natalie Hoffmann
Chief Operations Officer

Natalie joins NMA with a breadth of experience in both leadership and training. Natalie attended the University of New Hampshire on a full, four-year Army ROTC and graduated sum cum laude as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a commission in the U.S. Army as a Medical service Corps Officer and a degree in Health Management and Policy.

Natalie fulfilled her four year active duty commitment as a Captain in the U.S. Army’s Medical Service Corps in May 2005. As an Army officer Natalie held such leadership positions as an ambulance platoon leader, battalion adjutant, treatment platoon leader, medical company executive officer, humanitarian assistance officer and division medical logistics officer. Natalie is also a global war on terrorism veteran and served a combat tour in Iraq as the Treatment medical platoon leader for the 801st Main Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Her awards achievements include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Parachutist badge, the Air Assault badge and the Pathfinder badge. The Army taught Natalie how to think strategically, communicate effectively and lead with integrity and honor.

Consultant, Trainer and Executive Coach

 

Laurie Wessels, MBA, is the President of Wessels Group, Inc., a company helping to create leverage for massive impact and sustainable effectiveness in organizational performance.  Laurie specializes in educating and coaching current and future leaders in the principles, practice and skills of successful and sustainable leadership.  She works closely with the Executive Coaching Institute as a senior trainer and a mentor coach. 

 

Laurie blends her expertise in sales, marketing, training and leadership development to develop results producing leaders and high impact teams at all organizational levels.  During her 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Laurie created and provided leadership to top performing sales teams.  As a senior marketing manager she was on marketing teams that produced some of the top drug launches including the current number one drug in the US.  She was responsible for creating strategies and tactics for products resulting in over $3 billion in sales and leading market performers.  Her proven business skills and experience enhance her capabilities to turn powerful principles into highly effective real life practices and skills.

 

Laurie is a highly experienced trainer and coach, committed to the growth and development of organizations largest assets – the strengths of their people. She has designed coaching and training programs for numerous companies, as well as consulted to graduate teaching institutions.  Some of her clients include Xerox, Pfizer, Immunex, Novartis, Merck, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Northwestern University, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, ProActive Healthcare Communications, CogniMed, CDM, ZLB Plasma, Allstate, Brightstar, WCR, Hitachi and Jumpstart.  Laurie is a certified Hypnos-therapist, Certified Executive Coach, Certified Results Coach, Certified Teacher of Movement Psychology, and founding member of the International Consortium of Coaches Organization.  She is an active member of the Chicago International Coaches Federation and Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at the Lake Forrest Graduate School of Management.

 

---

Harvy Simkovits
Consultant, Trainer and Executive Coach

As an educator, coach and management consultant for 20 years, Harvy Simkovits works with corporate principals and executives who want to excel in their work, effectively move their organization forward, advance in their organizational position, and have fulfilling lives in the process. Harvy also helps business leaders work together to create and sustain principled and thriving organizations that maximize value for all stakeholders, be they customers, owners, employees or the community.

More specifically, Harvy guides executives and develops senior managers in:

• Becoming outstanding leaders – generating higher levels of organizational results and success, as well as persuasively and credibly presenting oneself in a group setting.
• Developing empowered and fulfilled staff – having everybody reach their full capability and potential in the context of the organization they serve.
• Developing interpersonal mastery – influencing up and across the organization in order to create alignment of thought, behavior and action.
• Generating team productivity – creating innovative and effective self-managing units within the organization, and becoming a high-contributing team player.
• Increasing personal performance – being the best that one can be in the context of a higher professional vision and mission, and carrying oneself with greater confidence and certainty.

Professionally, Harvy holds a Masters of Science in Organizational and Human Resource Development from American University and The National Training Labs, and both Masters and Bachelors of Science in Engineering from MIT. He has also completed post-graduate studies in Organization Systems Development and Individual Coaching/Counseling at The Gestalt Institutes of Cleveland and Montreal, in General Management at Harvard Business School, as well as in Executive Coaching at the Executive Coaching Institute in Boston, MA.

Harvy is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) registered with The Institute of Management Consultants and a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.). He is a current or past local Chapter Board member of The National Speakers Association, Responsible Business Association, and Family Firm Institute. He has performed dozens of conference and meeting presentations, seminars and workshops in both professional and trade associations, including Inc. Conferences and IncWorld.  Harvy has also taught in the MBA programs at McGill and Boston College on the respective topics of managerial skills and the success and survival of the owner-managed business.  He has published or been quoted in over 50 articles on the topics of business-development, company management and organization leadership and learning in Mass High Tech and Boston Business Journal as well as other local and national publications.
 

---

 

Thomas Benton
Consultant, Trainer and Executive Coach

Thomas Benton is a Corporate Management Coach who specializes in Situational Role Plays. He works with leaders, managers, and high-level technical experts in successfully applying critical communications and relationship-building skills that optimize the value of their key business engagements.  Working with clients in the finance, engineering, project management, IT, and sales fields, Thomas helps them set new standards of skillfulness and success in turning around difficult business situations as well as creating more value in every key professional relationship.   

 

He has coached hundreds of business professionals over the last 14 years.  Corporate clients have included New England Financial Information Services, CDM (Camp Dresser McKee), and State Street Global Advisors. 

 

Thomas is an accomplished actor on film, stage and television.  He has appeared in NBC’s hit program Law and Order, Conviction as an defense attorney, as independent films and commercials. 

 

Thomas’ passion is helping his clients realize significant success, in their communications while creating meaningful value in their important professional relationships.

 

---

 

Ann D. Getman

Consultant

 

Ann D. Getman, APR, is a senior public relations researcher, strategist and counselor to business, government and nonprofit clients. As Principal of Getman Strategic Communications, founded in 1993, Ann helps organizations build reputation and effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders. She has worked with clients as diverse as Peace Corps, Arthur D. Little, World Resources Institute, Raytheon, Mass. Dept Environmental Protection, Nextel, University of Michigan Business School and Delta Airlines.

 

Ann’s focus is on finding behavioral and communications solutions to organizational problems such as customer and employee retention, organizational development and culture change, and creating effective communications strategies for multiple stakeholder groups.

 

Ann's areas of specialization complementing the NMA team include: 

 

Stakeholder Research: design and conduct stakeholder, organizational and market research using internal and external  interviews, focus groups, surveys and secondary information to get at the thinking behind individual behavior and cultural patterns.

 

·     Facilitation: design and facilitate collaborative planning programs to help diverse groups come to consensus, including values identification, scenario development, advisory groups, task forces to propose effective solutions, design process based on consensus and provide internal leadership opportunities consistent with management objectives.

 

Program development for ongoing internal and external public relations, public affairs and integrated marketing communications, including measures of effectiveness.

 

Ann has an M.A. in Sociology, and completed PhD coursework in Community Sociology in 1980. She is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) and has been active in leadership of local and national professional associations, including Public Relations Society of America, and Counselors Academy, and was recently awarded the Diane Davis Beacon Award for Lifetime Achievement.

 

Ann teaches a variety of communications, public relations and marketing courses in graduate programs at Northeastern University in Boston, and has lectured or taught at Simmons College, Boston University and Regis College.