|
Who Are We?
The team of trainers, educators and business professionals that work with Kirk Perucca Associates have diverse backgrounds, their short resumes are below. Training teams are built to address the individual needs of our clients each KPA training team reflects racial and gender diversity.
|
 |
| Kirk P. Perucca |
|
KIRK PERUCCA- PRESIDENT
Kirk Perucca has spent his life educating businesses and nonprofit agencies about diversity and inclusion. As a Presbyterian minister, Perucca serves an urban neighborhood church, with a multicultural congregation. Located in a neighborhood challenged by racial and economic disparity, diversity and equality are real issues. He has staffed committees including Justice for Women, Racial Ethnic Concerns and others within the Presbytery.
Prior to forming KPA, Perucca spent 8 years as the president and CEO of a national nonprofit organization that promoted diversity. Perucca was a national compliance officer for the Department of Justice in the Adam's Mark Hotel settlement from Nov. 6, 2000, to the projects end in 2004. Through past work experience, Perucca has provided training for nonprofit organizations, fire and police departments, and major corporations across the nation.
He holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Iowa in religion and political science, a master's degree in public administration. He also holds a Master of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
With a lifelong commitment to diversity and inclusion, he has the experience, skills and ability to help organizations seek real solutions based on the value diversity can add to an organization.
|
Lysa Allman-Baldwin
Lysa Allman-Baldwin is a graduate of California State University, Northridge where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Translation. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Swedish.
Lysa’s professional background includes experience in the real estate industry and office management for a variety of different entities, however her true passions are writing and travel. She has been a Freelance Writer since 1995, originating bylined articles for newspapers and magazines, copywriting and editing, as well as writing copy for web pages, brochures, newsletters, press releases and other presentation materials. She is also a Senior Travel Writer for www.SoulOfAmerica.com, an Afrocentric travel website focusing on travel information that addresses Black cultural and historic sites, shops, galleries, resorts, cruises, spas, entertainment venues, bed & breakfast inns, events and festivals, sports travel and historic towns in the United States, the Caribbean islands and abroad. Lysa is also a national travel columnist on African American travel, her weekly features published as Ebony Escapes, she has been quoted in USA Today for her travel experiences and has appeared as a domestic and international travel panelist on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
|
|
Pollie Massey Battle
Pollie is an organizational development consultant specializing in training and development with a primary focus on managing diversity, leading diverse work teams, cross-cultural communication, and coaching for success. She has over 18 years of experience. She has delivered and managed training nationally and abroad including Israel, Nigeria, Ghana, England and the Virgin Islands. She has experience with non-profits and Fortune 500 companies.
Pollie was appointed as the Team Manager and Senior Facilitator for the United States Information Agency's partnership with Wi lberforce University for their Cultural Diversity mission to study and conduct conflict resolution training in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1996. She has developed and designed several programs and delivered award winning training interventions, including, authoring Coca-Cola's Leadership for Marketplace Excellence, an award winning, 6-week International Leadership Development course. Pollie is a certified Master Facilitator and has been acclaimed by clients for her clarity and wisdom. Ms. Battle has been recognized and awarded numerous accolades for her stellar performance as a senior consultant to Southern Company's diversity initiative—leading a faculty of 40 facilitators during a pivotal 3-year period and became a key player for the client, the executive team and the training faculty for this very successful and public cultural change project.
As an experienced facilitator, Pollie has provided training interventions for organizations such as IBM, AT&T, General Motors, American Express, Texaco, H-E-B, Coca Cola, Southern Education Foundation, The City of Atlanta, US Department of Defense, Jerusalem YMCA, BET, Howard University, CIA, Southern Company, and the University of Georgia. Pollie has been a featured speaker at a many leading conferences and diversity symposiums.
Pollie is a member of the Society of Human Resource Managers, Georgia chapter of the American Society of Training and Development and Atlanta ASTD Diversity Committee, Society of Alternative Dispute Resolution and National Speakers' Association. Ms. Battle has a strong community commitment, and volunteers her time -- as an interpreter for the Deaf in American Sign Language
Pollie earned her MA in Organizational Development from Case Western Reserve University and a BS in Business Education from Cleveland State University. She is a certified mediator --credentialed from the Atlanta Justice Center in Basic Mediation Skills and Community Conflict Intervention --one of the first mediation centers established by President Jimmy Carter.
|
|
Harold "Bud" Belcher, Ed.D.
Columbus, Ohio was Bud's birthplace. The Columbus Public Schools provided his primary and secondary education. In junior high school he developed an interest in teaching as a career, pursuing that interest at Wilberforce University and Central State University (CSU). Both schools are historically black colleges in Ohio. He later attended Syracuse University (SU) as a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Designee, receiving a Masters of Science in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. After a ?layoff? of more the fifteen years he continued his education at University of San Francisco. He earned a Doctorate of Education in International Multicultural Education.
Belcher had a career with Bell System, lasting more than twenty-two years as a management employee. During that tenure he worked at Ohio Bell, Pacific Bell, and Southwestern Bell. Career assignments included Customer Service, Training and Development, supervised Service Representatives and supported Sales and District Managers. He served as an internal Leadership Development Consultant and an internal Diversity Consultant. Additionally he facilitated Leadership Development Training.
Concurrent with his Bell System service, he taught at the junior college and university level programs. Curriculum included Sociology, American History, and African American History, Organizational Behavior
In November, 2000 Bud started H. B. Belcher & Associates. As an independent consultant he offers consulting and training services in Leadership Development, Diversity Management, Organizational Change, and Management Development. Clients include Project Equality of Kansas City, Roosevelt Thomas Consulting and Training of Atlanta, The Champion Services Group of Miami, Southwestern Bell in St. Louis in partnership with Mack & Associates of San Ramon, CA. and PRISM International of Sanford, FL.
|
Themum Crawford
Themum Crawford is a Certified Professional Development Trainer, and Consultant in Workplace Mediation. Educated at Albany State College with a BBA in Management, she has a broad range of organizational and management training experience in manufacturing and corporate organizations.
With over 16 years in coaching, training, and facilitation she is an accomplished hands-on consultant with deep practical experience in varied workplace environments. She has provided expertise in the areas of diversity management, employee development, and outplacement career transitioning for organizations. Described by audiences as an excellent facilitator, who has a positive and enthusiastic yet professional presentation style, Themum has the ability to effectively get across the learning points while building an open and comfortable learning environment. Committed to helping others achieve their personal and professional best, she has designed and presented workshops on “Diversity and Inclusion”, “Conflict Management”, Leadership Skills, and “Interviewing Skills”.
Themum is highly recommended by corporations who have utilized her services to successfully deal with the challenges of our rapidly changing environment. Some of them include: Sybron Dental Specialties, Kraft Foods, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union & Pacific Maritime Association of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power, Illinois Power Company, HBE Corporation/Adam’s Mark Hotels, the United States Postal Service, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Miller Brewing Company, and SBC Ameritech Communications.She is available to provide in-house training and consulting to corporations on a local and national basis.
|
Eric Darrisaw
Eric Darrisaw has over 17 years of experience in the securities industry, Mr. Darrisaw began his career as a corporate governance research analyst at Cartwright Proxy Research a institutional shareholder advisory firm. His responsibilities included analyzing reviewing equality,environmental and South Africa divestment resolutions for money managers and pension funds. Mr. Darrisaw during his career has served as a primary market fixed income underwriter, an international marketing consultant and quantitative equity program trading specialist. Most recently Mr. Darrisaw worked a senior consultant to The President of the A Philip Randolph Institute the nation oldest Black Labor civil rights organization where he established the institutes capital stewardship trustee education program. The program focused on educating pension trustees on investments and corporate governance issues with a emphasis on workplace equality and diversity.
|
|
Michael Jackson
Michael has more than twenty- five years of leadership and management experience guiding organizations with operations and programs in both national and international locations, with expertise in managing diverse workforces, developing positive problem-solving techniques and improved performance management skills in an increasingly complex world-wide environment.
Beginning as a Psych-Education specialist, child and family counselor, senior administrator, an adjunct faculty member and senior management in public and private educational, human services and health-care organizations has qualified him to share his unique skills to assist organizations today. He has an undergraduate degree in special education; a graduate degree in human services from Lincoln University and accredited education in Public Administration from Rider College; Labor and Industrial Relations education from Cornell University School of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Jackson has designed and implemented for education, human services and health-care organizations quality initiatives and programs for new employees orientation, supervisory training for line supervisors, middle-level managers and senior managers; diversity training for all levels of organizations; prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace programs, organizational mission and values-based strategic planning and performance management training for senior managers to assist diverse organizations to increase productivity and to retain its qualified workers.
Michael has more that a decade of experience in assisting boards of directors and organizations with a volunteer constituency in becoming more diverse and to utilize its diversity to strengthen their organizations by creating a satisfying workplace for employees and volunteers to enhance their organizations productivity.
In the past he has served on various boards and has a commitment and dedication inclusion and promoting the business case for diversity.
|
|
Michelle T. Johnson
Michelle, a native of Kansas City, Kansas, has been working while black since the age of 14. One of her earliest jobs was at a library, where her interest in books flourished into a love of the written word. Michelle attended school in Kansas City, Missouri, and continued to feed her hunger for all things literary by working in libraries while in high school and in college at the University of Kansas.
While at KU, Michelle was bitten by the reporting bug and majored in newspaper journalism. She had summer internships at newspapers in Rochester, New York and Louisville, Kentucky. One of the highlights of her college experience was working as a columnist for the campus newspaper, which gave her the opportunity to interview Gordon Parks, a personal hero whose autobiography “Choice of Weapons” inspired her on her path.
Once she received her journalism degree in 1986, Michelle worked at the Philadelphia Daily News for a short stint before working the duration of her journalism career at the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Austin American-Statesman. Michelle was able to combine her concern for community and civic issues and her love of writing by covering the neighborhoods, and transportation beats at the Louisville Courier- Journal, and the drug and alcohol and county government beats at the Austin American-Statesman.
Upon deciding that the role of mere observer was not her strong suit, Michelle decided to pursue a career in law. Michelle attended the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where in 1994 she was named, by the Missouri Supreme Court, as the Top Moot Court Oralist of her law school. She received her juris doctorate in 1995. With a strong interest in employment law springing from both her personal experiences and those observed, she focused on the concentration of employment litigation.
Moving back to Kansas City, Missouri to be near her family, Michelle has worked the bulk of her years as an attorney in litigation law firms representing companies whose employees have brought complaints against them. To give herself a well-rounded experience in the field of employment law, Michelle opened her own law firm, and briefly worked as a solo practitioner, primarily representing employees who had complaints against their employers. During this time Michelle also worked as an administrative hearing officer for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, conducting hearings for citizens who have brought complaints regarding violation of the city human rights laws.
Currently, Michelle uses her skills and experience working as a mediator and employment investigator in Kansas City where she lives with her dog Hilbert Ray. In her free time, she does volunteer work, works out, reads, and writes fiction and non-fiction.
|
|
Dennis L. Murchison
Dennis is President/CEO of M & Associates, Inc., training and development consulting firm, which focuses on issues such as, leadership and individual development; team building; diversity education and facilitation. Dennis has extensive experience providing trainings to diverse audience members of Hispanic/Latino, African, Middle Eastern and Asian descent. In addition, Dennis worked with community–based organizations in Puerto Rico providing valuable experience and insight on ways to advocate for more inclusive policies and environment. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (concentration in Human Resource Management) from Eastern Michigan University. His industry experience encompasses the public and private sector’s this includes, social services, health care services, financial and investment management services, media relations and educational institutions.
Dennis currently devotes part of his time providing cultural competence training to health care providers for the Asian Health Coalition of Illinois. In addition, he is a mediator and a transformational coach; he investigates discrimination claims and assist employers with equal employment audits. He also provides coaching to principals and local school councils on leadership development, principal evaluation and principal selection.
He participated in President Clinton’s dialogue on race relations and is a published author. He is also a board of director for the Community Media Workshop. Because of his contributions to social justice, his name was added to the Rosa Parks, Social Justice Wall of Fame, by the Southern Poverty Law Center. His life commitment is to inspire people to reach their full potential.
|
Jarie Newsome
During her twelve years of business and organization development consulting with Sprint, Jarie served in the Office of Diversity as the Internal Diversity Manager. She is a seasoned speaker and has delivered presentations and facilitated group sessions to thousands. Jarie has a Master’s degree in Administration from Rutgers University and a BSE in Psychology. Her leadership skills have been used for the betterment of the community as she has actively volunteered on various boards in the greater Kansas City, Missouri, community.
|
|
Sara J. Parker
Sara J. Parker conducts training workshops and writes about cross-cultural communication. She served for fourteen years as a fraternal worker with Mayan Indian congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Guatemala. After returning to the USA, she completed an M.A. in Communication and a Ph.D. in Sociology with Studies in Communication at The University at Albany, State University of New York. Her dissertation focused on cultural practices of speaking and was awarded highest honors by the National Communication Association. She has taught university courses in communication for several years and recently co-authored Becoming a Multicultural Church, a vision booklet published by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
|
| René Redwood
René Redwood is the CEO of Redwood Enterprise, LLC and is considered one of the nations' foremost experts and advocates on diversity, "glass ceilings," and affirmative action. Her consulting practice uses a cooperative business model to provide strategies and structures to enable the client’s mission.
For more than two decades, René Redwood has informed and contributed to the debate on access, inclusion and equal opportunity while directing initiatives for public, non-profit, and private sector organizations. She currently serves on the court appointed Coca Cola Oversight Task Force that certifies the Company’s compliance with a historic discrimination settlement agreement.
During the 2004 election cycle, Redwood worked with a cadre of civic participation and voter engagement organizations to have a strategic and tactical interface for all stages of the election. This included pulling together critical linkages between legal defense, grassroots organizers and election officials; increasing the use of technology to give voters direct access to boards of elections and legal networks; helping expand and implement non partisan coordinated GOTV activities; and developing plans and their roll-out for election administration that included voter verification, “curing” practices and quality control protocols for the registration and voting processes.
Ms. Redwood is a master facilitator with significant experience in project and personnel management, building capacity of constituency networks, communications, and political and Election Day legal operations. She was the Executive Director of: a prominent polling and consulting firm; the Presidential Glass Ceiling Commission (Civil Rights Act of 1991, Title II); and a coalition of leading legal defense groups. René is senior counsel to several grassroots and national groups, is facile with data, and has a quantifiable record of success as a trainer, workplace and workforce evaluator, and lecturer and spokesperson. She has been a Senior Fellow in Technology and Democracy, run Congressional District offices and organized with District 1199. René Redwood is often described as smart, strategic and energetic, and has been featured in an array of publications such as Time Magazine, Black Enterprise, American Editor and Essence Magazine.
|
|