Developing Your Leadership Presence

Christopher von Baeyer, The Ariel Group

Christopher von Baeyer, Senior Consultant with the Ariel Group Inc, is an actor and educator who specializes in the integration of theatre and human development. Over the course of his 20-year career, he has coached thousands of men and women in the art of public speaking, emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication. He has taught at a number of leading business schools including: Harvard, Kellogg, Boston College and Columbia. His corporate clients have included Merrill lynch, Lucent Technologies, Deloitte and Touche, and the Boston Consulting Group.

Byron Darden, The Ariel Group

Byron Darden is a consultant with a background in professional theater and an accomplished skating coach. He has conducted leadership development programs for organizations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Harvard Business School, CVS, Praxair Gases, American Express, AT&T, Staples, Capital One, and the Executive Education program at Columbia University Business School. He has coached and trained professional coaches, athletes, and officials, in addition to having extensive experience delivering leadership seminars and consulting in the public and private sector. As a member of the Actor’s Equity Association, Byron enjoys a thriving professional career as an actor.

Joel Gluck, The Ariel Group

Joel Gluck, MEd, RDT, is a Senior Consultant and Leadership Coach for The Ariel Group. He was the first affiliate selected to lead The Ariel Group’s theater-based workshops in leadership communication, beginning in 1994. Since then, Joel has partnered with The Ariel Group as a trainer, coach, and program designer, serving leading organizations throughout the world, including General Electric, Deloitte & Touche, American Express, Société Générale, and The Federal Reserve. Joel has also provided services for top consulting firms, city and state agencies, not-for-profits and educational institutions including Harvard Business School, MIT, Columbia University Executive Education, and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Joel’s work has been truly international, working with schoolteachers in India, ex-prisoners and children in Boston's inner city, mental health professionals in Thailand, and corporate leaders on four continents.

Prior to his work in executive education, Joel was the sole proprietor of a successful software consulting firm. He has directed and performed in professional theater productions throughout North America, with experience ranging from Shakespearean classics to improv comedy. In addition to holding a degree in Literature and Writing from Columbia University, he is a graduate of the two-year intensive acting, directing and play writing program at Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, RI, and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Lesley University, specializing in drama therapy.

Joel lives in the Boston area with his wife, Orapin, and their new daughter, Jasmine.

Jeffrey Korn, The Ariel Group

Jeffrey Korn is a seasoned business coach, and has been a Senior Consultant for The Ariel Group since 1997. He has led Ariel senior executive programs and coached leaders for organizations such as American Express, Disney, the US Federal Reserve, Coca-Cola, Bain, Johnson & Johnson and General Electric. He has also taught leadership development at the Harvard Business School, Duke, Kellogg and Columbia Business School. Jeffrey has also owned and managed successful strategy and design firms in New York and Boston, focusing on branding and usability. Jeffrey is also an accomplished actor and singer. He has performed Off-Broadway in New York City and around the world.

Sharon Leckie, The Ariel Group

Sharon works in the field of organizational development, is a leadership and communication coach, and an actor. Her clients include Harvard Executive Education, Columbia Senior Executive Program, Darden Business School, American Express, Booz Allen Hamilton, BlueCross BlueShield, Deloitte Consulting, Merrill Lynch, and Capital One. Sharon has performed improvised comedy theater in Boston, New York, and Chicago, in plays at the Boston Center for the Arts, and in film. She has taught and directed throughout Boston including at Newton South’s award-winning theater program and at ImprovBoston Theater.

Carol Lempert, The Ariel Group

Carol Lempert is a communication and leadership specialist and executive coach with over 15 years of experience in the field of Training and Development. Since 2006 she has worked with The Ariel Group with such clients as American Express, Home Depot, HSBC, Booz Allen Hamilton, Harvard Executive Education and Exelon. From 2000-2006 she worked as Vice President, Learning for e-role play. She taught Acting, Voice and Speech at York University, and has lead seminars in Presentations Skills for the Toronto Board of Trade. In addition, Carol is a professional actress in theatre, television, and commercials. This part of her background gives her an intimate understanding of the importance of performing on the job and working creatively to solve problems and foster innovation.

Rasheryl Mccreary, The Ariel Group

Rasheryl has over 15 years of experience in designing and delivering innovative training programs to leaders in the public and private sector. She has delivered training and coaching to senior leaders at organizations such as American Express, Time Warner, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Federal Reserve, The Department of Homeland Security, The Department of Defense Accounting System (DFAS) and Harvard Business School. Rasheryl is also the Founder/Executive Director of The Living Legacy Project Foundation (LLPF), a non-profit organization which delivers innovative and engaging leadership programs for at-risk youth. She began her career as an actress and has appeared on television, film and on stage in New York, Los Angeles and Cleveland.

Elsa Powel, The Ariel Group

Elsa Powel is a singer, coach, project coordinator, and research consultant. She integrates her wide variety of experience to create a dynamic, engaging and rigorous approach to leadership development.

Passionate about music, she has been performing and studying opera and cabaret for more than ten years. Her career includes performances in Carmen, Madame Butterfly, and The Gondoliers with Opera Providence. Aware of the power that music has to affect us deeply, Elsa uses singing to provide life review therapy for senior citizens with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease and teaches therapeutic breath release work. She is an active member of the board of directors of the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists. Throughout her performance career, her purpose has been to stir the hearts and imaginations of her audiences. She now brings this intention into the classroom to coach executives and managers how to connect with their teams and clients.

As a project coordinator for an international engineering firm and as an independent researcher, Elsa’s work has included: coordination of the USTDA-sponsored Post- Disaster Financing conference in Bangkok, Thailand (a workshop designed for the countries hit by the 2004 tsunami), consulting to Tufts New England Medical Center on data analysis for a study on IV drug use patterns, and collaboration with the Indian Medical Association Blood Bank in Kerala, India to promote and deliver HIV prevention seminars.

Out of her desire to preserve and support the health of the planet, Elsa volunteers for the Pachamama Alliance as a facilitator of a multimedia symposium on the interconnection of environmental sustainability, social justice, and psycho-spiritual fulfillment. Elsa graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University with a BA in Community Health.

Maggie Steig, The Ariel Group

Maggie Steig is a performer, educator, and business professional in the field of corporate events. With 20 years’ experience selling creative ideas to corporate clients, Maggie greatly enjoys helping others to present an idea concisely and with impact. She has worked extensively with the international organization YPO, a group of CEOs who hold events for idea and information exchange. Her performing background is grounded in improvisational comedy. She has performed with ImprovBoston and co-founded the beloved Boston troupe Guilty Children in 1983. As well, she was drama coach for the national television show Zoom in 2004.

David Zucker, The Ariel Group

David Zucker is a professional actor, author, director, playwright, mime, T'ai Chi teacher, and corporate facilitator. He has delivered leadership programs for the Executive Education departments of Harvard, Duke, Columbia, IMD in Switzerland, and Queen's School of Business, as well as at corporations such as Deloitte Consulting, The Royal Bank of Scotland, General Electric, Merrill Lynch, Saudi Aramco, Praxair, CVS, Coca Cola, and American Express. As a director, he has worked professionally in New York, Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. As well, he is an international performer with over 300 performances a year. He has taught acting classes for years in the greater Boston area as well as at the Boston Rep Theatre, the Actor's Workshop, and Boston University's Summer Theatre Institute.