A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths. Steven Wright

Talk about out of the box thinking, your session was out of this world! Eric Birnbaum, Kraft Foods  MORE

Mitch Ditkoff is the co-founder and President of Idea Champions, a highly acclaimed management consulting and training company, headquartered in Woodstock, NY. He specializes in helping forward thinking organizations go beyond business as usual, originate breakthrough products and services, and establish dynamic, sustainable cultures of innovation.

Educated at Lafayette College and Brown University, Mitch has worked with a wide variety of Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies who have realized the need to do something different in order to succeed in today's rapidly changing marketplace. These clients include: GE, Merck, AT&T, Allianz, Lucent Technologies, NBC Universal, Goodyear, A&E Television Networks, General Mills, MTV Networks, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a host of others.

At the heart of his work lies the fundamental belief that a company's most important capital asset is the collective brain power, creativity and commitment of its work force and that this asset can be significantly leveraged when people are provided with the appropriate setting, systems, tools and techniques to think (and act) out of the box.

Mitch has been an adjunct faculty member for several esteemed leadership development programs, including GE's Crotonville Management Development Center, Duke Corporate Education, Fuqua School of Business, University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management, and Bell Atlantic's Marketing Institute.

In addition to his consulting work, Mitch is also an accomplished keynote speaker and large group workshop facilitator. In 2010, Mitch was acknowledged as one of the "40 Hottest Business Speakers on the Association Circuit" in Association Meetings magazine.

In 2010, he was voted as the #1 innovation blogger in the world. His widely read blog, The Heart of Innovation, is a daily destination for a global audience of movers and shakers. Additionally, Mitch is the author of the award-winning book, Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Idea Rolling (in an uphill world) and the innovation-sparking card deck and online app, Free the Genie.

Mitch lives in Woodstock, New York, with his wife, Evelyne, and their two amazing teenagers, Jesse and Mimi.

Paul Roth has been an executive advisor and business coach for more than 20 years. He founded The Coaching Exchange, Inc. in 1988 and is the creator of the RothMethods, a practical system for maximizing people's performance in the workplace. Paul's primary focus is empowering individuals to bring out their best and then bring out the best in others. People who enter into a coaching relationship with him learn how to better navigate their organization, maximize their performance, and generate team alignment. "Strong people build strong teams," explains Paul. "And strong teams make up great organizations… and great organizations make a better world."

Paul graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974, but left the arts soon after co-developing and managing the optical effects department for the original Star Wars in 1977. Choosing to pursue his passion for working with people, he first became a department manager, event producer, and seminar leader for various educational organizations and consulting groups. After starting his own company, he proceeded to translate his decade of arts experience into a wide variety of creative business applications. Bottom line, Paul's unique methods help people develop skills in four domains; strategic design, conversations with clients, communication with a market, and collaboration with a team. Paul's clients have included Amgen, Schwartzkopf-Dep Corporation, Caltrans, Kyocera America, Merrill Lynch, the Irvine Company, Fannie Mae and hundreds of smaller companies.

Barry Gruenberg has spent more than 20 years consulting, coaching and training in the areas of organization and leadership development. He is trained in Gestalt approaches to individual and organizational change.

Barry has extensive experience in both the private and public sector. Most recently, he was the Director of Organization Development (OD) for Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division following a 3-year stint as a Director of Leadership Development in Microsoft's corporate Person and Organizational Capability organization. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was an Organization Development Director for Hewlett Packard's Storage Organization and an Organization Development consultant in the U.S. Federal Government.

Barry has also worked for the Center for Creative Leadership, where his major focus was on providing intensive development and coaching support to executives of Fortune 100 companies. He has advised and coached over 100 managers and executives. He started his career as a Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University and also worked as a Science Policy Analyst for the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Barry has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Michigan and he has done postgraduate work at Princeton and Stanford Universities.

Val Vadeboncoeur is Idea Champions' Director of Training with 20 years experience in the field. Val believes that the most essential qualities an individual needs to exhibit in order to master the Protean landscape of our rapidly-changing business world are courage, the ability to innovate, and curiosity ... which dovetails with becoming a lifelong learner on the job AND in life.

Through the years, Val has worked closely with a wide range of forward-thinking American companies, focusing on innovation and teambuilding. These clients have included: AT&T, GE & GE Capital, Morgan Stanley, Scotia Capital, Ernst & Young, TIAA-CREF, Champion International, Olin Corporation, Price Waterhouse, and Atlanticare as well as a number of non-profit organizations. He has also worked previously with Unison Business Development on organizational development and visioning projects for Zurich Insurance and Life Care Centers of America, a leading provider of nursing home care. He also works as a performer/consultant with Face The Music, an interactive business blues band (his "blues" name is "Professor Voodoo").

Val is, most recently, involved in developing our updated brainstorm training, Conducting Genius, which includes creating the Conducting Genius Toolkit; the training in a deck of cards.

Mr. Vadeboncoeur, who is part MicMac Indian, was born and raised in Rhode Island, and educated at Boston University. His checkered past includes being a radio disc jockey, writer, playwright, theater director, actor and producer of art exhibits. He's also striven mightily after an elusive competency on various musical instruments. His last name is French for "go of a good heart," and his nickname is "Moose." He currently resides in Malden-On-Hudson, NY.

Nancy Seroka oversees all aspects of Idea Champions' varied and multi-dimensional business, as Director of Operations. She has a diverse background which includes a wealth of experience in corporate environments and educational institutions.

Nancy is responsible for financial accounting, contracts, client relations, session logistics, marketing, and product sales. Her goal is to provide Idea Champions customers with the highest level of service possible.

Prior to Idea Champions, Ms. Seroka worked with major corporations in the NY Metro area as a principal in a marketing services agency. She has also coordinated Public Relations and Fund Raising departments for educational organizations, and has been involved in the successful production of hundreds of conferences on cutting edge topics.

Nancy has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the State University of New York, and is an avid student of personal growth and the arts. She is a member of the American Society of Training and Development.

Nancy currently resides in Woodstock, NY.

Steven McHugh is the co-founder and Chief Enlightenment Officer of Idea Champions.

For over 17 years, Steven has worked closely with top leadership, middle management and project teams to dramatically improve their business results. His multi-dimensional approach to meeting the needs of his varied clients is a skillful mix of business assessment, visioning, creative thinking, strategic planning, process redesign and Balanced Scorecard deployment.

Steven's clients include businesses in high tech, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare and telecommunications, including AT&T, Met Life, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Life Care Centers of America, Olin Corporation, Zurich US Insurance and numerous small and mid-sized companies.

As a business coach, Steven draws upon his diverse background as a gestalt psychotherapist and consultant to the corporate training, management, and construction industries. He is co-author of Get Out Of The Box, a creativity-based strategic planning workbook. He is also co-author of Scoreboard Pro™, a web-based business performance software service.

Steven resides in Boulder, Colorado and is an active volunteer and a long-standing advisory board member for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. He enjoys white water rafting, kayaking, hiking, scuba diving, outdoor photography, fine wine, and really good sushi.

Sarah Jacob Sarah Jacob is the Director of Business Development for Idea Champions and is committed to bringing authenticity and humanity to corporate America by evolving outdated paradigms. She has firsthand experience navigating the challenges inherent in business cultures and believes strongly in creating work environments where alive and awake people will thrive.

Sarah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance. She spent 4 years as a financial analyst for Fidelity Investments in Boston before moving on to TA Associates Realty, an industry-leading commercial real estate investment firm. She quickly rose through the ranks to become an asset manager overseeing a staff of 25 and managing a $1 billion portfolio in three domestic markets. By the age of 29, she had exceeded her dreams of conventional success, but realized she wasn't happy or fulfilled.

She decided to create a new life based on a new definition of success, and by her 30th birthday, had left her career and set out to travel the world dancing tango and following the path to aliveness.

That path eventually lead her to Woodstock where she met the alchemists of Idea Champions and began her true life's work. This involves one-on-one coaching, as well as spearheading new initiatives that allow Idea Champions to step onto a greater stage.

Scott Cronin Before starting his work in management coaching and development, Scott Cronin spent 15 years on the other side of the fence – as a manager. He has successfully faced a wide variety of business challenges, from being an internal management consultant and trouble-shooter for a fast-growing chain of record stores, to coordinating multinational construction projects.

Scott has incorporated his practical understanding of business in his work with client companies like Viacom, PepsiCo, Taco Bell, Regeneration Technologies, Inc., Nickelodeon, and AT&T. Combining his knowledge of interpersonal skills and team dynamics with his awareness of the day-to-day realities of corporate life, he offers needed understanding and skill development, drawing on real-life business examples that acknowledge the complexities and difficulties of the manager's job.

Over the past few years, Scott has focused specifically on helping managers cope with the increased demands being placed on them: he has worked as a coach and teacher to help executives develop their employees, lead teams, and create a clear vision for their own professional future. Some of his coaching and teaching clients include Cablevision Systems Corp., Coors Brewing Company, Comedy Central, Cole-Haan, and Simon & Schuster.

Clients and participants have praised his energy, humor, and creativity, his insight into their organization, and his ability to help them see and overcome their own blocks to learning. In the words of one client, "Scott teaches without pontificating; he tells the truth. He helps you over the rough spots with humor and honesty."

Prentiss S. Uchida is Idea Champions' Chief a lot to Learn Officer (CLO) - a perfect role for someone who has made the long journey from head to heart. During the past 30 years, as a serial entrepreneur, Prentiss has held key management positions in both private and public companies, including founder and CEO of Vector General (a pioneer in graphics workstations), CEO of the Inner Game (a corporate training and development company), CEO of Secom General (a NASDAQ mini-conglomerate of automotive component manufacturers), and CEO of Kahootz (an enterprise software company). Additionally, Prentiss was a founder and director of Instar Infomatiqué (a French medical software company) and managing director of VanderBolt GmbH (a German technology transfer company).

He was the architect of the first peripheral graphics terminal that generated real-time, dynamic three-dimensional images used in the original Star Wars movie and the design of the Boeing 757 and 767. He has also produced infomercials for direct response TV, developed a nutritional supplement for cardiovascular health, and has served on the Board of Directors of the United Way.

Helping organizations create a sustainable "culture of innovation" (i.e. work for fun and profit) is Prentiss' most recent fascination, having learned that people are happiest when they are creating, growing, helping, collaborating, and feeling gratitude for their lives. Towards that end, Prentiss is engaged these days in the entrepreneuring of Ingenuity Bank, Idea Champions' next generation idea management software.

Prentiss has BA in mathematics, a black belt in karate, an aircraft pilot's license, and has crashed and burned as a commodity trader. He was a skier, is a golfer, and for his 2nd act, is an aspiring singer/songwriter. He lives in Agoura, California with his wife of 25 years, Patricia, and has 3 grown children.

Alan Cohen
Building on 25 years experience in public relations, human resources, and leadership development, Alan is an executive coach and brainstorm facilitator for Idea Champions.

Alan was the former Director of Communications for the Broadway League — the commercial theatre industry's national association and sponsor of the Tony Awards. He also served as Director of Corporate Training and Development for Scholastic, establishing the company's management training curriculum. As Scholastic's Director of Publicity, Alan led the team that promoted the acclaimed Harry Potter series of books.

As the Vice President of two public relations firms — Serino Coyne and Rogers and Cowan — Alan supervised cultural sponsorship activities. As a Robinson Lehrer Montgomery VP, he led consumer publicity campaigns for United Airlines and AOL.

When Alan is not working with Idea Champions, he is providing executive coaching and brainstorm facilitator services for Acts of Balance — a NYC-based consultancy that works closely with small-business owners, public relations firms, and marketing professionals.

Alan holds a B.A. in English and Theatre from Connecticut College and an MBA from Fordham University's Graduate School of Business

Aliza Corrado
Idea Champions is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Aliza Corrado, the founder and owner of Studio Motif — a full-service graphic design firm.

Aliza and her crew of graphic wizards have been successfully delivering graphic solutions to a wide range of discriminating clients for more than 25 years. and is now working closely with Idea Champions to expand our abilities to help our clients communicate key messages with clarity, elegance, and power.

Growing up outside of New York City, her youth was infused with countless visits to world-class art exhibits, dance, theater, and music performances. After studying dance, piano, and harp, she studied fine art in Spain and began developing her many innate artistic gifts. What followed was a world-class education in the world of graphic design . first assisting an art director in a New York design firm, then moving to the West Coast where she held design positions at Microsoft and Aldus Corporation (aka Adobe Systems) Her specialties include typography, information architecture, and web design.

Aliza is passionate about finding solutions that balance clear messaging with beauty and vibrancy. She is tech-savvy, resourceful, persevering, organized, and thrives on creative collaboration.

Tim Moore a renaissance man extraordinaire, juggles three balls at Idea Champions. He is our chief strategic communication consultant, a skilled brainstorm facilitator, and one of our Bandwidth Leaders for BrainTrust. A life-long learner, Tim keeps his skills up to date in a wide array of fields, including information architecture, social psychology, emotional intelligence, contemporary art and design, and social media. He combines many of his interests in a process he calls Sales Proptimizing^TM. Explains Tim, "Simply put, Sales Proptimizing^TM is a process for creating word of mouth. It helps individuals, teams and organizations identify their authentic hooks and memes - their unique, irreducible sales propositions, then teases out simple phrases and images that can communicate their core offerings effortlessly."

Tim's knack for the sticky is evidenced by a string of international song hits. A highly successful recording artist and songwriter, Tim has released five hook-laden albums on David Geffen's Asylum record label and toured throughout the globe. Tim brings to Idea Champions clients the verbal brevity and timing of a master song lyricist, coupled with an uncanny sense of what will stick in the popular memory. "Hit songs are memes," Tim says. "They grab people on multiple levels, and do it with incredible economy and simplicity." Hence Tim's passion and skill for drilling down to the essence of things and transforming that simplicity into actionable ideas that foment trends, create buzz, and make good things unforgettable. Tim holds a BFA from Temple University where he majored in painting and contemporary sculpture. He's a long time resident of Woodstock, NY,

Nathan Brenowitz is a recent addition to the Idea Champions' core team of consultants in his role as Master Trainer of Idea Champions' new teambuilding offering, Drumming Up Teamwork. This novel approach to teambuilding utilizes the primal drumming circle as a way to help groups and teams (from 10 — 100 people) connect and communicate on a deeper level.

Nathan has been studying music since his mother enrolled him in the Julliard School of Music as a six year-old piano prodigy. He later utilized his piano background to become a blues and jazz trumpeter. A burning desire to travel took him to various exotic countries where his interest in world rhythms began to develop. Nathan has since studied drumming first hand (pun intended) from master drummers in Africa, Brazil, and most recently, Cuba. In addition to his musical studies, Nathan holds a Master's Degree in counseling from St. John's University in NY.

Eight years ago, marrying his musical and communication skills together, Nathan created his own breakthrough workshop, Rhythm Circle, which uses hand drumming to help participants get more deeply connected and "in tune" with each other. Since then, Nathan has worked with businesses both large and small throughout the United States. His gentle, positive, and non-threatening approach has been highly successful in bringing co-workers together to become more sensitive to each others' needs, strengths,and communication styles.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, and a life-long baseball fanatic, Mr. Brenowitz still plays fast pitch baseball in over-40 leagues. He has two grown sons, Lukas and Matthew (both excellent conga drummers) and resides in Woodstock, NY.