Global Team of Experts

Meet Our Global Team, all experts in their fields, all bringing their unique skill set and experience to the project. Working together and separately to better fit client’s needs.

Vivian global team of experts

Vivian Deutsch (Cross-Cultural Consultant and Trainer): U.S. born and raised, Vivian brings to her extensive work in cross-cultural training and consulting an academic foundation in Cultural Anthropology, and her personal global experience living in Israel, Scotland and Kenya. During her decades-long career at the Israeli and U.S. sites of a leading Fortune 500 High Tech Corporation, Vivian acted as an organizational consultant and contributor to worldwide programs for Diversity & Inclusion, Intercultural & Virtual Interfaces, Team Effectiveness, Relocation, Management Development, Workplace Skills and New Hire Integration.

Vivian has extensive experience in developing, designing, delivering and adapting courses for cultural fit – and training trainers. Vivian also worked at an Israeli school for African students in East Africa, deepening and sharpening her understanding of further issues around cultural diversity.   Living and working in Southern California where she volunteers for environmental sustainability initiatives, she is co-founder of ‘Bridging Jewish Cultures’ focusing on assisting organizations, Jewish communities, schools, synagogues, outreach programs, travel exchanges, volunteer groups and more, to navigate challenges when Jews from diverse cultural backgrounds need to connect and act together.

Lisa global team of experts

Lisa J. Koss (CMC & PCC, Latin America, France & Spain): Consulting and coaching varied clientele – Spanish & French speaking clients, in particular - across a wide variety of sectors since 1992, Lisa specializes in supporting global leaders and teams in diverse cross-cultural contexts to build trust, overcome challenges and leverage the opportunities of their organizations; facilitating programs on all continents with focus areas including design and implementation of organizational change initiatives; leadership and team development; integrated talent management, and executive coaching. Lisa speaks and works in English, Spanish, French, and basic Russian.

An ICF-accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC®), is currently a Doctoral student (on leave) at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara; earned an MA from the University of S. Mississippi, at their Mexico campus, Lisa is a graduate of the Gestalt OSD Center’s International Organizational Systems & Development Program (2006); a Certified Management Consultant (CMC®) qualified through the highest accreditation awarded in the Management Consulting profession (Institute of Management Consultants USA, 2007); a graduate of the International Gestalt Coaching and Intensive Group Track Programs (Gestalt OSD Centre, 2008 & 2009). She completed executive education programs at Harvard Law School and at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, studied in long term programs at educational institutions in Paris, France; San Jose, Costa Rica and Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Past Liaison to Latin America for the National Association of Women Business Owners and Past President of the Institute of Management Consultants, Arizona Chapter (and subsequent 2009 honor of her name [first ever] on a chapter award – the “Lisa Koss Scholarship Award”). Lisa who currently resides in San Francisco serves as board member, trustee and global ambassador at various professional associations.

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Michal Leon (PCC, South Africa): Michal is an Israeli born and raised, Senior Executive & Leadership Coach (PCC) currently living in South Africa where she uses her 25 years in Leadership Development to enhance a core focus on Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships within diverse corporate environment's invariably enabling clients to thrive both personally and professionally. Much of her practice is devoted to effecting culture change in organizations, embracing diversity.

ICF accredited Coach (PCC) and Qualified Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI®) Facilitator & Trainer (of Facilitators) who travels extensively, unfailingly keeping up with current global affairs, Michal’s nuanced and contextualized global perspective is further augmented by life-work experience on three different continents – countries including Israel, South Africa, USA, and Argentina (where she edited and co-wrote an eBook Relocation Guide titled Hola! Buenos Aires’.)   Having immigrated to South Africa in 1999 where she continues to live with her husband and children, Michal recently acted as Vice President of Coaches & Mentors South Africa (COMENSA), orchestrating its becoming a registered professional organization missioned to accredit Coaches and professionalize the industry at large.

Heather for global team of experts

Heather Robinson (Global Systems Specialist, India, U.S. and German-speaking Europe): Heather is a Leadership Development, Systems Thinking and Global Effectiveness Specialist with 30 years professional and life experience spanning across India, the UK, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Greece, Israel, Pakistan and the U.S. Fluent in English, German, Swiss-German and conversational Hindi/Urdu, she works with numerous international corporate giants supporting organizational development worldwide. She is the co-author of Cultural Detective: Switzerland and Cultural Detective: Blended Culture and is a facilitator of Cultural Detective certification workshops.

Heather (MA) is Certified Integral Coach, Certified Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach, Senior Facilitator of Personal Leadership, and Qualified Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Administrator and Coach. Elected U.S. President of the governing council of the international Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research, (SIETAR). Heatheralso co-founded SIETAR India and received the 2007 SIETAR Europa ‘Dedication to and Embodiment of Intercultural Principles’ Award. A frequent speaker at international conferences, Heather has contributed to McGraw Hill’s Training Resource Guides, The Consultant’s Big Book of Organization Development Tools, and the Human Resource Press’ Intercultural Training Guide. Along with Rita Wuebbeler, she has co-authored articles on working effectively in German-US teams. In 2007 The Project Management Institute published her article on project management in India and in 2010/2011 Diversity Executive published her series of articles on women in the global workplace including, Germany, India, Pakistan and Switzerland.   Heather commutes between India and the U.S. and is an active member of a dance troop preforming cultural dances from around the world. Heather believes that Intercultural competence “often means doing things differently.” To do things differently, you have to DO things differently. Doing happens in the body – we “embody” a way of doing things. Dancing gives us the opportunity to practice this – grounded in where we ARE (our current competence), uplifted by the music (a larger shared vision) and moving in synchrony with those around us (mindfully and creatively responding to all that’s happening – inside us and outside us)”. Heather sees her goal as translating what she learns in dance into helping her clients expand their competence in line with a larger vision and all that is happening in their organizations.

Lucy global team of experts

Lucy Shahar (Leading Authority on Cross Cultural Dynamics, Israel): Founding Mother of the Cross Cultural Field in Israel, Lucy has been the leading professional authority in Cross Cultural Dynamics for many years. Turning the theoretical Cross-Cultural Framework into a robust, concrete strategy that contains practical skills, and introducing the framework into the business setting, Lucy extensively aided the development of cross-cultural competence among countless international clientele and has been a source of mentorship and inspiration to intercultural facilitators.

Lucy designed and facilitated the first ‘Train The Trainers’ for Cross-Cultural Communication Program in 1995 at Tel Aviv Open University, applying the cross-cultural framework and skillset to address Israel’s growing immigration from the Former Soviet Union. She led numerous Training programs creating a knowledge base and a prototype for global organizations. Founder of the short-lived albeit impactful Israeli chapter of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR Israel),and co-author of ‘Border Crossings: American Interactions With Israelis with David Kurz  – the most comprehensive book written on the subject to this day for anyone navigating this cultural interface.   Retired and living in Israel where she volunteers extensively, her work continues to impact the cross-cultural field. Anat’s co-author of the Cultural Detective Israel (an internationally developed situation-based series of culture-specific training tools) Lucy also played a pivotal role in Anat’s professional growth as a teacher, mentor, co-facilitator, and friend and continues to advise and consult behind the scenes.

Sue global team of experts

Sue A. Shinomiya, (Intercultural Business Specialist, MBA, Asia - Japan, Europe): Sue is a consultant, corporate trainer, coach, webinar leader and author - with ten years work-life experience in Asia and Japanese proficiency. Her current work includes leading cross-cultural, interactive online learning webinars related to Asia, North America and Europe, as well as business seminars on project management, leadership skills for high-tech managers, and coaching skills for managers. She has spent over ten years working and living in Asia, mostly in Japan, speaks Japanese and has studied Chinese. She is co-author of the book Business Passport to Japan: Maximizing Your Success in the 21st Century, Revised and Updated, 2007, an essential guide for anyone who does business with Japan.

Upon receiving her MBA in International Business, Sue joined a prominent California consulting firm as an Intercultural Business Specialist and Project Manager. Her first project was with a U.S.-Japan steel-manufacturing joint venture. Next she was responsible for International Management Development programs for both Proctor and Gamble and Intel Corp. She was then sent to manage the on-site program at Intel Japan. Working closely with Intel HR, she designed, conducted and managed a variety of global business and cultural competency development programs including business communication, negotiation and globalization for high level executives. She currently specializes in working globally; Business Effectiveness, Intercultural Competency, Inclusive Leadership, Project Management and Global Virtual Team Coaching.   Residing in the U.S. Northwest with her Japanese husband, Sue is a Board Member for the Society of Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR USA). She helped to develop a certification program for Global Diversity Practitioners, and has certification in Global Virtual Team facilitation, webinar delivery and e-learning. Sue is IDI, GCI, IRC and COI Certified and attends the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication in Portland annually (recently completing courses in Global Leadership and Emotional Intelligence and Diversity).