Knowledge Network

Welcome to The LPF Knowledge Network Directory. On this page you will find subject matter experts who support LPF Performance Representatives and clients in the field. These talented leaders ensure real time and cutting edge resources delivering maximum value to our client experience. This network is constantly growing and represents most facets of the Hospitality Industry. Whether they are iconic leaders from across the globe or frontline associates delivering exceptional guest experiences daily, you will find resources from nearly every specialized area. Our network gives LPF the competitive advantage of providing solutions for virtually any challenge our clients may face.

• General Management / Administration
• Human Resources
• Learning, Leadership & Culture Development
• Spa Services & Operations
• Sales & Marketing
• Research & Process Improvement
• Architecture & Design
• Food & Beverage Operations
• Brand Standards & Compliance
• Legal
• Rooms Operations
• Accounting
• Environmental Services
• Hotel Development / Asset Management
• Healthcare

General Management / Administration

Mr. Antoine Berberi
General Manager, Thompson Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA

Antoine Berberi brings to the table nearly ten years as a hotel general manager both in the United States and abroad. Overall, he began his distinguished career in hotel management in 1988 at Hilton. Whether working with such large players including Hilton or Intercontinental Hotels Group, Antoine has demonstrated a hotel operations acumen that is extraordinary. He is a polished professional with an impressive worldly background. Most recently, he was working with Thompson Hotels as General Manager of Gild Hall - Wall Street and has been an integral part of the support and development of several other projects at Thompson. Chuck Brown's experience with Antoine was during Antoine's tenure as General Manager of The Westin Governor Morris Hotel in New Jersey. Antoine is now General Manager for the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.

Mr. Mike Brunkow
Hospitality Industry Consultant, Minneapolis, MN

Experienced hotel operator with 20 plus years industry leadership experience at 11 locations. Highlights include: opening a 345-room international resort located at Queensland, Australia, a 337-room corporate hotel, a 222-room boutique hotel and directing five major hotel renovations. Extensive background operating union and non-union hotels increasing overall profitability by upgrading product, service and networking in the community. Awarded “General Manager” of the Year from among 300 Radisson hotels for performance exceeding expectations of guests, employees and owners. Honored as 2006 “Volunteer of the Year” by the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce.

Mike is able to provide interim general manager/executive assignments, property evaluations, mystery shopping, brand coordination, asset management, financial controls as well as sales and marketing support. Mike provided mystery shopping services for one of LPF’s clients in the 4th quarter of 2009.

Mr. Michael Green
President, The Green Team, Nashville, TN


Michael brings more than 30 years of hotel experience to The Green Team in positions such as General Manager and Corporate Director of Food and Beverage. His industry experience includes brands such as Sheraton, Hilton, and Wyndham Hotels. Much of Michael's career was in acquisitions where he played an integral part in the conversion and/or opening of over 100 hotels in the United States and the Caribbean. Michael was also responsible for vendor partner programs, development and implementation of vendor standard operating procedures and industry specific sales & catering training programs. As President, Michael is responsible for the overall operations of the Green Team. His focus is to ensure we live up to our mission "our service is hospitality solutions." Michael works closely with hotel ownership groups, management companies, designers, and general contractors to ensure The Green Team provides the service and products requested by clients in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Mr. Peter Lam MBA, CHA, MIH

Mr. Patrick Lane
Vice President and General Manager, Woodside Hotels, Palo Alto, CA

Patrick J. Lane is a well-respected operations veteran of the Hospitality Industry for the last several decades. His mantra is: "it's all in the process." Patrick brings to the table cost containment strategies that positively impact flow through without losing long term market share: an outcome that many executives find themselves only striving toward, however unfortunately fail to achieve. Patrick is actually one of Lance's mentors as a result of their past association in the great City of Oakland, CA. A graduate of Purdue University, and the Culinary Institute of America he began his career as a Chef with Hyatt Hotels and held General Manager positions at several hotels, including one of 1010 rooms. He has also held key operations positions within Omni, Marriott, Renaissance and is currently Vice President and General Manager for Woodside Hotels in Palo Alto, CA.

Mr. Edward Stanton

Prior to Foxwoods, Ed was the Hotel Manager for the Westin Copley Place Hotel, a premier luxury hotel located in Boston’s Back Bay. His general management experience, six sigma expertise and customer service initiatives enabled the Westin Copley Place to be ranked in the top 10 in guest satisfaction index for Westin Hotels and once again attain the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award.

Before his appointment to the Westin Copley Place, Ed held positions with Starwood Hotels & Resorts for 8 progressive years in Convention Service, Six Sigma, Regional Procurement and General Manager positions. Ed began his career with Marriott Hotels & Resorts and enjoyed a 14 year career with the company in roles of increased responsibility to the position of Assistant Director of Convention Services at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

As a veteran of the hospitality industry, Ed’s greatest passion lies in aligning and motivating teams, customer service initiatives, revenue enhancement and prides himself on being a hands-on, highly visible individual with progressive executive level experience.

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Human Resources

Ms. Kristin Cattafesta
Senior Management Consultant, Data Key Consulting, NY, NY

Kristin is an HR professional with expertise in Talent Development & Learning. She has worked across the industries of hospitality, banking and finance. At Starwood Hotels, Kristin managed global efforts around culture transformation, learning strategy, and was a key partner in launching Starwood's two newest hotel brands, aloft & element hotels. At Commerce Bank, Kristin led change initiatives and acquisitions of the DC and Florida markets and held the role of Assistant Vice President of Florida Operations. Early in her career, Kristin devised marketing and brand strategies for national annuity agents within the financial sector.

Ms. Kirsten M. Clark, PHR
Principal, ThreeSparks, LLC, New Fairfield, CT

Kirsten is an OD HR Professional with over 18 years of experience working with strategic HR groups focused on designing and delivering progressive talent management, leadership development, and culture building tools and programs. She specializes in behavioral interviewing programs and tools, competency modeling, diversity and inclusion training and leadership development. Her experience is drawn from 10 years with Aon Consulting’s Human Resources Consulting Group and over 8 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts. She currently runs her own consulting business, ThreeSparks, LLC and is based out of New Fairfield, Connecticut.

Ms. Michelle M. Crosby, Ph.D.
Principal, Crosby Consulting, San Francisco, CA

Michelle is an industrial/organizational psychologist and human resources professional with over 20 years of experience in both consulting and corporate settings, public and privately-held companies, and small and large organizations.

Most recently, Michelle was Chief Talent Officer and Executive Vice President of Human Resources at 24 Hour Fitness. In this capacity, she had responsibility for all aspects of human resources and partnered with the senior team on key business issues. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, 24 Hour Fitness is an innovative leader in the health and fitness industry, with more than 3 million members in over 400 clubs worldwide.

Prior to joining 24 Hour Fitness in 2007, Michelle was Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide with responsibility for human resources globally, including 150,000 associates working in over 750 hotels in 80 countries around the world. Before assuming the role as head of human resources, Michelle spent 6 years with Starwood as Senior Vice President, Organizational Capability where she led the development of Starwood’s talent management, leadership development, recruiting & selection, learning and development, and organizational effectiveness programs.

Before joining Starwood in 1999, Michelle was Senior Vice President and Northeast region head for Aon Consulting’s Human Resources Consulting Group. Here, she was the regional practice leader with responsibility for business development, project management, region financial performance, and staff development. Her clients included Allied Domecq, Allied Signal, Bell Atlantic, Capital One, Duracell, Florida Power & Light, Harley-Davidson, Merck, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Texas Instruments, and many others.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from Brown University and both Master of Arts and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Connecticut in industrial and organizational psychology. She has presented on talent management, selection and assessment, and building a branded service culture to numerous industry and professional groups.

Her expertise includes human resources strategy, talent management, leadership development, employee engagement, recruiting & selection, organizational development, learning & development, and internal communication.

Ms. Cathy Curtis, SPHR
LPF Performance Representative, Boston, MA

Cathy has over 20 years of progressive human resources experience in the hospitality industry. She has been a high impact contributor in both on-property director roles and corporate project management roles.

Her most recent experience was as a member of the corporate team responsible for transforming enterprise-wide human resources at Marriott International. Her focus on talent acquisition services and applicant tracking included process design and documentation, service level agreements, training and implementation, and process improvement. This work was done in partnership with a recruiting and sourcing third party provider.

Prior to her corporate experience, Cathy had extensive unit-level human resources experience at multiple Marriott hotels, including 13 years as the DHR for the 1150 room Boston Marriott Copley Place convention hotel. Her appreciation for the hands-on assistance needed by a diverse group of employees led to her successful management of a large HR staff supporting 900 employees as well as an area employment center. As a member of the Executive Committee, she also functioned as a key business partner with the keen understanding of the balance needed to contribute to a successful organization.

Cathy has received recognition during her career, including Region Director of the Year, Market Leadership Award and the City of Boston’s Private Industry Award (for welfare to work programs). She has also been an Instructor at Northeastern University and is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Having European training in operations, backed by over 25 years as a Human Resources professional, David is ideally equipped to handle any Human Resource matter. David is a graduate of Westminster Hotel School in London and acted as an Assessor at Cornell University for their International Hospitality Masters program. He has held senior and corporate positions for Holiday Inns International, Hyatt, Fairmont, Adams Mark Hotels and Graves Hospitality Corporation. He is now offering consulting services to the Hospitality Industry. David is an ardent Minnesota Twins fan.

Graduating from the Institute Chateaubriand in Cannes, France with a Baccalaureat A5, Chantal was initiated to the HR field in both the banking and insurance industries. She then started her career in hospitality human resources at the "L'Ermitage Hotel Group", Beverly Hills California in 1985. In 1987, she joined the Registry Hotel Corporation as Director of Human Resources for their Universal City property and then joined the Hyatt Hotel Corporation in 1990. During her nine-year tenure with Hyatt Hotels, she worked in both union and non-union environments, and successfully implemented the "shared-services" concept, directing two properties simultaneously. In 1999, Chantal joined the luxury 683-room Biltmore Hotel as Director, and Regional Director of Human Resources. Chantal founded Executive HR Consulting Group, Inc., in April, 2003. As President of the Group, she now assists clients in various industries, performing human resources consulting and covering all aspects of the function. Throughout her career, Chantal has successfully negotiated numerous labor-management agreements with various labor/union organizations, and served as Trustee on the Los Angeles Hotel and Restaurant, Employer/Union Trust Fund. Chantal is an active member of the California Chamber of Commerce, The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources (PIRA), The Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Human Resources Independent Consultants (HRIC) and the California Restaurant Association (CRA).

Ms. Pamela E. Sirney
Manager of Human Resources, Holt Renfrew, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Pamela Sirney is our first international Performance Advisor positioning us well across borders before we even hit the ground running! She has enjoyed an eclectic career working in a wide range of industries; in a variety of capacities including mid-management to senior management roles. Her industry background includes Retail Sales, Industrial Chemical Sales, Recruitment, Janitorial, Security & Investigation and of course Hospitality. Her years of experience includes Sales, Account Management, Investigation and Human Resources. Pamela has worked within the Human Resource Discipline for the last fourteen years in unionized environments and is well-versed in collective bargaining, labour relations, training and recruitment. From 1999 to 2007, Pamela was the Director of Human Resources (DHR) for The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver. Pamela is an active member of BC's Human Resources Management Association (HRMA).

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Learning, Leadership & Culture

Development

Mr. Juan Cortés
Learning & Development Expert, San Francisco, CA

Bilingual Learning & Development executive recognized for improving business performance and driving change through the development of human capital. Extensive global experience in areas of leadership development, branding and marketing in a variety of entrepreneurial and corporate settings, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Starbucks Coffee Company and MTV Networks. Demonstrated success in partnering with global business leaders to define and implement talent and organizational effectiveness strategies that align with key business performance metrics. Innovative strategist and visionary with transformational leadership skills. Top-notch writer and editor in Spanish and English with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Hogan Assessment certifications.

Harold represents Driftwood Hospitality based in San Diego since January 2007. With over 30 years of Hospitality Industry experience, including 9 years with the largest training company in the Hospitality Industry. His commitment to providing a comfortable learning environment, quality training, and actionable follow-up allows Driftwood Hospitality to consistently improve their service delivery at each hotel.

Anita Goldin is a Leadership Coach and Team Development Specialist with over 20 years of hands-on experience as human resources executive for such notable hospitality leaders as Hilton and Hyatt Hotels. From these experiences she brings to her coaching role a keen understanding of human relations as well as the operational intricacies that face today's management teams.

As professional executive coach, Anita assists leaders in leveraging their talents, maximizing their effectiveness and achieving professional goals, results and success. Through the coaching process she provides direction, encouragement and accountability while motivating her clients toward confidence, competence, action and growth. She has worked with a wide variety of organizations including hotels, hospitals, health insurance, education, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and non-profit associations.

Anita received her coach training and coaching certification through Coach University. She holds her ACC coaching credential through the International Coach Federation. In addition, she remains active in the Human Resources Community and currently holds her SPHR (Senior Human Resources Professional) designation since 2000.

Chris is a passionate and enthusiastic training professional with over 20 years' experience in the retail industry with a reputation for her excellent facilitation talents. Chris worked for Saks Fifth Avenue as the Corporate Training Director for the Southern California region of stores. She has a proven track record of success as a strategic partner to senior management in directing enterprise-wide training functions, leadership development and organizational effectiveness. Spending the last 15 years in Learning and Development, Chris successfully developed and facilitated a wide variety of programs and was recognized as subject matter expert and primary resource for training and development for all levels of employees. Her specialties include leadership development, diversity training, organizational development, coaching, new hire orientation, on boarding, customer loyalty, employee engagement, and employee recognition. Chris is a certified facilitator in many leadership programs including Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership II and Franklin Covey's The 7 Habits for Managers.

Christine is passionate about service – really extraordinary customer service – and understands the impact of customer service on building brand strength and intelligence. Working throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Christine brings to LPF Hospitality a global perspective, and extraordinary depth of knowledge in building world class brands through the development of a strong service culture. Christine is an inspirational speaker and author whose message is supported by more than 15 years of executive leadership experience in brand communications, employee engagement , service culture development, program design and delivery and organizational change.

Working with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Xerox , BMW and within the burgeoning seniors’ retirement community on an international level, Christine’s leading edge approach to service culture improvement and brand development has produced highly engaged teams with an astute ability to create indelible, distinctive customer experiences – those that clearly align with their organizations’ brand attributes and core values.

Christine is a member of the CSTD (Canadian Society for Training and Development), CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) and is certified to deliver Tracom’s Social Style and Versatility methods for service and sales performance improvement, Emotional Intelligence training and Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits workshops. She is also a co-author of several published books on change management and communication in the workplace.

Karen Turner is a learning, development and internal communications executive recognized for her ability to partner with leadership to align talent development strategies with business needs to achieve performance goals, lead organizational change, engage employees, and solidify brand loyalty. Her expertise is in the communication, design, development, implementation and assessment of learning programs. She specializes in the areas of Human Resources, Operations, Leadership, Customer Service, Culture Building, Emotional Intelligence, Change, and Branding.

Mr. Bernie Vasquez
Director of Education and Talent Development, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

Bernie is leading the education and talent development efforts at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Prior, he led the service culture transformation efforts at the Tropicana Las Vegas. He and a team of specialists work vigorously to establish a culture of uninhibited communication and collaboration. As the Director Service Culture, Bernie executes the resetting and elevation of processes and standards to ensure team members deliver an exceptional level of service in the new brand offering. He directs a vigorous inspection process and responds to guest and team member feedback in an urgent manner. The Service Culture department is responsible for pushing the envelope of service enhancement in all divisions, while establishing a foundation of growth, development, and recognition that inspires team members to reach for higher bars of service delivery.

Prior to joining Tropicana Las Vegas, Bernie was the Director of Service Excellence at MGM GRAND, where he led a team of Service Excellence Specialists to build service enhancement initiatives for the Hotel, Food & Beverage, Casino, and Entertainment divisions. Bernie assisted Skylofts in reaching the respected Mobil 5 Star rating, one of 44 hotels in the world to achieve the recognition in 2009. Additionally, Bernie oversaw the development of Champions that focused on elevating inspection and guest survey scores via technical and behavioral training. His team designed customized programs to impact employee development and guest satisfaction.

From 2004 – 2007 Bernie was the Director of Training for four Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Waikiki Beach. He directed training initiatives for over 3,000 Sheraton and Westin employees, and implemented comprehensive training programs to affect skill and behavioral development.

Bernie holds an MBA in Management and BBA in Marketing, and is currently the Vice President Community Relations for the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) Las Vegas chapter. He has held multiple board positions in both the Hawaii and Las Vegas communities.

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Spa Services & Operations

Ms. Stephanie Doud
Director of Spa Operations, Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Stephanie Doud’s professional accomplishments are many. She has been very involved with the International Spa Association (ISPA) in several capacities, including professional speaking, holding seats on and acting as Sub-committee leader on several ISPA committees, and was a contributing writer on numerous ISPA publications. Along with the ISPA, Stephanie is also involved with Las Vegas Spa Association. Along with her involvement with the spa associations Stephanie has been involved with several spa openings and design.

Currently, Stephanie is the Director of Spa Operations at The Mirage in Las Vegas, NV. Prior to The Mirage, she spent several years as Spa Director at both the Westin Casuarina, Las Vegas and Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, TX.

Ms. Suzanne Johnston
Owner, Avello Spa, The Westin Whistler Resort, BC, Canada


Suzanne Johnston is an entrepreneur resort spa owner for the past 20 years, currently owning and operating the Avello Spa at The Westin Whistler Resort in British Columbia, Canada. She specializes in spa development including: space maximization, working with architects, designers and builders, designing spa menus maximizing therapist schedules and income matching to the superior client experience, spa product selection, human resources communications development within a spa environment that increases staff productivity at all levels, multi-spa location software development, as well as spa training and development design and implementation. She has the experience managing more than one hundred staff members within a full service spa environment with facilities and services including: spa concierge services, spa receptionists, health club attendants, massage therapists, estheticians, hair stylists, yoga and Pilates instructors. Lance and Suzanne met while he was employed at Starwood in 2006 and quickly became close associates. "Suzanne's impeccable attention to detail, problem solving abilities and spa operations acumen, led to many innovations that enabled the spa to flourish even under challenging situations without diluting the Westin Brand Standards." - Lance P. Fisher, Founder and Partner, LPF Hospitality Performance

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Sales & Marketing

Ms. Kelly Fallucca
Sales and Marketing Consultant, Newport Beach, CA.


Kelly A. Fallucca is a skilled business development/marketing professional with over ten years of experience in creating sales, marketing and training programs. Her work has a direct effect in increasing company revenue, profitability and market share for organizations across various industries including: staffing, media production, healthcare, publishing, software, computer manufacturing, investment banking and franchise restaurant.

Ms. Fallucca is unique in the fact that she has expertise in several disciplines. While she specializes in business development, Kelly excels in marketing, motivational and sales training and event management. For the last three years, Kelly has utilized all her talents as a freelance consultant for companies such as: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Tustin Mazda, LPF Hospitality Performance, Inc. and The Huntington Beach Downtown District Improvement District.

Prior to Kelly's consulting career, she spent seven years as a manager and trainer for several Marie Callender's restaurants. The restaurant industry is where Kelly learned the value of relationship management.

Mr. Don Farrell

DonFarrell sold Signature in 2008 to start a new company that focuses on revenue generation; loyalty level service training and culture building that shows his select clients how to distance themselves from their competition through their culture once and for all. Don does this through speaking engagements, training workshops & consulting. Everything Don and FreshRevenues does comes with an absolute guarantee to work to their better than their client’s satisfaction or they do not pay.

Fresh revenues is currently working with 500 B&B owners to increase their revenues during their toughest times….midweek. Also working with 140 CPA’s to show them how to sell, service, hire and train for a sales and service driven culture; working with a hotel brand to develop “revenue hallmarking” so that franchisees capture more revenues than ever before and lastly, heading up a team of people who are conducting research on the best way to train and teach based on many different human criteria.

Ms. Catherine H. Gill

Ms. Shannon Green

Ms. Ginny Ledbetter
LPF Performance Representative, Columbus, GA

From a young age, Ginny has demonstrated her innate ability to build relationships. Since the age of 15 years old, Ginny worked in all areas of food and beverage for a local restaurant half way through college. After that 6 year period, while still attending the University of Georgia, she gained valuable experience in the property management function of the Real Estate industry as a leasing consultant. She continued her work as a leasing consultant upon graduation, however quickly became a Property Manager of an apartment complex.

She then attained an opportunity from 1994-1996 as an assistant in the Convention Services Department at the Westin Peachtree Plaza. In 1996, she followed her new husband’s career to Denver, and transferred to the Westin Tabor Center. At “Tabor” she was given the ability to handle small group bookings (rooms & events) and concentrated on the Professional NBA teams that traveled to Denver. Her success in that position led to her promotion to Catering Manager at the Cherry Creek Inn, also a Westin property at the time (now The Four Points by Sheraton Cherry Creek). Ginny and Lance met at The Westin Cherry Creek Inn and worked side by side as Catering Managers and have kept in close contact since that time.

Again, following her husband’s career, she moved to Columbus, GA. Ginny immediately found employment in that remote, challenging market thanks to her property management roots, however left after being recruited into a training function as a Personal Development Trainer for Synovus, a financial holding company. She supported the training function within that organization from an internal design and facilitation standpoint. After the birth of her first child, she continued this function on a contracted basis and then took time off to raise her children and donated much of her time helping to develop a non-profit organization, Valley Interfaith Promise. Ginny is thrilled to be supporting LPF as she shares the same cultural values of helping LPF’s clients conduct business in a more efficient, inclusive and meaningful way that drives longstanding success through true relationship building.

Mr. Bill Linehan
Managing Director and CMO, Richfield Hospitality, Inc, Denver, CO

Marketing and sales professional specializing in strategic planning, brand management and new business development of businesses with distributed sites. Eighteen years sales and marketing leadership experience with international MBA. Strengths and achievements in business planning, branding, acquisitions, repositioning, product launches, go-to-market plans, franchising, channel management, alliances, marketing communications sales management, real estate and financial fundamentals. Core competencies include strategic planning and execution Brand positioning, management and marketing communications new business development and market expansion.

Ms. Katie Meyer
Hotel, Brand and Corporate Communications, New York, NY

Katie Meyer has over 20 years of brand and corporate communications experience in the hospitality industry, with a career ranging from in-house PR director positions at The Westin St. Francis, San Francisco and Westin's Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, to the senior global communications positions at several of the world’s top hotel brands, including Hyatt, Le Meridien, Starwood and Westin.

Katie has directed the public relations strategy in conjunction with operations and marketing teams during the global launch of several high-profile hotel brands, including W Hotels, Andaz and Hyatt Place.

Highly adept at ongoing CEO/leadership media and spokesperson strategy, she has successfully orchestrated global events and CEO appearances throughout such milestone announcements as Starwood’s acquisition of Westin and Sheraton, the launch of Starwood Preferred Guest, and unveiling of a new company vision following several ownership changes at Le Meridien. Her experience in corporate communications has also included leadership change, financial restructuring and corporate recapitalization.

Her crisis communications expertise has covered the gamut from disease outbreak, crime and labor unrest to major crises including terrorist attacks and natural disasters. She has traveled the world providing counsel and media training for both hotel teams and company executives.
Katie has frequently worked with management, ownership and developers in creating and executing communications programs for new hotel developments, renovations, re-branding, entry into new and emerging markets and the launch of new products and concepts.

Having lived in both the US and the UK, her global media relations expertise has helped gain significant worldwide exposure for hotel corporations, brands and individual properties. She has directed and motivated multinational teams at all levels to consistently outperform competitors through consistent message architecture and creative, integrated communications strategy.

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Research & Process Improvement

Ms. Christine Frishholz

Mr. Peter Gurney
Cicerone Group, Normandy Park, WA


Peter Gurney is a service strategy expert with a background in market research and consumer behavior. He has designed, implemented and managed numerous customer and employee feedback programs for organizations in a wide range of industries, including banking, hospitality, government, retail, restaurant, technology and telecommunications. His clients have included Starbucks, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, Polo.com, Expedia, E-Trade, Microsoft and T-Mobile.

Peter is an authority on service-profit linkage research, helping organizations develop compelling business cases for their service improvement programs. His articles and white papers have appeared in numerous publications, and he is a contributor to the MBA textbook “Customer Experience Management – Theory and Applications”. He has been quoted on service trends in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and many other media sources, and has spoken at numerous national and international conferences.

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Architecture & Design

Mr. Steven Kopke

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Food & Beverage Operations

Mr. William Cohen

Further complimenting his expertise in marketing, Bill has also executed compliance strategies for dozens of restaurants. Established compliance audit programs that increase awareness and leveraging mystery shopping as well as scheduled audits are more programs topping off his proven track record. Examples of these programs include sanitation audits, (using state specific health department forms) safety and OSHA compliance audits, personnel file audits, recipe adherence audits and more. These audits have resulted in the avoidance of dozens of potential fines, injuries or misrepresented products. Bill has a network of auditors who include industry experts in casual dining, fine dining and quick service establishment with customer and employee feedback forums.

Bill has an undergraduate degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and received his MBA with honors from National Louis University. Mr. Cohen has been a presenter on topics such as consumer behavior and restaurant trends. Bill is a superior trainer and presenter and has success recruiting, hiring and placing dozens of restaurant managers across the US. After working in a corporate environment for 12 years, Bill has established his own consulting and business development practice delivering measurable results for his clients and is prepared to augment our efforts at LPF extensively.

Mr. Timothy Hallissey
Restaurant Operations Specialist, Kitchen Optimization Expert, Los Angeles, CA

Weighing in with over 16 years in the food service industry, Tim has worked in almost every facet of the restaurant business. From the trenches of dishwashing to being the main focal point of restaurant performance, he has seen what works and what doesn’t work. Enlists practices to encourage employees to go above and beyond the call of duty. Individuality and personality feed into the uniqueness of an organization, but having team members working for a commom goal for the advancement and growth of business is the main focal point for creating success. Tim offers: General Management, Business development, function and event organizing, Marketing and promotions, team leadership, staff training, refurbishments, stocking and inventory, food preparation, health and safety, menu development, accounting, restaurant performance enhancement, diagnosing performance issues and implementing solutions

Mr. Michael S. Levine
Executive Chef, La Bonne Maison, Boston, MA

Michael S. Levine has cultivated several decades of extraordinary experiences in the culinary world. Whether as a Chef at The Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, The Ritz Carlton or The Harvard Club of Boston; his impeccable attention to detail and intense creativity led to Mr. Levine’s current role as Executive Chef for La Bonne Maison just North of Boston. LPF is thrilled to tap into the mind of such a talented Chef that can provide meaningful, “real time” advice on any catering, free-standing restaurant operation or hotel…large or small. He specializes in menu development, standards development and operational improvement for organizations equipped to handle intimate functions of 20 to large events of 1,000 plus.

Mr. Adam Marchand
Food and Beverage Manager, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Portland, ME

Adam Marchand brings over a decade of experience in culinary, food and beverage operations, and hospitality management. Adam gained his degree in Hospitality Management from the University of New Hampshire in Durham and began his career as a Banquet Chef and Banquet Manager for Sheraton Hotels. Adam's savvy in culinary arts quickly propelled him to the role of General Manager for an emerging restaurant endeavor with the Compass Group in Wilmington, MA. Adam's attention to detail as well as F&B innovation has made him a recognized talent in the industry. His next few roles included opening and running F&B outlets for some notable locations: Bar 10 at the Westin Copley in Boston; the prestigious Oak Room in Boston; the Boston Ritz Carlton and the Element Hotel in Lexington, MA. In 2008, Adam assisted in the creation of an inventive beverage and food program for aloft Hotels in Lexington, MA. At one point, Adam shared his culinary passion by assuming the role of Culinary Instructor at the Greater Lawrence Technical Vocational School. Adam prides himself on the continued learning of his craft and bringing innovation into the properties within which he is privileged to work.

Ms. Mary McKee
Principal, MMM Solutions, Atlanta, GA

Mary McKee is a hotel industry professional with extensive experience in all aspects of operations. She is a visionary with the innate ability to identify future and immediate needs, serving as a catalyst for implementing new programs or modifying existing to ensure success in any operation. Mary has a proven track record of optimizing revenue opportunities while containing cost and increasing customer satisfaction. She has strong organizational skills effectively managing multiple projects on different timelines. She has a proven ability to lead teams to achieve focused results using creative solutions.

In her 13 years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, she most recently served as an executive on the New Builds and Transition team working with franchise partners on the pre-opening phase of their hotels. She developed and implemented an operations support program, team, and process for opening franchise properties. With the success of that program, she further developed the operations team to support operating franchise properties with compliance, guest service, and on-boarding of new department leaders contributing to their success. During Mary’s tenure in this role, her team completed over 100 property visits in a two year period.

Mary contributed to the development of training programs and standards for the launch of Starwood’s newest brands, aloft and ELEMENT.

Prior to serving on the New Builds and Transition team, Mary had management assignments at several properties in the Food and Beverage Division. She is a leader with experience managing revenues from 6 million to 72 million. Training and culture change has always been a focus of hers with particular emphasis on combining financial success with associate and guest satisfaction.

Her experience in addition to Starwood includes the B&B Industry, Country Club management, Rock Resorts, and Vista Host, a Hilton franchise.

Ms. Alice Walsh
Restaurant Operations Specialist, San Jose, CA

Alice has an amazing background within upscale, free-standing restaurants and catering for the past 25 years. She fell in love with the business thanks to her family-run business in New York. A graduate of Cabrillo College with a degree in Culinary Arts in 1998, Alice fell in love with the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly established roots at The Basin, an upscale restaurant presenting a California cuisine with a Spanish and Italian influence. She has also held a restaurant management position at Thea Mediterranean, an aesthetically creatively designed restaurant nestled in the affluent Santana Row of San Jose, CA featuring a Greek, Turkish and Moroccan influence. She is currently in a new dining room supervisory role at Tigelleria, an authentic, organic Italian Restaurant featuring significant Vegan offerings. Her wine knowledge is extraordinarily centered within the French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, New York and California regions.

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Brand Standards & Compliance

Ms. Nancy Peel
Hotel Manager, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Orlando, FL

Nancy Peel specializes in improving knowledge base assets (standards, processes, procedures, tools, etc) describing the unique customer experiences of a brand or company. She improves the distribution, communication and training of those assets enabling employees to meet and exceed brand promises and customer expectations. Nancy has been creating engaging service experiences in the hospitality industry for over two decades. She has an extensive and diverse background in managing, modeling and designing successful face-to-face customer interactions.

As a member of the Westin Hotels & Resorts corporate staff, she has helped design and implement customer experiences in brand management, quality, legal, franchising and food and beverage. As an information architect, Nancy has managed, deployed and developed business requirements for internal proprietary websites for Westin Hotels & Resorts, Starbucks Coffee International, Tarsadia Hotels, the Hotel division of Harrah's Entertainment and ARAMARK. Ms. Peel has also developed the internal business process, procedural and standards content presented on these websites. As a Strategic Partner with LRA Worldwide, Inc. Nancy has managed over 20 client engagements creating standards, service models, web-based knowledge management systems and brand service training.

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Legal

Mr. Russ Savrann
Attorney – Counselor, SANDMAN SAVRANN PLLC, Hospitality Industry Counselors, New Haven, CT

Russ is a principal and partner at his own firm, Sandman Savrann PLLC. He works with hotel, restaurant, and national association clients on strategic planning, workouts, transactions, franchising and operational matters, including mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate organization, management agreements, sustainability initiatives, franchise, beverage licensing, intellectual property, sales, marketing, construction and procurement. Russ has worked with national and international developers and hospitality companies on global transactions in the United States, Latin America, Asia Pac, and the Caribbean.

Russ currently serves as counsel for the International Green Hotel Association, Northview Hotel Group, LPF Hospitality Performance, and Hay Creek Hospitality, and assisted the start up of these companies with strategic and business planning, corporate organization and compliance, employment, capitalization and joint venture partnerships.

In addition to hospitality law, Russ has experience in the areas of real estate, technology, employment, commercial litigation and bankruptcy.

Prior to joining Graham & Dunn in 2005, Russ served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. from 2000- 2005, where he represented several business groups, including development, sales and marketing, group business, intellectual property (worldwide), operations, food & beverage, architecture, design and construction, technology (Galaxy Hotel Systems and STARS) and procurement.

As Acting General Counsel, Director of Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary at The Ground Round, Inc., from 1994-2000 Russ served within the executive management team of a national franchise company that owned, managed and franchised over 200 casual dining restaurants throughout the USA and Canada. During Russ’s term, Ground Round was a public company, was taken private, sold and refinanced..

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Rooms Operations

Ms. Linda Swearingen
Director of Housekeeping, The Curtis Hotel, Denver, CO

Linda Swearingen brings over 30 years of domestic and international experience as a Director of Housekeeping, working for major hotel companies including Westin Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Sage Hospitality. Her experience includes hotel properties from 300 to 1300 rooms, including openings at properties such as Westin Tokyo, Westin Sydney, St Regis Monarch Beach and the Curtis Hotel. Linda managed and oversaw departments ranging from as small as 30 associates up to 278 associates. Her expertise includes organizational development, training, cost containment, scheduling and quality service and standards. In Japan, she was recognized as the first to successfully establish a permanent in-house staff in a major hotel Housekeeping Department. Prior to Linda's tenure, the housekeeping function was performed by outside contractors. Other accomplishments include establishment and implementation of cartless systems, working knowledge of various linen and amenity systems such as Pro Host Linen transportation system and thorough knowledge of Opera & Hotel Service Optimization(HotSOS) property management systems.

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Accounting

Mr. Peter Van Eeckhout
Brussels, Belgium

Biography coming soon

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Environmental Services

Ms. Stephanie Barger
Founder and Executive Director, Earth Resource Foundation, Costa Mesa, CA

Stephanie Barger, ERF Founder and Executive Director is a former Mortgage Banker Business Trainer and CPA. Miss Barger has over 20 years of experience in community organizing. She brings to ERF a wealth of practical business expertise and environmental work experience, including: Triple Bottom Line Business Consulting (People, Planet and Profit), Zero Waste Management, Green Business Audits, and Green Business Certification Administration and Training Programs. She has provided Zero Waste assistance to the Cities of Newport Beach and Burbank, the County of Orange, and most recently to St. Joseph's Health Services. She is one of the organizers of the Burbank Green Alliance. Founded in 1999 by Stephanie Barger, Earth Resource Foundation (ERF) is an environmental educational non-profit organization developed to empower the general public with the resources needed to make environmentally sustainable choices and changes. ERF's mission statement is to preserve, conserve, and restore the Earth to a healthy and sustainable state by redirecting available human, technological, monetary and academic resources. Among our campaigns of environmental protection include "Campaign Against the Plastics Plague (CAPP)," "Smokefree Beaches," "Renewable Energies," and our most recent addition, "Zero In on Zero Waste

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Hotel Development / Asset Management

Mr. Chris Scheidt
LPF Performance Representative, Potomac, Md

Chris Scheidt is a Senior Operations Executive with 25 years in the hotel/hospitality industry, advancing from top hotel operations performance in the US to Vice President Vice President of Brand Assurance, Operational Excellence and Franchise Management for Starwood’s Asia Pacific Division from 2002 thru 2009.

Chris was an integral member of Starwood’s Global Brand Standards and Assurance and Six Sigma teams. He excels at building and implementing brand based operational excellence strategies, using continuous improvement architecture, accuracy in execution, strengthening performance of core operations and key measures. He has excellent results supporting growth of RevPAR, customer loyalty, profitability, and talent development.

Chris’ eight years of international experience and Asia and the Pacific, provided him with a unique opportunity to better understand culture and cultural sensitivity. It also provided exposure to a range of different customers and customer requirements. This experience further strengthened his ability to adapt, lead and drive change across a very diverse landscape of brands, countries and cultures.

Upon leaving Starwood, Chris has set up his own consulting firm and is the principal partner of CLS Hospitality Consult, LLC. The company provides a broad range of strategic business consulting services to the hospitality industry focused on operational systems, processes, services and improvements along with high end quality product solutions.

Mr. Charles R. Tomb
President and CEO, Integrity Hospitality Advisors, Stamford, CT

Mr. Tomb’s expertise includes asset management, hotel/resort acquisitions, ground up hotel development, management and franchise contract negotiations, property operations, strategic planning, operational and sales audits, acquisitions/due diligence, development feasibility, resort advisory and assessment of value, recapitalization of assets and creation of new business ventures.

His practice has also been engaged to provide expert witness hotel and resort testimony and litigation support for exit/termination clause analysis, management contract and franchise contract dispute resolution/litigation, operation evaluations and development dispute analysis on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants.
Before forming IHA, Mr. Tomb was the SVP of Development for North America & Caribbean for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He led the expansion of the managed and franchise brands of Starwood including the development, introduction and kickoff of Starwood’s aloft and Element brands. He also led the company’s development growth of Starwood’s Luxury Collection, Westin, Le Meridian, Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands. In addition and as part of his responsibilities, Mr. Tomb led his team and worked directly with many of the firm’s clients in hotel development programming and planning for new construction, renovations and property conversions throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

Prior to joining Starwood, Mr. Tomb was the SVP of Development for Interstate Hotels, the nation’s largest 3rd party hotel management company, leading their acquisition and management development efforts in the United States. He has a wide range of industry expertise including 15 years of hotel operations on property and multi-property oversight experience in positions including general manager and regional district director with Hyatt Hotels, Americana Hotels and Holiday Inns Worldwide both at individual properties as well as on a regional oversight basis.

Mr. Tomb is recognized and has appeared as an industry expert repeatedly at industry conferences such as Phoenix Lodging Conference, American Lodging Investment Conference (ALIS), NYU Hospitality Conference, and the Hunter Hospitality Investment Conference. He has participated in the Hospitality Council of ULI and is a frequent speaker who has been quoted in hotel business publications and industry journals.

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Healthcare

Lance has known Jennifer for 30 years and has followed her distinguished career in pharmacy/medicine and academia closely. Dr. Goldman-Levine assisted Lance at great length helping to develop his teaching style at The San Francisco State University School of Business Hospitality Program and coached him in his efforts to be selected out of 300 applicants in his last corporate support services position at Starwood. Jennifer is an expert orator, who is invited to speak nationally on a regular basis. While most of the content of her speaking engagements is centered within diabetes and cardiovascular disease, she is widely known for her ability to creatively engage people from an active learning standpoint. She has worked as a health care professional for over 20 years in various community and institutional settings, including but not limited to academic teaching and private hospitals.

She has been tasked with helping professors engage students in ways that will make traditional lecturing a thing of the past. LPF Hospitality is proud to have such talent supporting our clients by learning ways they can better engage their supporting leadership and employees; driving the guest experience to unprecedented levels. Dr. Goldman Levine also assists LPF as a subject matter expert with regard to content design support for our healthcare clients in the area of culture development and brand standards development. Her support goes even further with patient satisfaction and employee engagement surveys needed for our Avius Insight™ real time guest feedback product.

Dr. Sheila O'Halloran
President, Balance and Motion for Health, San Francisco, CA

Dr. O’Halloran has twenty five years of experience in preventing injuries and illnesses. Dr. Sheila graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in 1987. During her six years of formal education she was committed to acquiring all of the knowledge available to her, so that she could help people lead happier, healthier lives. She says that learning the human body at that level was absolutely fascinating. After graduating from Palmer, Dr. Sheila opened Family Health Chiropractic Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. For fifteen years she and her team treated over fifty patients a day. During that time she helped thousands of patients recover from painful injuries, giving them the ability to live happy, healthy, pain-free lives.

Preventing injuries and illnesses became Dr. Sheila’s primary focus, and her ultimate goal. She incorporated her experience and her Chiropractic discipline to create a unique and effective industrial injury prevention training program. Along with caring for her patients, Dr. Sheila began delivering her trainings to local businesses. For years she trained numerous police and fire departments, material-handlers such as UPS and PG&E, and large office entities such as Raychem, Cellular One, Gilead Sciences and Genentech.

In 2001 Dr. Sheila sold her practice and launched a new company, Balance and Motion for Health. She returned to school in order to further her ergonomics education, and is now a Certified Associate Ergonomist. Her company is currently dedicated entirely to ergonomics and the prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), injuries and illnesses in the workplace. Her expertise, passion, and her ability to reach people at a core level have transformed many individual’s lives as well as their organizations.

Mr. Mark Worthen
President, Accurate Ergonomics, San Francisco, CA

Mark’s extensive portfolio of expertise includes systems development, organizational effectiveness, strategic planning and change management. His history includes both public and private sector experience. Mark’s proficiency in training began with his career as a firefighter in a large Bay Area city. Mark received a BS degree in fire science in 1975. He also studied emergency medicine and became one of the first emergency medical technicians (EMT) in the North Bay Area. Mark began teaching first-aid, rescue and fire suppression courses when he was 18 years old. He then became interested in fire investigation in the late 70’s, when he returned to school to study photography.

After suffering a painful neck injury in 2001, Mark explored every treatment process in an attempt to overcome his pain. None totally relieved his pain until he tried Chiropractic. This was his first exposure to injury and illness prevention, as a lifestyle. Several years ago Mark had the fortunate experience of attending one of Dr. Sheila O’Halloran’s (Balance and Motion for Health) Injury Prevention training classes. He was so impressed by the knowledge and skills he acquired from Dr. Sheila that soon after that class he joined Balance and Motion for Health, where he became an integral part of that company’s success. Helping people to change, and giving them the tools they need to prevent themselves from having to suffer a painful injury is so rewarding it has become his life’s work. Together, Mark and Dr. Sheila formed Accurate Ergonomics, an organization truly dedicated to the prevention of injuries and illnesses, human performance and culture transformation. Today, Mark inspires creative, innovative solutions for clients and their valuable human assets. Mark has become known for his organized and systematic approach to solving complex problems and achieving positive, measureable and sustainable results.

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