Patricia “Denise” Lopez is Professor of Organizational Psychology at Alliant International University where she teaches and conducts research in leadership, work motivation and productivity, team effectiveness, and organizational change management. Denise considers it her mission to develop great leaders and build workplaces to which people can bring their best and most enthusiastic selves. Over the last 25 years, she has taught, trained, coached and consulted with diverse managers, teams and organizations in the United States and Asia-Pacific.

Denise holds Masters and PhD degrees in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University Teachers College. She also has a coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation. She is a founding partner of Global Thought Partners, an organizational consulting and advisory firm.

As an organizational consultant, she is known for her strategic perspective, analytic thinking, and ability to facilitate engaging and productive sessions that bring together diverse groups of employees. As a leadership coach and trainer, her unique strength is her ability to deliver engaging discussions and design creative learning opportunities that expand managerial thinking, deepen personal awareness and growth, and identify concrete opportunities and solutions for personal and organizational success.

Some of her coaching and consulting highlights include:

• Directed global employee engagement surveys for organizations representing diverse sectors (including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, financial services, government and non-profit organizations). Provided feedback and coaching to leaders at all levels.
• Developed Coaching Skills for Leaders course at the MBA and DBA levels
• Provided executive coaching to professionals and managers (front-line supervisors, middle and senior managers, and executives) across multiple sectors over the last 5 years.
• Facilitated strategic planning sessions for senior leaders of for-profit and non-profit organizations to define organizational visions and core values, strategic priorities, and operational plans.
• Developed and delivered executive education and training workshops in the US and Asia-Pacific. Topics include: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Self-Awareness for Personal Change, Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, Diversity Training and Multicultural Team Building, Empowering People for Innovation and Change and Change Management,
• Incorporated personal assessments in training and coaching (e.g. DISC, MBTI and Firo-B).
• Research and analytical capabilities to consult, design and conduct quantitative and qualitative research to support leadership and organization development  (e.g., turnover/exit, training needs analysis, program evaluation, employee engagement, multicultural competence, change readiness).

Denise has authored several publications on leadership, employee engagement, and diversity and globalization issues. In addition to co-authoring the book, “Lead, Motivate, Engage: How to INSPIRE your team to win at work” (with Dr. Pearl Hilliard), she has written book chapters and journal articles on: retention and career development of women and minorities in STEM professions; developing culturally competent employees; authentic leadership; inclusion and engagement; power and innovative cultures. She has presented in national and local conferences such as the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Academy of Management, Best Companies for Multicultural Women, and the National Asian American MBA Association. 

She is currently based in Southern California, and is comfortable with both in-person and virtual work.

Dr. Pearl Hilliard is the founder of Hilliard Performance Solutions and has over twenty years of experience in consulting, coaching, learning, leadership development, integrated talent management and organizational improvement. She is passionate about employee engagement, remembering how she felt at those jobs when she wasn’t engaged versus how she felt in those positions when she was driven! She is living proof that engagement makes a huge difference to all aspects of life.

Pearl has extensive experience (in higher education, land development, manufacturing and retail sectors) implementing and directing a variety of programs that facilitate the improvement and optimization of performance. She emphasizes a strengths-based approach. She has a successful track record in strategic organizational development, leadership development, learning, talent management and coaching. She specializes in developing and facilitating workshops and retreats. Each client is unique, and Pearl will customize her services to fit your needs, focusing on performance optimization and the results you want to achieve – for the individual, team and organization.

She provides executive, career management and life transitions coaching. She is a Certified Positive Psychology Coach (and has other coaching qualifications). She uses insights from research in the positive psychology field to help her coaching clients overcome barriers, make positive changes in their lives, and achieve breakthrough success. Much of her coaching is done virtually.

Pearl is the co-author of the book “Lead, Motivate, Engage: How to INSPIRE your Team to Win at Work” (with Dr. Patricia “Denise” Lopez).

She received her doctoral degree (EdD) in Human Performance at Work from the University of Southern California, where she was Assistant Director of Talent Operations. She has a CPC coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation and is a Board Certified Coach (BCC) through the Center for Credentialing and Education. She also received an M.S. in Counseling from California State University at Northridge, a B.A. (Honors) in Applied Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and a B.A. in Business Studies from Manchester Polytechnic, England.

Her training certifications include Achieve Global, Coaching (ACC, BCC & CPC), Connecting with Others, DiSC, Emotional Intelligence, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Myers-Briggs (MBTI) and Positive Psychology Coaching.

Pearl is currently based in Southern California.

For additional information, see her LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pearlhilliard