Soumaya Khalifa

CEO and President
Khalifa Consulting, Inc

Soumaya founded Khalifa Consulting, a strategic intercultural and leadership consulting firm, in 2007. Her career spans more than 25 years in human resources, management, business management and ownership, non-profit and entrepreneurship. Khalifa Consulting specializes in helping executives and organizations succeed when doing business across cultures by providing them the most relevant, practical and up to date cross cultural coaching and training. In addition, Khalifa Consulting offers training and coaching on global virtual teams. Soumaya and team apply this work to a broad range of clients, from large established national and global organizations to startups.

Prior to founding Khalifa Consulting Soumaya served in several leadership roles in US Fortune 100 companies in human resources, leadership development and diversity and inclusion. An alumnus of the University of Houston and Georgia State University, Soumaya is a board member of the Society of Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR) and the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB). She is also an adjunct professor at Emory University Center for Continuing Education and at the Federal Executive Institute. Soumaya is the author of Diversophy Egypt and has contributed to several publications. For more information about Soumaya, click here.

Patricia Malidor Coleman

Patricia Malidor Coleman specializes in international business, cross-cultural consulting, and diversity training. She has studied, taught, and conducted business internationally for over 30 years. Her experience spans across over 40 countries including Europe, Africa, U.S.A, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Her clients seek to enter international markets, reach diverse clientele, provide multicultural service excellence, or manage a diverse workforce globally. Her personal and professional global experience has given her a caring and understanding approach to cultural differences that affect integration to life, studies or careers abroad. She is dual citizen of Europe (France) and the U.S.A. She is multilingual, French, English, Spanish. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Modern Languages, an MBA with concentration in International Business and Marketing and several certification in the area of coaching and intercultural training.

Vicki Flier Hudson

Vicki Flier Hudson is the Chief Collaboration Officer and keynote speaker for Highroad Global Services, Inc, a company offering cross-cultural training and coaching for global virtual teams, expatriates, and leaders across borders. Vicki has helped countless mid to large-sized corporations have successful operations between Asia, Europe, and North America. She delivers high-impact, interactive presentations and webinars that build global collaboration. She is the author of the book Zen and the Art of Offshoring: How to Build a Collaborative and Profitable Team with Your Partners in India, and a recipient of Kennesaw State University's Instructor of the Year award for International Programs.

Vicki is a certified DISC practitioner. She is also a certified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a certified facilitator of the Cultural Detective methodology and a trained coach through CTI (Coaches Training Institute). Previously, in Atlanta, Georgia, Vicki supervised and conducted training for Distribution and Manufacturing for Immucor, Inc., a worldwide blood bank automation company with affiliates throughout the globe. She also spent several years as a software analyst in the company's I.T. department. Vicki has lived and/or worked in Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Nepal and Thailand. She developed a knack for riding camels, rickshaws, buses, and cement trucks across the globe, and enduring Indian train rides exceeding fifty-five hours at a time. She has traveled in several countries including Austria, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, England, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Panama and Singapore. She has brought presentations and cultural competency programs to Procter & Gamble, CIBA Vision, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Siemens, Philips Electronics, and many more. She is an active member of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR), Japan-America Society of Georgia, and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), and served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. She currently serves on the Board for the TAG's International Business Society.

Rossana Miranda-Johnston

Rossana Johnston is an independent contractor associated with a number of leadership development and cross-cultural communication firms in Canada, the USA and Europe. She has more than 20 years of experience leading group, individual and virtual leadership development sessions for many Fortune 500 corporations in the United States, Canada, Europe and throughout Latin America. She is certified in many clients’ trademark methodologies and delivers her work in English and Spanish.

Born and raised in Mexico, Rossana moved to the U.S. for a graduate program in intercultural management. She has also lived in England, Israel, Portugal and Italy.

Rossana brings passion, excitement, energy and curiosity for learning to her clients. Her areas of expertise are: effective communication, accountability, trust building, coaching, team building, and corporate culture. Some of her clients include Apple, ArcelorMittal, Bridgestone, Volkswagen, Honeywell Aerospace, SIEMENS, Wal-Mart International, Pemex, Chrysler and Rubbermaid, among others.

Rossana has collaborated on book chapters and on-tools in her areas of experience. Her coach training has given Rossana the insights and tools to explore people’s deep vision of the world to support the development of more effective alternatives for personal and professional growth.

Rossana has an undergraduate degree in workplace psychology and received a master’s degree in Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. She also completed the Ontological Coaching certification program at Newfield Network.

Rossana lives in Boulder, CO with her husband Steven where they enjoy growing their own vegetables, cycling and skiing. Her other favorite activities include dancing, traveling, mushroom hunting, and cooking.

Michael Todd Shinholster

Michael Todd Shinholster is the founder and president of Culture Bridge, LLC. Todd, as he is known, was born in Macon, Georgia to an American mother and an Austrian father, giving him an appetite for grits and schnitzel. He received his M.B.A. in International Business from Kennesaw State University and his B.A. in German (Language & International Business Concentration) from Georgia State University. Todd has also attended the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication studying cross-cultural training for international corporations. He is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the Overseas Assignment Inventory (OAI).

Work and travel have taken Todd to many countries and regions including: England, France, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. He has worked on various projects for companies and organizations such as Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, KIA, Porsche Motorsports, Kraiburg TPE, Mont Blanc, AGCO, ALCOA, Lowe's, The Coca-Cola Company, BCD Travel, Georgia Lottery, Siemens, Merck, Stryker, Vanderlande Industries and Dow Chemical Company. He has also worked for Delta Air Lines, the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Organizing Committee, the 1996 Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and the 2004 G-8 Summit. Todd is a global engagement specialist and instructor of international business at Kennesaw State University. He has taught LDRS 3200 - Leadership in a Global Society and KSU 1111 - Tomorrow's World Today, a course based on the Seven Revolutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Todd served on the Board of Directors for the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) as President from September 2011 to September 2014. He is also a member of Phi Beta Delta - Honor Society for International Scholars, SIETAR and the World Affairs Council of Atlanta. He continues to work, consult and teach in a variety of areas including international affairs, international business, global leadership, global teams, intercultural communications and cross-cultural training.

Jeremy Solomons

Jeremy Solomons helps current and future leaders to connect and communicate effectively across all cultures – geographical, organizational, professional and individual. From his base in Austin, Texas, he coaches, consults, designs curriculum, facilitates and trains in the areas of: Career/Life Planning; Creative and Whole-Brain Thinking; Cultural Excellence; Difficult Conversations; Diverse and Dispersed Teams; Inclusive Leadership; Performance Feedback; Strategic Planning; Well-Dressed Presenting and Naked Facilitating.

In the past, Jeremy managed a diverse staff and worked with clients and colleagues from all over the globe, while employed as a full-time Banker, Educator and Journalist in six multinational institutions: Citibank, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank International, Reuters News Agency, United Press International and the World Bank.

He has lived, studied and worked for extended periods in eight countries: France, Germany, Hong Kong (and China), Israel, Italy, Switzerland, the UK and the USA. Born in Manchester, England, Jeremy holds MA and BA Honors degrees in French from the University of Oxford (Brasenose College). As well as speaking mother-tongue English, he has been fluent in French, German, Italian and US American, and proficient in Spanish and Texan.

Jeremy is adjunct faculty at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, TX; the Intercultural Management Institute at American University in Washington, DC; and the Centre for Intercultural Communication at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. He is also an ICF-certified coach and a member of the coaching cadre at UT’s McCombs School of Business.

As well as spending time with his 21-year-old daughter, Emma, he loves live dance and theater, leisure travel, good food, and both watching and playing soccer/football (to work off the good food). He has a cat Coco but unfortunately, he cannot own or foster any dogs due to his busy travel schedule. So when he is home, he regularly fast walks with shelter dogs (and non-furry friends) for the Austin Animal Center, Austin Pets Alive! and Heart of Texas Lab Rescue.

Rita Wuebbeler

Rita Wuebbeler is President and Founder of INTERGLOBE Cross-Cultural Business Services, Inc., where she helps leaders of global organizations and global virtual teams reach their highest performance potential. Rita conducts cultural awareness programs for international business leaders and coaches global executives in maximizing their leadership skills. In her work with multicultural and global virtual teams she focuses on establishing a clear vision for the team, aligning this vision with strategic team objectives. She also teaches Mindful Leadership to leaders who want to be more intentional and less reactive in their leadership approach. An avid soccer fan, Rita played on a women’s team for five years and wishes she could close down her office during the World Cup and Euro Cup to watch as many games as possible.

Rita serves clients in both the for-profit and the non-profit sectors. She has conducted team effectiveness and cross-cultural communication workshops at the Carter Center in Atlanta as well as the Open Society Institute in Cairo. She has worked in industries such as automotive, banking, electronics, energy, health care, high tech, legal and accounting services, pharmaceutical, plastics, and publishing. Her client list includes Commerzbank, Evonik Corporation, Kraiburg TPE, Porsche Cars North America, Purdue Pharma, Random House, Siemens, UCB, and United States Pharmacopeia.

A native German with a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics from Mainz University, Germany, Rita spent the first two and a half decades of her life in Europe before moving to North America. Since then, she has lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Toronto, Ontario. In addition to her native German, Rita also speaks English and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of French.

Rita is a certified Executive Coach and holds a PCC (Professional Certified Coach) credential from the International Coaching Federation (IFC). She is a Senior Facilitator with Personal Leadership Seminars, a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and a certified administrator of the DISC Behavioral Profile. She is the co-author of Cultural Detective: Germany and Cultural Detective: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Culture, an on-line educational tool identifying and analyzing cultural core values based on critical incidents.

Rita regularly presents at international professional conferences on the topics of leadership development, cultural competency building, effective communication and organizational development, as well as in industry-specific areas. She plays an active role in her professional association, the Society of Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR USA).