Our authorsThe Top HR and Government experts

Sarah Pfledderer has over a decade of writing and editing experience in magazine journalism and blogging. She specializes in lifestyle topics and occasionally dabbles in tech. By day, she is a content marketing specialist at Siege Media.

Bob Stowe is the City Manager for the City of Bothell, a position he has held since January 2005. Bothell has a population of over 33,000 residents and a business population of approximately 25,000. Bob is the chief executive officer of a full service city with a 2013-2014 budget of $224 million and 300 employees. Before arriving in Bothell, Bob was the City Manager for the City of Mill Creek, WA for nine years and held other top administrator positions for two other Washington cities for an additional 10 years. Bob enjoys a reputation as a progressive and talented municipal manager, bringing stability and leadership to the cities he has served over the last 27 years in Washington State. Bob is a past president of the Washington City/County Management Association (2002-2003) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Eastern Washington University and a MBA from Seattle University.

G. M. Cox, a veteran chief of police of 32 years, brings the full spectrum of policing, managerial, and leadership experience to the role of leading a modern police agency. Overall, he has over 40 years of law enforcement experience starting as a law enforcement specialist in the United States Air Force. Upon his honorable separation from the USAF after 6 years of service, he entered Sam Houston State University and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement and Police Science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and Alpha Chi. G. M. became a patrol deputy for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department (Texas) and was assigned to serve in the city of Oak Ridge North, Texas. After 18 months in this role, he was hired as the first chief of police for Oak Ridge North with only 30 days to create a fully functional and staffed law enforcement agency. Along with his education, his experience as an assistant shift supervisor, records manager and crime prevention specialist with the Air Force, G. M.’s patrol experience as a deputy made him uniquely qualified to head this city’s first police department. While performing duties as the chief of a small suburban police agency, G. M. earned his Master of Science degree from Sam Houston State University in Criminal Justice Management. His graduate paper, “Career Path Development in Small Law Enforcement Agencies” was published in the Texas Police Journal. This would prove to be the first of many articles published by G. M. in not only the Texas Police Journal, but also in the Texas Police Chief. G. M. served a short period as a city administrator and director of police services for Oak Ridge North before leaving for the Chief’s position in Lamesa, Texas. While there, G. M. attended the 165th Session (1991) of the FBI National Academy. He also started the long journey of achieving the coveted designation as a graduate of the Leadership Command College (LCC) of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. After leaving Lamesa, he found himself in the middle of a community in crisis as the Chief in Corsicana, Texas. While in Corsicana, he was instrumental in the creation of the motorcycle, bike, Neighborhood Policing, Crime Interdiction, K9, and mounted units. He also was the founder of the 100 Club of Corsicana-Navarro County and the Corsicana Crime Commission. G.M. served as the President of the Texas Police Chiefs’ Association (2005-06) and was the first Chairman of the TPCA’s charity foundation. He served five years as the Texas Municipal League board member representing the TPCA. He was chosen as the Officer of the Year for 1996 and 1997 by the Navarro County Peace Officers’ Association. G. M. has also served as a board member of the YMCA in Corsicana and Chairman of both the Advisory Board for the Navarro College Regional Police Academy and Criminal Justice Curriculum committee. G. M. is also a court qualified mediator. He is a licensed law enforcement instructor and security inspector, with a Master Peace Officer certificate, issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education. G. M. was also a senior active Rotarian in the Corsicana Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. Besides his law enforcement duties, he has been an adjunct faculty member of several colleges including Howard College, Navarro College, Texas A & M University – Commerce and The University of Texas at Arlington. Most recently, Dr. Cox taught a graduate course in theoretical criminology and an undergraduate course in security systems in the spring semester of UTA. In 2003, G. M. was admitted to the graduate school at the University of Texas-Arlington in the School of Urban and Public Affairs to pursue his PhD in public administration. Dr. Cox, aka Dr. Chief, graduated in 2011 with a Ph.D. in Public and Urban Administration from UTA. His dissertation, Crisis in Police Recruitment: Public Service Motivation and Changes in Generational Preferences is the basis for work he is currently doing with the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, LEMIT, in its Texas Police Chiefs Leadership Series and 2nd in Command training programs. He is also working with the Leadership Command College of LEMIT in the area of emerging issues in law enforcement and policing. After over 15 years as the chief of Corsicana, G. M. retired from Corsicana on October 1, 2008. As of October 13, 2008, G. M. became the third full-time chief of police for the City of Murphy (Texas) where he is still serving as Dr. Chief.

Dave Landry Jr. applies his passion for all things personal finance to helping clients save more of their hard earned money. He’s a personal finance manager, debt relief counselor, and blogger who writes about personal finance topics to help readers with money matters. Dave lives in Southern California with his wife of eight years and three wonderful children.

Dana Terry is a 2014 M.A. graduate of the Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Her specializations include International Organizations, Conflict Negotiation/Management, and Post-Conflict Statebuilding. Currently, she is spending a year in Somoto, Nicaragua directing a Professional Development, Entrepreneurship, and Labor Rights Workshop Program with INPRHU (Instituto de Promocion Humana). Previously, she worked as a Project Assistant for the City of Tallahassee’s Department of Economic and Community Development where she lead an initiative to assist small agencies with the CHSP grant process including the formation of multimedia presentations. During her time as a graduate student, she interned with the International Crisis Group, UN Foundation, the Colbert Report, and served as a 2014 Social Good Summit UNA-USA Blogging FellowShe currently has nine publications ranging from the international development agenda to underemployment in the United States and is in the process of publishing a research paper on the relation between politicized ethnicity and income inequality.

Author Scott Warrick has been an employment and labor attorney, HR professional, and popular speaker for more than three decades. His clients range from small organizations to Fortune 500 companies to governmental institutions. He travels the country presenting seminars on such topics as Employment Law Resolving Conflict, Diversity, and General Differences. You can learn more about the book and Warrick by visiting  www.scottwarrick.com

Bob Anderson and Bill Adams Bill Adams brings thirty years of leadership development experience to his clients – the CEOs of major Fortune 500 corporations, non-profits and private equity start-up businesses. As a consultant, trusted advisor and coach, he works with senior executives in the areas of strategy, alignment, performance and leadership effectiveness. Bill’s expertise is working with clients to lead large-scale change and cultural transformation within their organizations. Bob Anderson is the founder and CEO of The Leadership Circle, LLC. Bob is the creator and author of The Leadership Circle Profile, an integrated and innovative leadership development tool being used by companies worldwide. The Leadership Circle Profile is being heralded as a genuine breakthrough in the field of leadership development and Bob’s leading-edge research has put him at the forefront of the leadership development conversation worldwide. We are a global team deeply passionate about helping top teams and leaders excel. For the past 30 years our founders have been honing their craft and working with leaders in every industry and in just about every situation you can imagine to achieve better business results. We bring all of that to bear when helping transform businesses, align top teams, improve board effectiveness, design communication systems or coach executives.

With more than 20 years of experience in municipal governments in Alberta and Ontario, Simon Farbrother has dedicated his career to building strong Canadian cities. Simon has served as Edmonton’s City Manager since January 2010, leading the civic administration through a time of tremendous growth and transformation in the city. Simon has championed public service as a career of choice through his work with professional associations in the municipal planning and municipal government sectors. He served as President of the Canadian Institute of Planners in 1999 and as President of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators in 2007. In September 2013 he will begin a term as President of the International City/County Managers Association.

Bob Lavigna, author of Engaging Government Employees (American Management Association) is Director of the Institute for Public Sector Employee Engagement, a division of CPS HR Services, an independent government agency. The Institute is dedicated to helping public sector and nonprofit organizations measure and improve employee engagement Before joining the Institute, Bob was Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of HR for the University of Wisconsin. His previous positions also include Vice President- Research for the Partnership for Public Service and Director of the Wisconsin civil service system. Bob began his career with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and was selected as a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine. Bob has a B.A. in public affairs from George Washington University and an M.S. in HR from Cornell University.

Devil Dog USA Incorporated's mission is to assist veterans in reintegrating into their communities with the support of their local communities. Gonzalo Duran serves as its Chief Executive Officer, celebrating over 10 years of service. Devil Dog USA Incorporated fulfills various functions, such as hosting a talk show called Vet Talk, providing space for other organizations to convene, offering programs for veterans and community members to interact, and organizing events for the public to foster relationships with veterans and the community. Devil Dog USA Incorporated is based in the Bronx, New York. Duran himself served as a United States Marine Corps Sergeant for 8 years and is an Iraq War veteran. His motivation for founding Devil Dog USA Incorporated was straightforward; he experienced a difficult transition upon leaving the Marine Corps and now aims to assist fellow veterans in avoiding the hardships he endured.

If it pertains to Human Resources, leadership, management, supervision or life; Greg Gilbert has been there, done that, journaled it, heard the grievance and is now teaching and writing about it. Early in his leadership career, the “if it’s not written, it didn’t occur” chip was implanted in his mind. In 1978, he began journaling successes, failures and what led to each. This continued through different positions and levels of leadership. These journal entries became Keynotes, Seminars and the leadership book, “Leading Like You Own It – Why We Never Wax A Rental” in 2015. He uses "Mr. HR With A Guitar" in some programs to share some leadership principles in a humorous, memorable manner. Prior to retiring from a Fortune 100 company, Greg served his last 12 years as the primary Human Resources contact to over 2200 team members. Additional journals were required. In the past decade, thousands have joined Greg on the “Journey Through His Journals” and have learned the value of Leading and Living Like You Own It! More information and free resources are available at GregGilbertCoaching.com

Bill Reilly is the Police Chief Coach™, bringing his command-level law enforcement and executive-level certified coaching experiences together for law enforcement professionals seeking greater effectiveness in the way they ‘Lead, Influence, and Achieve’. After attaining his degree in business and serving as a manager in a large corporation, Bill joined the Hartford (Connecticut) Police Department. As a police officer, he began his career in the patrol division – where he was decorated for protecting a family from a knife-wielding attacker – leading to a position on the Crime Suppression Unit (Street Crimes Unit). In his 20+ years as a certified instructor Bill has delivered training programs to thousands of police professionals throughout the United States. He is still a State of Connecticut P.O.S.T. certified instructor in the area of Leadership. Additionally, he holds active memberships in the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA). Bill is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 213th Session. For information on how Bill can help you ‘Lead, Influence, and Achieve’, call him at 860-647-7993.