Our authorsThe Top HR and Government experts

Allen was born in Avon Park, Florida on November 21, 1980 to a minister and a special needs instructor, both of who taught him the importance of service to ones fellow man. Known for his vision and perspective, he was raised in the agricultural based, rural city of Wauchula, Florida. After graduating from Hardee Senior High School in 1999, Allen went on to received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Political Science with a concentration in Business Administration from Florida Southern College where he was elected Treasurer of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International, FSC Chapter and soon thereafter, became the organization’s first African-American President. During this time, he was actively involved in community organizing initiatives. These efforts led to the creation of The Community Economic Council, Inc. in which he served as Treasurer and later serving as the organization’s advocate in Washington. The CEC was created to educate and inspire members of the community on the issues surrounding business ownership, trade and commerce. During his tenure at the CEC, Allen would host community forums, town hall meetings and events that were designed to strengthen the communities in the areas of business and home ownership, public-private partnerships, government contracting, financial literacy, trade and commerce. Allen founded the Center for Economic & Policy Development, Inc. (The Center) to facilitate economic growth throughout Central Florida and rural parts of the country. His vision, core philosophies and strong principles are igniting young future leaders from around the country through The Emerging Leaders Initiative, a project placed under The Center. This initiative facilitates his vision of pairing young bright minds with current leaders in the fields of medicine, science, engineering, law, policy and politics.

Mark Delarika is a professional content writer and teacher, successful entrepreneur, and blogger. He is familiar with a wide range of spheres concerning running his own business and education. Mark taught in more than 10 countries all over the world. He is a business writer at US Projector. He helps students and businessmen to improve their writing skills, shares his personal experience, and gives practical tips.

Bill Treasurer is the Chief Encouragement Officer (CEO) of Giant Leap Consulting, Inc. He is the author of international best-seller Courage Goes To Work, which introduced the new management practice of courage building and Leaders Open Doors, which became the #1 leadership training book on Amazon. All royalties from Leaders Open Doors are donated to programs that support kids with special needs. His latest book, A Leadership Kick In The Ass will be released this January. Bill has designed leadership and succession programs for emerging and experienced leaders for NASA, Saks Fifth Avenue, UBS Bank, Walsh Construction, Spanx, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs, and many others. For more information, visit giantleapconsulting.com, billtreasurer.com, or couragebuilding.com/kickass. Bill is also the author of Courage Goes to Work, an international bestselling book that introduces the concept of courage-building. He is also the author of Courageous Leadership: A Program for Using Courage to Transform the Workplace, an off-the-shelf training toolkit that organizations use to build workplace courage. Bill has worked with thousands of executives from top organizations, including NASA, Accenture, CNN, UBS Bank, Spanx, Hugo Boss, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Learn more at www.billtreasurer.com or www.couragebuilding.com.

Susan Ranford is an expert on career coaching. business advice. and workplace rights. She has written for New York Jobs. IAmWire. and ZipJob. In her blogging and writing. she seeks to shed light on issues related to employment. business. and finance to help others understand different industries and find the right job fit for them - Strategics360.com/

Gabrielle is a Manhattan-based content creator who writes articles with actionable tips about professional development. She’s passionate about sharing her insights to empower people to succeed in their careers.

Allison Dretzin is a Human Resources expert with over eight years of experience in both private and public organizations.

Karalyn Brown is Founder of InterviewIQ (http://interviewiq.com.au) one of Australia’s most popular blogs dedicated to helping people find jobs. She is a former HR and recruitment consultant and careers journalist and had recruited extensively in the government sector.

Gershon Mader is founder and President of Quantum Performance Inc, a management consulting firm specializing in generating total alignment and engagement in organizations. His work has encompassed a broad range of industries including banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, entertainment, real estate and retail. Based on his work with over 60,000 people, Mader co-authored the best-selling business book The Power of Strategic Commitment. The book offers readers practical tools, proven methods and meaningful case studies garnered from a broad range of global companies. In addition, Gershon has written articles on leadership and management for the Drake Business Review, Chief Learning Officer magazine, Human Resource Executive magazine, and MWorld – The Journal of the American Management Association.

Brent Ives has 15 years of experience in helping public agencies with organizational challenges and opportunities. He has been a successful engineering manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with extensive experience in employee relations, career growth advocacy and career transition. Through his firm, BHI Management Consulting, he has taught hundreds of courses (many for CSDA) and spoken to many many groups and businesses on strategic planning, best practices for public agencies and organizational health. He works with public agencies every week to individualize strategic plans, training, executive recruiting and consultation in organizational health. Brent is also a 14 year City Councilman and currently the directly elected Mayor the City of Tracy, CA, a city of 85,000 in the central valley and serves as a commissioner of the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE Train) Joint Powers Authority and a Director of the San Joaquin County Council of Governments. Brent can be reached via LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bhimanagementconsulting

After spending the best three and half years of my life at Penn State, I moved to Harrisburg to pursue my career. Fast forward a few months of punching the clock and loathing cubicle life, and I chose a new path in Marketing and a side gig as a freelance writer. Passionate about career development, I started Punched Clocks to share my advice on navigating the work world and achieving happiness and success in life and at work. I am thrilled that you’re here, and I hope my advice can help you grow your career and find happiness in your work-life! Be sure to catch my attention on my blog, here, or on Twitter – I’d love to get to know you!

Madeline Jacobson writes for Weiss-Roessler Writing and recently completed a one-year term of service with College Forward, an Austin-based AmeriCorps program that provides college prep tutoring and resources to lower-income and first-generation college students. She graduated from Whitman College in 2012 and particularly likes writing about college and careers for recent grads.

Jason Holland has served twenty-five years on his life sentence. He is committed to his own rehabilitation, the rehabilitation of his peers and leaving the prison system better than he found it.