Best Practices

Our consultants and workshop leaders are recognized throughout the country as representing best practices in each major area of executive and management development. Featuring leading experts in communication and leadership skill development as instructors and coaches, our workshops cover the full spectrum of skills, be they verbal, written or visual.

Our Team of Experts

Jane T. Decker
Jane T. Decker, Principal, The Decker Group, also serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Decker Associates, Inc. Jane directs the firm's marketing and sales efforts to develop new business relationships and act as a liaison with existing clients. Her role as project manager on each training workshop ensures that all pre-training information, from which all programs are developed , are custom tailored to a client's needs.

Before forming The Decker Group, Jane spent nine years with Decker Associates. Jane has held marketing and sales management positions with Better Communications, Simplex Time Recorder, Scandinavian Design, and Steelcase/Offices Unlimited,Inc. She received her B.S. in Business Administration/Marketing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Jane is on the Board of Directors for the HRC (Human Resource Council) and an active member of ASTD and the FWA (Financial Women's Association Of New York and Boston.)

Christine Mockler Casper
Christine Mockler Casper, has designed and trained over twenty programs related to Leadership, Communications, Negotiations, Project Management and Emotional Intelligence. She is a sought after international public speaker who has been featured on several major networks including FOX, NBC and CBS. Prior to commencing her consulting career, she was an executive with Honeywell Information Systems. She holds an MBA from Northeastern University.

Chris is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and is the author of: From Now On With Passion: A Guide to Emotional Intelligence, which received a Book of the Year Award. In this book, Chris provides excellent insights into interpersonal communication and how we present ourselves to others. Published by Cypress House, it is available at Amazon.com or most bookstores.

Toby Decker
Toby Decker, is President of Decker Associates, Inc., a Massachusetts-based Management Training firm that improves bottom line performance by helping people communicate and work together more effectively. He is a member of the American Society of Training & Development and is on the faculty of Boston University's Executive Education Center. He is also a sought after keynote speaker.

Before forming Decker Associates in 1979, he held marketing management positions at Rockwell International, Colgate-Palmolive, and Nabisco Brands. In these positions he developed and executed corporate and product sales messages. He received his A.B. from Bucknell University, and his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Carolyn Laughlin
Carolyn Laughlin, brings clients 15 years of expertise helping organizations develop managers and improve communications, sales, and customer service. She specializes in the capability areas of performance management, leadership and teamwork, sales and service supremacy, and high impact learning methods. A seasoned facilitation expert, she has extensive train-the-trainer, facilitator coaching, and pilot delivery experience. Carolyn also collaborates with clients in the early stages of program content and implementation design and development.

During her corporate career, Carolyn served as Director of Consumer and Community Affairs for a multi-national life and health insurance organization, and in marketing positions with Quaker Oats. She earned a B.A. degree in Government and Economics from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. degree in Organization Behavior and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University.

David V. Black
David Black, brings over thirty years of experience marketing products and services with and to major corporations. David's background, including National Sales Manager for two Fortune 500 companies and Executive Vice President at CFI, has established him as a highly sought after consultant and trainer in numerous arenas including customer relations, sales, communications and marketing. In addition, David provides coaching in organization development, sales management and leadership.

Following graduation from the University of Vermont, David went to work at General Foods Corp. where he held various sales and sales management positions. David left GF and created a sales and management training company in 1968 — Communication & Education for Industry (CEI). In 1981, a client (Daiwa Sports) hired David to be their NSM. After leaving Daiwa in 1985, he formed another communications training company — The PACE Group. That organization was sold it to Sylvan Learning in 1994.

David lives with is wife Marie in Bend, Oregon where he’s active in alpine skiing, kayaking, and competitive golf.