About us
We have deep experience in coaching, training, facilitating workshops, strategic planning, team building, focus groups, organizational and team assessments and conflict resolution. We are flexible, objective, non-judgmental and use state-of-the-art processes for positive outcomes. We are certified coaches in emotional intelligence and DiSC. Each of our coaches have logged over 2000 hours of coaching.
Our Executives
Marilyn Manning, Ph.D. Psychology, is the founder of The Consulting Team, an organizational development and management consulting firm in Silicon Valley, California which offers executive coaching, conflict mediation, organizational and individual assessments, meeting facilitation, training, and strategic planning.
She is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). In addition, Dr. Manning is a certified coach in Emotional Intelligence 360’ leadership and DiSC Communication assessments.
She has successfully facilitated and mediated tough interpersonal conflicts and coaches executives to elevate their emotional intelligence skills, manage situationally, and strategically model their organization’s mission and values.
Her clients include CEO’s, Mayors, City Managers, Board Members, Fire and Police Chiefs, District Attorneys, Executive Directors, and university and hospital administrators. She also has over 20 years of experience consulting to government agencies, special districts, hi-tec, biotech, and financial companies, health care, universities and schools, and non-profit boards.
Her clients say that they save the really difficult situations for her. They find her to be efficient, compassionate, and results oriented.
Marilyn serves on the Board of Trustees for Palo Alto University and on its Executive Committee, is an honorary board member of El Camino Hospital Foundation and on its Planned Giving Council. She is also on the Legacy Committee of Los Altos Community Foundation and is past-president of the National Speakers Association of Northern California..
Marilyn’s story “It’s Never Too Late” is in these books. To read it click on the link.
Richard Lonergan, M.A., is a former manager at IBM, General Electric, and Executive Vice-President at Visa International.
He supports The Consulting Team with CFO expertise and contributes his thirty-two years in the computer, information processing and finance industries. His experience includes roles as Executive Vice President of Visa International, General Manager of General Electric Computer Services, and Systems Engineering Manager for the IBM Corporation.
His experience managing systems support, consulting services, and a major bank card expansion provides a unique perspective. Richard also supports community service. He is an active member of the Board of Directors for SPUR in San Jose, the Board of Trustees of Palo Alto University, the Rotary Club of Los Altos, and the Board of the Los Altos Stage Company.
Testimonials
“Dr. Marilyn Manning and The Consulting Team bring a skilled independent eye to your organization to thoughtfully access personality traits and leadership skills, both good and bad, and how to improve working relationships within your organization. She and the team come with tremendous passion for the subject matter and will challenge your thought process toward the greater good of the organization."
Bernie Escalante
Chief of Police, Santa Cruz, CA
“Marilyn and The Consulting Team’s up-front preparation with San Ramon’s City Council, attention to detail, and calm focused approach during the session helped our council and staff maximize our time together and create clear goals for the City.”
Joe Gorton
City Manager, San Ramon, CA
“Dr. Manning was very responsive and handled a very sensitive matter very effectively, bridging significant cultural differences with tremendous expertise. Her work was thorough, and she was able to conclude the matter on time.”
Linda Usoz
Attorney at Law, Stanford University
“I began working with Dr. Manning at a critical time. I was a new leader with a lot of ideas, a sense of urgency, and not much else. Dr. Manning’s ability to listen carefully, ask crucial questions, and combine the big picture with immediately applicable practices, made an immediate difference for me. Working with her helped me unlock more of my potential.”
Mitch Bostian
Head of School, The Berkeley School
Our Senior Associates
Craig Harrison is a trainer, coach, author and international speaker, specializing in training and coaching writing and presentation skills.
Whether coaching start-ups and non-profit leadership teams or training governmental agencies or Fortune 100 companies, Craig’s ability to instill passion about excellence helps our clients achieve success. His primary focuses are on communication, customer service and leadership.
He has a depth of experience in the public sector, training city and county employees on better business writing and speaking, managing change, cultivating a culture of trust, enhancing credibility, executive presence, and leadership development,
Craig is also an adjunct instructor for the University of California at Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Extension, designing and teaching classes on Meetings, Listening, Credibility in the Workplace, and Positive Political Skills in the Workplace over the past 15+ years. Craig has facilitated city council and non-profit board strategic planning retreats, SWOT analysis and visioning activities, dealing with budget crises and other challenges.
He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Selling Power and BusinessWeek. His clients include cities of San Jose, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, Concord, Mountain View, Oakland, and the counties of San Mateo, Contra Costa and Sonoma.
Kathye Citron, former CEO and Executive Director has been in the consulting and training industry for more than 15 years. She is a coach, facilitator, trainer, and organizational development consultant.
She specializes in human resources issues, strategic planning, team building, problem solving, career development, conflict resolution, and outplacement.
She has also acted as an Ombudsman for Presidio Graduate School, as well as sitting on its Board of Trustees and has worked with government entities, NGOs, and for-profit companies.
She has offered training for government entities including the Sonoma County Children’s Center and cities and counties including San Mateo County, the Cities of Sunnyvale, Concord, Milpitas, and others. Her training is geared toward leadership issues, emotional intelligence, team building, critical conversations and many others. Kathye has worked with government entities, NGOs, and for-profit companies. Her presentation skills have led to local and national media interviews on career and labor market issues. She excels at training and presenting to groups of up to 500. She blends an encouraging and positive tone with conviction that there is a creative solution to every business challenge.
Stewart Levine, Esq. is a former Municipal attorney and certified managerial mediator. He coaches and trains leaders to build high-performance teams by creating agreements and
resolving conflicts.
As a lawyer he realized fighting is ineffective in resolving problems. At AT&T he realized collaborations fail because people do not create shared vision and a road map to results. His book Getting to Resolution: Turning Conflict into Collaboration is an international bestseller.
He has facilitated strategic planning and teamwork for city councils, boards, and city departments. He has coached managers and executives in communication skills, conflict resolution, relationship building, emotional intelligence and leadership. He is a Certified Managerial Mediator and has helped resolve workplace conflicts such as board disputes, employee dissatisfaction, and conflicts among employees. In addition to his consulting, coaching and mediation work, he teaches for The American Management Association and has served on the faculty of a number of Graduate Schools.
Victoria Smith-Raymond is a coach, facilitator, and educator. She has over twenty years of experience as a focus group and retreat facilitator, a conflict resolution mediator, team-building, and strategic planning workshop leader. She combines interactive group work and the “creative thinking” process to increase engagement and achieve desired goals. She has served on community service boards and been an advisor for crisis management teams both internationally and at a state level. She is certified in higher education administration and management.
Nina Collins, JD is a trained negotiator and mediator and has successfully resolved numerous labor conflicts, grievances, and discipline matters. She also developed and implemented professional development, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies. Nina was an executive representative for the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). She has over 20 years experience working in public agencies, including City of Alameda, City of Oakland Fire Department, City of Hayward, and Orange County Fire Authority. Nina has held positions as Chief of Staff, Director of Human Resources, and Assistant Chief of Human Resources, starting her career as an Accounting Clerk while working her way through college. Having experience at each level of an organization gives Nina an unique insider’s perspective. She teaches Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the importance of inclusiveness and empathy in daily interactions and policies using proven strategies and real-life examples.