Our Team
We collectively bring over 60 years of leadership-level experience to the table, making us a power team that rivals some of the bigger names in the industry. We bring passion, dedication, professionalism, deep expertise and exceptional customer service to every single client engagement. Beyond our fancy degrees and extensive certifications, we simply love our work, and we engage our whole selves in all that we do.
Founder - Marina von Bergen
Marina’s clients benefit from her decades of consulting, leadership coaching, and communications experience. Her expertise lies in helping global leaders and individuals alike understand the positive impact that strong communication skills have in all aspects of life, and then coaching them in their own communication behaviors and emotional intelligence to then reach the next level of success.
At the organizational level, Marina works with clients to assess and then improve in the three areas she considers having significant impact on organizational communication effectiveness: cultural challenges, generational dynamics, and collaboration through diverse technologies.
In the past few years, in response to the rapid changes that workforce automation and AI is making in organizations, and now with a whole new business landscape due to COVID-19, Marina is heavily focused on helping clients boost their resilience in all areas of their lives.
Having lived and traveled extensively abroad and speaking three languages, Marina’s global experience helps bring an inclusive, collaborative perspective to all of her client work. And as an ICF accredited coach, a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered coach, certified EQ-i 2.0 and 360, and a Prosci Change Management practitioner with a Masters degree in Global Workforce Collaboration, she has the experience, tools and skills needed to help her clients transcend to the next levels in their professions.
Partners

Darcy Stivland - SPHR, SHRM - SCP
As a certified executive coach and assessment interpreter, Darcy is passionate about partnering with executives to leverage their strengths, heighten emotional intelligence, and to attain abundant business and personal success.
Darcy has served in executive roles in healthcare, finance, and service industries. She serves as Co-President, Minnesota HR Executive Forum. In addition, she is certified to interpret a range of leadership development and selection assessments, including top requested Hogan Leadership Series and EQi 2.0. Darcy is member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR), and is among the first executive coaches to earn the new Healthcare and Physician Wellbeing Certified Coach credential from the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Darcy has made a career of creating new leadership and organizational development strategies. She enables the growth of others through an upbeat, transparent and collaborative approach.
Darcy is an avid traveler, horse owner, wife and mother of three young adults.

Bruce H. Jackson, Ph.D.
Bruce has dedicated his career to the development of individuals, teams, organizations, and communities that seek to maximize influence, leadership, and change. Bruce has worked with colleges/universities, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profit institutions to develop and implement principles of performance, leadership, and change — for students, professionals, and public servants alike.
Bruce is the founder of The Institute of Applied Human Excellence — a training firm dedicated to helping individuals achieve peak performance. He wrote Finding Your Flow: How to Identify Your Flow Assets and Liabilities — the Keys to Peak Performance Every Day to increase awareness, clarify driving principles, and engage in strategic and focused change.
The Finding Your Flow™ training program has been delivered to corporate and university audiences world-wide.