Our Team

Beth Williams, CEO and Managing Partner

“Inspiration - Action - Results”

Beth Williams brings 25+ years of sales, marketing, management and Human/Organizational development experience to her role as CEO of Forward Focus.

She started her corporate career in the world of advertising and publishing.  She spent 15 years on the advertising side of the newspaper industry where she held sales and management roles, directing national sales for over 40 major market newspapers with a variety of newspaper organizations including: Knight Ridder, Hearst, Times Mirror and various independent newspaper firms.  Her tenure in sales for the newspaper industry afforded her exposure to a wide array of industries including, financial services, high tech, cosmetics, travel, automotive and recruitment. She spent most of her years in the industry helping America’s largest corporations and mid-size businesses attract, recruit and hire top talent for their organizations.  It was this experience in conjunction with managing her own sales team as well as coaching sales professionals across the various newspapers she served that led her to the field of human development.

In 2000 Beth and Margaret Maat started Forward Focus.  Since that time Forward Focus has worked with an impressive list of client companies including KPMG, Thomson Reuters, Novartis, Los Angeles Times, Philips Van Husen, CareerBuilder formally CareerPath.com, Zillow, and Hearst Newspapers and has positively impacted hundreds of people - all leaders – who have transformed their organizations as a result of Forward Focus coaching, training, facilitation and consulting.

Beth possesses a genuine love of people.  She is a consummate relationship builder with a keen ability to listen, observe, and to see into people and organizations to foster their growth and development.  She is a systems thinker who enjoys collaborating to develop strategic plans, design training and facilitate interventions that can be practically implemented to create the 3D ( Individual, Team and Organizational levels) results clients need  to achieve sustainability and growth.

Beth is a certified sales trainer for Integrity Sales, Service and Coaching programs. She leverages an array of assessment tools in her work to coach and develop leaders, including DISC Communications Styles, Personal Motivators and Engagement, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Resolution and EQi 2.0.  She is a certified Energy Leadership coach and possesses a deep knowledge of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Inventory as a certified practitioner.

Beth has a BA in communications and marketing from Boston College.  She is a graduate of the Institute for Professional Coaches and has completed graduate courses in Organizational Development at the New School in NYC. 

Beth is a member of the Society of Human Resources Managers and the International Coaching Federation.  She is a volunteer with the Morristown Mental Health Association and the Center for Spiritual Living in Morristown NJ.  She is an accomplished singer and possesses a love of the theater. Her experience with theater production has had an important impact on her work with organizations.  She is a natural producer and systems thinker who gets a real thrill over our ability as human beings to work and accomplish more together in the world than we could alone. 

Kim Keefe Pisolkar, Business & Organizational Growth Coach & Consultant

“Driving Solutions to Difficult Organizational and Leadership Challenges”

Kim Pisolkar leans on her 15+ years of human resources, organization development, sales and business development experience to support business leaders in increasing sales, improving systems to achieve optimum efficiency, and solving organizational and leadership challenges. She has worked with publicly and privately held companies in the consumer products, food and financial services industries and has experience in both corporate and manufacturing environments. She is particularly skilled at program design and implementation and has designed upward feedback, performance management, succession planning and talent engagement and retention programs and processes. Kim has an M.A. in Human Resources from the University of Minnesota, a B.S. in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from Le Moyne College, and an Advanced Certificate in Organizational Development from Columbia University. She is a credentialed coach with the International Coach Federation and received her SPHR certification from the Society for HR Management. She is certified in several assessments including the Core Values Index, Energy Leadership Index and Winslow Dynamics.

Anne Boyce, Organization Development Consultant, Coach

“Listening You into Action”

Anne Boyce is an Organization Development consultant with more than 20 years of experience as both an internal and external professional in the human resource development field. She specializes in needs assessments, instructional design, facilitation, coaching and measuring ROI. Her corporate experience in the financial services industry—The Boston Company and American Express, specifically—give her a broad range of experience in management, leadership, coaching and team development initiatives. She has been a master trainer for such programs as Achieve Global’s Frontline Leadership, and is certified as a facilitator for Presentation Skills, Diversity Training, Management Skills, Team Development, and Change Management. She’s worked with various clients in the private and public sector such as American Express, AT&T, CUNY, Lucent, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, McGraw-Hill, Times Mirror and Prudential. Anne graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and has an M.S. in Training and Development from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. She has studied with iCoachNY in their Executive Coaching program and has several certifications that focus on management and leadership. She is a member of ATD (Association of Talent Development, formerly ASTD), OD Network of New York, and the New Jersey Organization Development Learning Community.

Rich Mclaughlin, Facilitator, Organizational Development Consultant

“Engaging Teams, Driving Innovation”

Rich has over 12,000 hours facilitating: leadership workshops, small and large group change processes, innovation teams and interpersonal skills training for Fortune 500 companies.  Rich excels at engaging groups to innovate and improve operations by taking them through structured exercises that allow the best of the group’s thinking to emerge. Rich received his M.A. in Training and Development for Business from Ohio State University, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of  Notre Dame’s College of Business. He is also the author of, Rules of Engagement: A Story About How Leaders Can More Effectively Engage Employees. 

Brenda Cirillo, Human Resource Consultant, Coach and Trainer

“Building Human Resource Capacity that Delivers Business Results”

Brenda Lipari Cirillo has 25 years' experience in human resources, project management, consulting, coaching and organizational development for service companies.  She has directed the human resources fuction effectively, aligning it with strategic business objectives.  She possesses expertise in HR strategy, performance management, recruiting, employee relations, compensation, organizational effectiveness and training and development.  Brenda builds out all the aspects of the HR function to meet the needs of growing business.

Jean Grossman, Executive Coach

“Coaching that Bridges Business and Life”

Jean Grossman is an executive coach with more than 35 years’ experience in corporations such as BASF, Novartis, ExxonMobil, and . She specializes in emotional intelligence, leadership development, social styles and DiSC assessment, and coaching for communication skills and conflict resolution. Jean has a degree in psychology, obtained her life coaching certification through iPEC, and holds an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential with the International Coaches Federation. She is also certified as a Master Practitioner in Energy Leadership.

Margaret Maat, Executive Coach, Program Designer and Organizational Development Consultant

“Designing Breakthroughs”

Margaret Morgan Maat is an organizational strategist, coach and facilitator committed to making positive change in society’s core institutions. She has over 20 years of experience in organizational development, program design, leadership development and process alignment.  She is an acknowledged expert in the field of emotional intelligence, focusing on coaching people in technical fields such as accounting, auditing, IT and engineering on how to strengthen their ability to manage emotions effectively. She is also a popular public speaker and facilitator for conferences and professional associations, including the Financial Executives Institute, Conference Board, National ASTD Leadership Conference, ATD Houston and the New Jersey State SHRM Conference. She is a certified MBTI (Myers-Briggs) practitioner and also uses the DISC assessments to improve communication, manage conflict and build teams. She is a past president of the New York Metro American Society for Training and Development (now ATD) and is active in the Houston chapter of the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Margaret serves on the Executive Committee of the board of Urban Promise International, a faith-based organization that serves vulnerable children and teens. She is currently working on a book about the core principles of organizational development and change management. A co-founder of Forward Focus, Margaret is no longer involved in the day-to-day management of the company. She remains an active member and mentor on the team.

Frank Faeth, Executive Coach

“Providing the Tools to Help Leaders Grow in Work and Life.”

For over 30 years, Frank Faeth worked at Fortune 100 companies, where he learned firsthand that thriving businesses are built on strong relationships and clear communications, and that executives with high levels of emotional intelligence soar to the upper echelons. Since 2010, he has been applying his blue-chip business background to Executive Coaching, using assessments and action-based tools to guide high-potential leaders and managers on how to perform at their personal best. Frank has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago and a coaching certificate from iCoachNewYork. He’s certified in Hogan, MBTI, and Emotional Intelligence assessments; is an accredited Abrasive Manager and career coach; and can administer and interpret the Thomas-Kilmann and Gallup’s StrengthsFinder instruments.

Naomi Rodolitz, Executive Coach, Organization Development Consultant

“Realizing Potential with a Cross-Disciplinary Approach”

Naomi Rodolitz brings more than 25 years’ experience in business, technology, training, management and psychology to provide transformative experiences for her clients and client organizations. She specializes in executive coaching, leadership development and organizational change management. She has worked for such companies as Neuberger Berman, Amazon, Caterpillar and the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), and was an Associate Partner at Andersen Consulting (Accenture). Naomi’s cross-disciplinary approach is influenced by both her work experience as well as her educational background. She has an Sc.B. in Cognitive Science from Brown University, an M.S. in Computer Science/Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University, an M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from New York University, and certification in Executive Coaching from iCoachNewYork. She is certified in Hogan and MBTI assessments, and can administer and interpret DiSC, Emotional Intelligence, and the Thomas-Kilmann Instruments for conflict management.

Michelle Guinane, Organization Development Consultant, Program Designer

“Jumpstarting change by building innovative programs that create alignment.”

Michelle Guinane has more than 15 years’ experience that includes serving Fortune 500 companies, both union and non-union, as well as the non-profit and higher education sectors. She specializes in change management, human performance, career development (progression and transition), strategic planning, employee engagement, diversity, communications, team building, and leadership development. She has successfully led multi-million dollar global projects as well as mergers, acquisitions, and culture change. She is often called upon to design and develop innovative programs and processes that align to the organization’s mission. Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in English/Linguistics from LeMoyne College and a master’s degree in Human and Organizational Development from The George Washington University.

Marian Janes, Learning & Development Program Designer, Coach

“Unlocking potential to transform vision into reality.”

Marian Janes engages others by applying her past experience to blend the Head of a consultant with the Heart of a business and executive coach.  She has more than 25 years’ experience, and specializes in Business Consulting, Business/Executive Coaching, Business Strategy Planning, Change Management, Corporate University Implementation, Leadership and Talent Development, Learning and Development Strategy, Learning Path Development, Management and Supervisory Training and Coaching, Organization Development, Sales Consulting and Coaching, Team Building and Coaching, and Work and Life Integration.

Marian earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She also received her ICF Certificate in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Development from Philosophy IB in conjunction with Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.