OUR TEAM

John has Thirty plus years of design and manufacturing experience across several manufacturing sectors including electro-mechanical telecom safety devices, packaging, shipbuilding, secondary wood products, aerospace and automotive products. As an inventor and innovator, John has designed and patented several consumer products in use today.

John is a change agent able to work well with all levels of employees. He combines his facilitation and product development skills to provide a structured approach to collaboration, innovation and process improvement to his clients as well as his extensive network of skilled consultants.

Experience:

• Toyota and Mitsuiya Sensei Trained and served for more than two years as a key person in the Bluegrass Automotive Manufactures Association.
• Subject Matter Expert to the Lean Special Projects Team, an association of National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) recognized experts, who are focused on standardizing lean consulting practices to small to mid-sized manufacturers.
• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology with a concentration on Operations from the University of Southern Maine.
• Co-Inventor for US Patent 20060242005; a comprehensive method to train and aid manufacturers in identifying inefficiencies in product manufacturing process and in improving such process.
• Transferred tools and techniques to conduct improvement activities to more than 200 facilitators including in-house resources as well as third party consultants.
• Developed training materials, vetted training/facilitation professionals, and prepared the facilitators to work at client locations with the highest professionalism.
• Thousands of people have participated in lean simulations and Focused Improvement Workshops utilizing tools and following a system that John has developed.
• Facilitated US Government program to completely modernize the national maritime distress communications system; introduced lean and six sigma principals through the entire program life-cycle that produced $50 million and 15 years of cost and schedule overrun avoidance.
• Facilitated Executive Planning Sessions (EPS) for the Submarine and Aircraft Carrier Overhaul and Repair community that included executives from all four public Naval Shipyards, as well as executives from two private shipyards which set the priority and focus for process improvement activities.

 
Core Competencies: 

• Enterprise Transformation
• Supplier Development and Supply Chain Integration
• Innovation, Lean, Six Sigma & Quality Management Systems
• Research & Development
• Technology Transfer & Commercialization
• Customer/Industry/Government Relations
• Partnership & Channel Development
• Program, Project & Account Management

Traci Blecher is an accomplished training leader with 30+ years experience working at financial institutions and business enterprises.  Her expertise includes all aspects of the sales and service process - from assessing a staff’s skill level through developing and instituting training solutions to ensure that staff’s success.  

Utilizing a strong combination of facilitation and presentation skills, Traci has a proven track record in leading teams to success through classroom and hands on training as well as coaching. Traci’s clients measure the success of her innovative training programs through demonstrated success in areas such as exceeding sales goals, improved employee performance, staff retention, customer satisfaction, and company cultural changes.

Traci is experienced in designing and delivering highly effective training.  Traci believes the key to an engaged workforce and a strong company culture is to provide ongoing developmental opportunities through training and coaching. She understands a highly skilled staff that delivers the best products and services is the key differentiator in a competitive market.

Traci’s is known for her enthusiastic and engaging presentation style, outstanding presentation skills and the ability to incorporate creative and interactive techniques in every program. She approaches each training opportunity with the goal of engaging each learner and ensuring understanding through the enjoyment of the course materials.

Traci holds a BA from the University of Connecticut where she studied communication and journalism.

In her free time, Traci enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. She is connected in her community through involvement as president of a local not for profit organization where she leads a board of 18 volunteers.  She has been a past president of a chapter of Business Networking International, as well as, a past director on the Milford Area Chamber of Commerce.

Energetic, seasoned professional who leads teams to higher performance through dedication to safety, quality, and leadership.  LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt who can help improve any process and instill the spirit of continuous improvement in an organization.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Business Analyst

CACI, Norfolk, VA and ORBIS, Portsmouth, NH                                          2015-Present

Assisted in development and facilitation of leadership and continuous improvement training for Navy clients.  Accompanied Dr. Steven Spear, author of “The High Velocity Edge”, to advance continuous improvement concepts and culture at naval shipyards.  Developed a continuous improvement and LEAN Six Sigma workshop for Navy management.  Spearheaded a management coaching program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.  Coached and mentored Portsmouth Naval Shipyard managers to improved organizational performance through enhanced leadership and employee engagement. 

Manager of Environmental, Health, and Safety

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME                                                       2008-2014

Senior civilian responsible for the safety, health, and environmental impact of 4,700 people on a 200 acre heavy industrial ship repair complex.  Led shipyard and staff of 60 ESH professionals in a behavioral based safety program, leading to recognition as a Voluntary Protection Program Star Site and the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award.  Represented the shipyard to the public, media, federal and state EPA and OSHA through several sensitive events, including a worker fatality and the USS MIAMI fire.  Helped devise and lead “Renewal of Shipyard Values and Pride” and “Declaration of Excellence” cultural campaigns to engage people, improve performance, and foster better worker-management relations.

Quality Manager

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME                                                       2002-2005

Managed comprehensive quality assurance program including auditing, surveillance, quality engineering, material procurement quality, and root cause analysis in incident investigation.  Help develop and implement the Quality Performance System across the four naval shipyards to document, track, and trend leading indicators.  Led efforts to better forecast and prevent quality problems, including chairing a Quality Forum to advance continuous improvement concepts and culture.  Led a LEAN Rapid Improvement Event that reduced submarine material inspection backlog by 50% in six months.

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

BS Civil/Environmental Engineering, University of New Hampshire, 1981

Nuclear Shift Test Engineer, General Dynamics/Electric Boat, Groton, CT 1983

Process Review Leader, Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA, 1997
Situational Leadership, PNS, 1998
Effective Writing, PNS, 1998
Instructor Development, PNS, 1998
Comprehensive Supervisor Development Program, PNS, 2001
Cause Mapping, Think Reliability, 2003
NAVSEA Executive Leadership Course, Arlington, VA, 2004

LEAN Green Belt, PNS, 2005

Naval Reactors Leadership School, Washington, DC, 2008

Leading Indicators, American Society of Safety Engineers, Cambridge, MA, 2009

Dale Carnegie, PNS, 2009

Learning Organization, CACI, 2011

Five Dysfunctions of a Team, CACI, 2012

Crucial Conversations, CACI, 2016

Inside Out Coaching, CACI, 2017

Productive Conflict, DISC, Newton MA, 2018

SKILLS

• Experienced leader who focuses groups on defining and achieving their goals.
• Effective trainer of a wide range of technical, quality, safety, and leadership topics.
• Adept writer and editor with years spent crafting and revising executive letters, regulatory audit responses, and Navy incident reports.
• Expertise in root cause analysis and human factors gained through hundreds of safety and quality incident investigations.
• Organized, detail oriented, and administratively savvy, proficient in rapid, accurate documentation and processing complex regulatory paperwork.

ACTIVITIES

• Hike, bike, golf, ski
• Volunteer driver for TASC (Transportation Assistance for Seacoast Citizens)

Harvey has more than 30 years of experience in Management Training, Project Management, Process Improvement, Regulatory Oversight, Engineering Management, and Engineering Operations within the Department of the Navy, and now as a private contractor.

Harvey graduated from Penn State University with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1983.  He was then hired by Naval Sea Systems Command, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where he was trained and qualified to direct Naval personnel in the operation, testing, and oversight of reactor plants on nuclear powered submarines.  He rose to the position of Nuclear Test Engineering Division Head where he was responsible for the safety of reactor plants on all submarines undergoing maintenance by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Harvey then spent six years as the Deputy Director of Radiological Controls.  The Radiological Controls Office provides regulatory oversight of all matters involving radioactivity and radiation at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

In 2004, Harvey was given the challenging task of building a team to train, implement, and most importantly build a culture of Lean Process Improvement at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  Development of this culture required an understanding of the human elements of what motivates people and how work is accomplished. Over the next few years, Harvey completed qualification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and personally trained more than 2000 members of the workforce, including the newest hires, mid-level management, and the Shipyard Commander.  Many of the process improvement initiatives developed at Portsmouth during this time have now been adopted at all Navy maintenance facilities.

Harvey’s ability to understand and communicate with people at all levels led to his frequent participation in Alternate Dispute Resolution panels and as an independent investigator into Equal Employment Opportunity cases.

Harvey concluded his career with at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a Project Superintendent responsible for the management of the majority of work performed by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for the Naval Supply System in support of entire US Navy Submarine fleet.

In addition to his work with Optimize and Tandem Training Incorporated, Harvey assists the Workforce Development Office of Manchester Community College in outreach to companies in New Hampshire, helping them identify training needs and potential training funding streams, setting up the training program, and delivery of the training, whether it be delivered by Tandem Training or other entities. 

Mikel Myers has over 31 years of experience in the Naval overhaul industry specializing in Submarines. His accomplishments have ranged from working in industrial shops to implementing specialized projects.  He has spent the last 10 years training and implementing Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma concepts on the shop floor as well as in front office workspaces.

He is an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt with qualifications to train green belts. He facilitated Lean Six Sigma overview instruction certifying hundreds of Yellow Belts.

Madeline Dielmann, owner of DDBS, has almost 20 years of experience in sales and sales management. She started in the waste-to-energy industry serving primarily large pharmaceutical companies before moving into the compliance industry helping clients achieve ISO Certification.

Madeline has varied experiences that range from developing business plans for a pharmacy and wound care center to overseeing the opening of a call center in Mexico. She is currently acting in a dual role as Managing Director and consultant to a multi-million dollar retail furniture design firm after restructuring its operations to reduce overhead and increase revenue with consistent results over the last four years.

Prior to opening DDBS, Madeline served as the Director of Sales, leading a B2C sales team for a $45 million company. She was responsible for facilitating communication across multiple departments, and supporting the integration and implementation of training and business planning processes. Madeline also designed business process improvements that had an immediate impact on revenue and profitability.

Madeline completed her MBA, with a concentration in Leadership, from Walden University in 2012 and holds a BS in International Business from Caldwell University. She has three grown sons and lives in Northern New Jersey.

Lisa G. Martin is principal at Lisa G. Martin & Co., LLC consulting in business and workforce development, training, resource development, grant writing and energy.

Lisa is a Referral Consultant for Business Growth Services consulting network, B2B, Referrals and Pipeline Development, is the state’s expert on Industry/Sector Partnerships, Business and Workforce Planning and Training and Energy Referral Agent for Constellation Energy.

Lisa spent 23 years as executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Maine and has over 30 years in economic, workforce and business development. Lisa has extensive experience with businesses, industry associations, state and federal agencies, education institutes and workforce development.

Lisa collaborates on several Professional and Community Boards including:

Boots to Roots, Board of Advisors, 2023-

Economic Development Council of Maine 1999-2006

Maine Jobs Council, Business & Industry Association Board Chair 2003-2009

Maine Policy Institute Board of Advisors 2007-

Maine Technology Institute, Precision Manufacturing Tech Board Chair 2002-2008 and 2008- present

University of Maine, Advanced Manufacturing Center, Board of Advisors, 2010-2022

University of Southern Maine Board of Visitors, Office of the President 2013-2015

Professional Certifications includes Maine Development Foundation Leadership Maine Program, Mu Class, Economic Development Council of Maine (EDCM) Professional Certification Program and Maine Department of Labor Workforce Development Consultation Course

Lisa holds a BA from University of Southern Maine, a Master of Science degree in Community Economic Development (CED) from New Hampshire College and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. Lisa lives in Falmouth, Maine.