George is a management innovator with over thirty years of working experience in both China and the United States. He specializes in management innovation, performance improvement, talent strategy, corporate university, instructional system design, e-Learning and curriculum development. He has served in various world-class companies such as IBM, Ericsson, HayGroup, and Qwest. He has been the lead on a variety of projects with various responsibilities in both countries and possesses a verifiable track record of creating proven results. He has successfully helped organizations solve capability management problems and brought value to their growth, especially in fast-growing economies.

Since 2011, George has co-developed with Mr. Hui Ding an innovative management method called “GPS-IE® Management System”. It solves pragmatic problems in a truly mathematical, systematic, logic, result-oriented, and sustainable fashion. In 2018, GPS-IE® became the basis for IPP (International Performance Professional, aka. Management Driver’s License, MDL) and CID (Certified Instructional Designer) certifications, which are both ISPI official credential. George and Hui also co-authored The Logic of Management in 2017 and Improve in 2021, both in Chinese, on GPS-IE®.

George is the producer and interviewer of Training Masters Series (TMS50) from May 2020 – May 2021, interviewing world-class industry leaders, thought leaders, and experts. He also produced TMS China Edition 2021 (TMS China 2021), interviewing talent development leaders from top-notch Chinese companies during Chinese New Year 2021. Since 2011, he has introduced and translated about 4 million words from English to Chinese in learning and development and performance improvement, including masterpieces from ISPI and ATD. George also possesses the record of being the first Chinese to become a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT) jointly by ISPI and ASTD in July 2003.

George has served on the ISPI board since 2017. In May 2021, he became President-Elect of ISPI (term 2023-2025). Before ISPI, George also served as a board member of IBSTPI between 2011-2017. He is also the main initiator of ISPI Asia Pacific Center (ISPI-AP). George received the Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Cloud State University in 2012; Distinguished Alumni Award from Nankai University in 2019. He is also the adjunct professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University.

Yvon is a Certified Performance Technologist, ISPI Board Member and Director of Customer Solutions at VPS Learning. His contribution was recognized with four Raytheon CEO/President awards and ten industry awards. He recently led VPS to win the second place in the US Navy's Learning - AI prize challenge.

He started his career by helping establish VPS in Europe and Asia, managing up to 205 employees. He then moved to the US to lead the transformation of large-scale training programs. In 2021, he was elected to join ISPI’s Board of Directors following his engagement as Chapter President. Since 2021, ISPI membership has increased by 95%. He recently received the White House's Volunteer Service Award from the US President for his „unparalleled commitment to improving the life of others“.

Yvon authored three books translated into multiple languages about self-management and work-life balance. He has worked in the US and multiple European countries since completing his Bachelor Degree in Aerospace Engineering in Germany and MBA in the UK.

Dr. Rose Baker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Technologies, College of Information, University of North Texas. Her research includes open learning, management techniques, and statistical applications for operations and performance improvement, survey and evaluation design, theory development, and game design. Rose holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and an M.Ed. in Adult Education Theory and Practice from The Pennsylvania State University and a B.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry from Washington and Jefferson College and is certified as a PMP® by the Project Management Institute.

She is an associate editor of Performance Improvement Quarterly and ISPI Treasurer. She has presented at many ISPI annual conferences, fall symposia, and ISPI-EMEA. Rose was a member of a local student chapter at Penn State during her doctoral work then rejoined ISPI in 2011. She joined ISPI Texas in 2016 and has served as the VP for Community Service.

Frank Q. Fu is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He obtained his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Houston. He also holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Rochester. His research and teaching interests focus on sales and marketing performance improvement. In 2010, he received the Anheuser-Busch Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He has won the 2006 American Marketing Association Sales SIG Award for best doctoral dissertation in professional selling and sales management. In 2005, he was selected as one of the four winners to receive an AMA Sales SIG/DSEF Sales Dissertation Research Grant. He is also one of the recipients of the Firooz Hekmat Award for the best paper at the Marketing Management Association conference in 2004.

He has published articles in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Marketing Letters, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of International Management, Performance Improvement, PerformanceXpress, and Human Performance. He has also presented research papers at various national and international conferences, including the ISPI Annual Conference. Currently, he serves as an editorial review board member for the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice and a research associate at the UMSL International Business Institute.
Prior to joining academia, he gained valuable sales, marketing, and management experience in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries. For five years, he worked as a sales representative, commercial supervisor, and district sales manager for a Johnson & Johnson company in China. As a sales manager, he led a team of 30 pharmaceutical sales representatives and was responsible for a $12 million sales budget. In 2006, he was inducted to Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society for collegiate schools of business. He joined the Alpha Mu Alpha National Marketing Honorary Society as a faculty member in 2012.

He has been an ISPI member since 2011 and received the designation of a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT). He is a founding member, Vice President, and liaison of the ISPI China Chapter and served as the Vice President of Membership/Marketing of the ISPI St. Louis Chapter. For years, he has been working as a CPT Reviewer (both English and Chinese), serving the ISPI Awards of Excellence Committee, reviewing for the ISPI Annual Conference, and volunteering for the ISPI Marketing Committee. Together with colleagues in ISPI-China, he has been promoting the ISPI and HPT in China since 2011. As part of the effort, they have translated five books, dozens of articles and the HPT Model into Chinese (see the Chinese version HPT Model posted on ISPI webpage).

For years, he has been conducting research by integrating the HPT with marketing and sales management literature. As a result of the endeavor, he has introduced the HPT to business school curricula by offering redesigned marketing and sales management courses with built-in performance improvement components. His research on the interface of marketing and performance improvement has generated multiple articles published at major academic journals and a book proposal, which is currently under review by a major publisher. Recently, he was appointed as the International Associate Editor of Performance Improvement Quarterly, the only academic journal dedicated to performance improvement research. In addition to academic research, teaching, and volunteer work, he helps American and Chinese companies and organizations improve their business performance through consulting and advising efforts.

Stephanie Johnson is the Corporate Master Black Belt for PACCAR, responsible for global continuous improvement training program as well as the Six Sigma training projects supporting Purchasing, ITD, Quality, and DAF Brasil. Prior positions at PACCAR include Continuous Improvement Instructional Designer at Corporate and National Dealer Training Manager at PACCAR Parts.

Prior to her role at PACCAR, Stephanie spent time in positions at the State of Washington, SABIC Innovative Plastics, General Dynamics Land Systems, and O/E Learning. Stephanie has a Bachelor's in Education from Central Michigan University, her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Saginaw Valley State University, and a PhD in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University.

A successful and accomplished scholar-practitioner with more than 30 years of diverse professional experiences, Dr. Carlos Antonio Viera currently serves with Accenture as Manager Management Consulting. Previously, he served Miami Dade College as the Director for Planning, Policy Analysis and Grant Program Support. Prior to this, Dr. Viera served with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) as the District Director for the Office of Performance Improvement, a direct report to the Chief of Accountability and Systemwide Performance, recognized with a Certificate of Commendation from the Superintendent for his work in strategic planning. Dr. Viera has also provided independent consulting services for several private and non-profit organizations including Inside the School, College Summit, CASEL, National Academic Educational Partners (NAEP) and Performance Associates. He also served as the District Chair, Secondary Student Services for MDCPS, as well as serving as classroom teacher, behavior management teacher, crisis counselor, educational specialist, teacher trainer, graduation coach and supported employment coordinator.

Dr. Viera earned a PhD from Capella University in the School of Education with a specialization in Training and Performance Improvement, completing his doctoral dissertation entitled, School Counselors and Advisors Using Data-Driven Decision-Making: Identification and Analysis of Barriers and Enablers. The International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) recognized this study as 2015 Distinguished Dissertation - 2nd Place, as well as having been invited to share his research during the Carnegie Foundation Summit for Improving Education in 2016 and the APPAM Fall Research Conference in 2018. In 2015, he was also awarded the Sandra Southmayd Leadership Award by the Dade Counseling Association (DCA).

Dr. Viera has also earned a graduate level Certificate in Educational Leadership from Florida International University (FIU), a Master of Science in Education from the University of Miami, completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Education from FIU. He is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a credential from the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) through Barry University, as well as a SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) credential. Dr. Viera is often invited to serve as a peer reviewer for professional journals; The Journal of Education, published by Sage and ISPI’s Performance Improvement Quarterly.

Patti P. Phillips, Ph.D., is the co-founder and CEO of ROI Institute, Inc., a US-based consulting firm that serves for-profit, not-for-profit, government, and non-governmental organizations in 70 countries as they build capability in measurement, evaluation, and human capital analytics.

An internationally recognized leader in measurement and analytics, Patti is routinely invited to speak at industry conferences worldwide and contributes to the growing amount of research in human capital and human capital analytics. Her expertise is documented in over 50 books published by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Kogan-Page, Berrett-Koehler, and other major publishing houses. Books include Show the Value of What You Do: Measuring and Achieving Success in Any Endeavor (Berrett-Koehler, 2023); ROI Basics 2nd edition (ATD, 2019); Making Human Capital Analytics Work (McGraw-Hill, 2017); Measuring ROI in Healthcare (McGraw-Hill, 2013). Her work has been cited on CNBC, Euronews, and National Geographic and published in more than a dozen business journals. She is a thought partner to research organizations such as The Conference Board and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp).

She, along with her husband and ROI Institute co-founder Dr. Jack J. Phillips, is the recipient of the 2024 Association of Learning Providers (ISA) Thought Leader Award, 2022 Association for Talent Development (ATD) Thought Leader Award, and the 2019 Center for Talent Reporting Distinguished Contributor Award. In 2019, she was named among the top fifty coaches globally by the Thinkers50 organization and named a finalist for the Marshall Goldsmith Distinguished Achievement Award for Coaching.
Patti serves as a board member for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (IFTDO), and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). She is also the chair of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) People Analytics Board. Periodically, Patti serves as guest lecturer for institutions such as the United Nations System Staff College (Turin, Italy), New York University, and The University of Southern Mississippi.

Patti’s academic accomplishments include a Ph.D. in International Development and a master’s degree in public and private Management.
Patti and Jack live in Birmingham, AL.

Dr. Susette Czeropski, CPT is a highly accomplished Learning and Development Executive with over 40 years of experience driving transformative change within organizations. Currently, she leverages her expertise as faculty in the advanced doctoral program at Capella University.
Extensive Background in Performance Improvement

Throughout her career, Dr. Czeropski has consistently demonstrateda unique ability to combine e-learning, education, management, training, and organizational development expertise. This blend has allowed her to design, develop, and coordinate impactful business process programs that directly
support strategic performance initiatives.
Proven Skills and Certifications

Dr. Czeropski is a quick study, rapidly absorbing new business principles and methods. She excels at identifying development needs and fostering collaboration to build and lead high-performing teams, both virtually and face-to-face. This results-driven approach consistently delivers critical business performance improvements.

Aaron “Muddy” Waters is an executive leader with over 29 years experience in Human Performance Improvement, Leader Development, Aviation, Training, and Program Management. Muddy currently serves as a Senior Consultant and Program Manager for Reed Integration, where he provides senior-level performance improvement & program management expertise for projects across multiple government domains. In 2021, Muddy began Sisu Solutions, a firm dedicated to maximizing an organization’s performance through thoughtful systematic performance improvement philosophies, sound leader development practices, & honest risk assessment.

When not flying helicopters for the Coast Guard, Muddy became a highly sought after HPT/ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) expert who presented several times with ISPI, the USCG’s HPT Workshop and ADL Caucus, as well as the Inter-service/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) and the DOD’s ADL Initiative. In 2010, he & his team were awarded the Coast Guard’s Innovation Award for Training for streamlining the design & delivery of the Coast Guard’s mandated training ADL program. In 2016, he was recognized as a runner-up for the Coast Guard’s Charles E. Swaringen Award for Out-standing Mentorship in Human Performance Technology.

In 2019, Muddy became the 4th Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard’s Leadership Development Center in New London, CT. A graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (B.S. ’94), Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University (M.A.S. ’07), & Penn State (M.Ed. ’08). Muddy retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2021 after a 27-year career in Coast Guard Aviation and Performance Technology. Muddy was an essential member of the core planning team for the 2022 ISPI Conference in Nashville.

Chris Slater has more than 25 years of full-stack human performance improvement experience, focusing on organizational development as well as learning and development. His roles range from instrr to designer to program manager and director. Chris has designed e-learning, coded web applications, created mobile apps, drafted policies, and budgeted and created entire training programs from the ground up with zero budget. He is a two-time winner of the Coast Guard Innovation Award (and one honorable mention), and a known disruptor of the status quo. Chris was instrumental in service on the core planning team for the ISPI Nashville Conference in 2022.

Education

• Doctor of Education – Adult Education August 2009, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA United States
• Master of Science – Instructional & Performance Technology August 2004, Boise State University, Boise ID
• Executive Development – Executive Potential Program, 2011 June 2011 , The Graduate School, Washington, DC

Selected Awards

• US Coast Guard Innovation Excellence - Flight Management System (2018)
• Special Act Award, 2017
• Performance Commendation, 2016
• Performance Bonus, 2014
• Office of Administration People's Choice Award
• Quality Step Increase, 2011
• US Coast Guard Innovation Excellence - Mandated Training Program Design (2010)
• Walmart University Associate of the Quarter Nomination - Winter 2009
• Quality Step Increase - July 2007

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