RetireRight Center

Diane B. Burman, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the RetireRight Center Previous to establishing the Retire Right Center, Dee was an independent human resources consultant and Principal of Dee Burman and Associates, a management consulting firm, specializing in organization development and career management. In the preceding years Dee was a Vice President in Human Resources at the Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, where she created and managed the “Development Center,” providing career services to all employees of the Bankcorp, including career planning, career counseling and redeployment. Her primary focus was on organizational consulting and the Bank’s career development system. She also, in her role as an internal consultant, was involved in projects that supported management development, team building, diversity management and quality improvement initiatives. Dee was also founder and first President of the Organization Development Network of Chicago. Before her 15 year career with the Harris Bank, Dee was an O.D. (Organization Development) and Human Resource Specialist with Abbott Laboratories and G.D. Searle. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a Master’s Degree from Middlebury College Graduate School of French in France.

Shirley R. Brussell, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the RetireRight Center Mrs. Brussell is an outstanding and highly visible pioneering executive with very strong leadership, organizational and managerial skills. She founded and directed Operation Able, a distinctive nonprofit organization, and grew it from a $47,000 budget to more than an $11,500,000 budget annually. Initial staff included three workers and grew to over 200 workers. She created and expanded job opportunities for more than 100,000 older workers. She has served on or chaired policy-making boards in the fields of employment, training and retraining. In addition, Mrs. Brussell established a Media Think Tank for television and radio, and has been a director for the National Council on Aging, Vice President of a university and at the same time, the director of this university’s human resource center. She was consultant and special assistant to the national director of the Regional Labor Board in Washington, D.C. Her education includes a B.A. from the University of Chicago and graduate work in Public Personnel Administration, followed by being awarded a competitive internship in Urban Cultural Studies at American University in Washington, D.C. She subsequently earned an M.A. from Governors State University in Community Relations. She has received countless awards over the years and has given her time as a member of more than 30 committees, organizations and associations. She has also chaired five various employment, aging and Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs committees. At the present time, Mrs. Brussell sits on six boards in the City of Chicago.

Michele Baldwin, M.S.S.W., Ph.D., marriage and family therapist Michelle has an M.S.S.W. from the Simmons College School of Social Work (1966), and a Ph.D. from the Union Graduate School (1976). In 2002, she became a Certified Sage-ing™ Leader of the Spiritual Eldering® Institute. A skilled psychotherapist, she is an AAMFT approved supervisor. and teaches and supervises at the Chicago Center for Family Health and the Family Institute at Northwestern University. Michele trained. taught and co-authored two books with Virginia Satir, Satir Step by Step in 1984 and The Use of Self in Therapy, in 1987. (Second edition in 1999). For over ten years, together with her husband DeWitt (Bud) Baldwin M.D., she taught PAIRS (Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skill) in the US and overseas and knows how to create a safe environment for experiential work with couples. In the last two years she has conducted workshops focusing on successful aging for people who are retired or thinking of retirement.

Toby S. Berkun, transition and change challenges expert Toby is President of Dynamic Transitions, Inc., Consultants for Organizational and Personal Effectiveness. She has over thirty years of consulting experience in widely varied business and service environments across the United States and Europe. Her clients include Peoples Energy, Exelon, Nicor, Cessna Aircraft Company, the University of Wisconsin Medical System, Illinois VA Hospital Systems, Pfizer, Universal Oil Products (UOP), Condea VISTA, Amoco, Centel/Sprint, Ameritech, US West/Qwest, RR Donnelley, Allstate, Zurich Kemper Life, Farmers Home Group Insurance Company, Motorola, GenCorp Automotive, TTX, Tellabs, Rockwell International, Galileo International, and the U.S. League of Savings. Toby specializes in consulting, coaching and training for the effective management of change. She has a proven track record in defining, designing, and guiding the implementation of innovative solutions to change challenges. Toby has extensive experience in developing, coaching, and supporting client personnel, teams and leadership, at multiple levels, going through the change process. Toby now provides comprehensive consulting, coaching and training services to address the unprecedented impact that the aging of the American workforce will have. She also provides retirement coaching to individuals and couples. Toby received her M.S.W. from Indiana University. She was elected to "Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals" in 1985.

Nancy M. Cashen, accomplished trainer and facilitator Nancy is an with more than twenty years in management and consulting positions in the insurance and career management fields. She has been a senior consultant with Drake Beam Morin where she facilitated group career transition workshops for all levels of employees. She also provided individual consulting and coaching to clients in career management and job search strategies. In addition, Nancy managed and staffed on-site career transition centers for DBM customers in the Midwest region. Prior to joining DBM, Nancy facilitated newly formed work teams in several organizations providing information on team leadership, structure and problems, coaching members on problem-solving techniques and serving as a consultant to the teams as they completed projects. In addition, Nancy taught communication and management classes for Waubonsee Community College. Nancy’s background includes 15 years with Allstate Insurance Co. in a variety of positions that encompassed technical, managerial, training and consulting responsibilities. She was also involved in a five-year transition Allstate embarked upon to move from a traditional hierarchical organization to a quality-driven, customer-focused team environment. During that period Nancy developed and delivered extensive training in the areas of quality, team building and team leading. ancy is a graduate of Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois where she earned her B.A. degree in Business Administration.

Robert P. Edwards, career counseling professional Robert has over twelve years experience in coaching and career management. Mr. Edwards has major skills in project management, training, instructional design and motivating others. He is an energetic, innovative professional with excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to build strong relationships across all levels, and sensitive to the needs of external and internal customers. He has additional experience as a results-oriented Human Resources Manager implementing corporate EEO/AA policies, and developing and delivering Diversity Management training.

Robal Johnson, international lecturer, trainer, and business consultant Robal is considered by many as one of the country’s foremost professional consultant-trainers. He has been involved in training for over 20 years, has conducted hundreds of programs, and has worked with thousands of people in tailor-made seminars which increase managerial and sales effectiveness. His training seminars are unique in the sense that they are conducted in a free and easy manner which elicits spontaneous responses while guaranteeing results. Mr. Johnson was formerly the President of Graphco Reproductions, Inc., a Chicago-based printing and engineering reprographics firm. He was on the board of Tower Products, Inc. and Pace Institute in Chicago. Previously, Mr. Johnson was Vice-President of Sales for Illinois Central Industries, and General Manager of Manufacturing for the Weyerhauser Company. Receiving his initial education at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the University of Hartford where he obtained his B.S. in Engineering, Mr. Johnson did advanced graduate work in Business Management at the University of Connecticut. With his diverse background and consulting experience, Mr. Johnson is capable of handling a broad scope of training programs and offers seminars on a variety of subjects. He also has been a consultant with the American Management Association for over 20 years, handling programs for field managers and those at middle management levels and general management levels.

Nancy Seever, Life Work Counseling for Executives and their Partners, planning to retire Nancy is a co-Founder and Managing Principal of High Potential, Inc., an Executive Development and Coaching firm, founded in 1999. Nancy developed her coaching philosophy while she was building a Leadership Development function at First Chicago Bank She believes that coaching a client is a highly personal relationship and is committed to bringing honesty, creativity and both her practical and strategic skills to every engagement. Nancy has extensive experience in the following areas: Executive Coaching, particularly for newly appointed leaders; Remedial Coaching for High Potential Executives; Life Work Counseling for Executives and their Partners, planning to retire early; and Executive Development for new managers.

Donald C. Strauss, Career and Change Management consultant Don has worked in the Human Resources and Organization Development/Change Management fields in Fortune 100 companies for over 40 years. Don’s wide-ranging responsibilities have included oversight of Succession Planning, Management and Leadership Development, High Potential Development, and Training and Development as a Director with Matsushita (Panasonic Co. of America), and FMC Corporation. Throughout these various assignments, one constant has remained…Don’s continuous concern and counsel to individuals in career transition whether from one assignment to another, from one organization to another, or transition into retirement. Additionally, in the early 1990’s, Don was associated with the Carlyle Group, Ltd., a consulting firm, for a few years as a VP and consultant. Clients included Fortune 100 companies, non-profits, and municipalities. In the OD, staffing and development arenas, Don works with others on implementing organization change/transition, succession planning processes, leadership development, executive coaching, training course design, staffing, and career coaching. Don teaches graduate school programs at Benedictine University. He leads programs related to human resources and career management. Don’s early career was with Exxon where he was in charge of Human Resources for their R & D organizations. He has a graduate degree in Labor/Industrial Relations from University of Illinois and a Bachelor’s Degree from NYU. Don has recently been inducted into Sigma Beta Delta, the international Business and Management Honor Society.

Ron Szweda, Expert Trainer and Outplacement Specialist Ron has an extensive background as a leading corporate career outplacement professional, which includes private industry and nonprofit experience. He has facilitated hundreds of group and private outplacement, retirement and stress management seminars, while traveling to 35 states and to more than 60 cities. Along with psychology, English, sociology and Masters work at Michigan State University, he has three distinct outplacement certifications from each of three leading national/international firms. He is a multiple award-winning trainer/coach who has written an "Expert Advice" newspaper column, regarding the job search, in a major metropolitan area. In addition, Ron has been seen on Fox TV, interviewed by CBS TV, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, New York Times and the Washington Post. Prior work history includes education and project management. He has also lived and worked in Kentucky, Colorado, Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri, Hawaii and Lisbon, Portugal. Ron is married to a managing editor for a major publishing company in Skokie.

Linzy Waters, Change Management Specialist Mr. Waters is the Executive Director of Waters & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in organization development, "Change Management", Search Conferences (strategic planning), Executive Coaching, Team Effectiveness and Diversity Issues. He has worked as an internal (corporate) consultant, and an independent external consultant. A partial list of Waters & Associates' clients include: AT&T, First Baptist Church of Oak Park, Loyola University - Chicago, Organizational Psychologists, Soft Sheen, Inc., The City of Chicago, The Northern Trust Co., The University of Chicago Hospitals, U.S. Postal Service and Zenith Electronics Inc. He is currently a member of the faculty at DePaul University - Chicago, in their Graduate School where he teaches "Valuing Human Differences", "Managing Organizational and Personal Change", and "Team Effectiveness". He is also an adjunct faculty member at Dominican University where he teaches "Ethics, Leadership and Social Responsibility". Prior to starting his own consulting firm, Mr. Waters worked at AT&T in numerous management positions for over twenty years. Mr. Waters holds an M.S.O.D. (Master of Science in Organization Development) from Loyola University - Chicago and a B.A. in The Management of Human Resources from Spring Arbor College, Michigan.