A seasoned team of trainers and consultants: Professional, knowledgeable, and passionate! Meet the team who
"Ignite the Fire!"
As a lead facilitator, consultant, and speaker for MCA, Kim brings 15 years of experience
in leadership, training, personal coaching and organizational development. She works with
customers in sales, customer service and leadership training. Kim also assists MCA's
Development team in conducting needs assessments, developing new programs and project
management. Before joining MCA, Kim began her career with the Pebble Beach Resorts,
first in sales and reservations and then in training and development. Kim's coaching
skills and enthusiasm promote open communication and active participation in her
workshops and with our clients. She has a passion for service and leadership excellence,
which comes alive in the classroom.
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Teresa Burr has sixteen years of experience in the
hospitality industry. Because of her vast experience
with several leading hotel companies, Teresa brings an
in-depth knowledge in sales, food & beverage and
customer service to MCA. She has been involved with the
United States Air Force Catering Training Initiative and
has been active in the National Association of Catering
Executive (NACE) for the past seven-years in various
board and chair positions. By staying active in the
organizations that support the hospitality industry, she
has been able to continue to grow and keep current on
the latest trends.
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Creighton Casper is a Strategic Partner with MCA in
the Consulting Division. He has over 20-years experience
in the hotel industry, both in marketing and operations.
His strategic planning experience is an asset to MCA's
customers as they continue to realign their strategies
in the future. Creighton has been the MCA leader in
restructuring global sales offices and hotel marketing
functions.
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Pat Castillo is a master facilitator in sales and customer service training, as well as leadership development. Pat's dynamic and motivational style has earned her tremendous success in developing and leading teams of employees all over the world, with both English and Spanish speaking audiences. As an international speaker and trainer, Pat has worked throughout North and South America, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. She has been with Master Connection Associates for over 14 years.
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Danny Doba is responsible for our customer feedback and analyzing the results
of MCA's participant evaluations. His ability to keep MCA's pulse on what is
working and what isn’t allows us to always stay ahead of the trend.
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Kelly Doba oversees MCA's Coaching and Shopping
Services Department. Her additional responsibilities
include meeting and event planning. Kelly's enthusiasm
and dedication is a true asset to MCA and to our
customers.
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Owen Easteal, author of, "Business from Europe?" is MCA's key European representative located in Frankfurt, Germany. In addition to speaking five-languages, Owen's extensive background as a tour operator and an international Director of Sales for various hotel companies, coupled with his in-depth understanding of cultural differences offers our customers a competitive resource in helping them improve their bottom line. Owen has designed a workshop that teaches North American hoteliers how to sell more effectively to the European wholesale market. Additionally, he works with European hoteliers helping them attain their specific sales objectives by learning how to work more effectively with their unique clientele.
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Kathy Eby is one of MCA's lead trainers and consultants. Previously Kathy worked for Hyatt Hotels and Pebble Beach Resorts. With expertise in conference services, catering, sales, and training design, Kathy was MCA's Project Leader and Trainer for the U.S.A.F. Catering Initiative; a comprehensive program to standardize catering operations in Air Force Clubs around the world. Kathy's training experience in 15 countries provides her workshops with real-life customer service success stories. Currently, Kathy's focus is in energizing sales teams to maximize their revenue potential and to motivate employees to be 'Service Ambassadors' for their companies. Kathy's coaching skills and enthusiasm promotes open communication and active participation in her
workshops
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As a facilitator and consultant Curt Ewald brings global experience and broad
knowledge to MCA's coaching and consulting practices. His 30 year hotel career has
ranged from culinary apprentice at The Greenbrier to Senior VP of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
He has worked in smaller luxury properties and upscale convention giants for companies
like Hyatt, Hilton, Regent and Westin - including eleven years based in Asia Pacific
that culminated with sales & marketing responsibility for 70 hotels and 6 brands
across 15 countries. He is an experienced team-builder and certified success coach
who employs humor as part of his transformational leadership style.
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A dynamic facilitator and speaker, Meghan Gendelman brings energy and a fresh perspective to her trainings. Her passion for service and understanding of what is required of a leader in today’s busy work environment enables her to motivate participants to reach the next level. Meghan brings seven years of domestic and international classroom experience to our clients. Prior to joining MCA, Meghan taught English at the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Transportation in Italy. Before that she was responsible for Training at Pebble Beach Resorts – overseeing all corporate, leadership, culture, and service trainings.
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Joy Huber has nine years of diversified industry experience in sales, customer service, and leadership/personnel management. She is the former Director of Strategic Marketing/Customer Service for Westfield in Nebraska. She has nationwide presentation experience and is complimented on her ability to connect with audiences and build rapport in addition to subject matter knowledge and experience. In addition to her workshop facilitation responsibilities for MCA, Joy also executes MCA's "Just In Time Coaching" Calls. Joy has been professionally trained as a personal & business coach through Coach U and is seeking the ACC (Associate Certified Coach) designation through the ICF (International Coaching Federation).
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Pam Jordan is one of the founding associates of MCA and has an extensive background in Human Resources and Organization Development. She plays an integral part in working with organizations to keep the training alive. Pam's classroom style is relaxed, yet passionate and creates an open environment. She works with customers in sales, customer service and leadership training.
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Michele is a front line expert in food and beverage operations, sales and service. Her dynamic personable hands-on approach crosses the line with employees and supervisors and allows for immediate results. Prior to joining MCA, Michele gained national recognition as a professional in the off site catering/event business, banquets, hotel and club-catering/ food & beverage. Her background includes Director of Banquets and Special Events for Pebble Beach Resorts, running international events such as the US Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am, The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and all corporate meetings and events for all of their corporate clients. Michele started her catering career with her own catering company in New York. She ran a highly specialized catering operation that created and serviced high end leisure and corporate events. She also spent several years at a high-end boutique hotel in La Jolla as Director of Catering and several years as Director of Food & Beverage with ClubCorp.
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Nancy Kemp has been with MCA for more than 10 years. Bringing more than fifteen years of hotel and meeting planning experience, she is an Account Manager and works with a variety of customers from Dolphin Quest to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Nancy is passionate about MCA and our customers.
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As a facilitator, consultant and speaker for MCA, Lyndal’s ability to effectively relate to diverse audiences with a pragmatic, hands-on approach is the result of fourteen years of hospitality experience. In addition to co-owning a restaurant, Lyndal has a solid background in hotel operations, including experience in the Rooms and Food & Beverage Divisions. She has spent the past eight years utilizing her operational expertise as a trainer and executive coach within the hospitality industry’s luxury segment, including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Lyndal has served as an internal and external consultant to senior management teams implementing strategic initiatives focused upon business results such as: error reduction, guest satisfaction and employee satisfaction. She has designed and delivered training curriculum including leadership development programs, new supervisor training, e-learning initiatives and a multi-stage new hire orientation program. Her experience also includes evaluating long term training impact and organizational effectiveness with the use of needs assessments, succession plans, performance appraisal analysis, 360 feedback systems, customer feedback and business outcomes.
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Debbie has ten years of experience in the sales and event planning industry. With a background in hotels and corporate management, she is well versed in all aspects of selling, planning and managing a wide variety of markets and events. Her career at Morgans Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels, Starwood Hotels, Maritz and Woodberry Events provide a vast background in hotel sales, operations and marketing, while her years at Gap Inc. showcased her fine eye for detail and provided an opportunity to manage approximately 200 events annually. Combined, her experience ranges from conferences and meetings to global incentive programs. Debbie’s innate collaborative and creative ability to develop relationships, create out-of-the-box solutions and focus on customer service allows her to maximize her client experience while also exceeding her sales quota.
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Bodie Lowe is the Print and Media Director for MCA with 12+ years of experience in the Graphic Production field introducing new concepts to several organizations. He is the associate behind the look of all MCA training materials and the one to ensure it gets to the training locations. Bodie has added a fresh element to all of MCA’s workbooks and literature while incorporating his ideas and input into other core projects to become a valuable asset to MCA.
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Shelley has been with MCA from the beginning. She has been responsible for many different aspects of the organization and currently, her main focus is sales, although she has responsibility for the corporate team which includes event planning, material production and accounting. Her tenure with MCA enables her to take a global approach to growing the company throughout our divisions in EMEA, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Shelley was born and raised in England, which also provides her with an international perspective.
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Michael McSweeny is MCA's Executive Chef and is
currently on the United States Air Force Catering
Training Initiative Team. His ability to work with cooks
and executive chefs in the kitchen has added a new
dimension to the MCA team. He has been recognized on
national television as one of the most creative chefs
with an incredible flair for taste. Michael travels
extensively, working with our food and beverage
customers.
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As a facilitator and consultant for MCA, Miki brings
more than 14 years of proven leadership and sales
expertise in the luxury market gained from her years of
experience in leadership roles, including: Director of
Sales at The Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, and
regional sales roles at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
At MCA, Miki’s experience and in-depth knowledge of
specific market segments and sales strategies has
enabled her to excel and set the stage for high impact
facilitation in the classroom. Miki has also been
successfully involved in consulting projects with MCA,
and offers a focused and analytical look at strategic
planning to meet company objectives.
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Cindy Novotny is the original founder of MCA and is
an internationally renowned leader in sales, leadership
and customer service. She has been recognized by the
American Society of Training and Development as one of
the most powerful, innovative and passionate speakers in
the industry. Cindy has become a "radical
mentor" for thousands of executives around the
world. Her ability to close the "gap" with
senior executives and line employees has made MCA a
leader in many industries. Cindy is responsible for the
leadership of all MCA trainers and consultants and
develops her team to go far beyond our customers'
expectations.
Read Cindy's blog! >>
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Lefty Novotny is the President of Master Connection Associates. His business expertise includes Sales and Marketing, Leadership Development, Customer Service Processes, Business Strategy and Innovation and Organizational Effectiveness. Lefty works closely with MCA clients to identify specific training objectives that when fulfilled by MCA produce significant result gains. In addition to his leadership role, he is responsible for business development, strategic alliance partnerships including the Performance Selection Process and e-destinACCESS software automation for the hospitality industry.
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Mike Pagano, "Pags" is a high impact
speaker and facilitator on the Master Connection
Associates team. He has over 14 years of leadership
experience in the United States Military and has
accumulated over 2000 hour's flight time in the F/A-18
Hornet Fighter Jet.
Mike brings a unique approach to MCA's training and
leadership offering. His extensive military background
and training in leadership skills, team building, and
military strategies are useful in today's combat
business environment. Mike is a senior facilitator
providing motivational speeches, leadership development
sessions and mentoring leaders in the art of performance
enhancement, task saturation and executing plans with
precision. He is a sought after speaker and motivator.
In addition to his responsibilities with MCA G-Force,
Mike is an Instructor for the F/A-18 Hornet simulator
and flies with a Squadron stationed at Miramar,
California.
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Ed Pierce is MCA's educational technologist and is
the mastermind behind MCA's training technology. His
background in training and development began several
years ago with the Shell Oil Company, where he pioneered
the development of the company's first interactive
video-disc training system and implementation strategy.
Ed was one of the first training specialists to
introduce training programs designed to yield measurable
results. His peers recognize him as a leader in training
around the world.
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Renee Sheffner leads the Registration and Meeting Planning Department of MCA. Her background both in hotels and meeting planning has brought a focused approach to site selection, participant registration and streamlining all of the training functions. Renee operates the "heartbeat" of the team, coordinating all workshop logistics and facilitators.
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Sunday's creativity and dynamic ability to strategically support and energize sales
teams has made her successful in the industry for over 20 years. Her extensive
relationship with some of the hospitality industry's most respected and successful
clients have been a valuable asset to MCA. Her experience includes National Sales
Manager for the Pebble Beach Resorts; opening Director of Travel Industry Sales for
San Diego's newest luxury resort; The Grand Del Mar, Sales Director for Carmel's
beautiful Highlands Inn; as well as Owner/operator of her own luxury resort in
Southeast Alaska, marketing to affluent clientele worldwide. Sunday's expertise
in the luxury travel market as well as successful sales and marketing provide
invaluable insight into the mindset of this clientele. Her business background
combined with her degree in Clinical Psychology allows her to execute highly
motivational training sessions.
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Amy VanderWal brings more than 18 years of sales and leadership expertise to the classroom. Her background consists of leading teams and selling for many reputable full service resorts throughout North America such as, Boyne USA Resorts in Michigan, Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, The Wigwam Resort and Spa in Arizona and Meadowood Resort and Spa in Napa Valley. While successfully developing her career in the hospitality industry, Amy also spent ten years as a certified Dale Carnegie Instructor. A true professional in everything she does, Amy delivers high impact learning sessions. She creates a classroom environment where the participants discover their true potential. Her natural presentation style, knowledge and enthusiasm place her in demand with many clients.
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Gina Viņa is currently a Senior Account Manager for MCA and responsible for sales and business development. In this role, she also conducts one-on-one coaching, needs assessments, and project management work. As a former MCA Facilitator, Gina offers a dynamic blend of experience and expertise to MCA clients. Before joining MCA in 1997, she enjoyed a career for over 10 years in sales and operational leadership positions with various resorts and global hotel companies. Gina holds a B.S. in Business Management from The University of Redlands.
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