Nancy: Consultant, Client Manager, Project Manager, and Senior Designer and Developer

Degree in Electrical Engineering; former Systems Engineer

Her engineering background taught Nancy how to analyze a problem, seek a solution, and quickly learn difficult-to-grasp information. And her experience working for a large company gave her insight to glean the real issue behind a client request. When taking network engineer certification classes, she noticed that the training company employees looked like they loved their jobs and were having fun and Nancy was fascinated by the learning process. That’s when she was approached by the facilitator and asked if she ever considered training people. Making a gut decision, she took the job and never looked back.

Nancy’s rare ability to see beyond a client's immediate issues and perceive the bigger picture plays no small part in all the roles she holds today at Gillespie—consultant, client manager, project manager, and senior designer and developer.

Geoff: Co-owner and Principal of Gillespie Associates

Degree in Biochemistry; former Research Biochemist and Quality Improvement Manager

Working as a quality improvement manager got Geoff thinking about human performance, its role in quality, and training as a solution. He began running classes to improve quality and safety, fueled by the desire to help people grow and be good at their jobs.

He soon found this was the part of his job where he was deriving the most satisfaction: helping people grow their skill set. That is, when he started thinking about the best way to help people move forward, as opposed to “just checking a box that indicated training had been completed.”

And when the opportunity presented itself to run a company devoted to helping other businesses grow and succeed, Geoff jumped on it. Which is how he eventually wound up becoming CEO of Gillespie Associates.

Karen: Co-owner and President of Gillespie Associates

Degree in Organizational Development

As an OD consultant, Karen has over 30 years of corporate experience in group dynamics, culture change, leadership development, strategic planning and consulting with executive women.  She saw a clear connection between her work in OD and the work we were doing at Gillespie Associates. Together we’ve been able to address performance issues from multiple directions. An artist at heart, Karen applies her creativity to helping people and organizations grow and change.

Nikki: Director of Finance and Manager of All Things Office-Related

Degree in Business Management with concentration in Accounting

It was during her first college accounting class for her business/pre-law track, that Nikki decided accounting was her passion. Her love of how numbers tell a story made her the perfect fit for Gillespie Associates and our love of stories to drive learning. For Nikki, numbers describe the past, present, and future of a company through the reports that she finds such fun in analyzing. A career path that included billing clerk, accounting manager, and accounting analyst led her to Gillespie Associates when she wanted to find an organization that would embrace her passion for accounting and provide her with the work/life balance she desired. Nikki’s work analyzes and organizes the story that is Gillespie Associates, so the rest of us can keep writing stories to reach new learners.

Bobbi: Content Editor, Writer, Bringer of Order to Chaos

Degree in Planned Studies: Writing, with Emphasis in Language and Psychology; Collaborator, Developer, SME in Moral Injury

Bobbi has always had a critical instinct to improve the world around her—just ask her family! She brings her expertise in grammar, usage, and style to all written content with an eye toward making it concise and user-friendly. With three decades’ experience in content editing, quality assurance, creative and technical writing, and collaborating with writers and SMEs, Bobbi still loves shaping ideas through words. She believes that what we learn in any arena—at-work required training, casual perusal of the internet, reading a novel, traveling the world—can have far-reaching applications to connect to one another and to broaden our practical and creative abilities. She has found a home among Gillespie’s talented storytellers who share her passion for driving change through meaningful training experiences.