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Featured alumna: Nancy J. Stephens '05 M.Ed
ambridge College alumna Nancy J. Stephens was recently named President of PI Worldwide, the international management consulting organization known for the Predictive Index(R). As President, Ms. Stephens will lead the PI Worldwide organization, which includes the corporate office and 45 locations around the world.
Before joining PI Worldwide, Ms. Stephens was the Chief Executive Officer of Global Sales Alliance (GSA), a worldwide sales training and consulting firm, which she founded in 1992. PI Worldwide acquired GSA in 2006, along with the company's Selling Skills Assessment Tool (SSAT) and its training program, Customer-Focused Selling (CFS). At that time, she became Vice President of the firm.
Ms. Stephens has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with PI Worldwide through its flagship product, the Predictive Index(R). Global Sales Alliance used the Predictive Index as part of their business offerings, and Ms. Stephens was a respected partner of PI Worldwide, leading the training of their sales professionals.
Elisabeth Daniels DePristo, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, shared her thoughts on the Board's unanimous decision to promote Ms. Stephens from Vice President to President. "Nancy has always been a respected and valuable asset to the PI Worldwide community. She has developed strong relationships with the Licensee network, clients, employees and Board of Directors resulting in a keen insight into the growth potential of the business. I am both fortunate and proud to announce Nancy's appointment as President of PI Worldwide."
"I am excited about the opportunities ahead for PI Worldwide and its clients as we continue to grow," Ms. Stephens said. "Since the firm's launch in 1955, PI Worldwide and the Predictive Index have enabled companies to improve their performance by increasing the success of their people. Globalization, increased competition, and the pending retirement of the Baby Boomer generation are bringing new challenges to our clients--from leadership development and succession planning, to added pressures for revenue growth. The Predictive Index, along with our Selling Skills Assessment Tool and Customer-Focused Selling, are increasingly valuable to our clients as the world continues to change."
In addition to her background as a business leader, Ms. Stephens is a noted sales authority. She is the author of the best-selling business book, Customer-Focused Selling, and accompanying CD-ROM, published by Adams Media Corporation. In addition, she developed the accelerated networking audio program, Five Alive, and the video, Networking for Sales Professionals.
Ms. Stephens is a member of the CEO Club of Boston and the National Speakers Association, where she earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, held by only the top 7% of 5,000 members worldwide. She holds a master's degree in education, with a concentration in psychology, from Cambridge College.
About PI Worldwide
PI Worldwide is an international management consulting organization based in Wellesley Hills, MA. Using a proven, proprietary management tool known as the Predictive Index(R) and targeted sales assessment and training services (Selling Skills Assessment Tool and Customer-Focused Selling), PI Worldwide helps companies align individual performance with their specific business goals for improved bottom-line performance, productivity and profitability. Founded in 1955, PI Worldwide serves more than 7,000 clients, including many of the world's largest corporations, in some 146 countries.
previous Featured Alumna: Susan Elliott, M.Ed 1995
If You Combine Dr. Phil and Judge Judy - You Get Susan Elliott
After leaving a life of life of abuse and abandonment, she became a successful therapist and lawyer, and now inspires others to reach for the stars.
She is both a trained therapist and an attorney, and her students say that Susan Elliott is a "shoot-straight-from-the-hip" cross between Dr. Phil and Judge Judy. Elliott considers Judge Judy one of her role models and is flattered by comparisons to her. Like Judge Judy, Elliott believes that taking responsibility for your own life is the key to finding happiness and leaving unnecessary drama behind. It is what she has done in her own life.
Elliott grew up struggling with poor self-image and feeling like a castoff as a foster child in the Bronx. As a teenager, she felt inept and incapable with no goals and no hope. She lived a life that was fast and dangerous, wishing, she says, "to get it over with quickly." After surviving one too many abusive relationships, Elliott realized she had spent too much time feeling sorry for herself and waiting for someone else to save her. "One day I was ready to check out of life under the mountain of emotional pain. Then it hit me that in order for my life to change, I had to change it. No one else was going to do it for me." She threw herself into finding people to talk to, books to read, seminars and support groups to attend, and courses to take.
Through hard work, perseverance and determination, Elliott pulled herself out of the chaos and misery, eventually becoming a therapist, a motivational speaker, a writer and an attorney. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College where she graduated with High Honors, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa; an M.Ed. from Cambridge College; and, after being inspired by Judge Judy, went on to obtain a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She now has a happy marriage, a great career, a peaceful life and wonderful relationships with her children who credit her with breaking the cycle of abuse in their family.
Now she teaches others how to succeed in a series of workshops, classes, and seminars in New York and Boston entitled "How to Get Past Your Past and Make Your Dreams Come True."
Even though law practice demands more than 60 hours a week from her, she still finds time to work with others. Her colleagues ask why she spends her precious free time speaking and teaching workshops. "I love my law practice, but I can't forget where I come from. I give back because people were there for me when I needed help. I feel I have to be there for others. That is how you show gratitude for what you were given," said Elliott who also values doing pro bono legal work in addition to working long hours for the litigation clients of her firm.
Her students are grateful for her help and her inspiration. They tell her that the seminars change their lives. She says, "I'm just there to tell them it's possible. They are doing the work by standing up and taking responsibility for themselves. It's hard to do, and you need people to cheer you on. I try to be there to do that."
In addition to teaching and speaking, Elliott is writing the book, "How to Get Past Your Past and Make Your Dreams Come True: The Seven Things You Need to Do To Find Happiness Now" as well as a memoir that details her early struggle and amazing triumph.
We want to hear about the wonderful things our alumni are doing. Work accomplishments, community triumphs, your family story, volunteer experiences - we'd love to know about it! Send your comments or suggestions to Christina Gajewski, Alumni Relations Coordinator, at christina.gajewski@cambridgecollege.edu or call her at 617-873-0430.
You may also fill out the online form at http://www.cambridgecollege.edu/alumni/stories.cfm
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