Leadership Team

Michael Walter Schiesser

 

Founder, and a member of the board of directors of the Inner Journey Seminars, LLC, based out of California.  Michael has 28 years of experience in the field of facilitation in the US, Canada, and Europe.  Specializing in individual and group dynamics, he is a facilitator for The Inner Journey, the Human Experience Seminar, the Inner Journey Transformational Facilitation Training, and the Essential Pilgrimage courses. He is a co-creator of ‘A Journey into the Soul of Leadership’ and co founder of TAO Consulting, which offers transformational courses for organizational leaders, intended to provide them with the tools to effectively lead and manage.

Neelama Eyres

 

Neelama has been guiding people through personal transformation for over 13 years. She takes great joy in assisting people in the process of discovering themselves beyond their personality. She has a B.A. in Comparative Religion and has lead international meditation and yoga retreats as well as facilitated hundreds of spiritual and transformational seminars. In 2000, she began a successful life coaching business and in 2001, she created Body Embraced, a seminar for women, out of her desire to transform the body discontent that most women experience into a vehicle for profound healing and growth. In 2004, she co-created Devotion; Calling The Beloved a spiritual retreat focused on discovering, experiencing and deepening one’s personal connection with The Divine. For more information about Neelama and her work, please visit www.neelama.com.

Howard Ross

Howard is a facilitator and the Executive Director of Inner Journey Seminars, Washington, D.C..  Founder of Cook Ross, Inc., he has more than 20 years as a transformational business consultant with hundreds of organizations all over the world, specializing in leadership, diversity, and organizational change.  A former teacher, school administrator, rock and roll musician, and college professor, and a father of four sons and grandfather of four granddaughters, Howard is a co-creator of A Journey into the Soul of Leadership, a transformational course for organizational leaders.

Gunnar Nilsson

During the last 30 years, Gunnar has been an entrepreneur, educator, change
agent, and CEO. He has served and is serving on several boards.  For over 20 years, he has participated in and facilitated individual and
organizational transformation.  In addition to facilitating Inner
Journey seminars, he works with Fortune 500 companies as an executive coach, leads workshops, and works with several not-for-profit organizations.  He has a B.A. and an MBA.

Gerry Guiliani

Gerry has extensive experience in training and coaching youth and volunteers in a variety of settings. He is a former National Program Director of a major youth organization and has had a long standing and active interest in the areas of education,  spiritual and personal development. His experience includes the Hoffman Quadrinity Intensive in Toronto, Miracle of Love Intensive in San Diego as well of a number of other similar intensive workshops. Gerry has been active in the Inner Journey since it was first introduced in Eastern Canada in 1997 (as Quest)and completed his 4 year Inner Journey Facilitator Training in 2004. He also has a practice as an Inner Journey Coach offering individual sessions.

Jack LaFleur

Jack is an individual, couple and family therapist, workshop facilitator, EAP counselor and educator in the field of Organizational Health.  Jack has over 15 years of experience working as a psychotherapist in community based agencies and five years in the field of Organizational and Mental Health. He currently leads a team of facilitators of Inner Journey Canada who deliver personal development retreats/workshops. Jack also offers personal development workshops in other Canadian cities on wellness, emotional intelligence, work/life balance, managing stress, meditation and self awareness.

Penelope Bell

Penelope has over 17 years of experience as a massage therapist specializing in working with people who have experienced post-traumatic-shock.  She has 27 years of personal experience in both group and individual counseling, including bioenergetics, Gestalt, Jungian, and cognitive therapies.  Her spiritual practices include Women’s Prayer Circles, Afro-Haitian dancing, Dynamic meditation and Buddhism.  One of the founding members of the Inner Journey, she is impassioned about facilitating personal transformation and deepening connections among all people.  She has a B.A. in English and is currently working on an M.S. in somatic psychology.

Kimberly Salameh

Kimberly brings 7 years of experience as a trainer, professional coach and speaker coupled with over 20 years of facilitation, project and account management, resource management and human resources.   She is the founder of Dynamic Life Solutions, which offers corporate training, professional coaching and facilitation for women’s empowerment groups.  Most recently, she co-designed and delivered – Dynamic Choices for Women: Creating Professional and Personal Fulfillment – a curriculum designed to support women in identifying their values, career choices, and to achieve wholeness in their life.   She is a certified coach and a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), International Coaching Federation (ICF), Executive Women’s Roundtable (EWR) and eWomen Network.

Synandra Lechner

Synandra Lechner, MBA, has 25 years of diverse seniour management experience in public and private sectors followed by 10 years of management consulting for a variety of Federal Canadian Goverment Departments. Her consulting assignments have focused primarily on organizational reviews, design, transition support, change management, group facilitation and training. Ten years ago she started down a path of personal growth which opened up a whole new world to explore – her inner world. It also exposed her to the benefits of experiential learning. Positive changes resulted in her work and personal life and these led her to become a trainee facilitator for the Inner Journey Seminar. Facilitating learning today, Synandra draws from her experience with goverment organizations, traditional professional development courses and experiential personal growth programs.