Becky Crowder, President

founder and President of The Austin Peters Group, Inc., has more than 23 years of experience. Former positions include Human Resource/Administrative Services Director, Management Consultant, Management Assistant and Budget Analyst. Rebecca has provided management assistance to more than 300 clients on a variety of management issues. She has researched and authored more than 100 studies. She has organized and led training programs for over 10,000 participants on issues such as affirmative action, diversity awareness, team building, budget and finance, role of boards, goal setting, strategic planning, conflict resolution, working together and performance evaluation. She is certified to deliver Achieve Global Products and is a diversity awareness trainer through the Society for Human Resource Management. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Kansas State University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri at Columbia. She is also a former adjunct professor at Washburn University teaching human resources. Rebecca also holds the SPHR desgination for the Society for Human Resource Management.

Beth Tatarko, Vice President

has more than 23 years of technical assistance experience working with more than 300 local, regional and state organizations. She brings expertise in strategic planning, leadership training, organizational development, conflict resolution and a special expertise in focus groups. She has worked with more than 20 communities in citizen attitude survey research, focus group research and individual interviews. She has also served as a program evaluator for schools, universities, and state agencies. Elizabeth also has served as an organizer and leader for training programs, which have reached more than 10,000 persons. She received specialized training in conducting focus groups from the University of Minnesota, she is certified to deliver the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and 7-Habits of Highly Effective People by Franklin Covey. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Master of Science in Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University.

Jay Crowder, Director, Human Resources

for The Austin Peters Group, Inc., has held leadership and professional positions in two Fortune 250 companies. His 25 years of experience has been in the arenas of affirmative action, fair employment practices (ADA, FMLA, Title VII), human resource planning, recruitment, compensation, performance management, 360 degree evaluation process, employee relations, training and development, employee relocation, union avoidance, worker's compensation, and immigration. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from the University of Kansas and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University. Jay also holds the SPHR desgination for the Society for Human Resource Management.

Marla Flentje, Senior Consultant

has more than 20 years experience in consulting, facilitation and teaching professional development programs for state, local and community organizations. She provides advice, support and facilitation for strategic planning, board development and organizational development projects for local government and non-profit organizations. Marla provides facilitation services for executive recruitment for local government. She has developed curriculum and marketing plans, and provided program management for education certificate programs in governance, leadership, supervision and customer service to serve thousands of local government officials and staff. She served as director for a state university-based unit that provided research, support and technical assistance to local governments. She was a grant writer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Kansas and Sedgwick County Arc. Marla holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and a Master of Science in Public Administration from Wichita State University.

Michelle Schamberger, Consultant

has more than 10 years of experience in grant writing for non-profit organizations. She is also a lead analyst and designer for instructional design and e-Learning courses. She is experienced in E-business research, writing, and Web-site development. Michelle is an instructional designer and technical writer for training and specializing in use of multimedia. Prior to working in the field of training, she had eleven years teaching college-level English. She has developed communications and marketing plans for major corporations and organizations. Michelle has a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Master of Arts in English, and a Proficiency Certificate in French Studies.. She was also a Visiting Scholar in Shakespearean and Victorian Studies, St. Peter's College, Oxford. Michelle has been with The Austin Peters Group, Inc. for three years and prior to that was an Educational Consultant for Sprint Corporation. She has served as an Adjunct Instructor, Colorado Mountain College, University of Missouri Kansas City, Penn Valley Community College, and Johnson County Community College.

Michelle Beam, Consultant

has a background in administration and has worked for the past ten years for The Austin Peters Group, Inc. in salary and benefits management, analysis, survey development and design as well as data analysis and research on a variety of projects. Michelle's strength is in developing relationships with customers so that service may be improved. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science from Kansas State University.