Sommer Kehrli - The Centre

Sommer Kehrli, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Sommer Kehrli is the Chief Executive Officer for The Centre for Organization Effectiveness. Her background includes leading large-scale change management and employee engagement efforts, facilitating executive retreats and teambuilding workshops, coaching leaders of all levels, designing training programs, conducting research on leadership competencies, and creating assessment instruments.

Sommer has experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She has worked with local and state government, pharmaceutical companies, financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and universities. Sommer worked at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California as the Director of Performance Improvement and as an Organization Development Consultant.

Sommer has a Ph.D. and Masters degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Santa Clara University. Sommer is a member of the American Psychological Association, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, American Society for Public Administration, and Organization Development Network. Sommer is also a fellow in the UCSF – Center for Health Professions Change Agent Program.

Julie Riklin - The Centre

Julie Riklin, BA

Training Programs Manager

Julie Riklin is the Training Programs Manager at The Centre for Organization Effectiveness in San Diego. She is responsible for coordinating and managing all of the Centre’s training programs and academies. This includes scheduling, booking rooms, creating budgets and proposals, ordering food, administering the Centre’s Competency Instrument, ordering training assessments, and creating training certificates. Julie works hand-in-hand with consultants and clients to ensure an open line of communication and to assist in the preparation and assembly of consultants’ training content. In addition to managing The Centre’s various programs, Julie creates marketing fliers and emails for the various Centre’s training programs. Due to the diversity of Julie’s work and the many responsibilities she manages she is considered by her colleagues as a “jack of all trades” and is recognized for her flexibility and can-do-attitude.

Julie graduated Magna cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies. Prior to working for The Centre of Organization Effectiveness, Julie worked at SeaWorld for 15 years as a Business Analyst. Some of her prior responsibilities included preparing and monitoring labor and sales budgets, analyzing costs and item data, and identifying and creating more efficient methods for accomplishing work. Julie’s diverse working experience has aided her ability to take on diverse work tasks and effectively manage program needs from start to finish. Julie is an ENFP and her top 5 Strengths are Empathy, Woo, Developer, Connectedness, and Communication.

Deanna Potter - The Centre

Deanna Potter, MA

Strategic Communications Manager

Deanna Potter has nearly 20 years’ experience in individual coaching and group training courses designed to improve organizational results. She is a speaker, trainer, coach, and author who has consulting experience in both the private and public sectors. She understands the demands and importance of balancing an organization’s key performance objectives against the well-fare of the individuals within the organization. She has generated organizational models and systems that focus on process improvements, cutting edge workflow methods, and practices that improve communication and increase workload capacity.

Her noteworthy background includes various leadership positions, consulting projects, and presentations with organizations such as ITT Hartford Insurance, CAPPO, San Diego Housing Commission, Western Municipal Water District, Keller Williams Realty, Trilogy Financial, Anderson Marketing, California Association of Realtors, Orange County Sanitation District, QWISE of Qualcomm, and National Institute for Governmental Purchasing (NIGP).

Deanna has held positions as Division Project Manager, HR Staffing Specialist, Division Training Coordinator, Customer Service Manager, Sales Certification Manager, Consumer Affairs Specialist, and Broker CEO. She has been a team leader for nationwide projects over multiple locations, lead new system implementations, supervised performance enhancement procedures, and managed the creation of quality assurance projects.

In 2015, she co-founded and co-launched SUE Talks. A series of events promoting the professional journeys of women leading in business.

Her degree from the University of San Diego is in Communications with a minor in English. Her training emphasis is in the areas of Teams, Communication, Productivity, Systems, Leadership, Decision Making, and Negotiation.

Deanna has conducted numerous keynote presentations for conventions, conferences, and organizations around her book From Distress to Success which outlines the 3 Key Choices critical to moving through challenges and obstacles.

Deanna understands the challenges facing employees and leaders in today’s fast paced world. She uses her knowledge to help others systematize and prioritize their responsibilities for greater success.

Jena Ellithorpe, MA

Organization Development Specialist

Jena Ellithorpe is the Organization Development Specialist at The Centre for Organization Effectiveness. During her time at The Centre she has worked with various public sector organizations supporting a variety of organization development initiatives. These projects have included the alignment of strategic initiatives with out-come based performance measures, strategic team development initiatives, the design of department-wide innovation programs, and the development, implementation, and analysis of employee engagement surveys. Additionally, Jena has noteworthy experience developing training content and programs in the areas of emotional intelligence, generational differences, action planning, change management, and techniques for increasing managerial effectiveness.

Jena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of California Santa Barbara and subsequently earned her Master’s in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University in San Diego. Jena has a passion for factors that impact employee engagement and motivation. As well as methods for cultivating team effectiveness, specifically through focus on team characteristics, team design/structure, and organizational context.

Jena is dedicated to helping individuals with their personal development in a way that both supports their personal goals, as well as, the effectiveness of the entire team/organization. She has experience administering various assessments including the DISC assessment, StrengthsFinder, and Emotional Intelligence assessment. Jena is certified in StrengthsFinder and DISC and capitalizes on this knowledge to support the development of others and to foster effective working relationships within organizational systems.

Greg Harkless, MA

Director of Operations

As director of operations for The Centre, Greg’s primarily role is to create and implement policies, procedures, and structures to support the work of the rest of the team. Among Greg’s responsibilities are the development of project management systems, coordination of some business processes including managing contracts, and supervision of the The Centre’s administrative assistant.

Greg has a diverse professional background featuring a dozen years as an outdoor educator/administrator and wilderness medicine instructor; traditional classroom teaching with students at all levels from elementary to university; and seven years of nonprofit leadership experience. He is a volunteer AYSO soccer coach, and a certified martial arts instructor who has helped start and lead youth programs on both coasts.

Greg earned a master’s degree in leadership studies through the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego, where he previously earned a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Jessica Fairchild, MA

Program Development Specialist

Jessica Fairchild is the Program Development Specialist at The Centre for Organization Effectiveness. She is primarily responsible for administering assessments, assisting with instructional and visual design, hosting virtual training programs, and developing and implementing The Centre’s social media strategy. Jessica is passionate about facilitating engaged participation, developing programs and capacities, and deepening understanding.  Her approach is founded on the ideas that there are multiple ways to achieve a goal, all interactions are a learning opportunity to move forward, and that change is an iterative process.

Prior to joining The Centre, Jessica worked for fifteen years in the information governance space working within public and private sectors, from homegrown businesses to global firms, state and local agencies, and educational institutions. These professional experiences have provided her a 30,000-foot view of the whole organization and the individuals and teams who create these spaces.

Jessica graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from The University of California, San Diego. She is also a Certified Records Manager and a Certified Information Governance Officer. As a dedicated life-long learner, she is currently working on her PhD in Organizational Psychology.

Kelly Dalrymple

Administrative Assistant

Kelly Dalrymple is the Administrative Support contact at The Centre for Organization Effectiveness in San Diego. She is responsible for providing project and operations support for The Centre team. This includes printing training certificates, class materials, and coordinating the catering for the Centre’s training programs and academies. She also handles the travel arrangements for the Centre, in addition to maintaining the San Diego office.

Kelly has over 15 years of executive level support in the private sector, as well as 12 years of volunteer work in her community.

The Centre for Organization Effectiveness

The Centre is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), a legal organizational structure not unlike a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As a JPA, the California Controller’s Office has designated The Centre as a special district, making The Centre a public sector agency – just like the clients we serve.

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