Dr. Ellen Burts-Cooper is the senior managing partner of Improve Consulting and Training Group, a firm that provides personal and professional development training, coaching, and consultation. Improve has been featured in Time Magazine, Black Voices, Smart Business Magazine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Cleveland Jewish News, Cleveland.com, and Crain’s Cleveland Business. Ellen works across numerous industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, education, retail, utilities, governmental agencies, not-for-profit, and small businesses.

Dr. Burts-Cooper is on faculty at Case Western Reserve University in the Weatherhead Executive Education Program and The Institute for Management Studies (IMS). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of First Federal of Lakewood and Sea-Land Chemical Company. She is the author of the books “aMAZEing Organizational Teams: Navigating 7 Critical Attributes for Cohesion, Productivity and Resilience” and “Canine Instinct: A Guide to Survival and Advancement in Corporate America.”

Previously, Ellen served as a Senior Vice President and Senior Director of Operational Excellence, IT Performance Management and Governance for PNC Financial Services. Prior to the financial services industry, Ellen worked in the electronics industry where she led global teams in several functions at 3M Company in St. Paul, MN.

She earned a BS in chemistry from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL, her PhD in organic/polymer chemistry from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, her MBA from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business, her Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification from 3M Company, and her Resilience and Thriving Facilitation certification from the National Wellness Institute.

Ellen is also an active volunteer and supporter for a host of community-related organizations across the US and provides college scholarships through her fund at The Cleveland Foundation. She is a member of the Private Directors Association and the National Wellness Institute.

Erica Guevarez is the Program Manager at Improve Consulting and Training Group. Erica has multiple years of experience in customer service and hospitality management and is responsible for coordinating all activities within the facility, managing client accounts, creating client needs assessments and designing the scope of work for client engagements.

Since joining the Improve team in 2015, Erica has taken on additional responsibilities such as scorecard development, curriculum development and content research.

Additionally, her prior leadership and management experience working with organizations and teams has made her an integral part of the Team Building Experience through which organizations can learn to become more resilient, cohesive and productive.