About Us
The Center of Excellence for Workplace Communications, LLC, is an organization providing high-quality coaching on presentations and fundraising for leaders of nonprofit organizations. The coaching is relevant for Executive Directors and persons working in their offices, Board members, and individuals working as Development Directors. The President, Founder and Principal Coach of the Center of Excellence is Judith Norback, PhD, who has spent over 40 years teaching and coaching others in various processes of communication—in particular, presenting and fundraising. In 2020 she founded the Center to provide services to nonprofit leaders and others, such as their Board members, who are working to fundraise for their nonprofits on a continuing basis.
Judith is joined at the Center by Chuck Easley, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Fundamental Analytics, and Alan Zhang, Director of Presentation and Fundraising Outreach.
Mission
We aim to provide life-long enhanced presentation and fundraising skills that improve fundraiser confidence and self-esteem, to effectively share their vision and to voice their “ask”, yielding exponentially higher levels of loyalty and major giving.
Vision
Our vision is to fulfill a passion of enabling nonprofit organizations to achieve their missions by coaching executive teams to clarify their vision and to use their voice in a compelling manner that captures audience conviction and enhances financial rewards.
Experience
Our experts have extensive experience studying interpersonal interaction with a keen analytical eye to the most effective communication between individuals and within groups and practicing social psychology principles of oral and written communications. We are gifted in working with diverse cultures and perspectives across all sectors and leadership tiers of nonprofit organizations.
TRUSTED BY
What We Offer
- Instilling motivation that raises confidence and self-esteem of stakeholders and speakers
- Providing insights into the best practices to enhance the presentation environment, cleared by identifying and removing any distractions
- Showcasing the most effective presentation methods that improve the flow of the presentation and avoid any memorization, thus allowing speakers to use the appropriate amount of energy and enthusiasm in conversation, especially relating to the “ask”
- Establishing an encouraging environment where feedback is always given in a responsive and positive manner
- Improving presenter engagement with audience by learning the art of asking thought provoking questions, practicing focused listening, and responding with concise answers that strengthen impact
- Sharing transparency and metrics of client success and return on investment (ROI) by analyzing fundraising results pre- and post-engagement with Center of Excellence for Workplace Communications
Meet Judith Norback, PhD
Cornell BA and Princeton PhD in social psychology or the study of interpersonal interaction between individuals and groups
Almost 40 years in communication skills, with particular focus on presentation, and over 3 years on fundraising
Before Georgia Tech, founded and directed Center for Skills Enhancement, Inc.
– U.S. Department of Labor, National Skill Standards Board, colleges and universities
While faculty at Georgia Tech for 20 years:
– Founded workplace communication program
– Wrote a book or oral communication excellence
– Held over 30,000 coaching sessions with all levels of students
– 38 articles and 46 presentations at National Conferences
– One of foremost workplace presentation experts in the US
September 2020, founded Center of Excellence for Workplace Communications, LLC
– Since then, have coached over 30 nonprofit leaders on fundraising
– Example: one nonprofit reported 43% increase in funds (from $100,000) after she coached them
AUTHOR OF OVER 50 PUBLICATIONS
– Integrating an Executive Panel on Communication in Senior Design (with E. Leeds & K. Kulkarni). IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, December 2010. Also invited to produce podcast and completed it, winter 2010 (online).
– Engineering Communication—Executive Perspectives on the Necessary Skills for Students (with E. M. Leeds & G. A. Forehand). International Journal of Modern Engineering. Vol. 10, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2009.
– Managerial Presentations of Analytical Work, (with T. Grossman & J. Hardin). INFORMS Transactions on Education. Vol. 8, No. 3, May 2008.
– Integrating Discipline-Specific Writing Instruction based on Workforce Data into Technical Communication Courses (with L. McNair). American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings, June 2005.
– Strategy Paper for the National Skill Standards Board entitled Skill Levels and Equivalencies: Related Projects and Issues. Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, Inc., 1996.
View All Publications and Presentations
BEST PAPER AWARD
– Issued by Industrial Engineering Division of American Society for Engineering Education
- “Teaching Workplace Communication in Senior Design” awarded Best Paper
68 NATIONAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
– Communication across Divisions: Trends Emerging from Papers Presented at the 2015 Annual Conference of ASEE (with K. Neeley), American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings, June 2015.
– Improving Students’ Oral Presentation Skills Using an Executive-Based Rubric developed at Georgia Tech (with T. Utschig). Workshop accepted by PIC Chair Committee for ASEE Conference, ERM Division, Vancouver, June 2011.
– Workforce Communication Program: Instruction that Works and Assessment Built from Executive Input (with T. Utschig, R. Burnett & G. Forehand). Organized session on Georgia Tech Undergraduate and Graduate Communication Instruction and presented paper at INFORMS Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, Fall 08.
– Georgia Tech Workforce Communication Program: Students’ Values and Self-Perceptions Regarding Capstone Design Workforce Presentation Instruction (with P. Griffin, G. Forehand, & L. Gruppen). Session presented for LED Division at ASEE Annual Meeting, Hawaii, June 2007.
– Incorporating Workplace Communication in Science and Engineering Courses (with L. McNair). Invited workshop given for the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Washington, DC, February 2005.
COMMUNICATION EXPERT
Advised US Department of Labor and National Science Foundation on communication skill-related projects and proposals