About Us

Rob Fletcher is a consultant, author, speaker and coach for a wide variety of corporations and organizations.

Rob’s quest is to create passionate, committed teams and organizations united in a common vision—with each person’s unique strengths effectively in play everyday.

Rob’s comprehensive portfolio includes everything from sustained work (multi-day training, on-going coaching) with intact teams to designing and delivering large group teambuilding events for 500 + participants. He has received training in the “emotional intelligence” model and is qualified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Rob’s dynamic and friendly approach has provided both memorable experiences and tangible results for organizations as diverse as the NFL to Giorgio Armani to Sony.

Laura Herbert
Production and Logistics Manager

Laura’s superlative management of behind-the-scenes design and on-site logistics makes the client experience easy, delightful and seamless. Whether she’s interfacing with a client’s venue of choice or managing facilitators at 500+ person events, Laura’s easy smile and attention to detail sets the stage for a successful quest.

In addition to Quixote Consulting, Laura has many passions in life, including sewing, gardening, and a deep commitment to environmental conservation. She is a Conservation Commissioner in the town of Erving, Massachusetts and has been a speaker at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on the subject of conservation case studies.

Michael Brown
Consultant

Mike is a team development consultant who has facilitated everything from indoor corporate trainings to outdoor challenge courses to tele-classes. Mike has 13 years experience leading corporate, non-profit, and university groups. His ability to quickly read a group, make a strong connection with them and follow their best track for productive learning has earned him accolades from his clients. With Mike at the helm, groups have fun and a wonderful tone is set.
His clients have included: Citizens Bank, Charter One, Merck, Tyco Healthcare, Dunkin Donuts, Hale and Dorr LLC, Paul Newman’s Hole-in-the-Wall-Gang Camp, NextStep (an organization for young adults with life threatening illnesses), and the New England Hemophilia Association.
Mike has a passion for learning. His interests range from leadership trainings, human design, nutrition, and many alternative healing modalities. Mike is also a professional ropes course facilitator and trainer.

Lou Manzi
Trainer

Lou heads up Quixote’s music teambuilding programs as well as many of our other high-energy offerings. Since 1984, he has led dynamic and successful programs for corporations such as IBM, Exxon-Mobil, and Jones New York. While a consultant for the Boys and Girls Club of America, Lou was a keynote speaker at their national convention in Las Vegas and designed extensive parts of their music curriculum.

Lou is a music education specialist who performs extensively as an instrumental acoustic guitarist, singer/songwriter and harmonica player. He is the author of nine guitar instruction books, appears in two guitar instructional DVDs and was one of the first instructors to be selected to teach at WorkshopLive’s innovative online music education program.

Lou especially enjoys leading our “Play the Blues” and “Sing the Blues” events and any programs where people are ready to have some fun. His unique sense of playfulness puts people at ease and allows participants to truly develop interpersonal relationships and achieve results that exceed all expectations.

Melissa Churchard Hannon
Consultant

As a corporate consultant, Melissa’s leadership team development and strategic implementation programs have served a broad range of industries from health care to school systems to Fortune 500 companies. The focus of her work with managers is to support their transition from tacticians to strategic and influential leaders.

Melissa has been a consultant since 1996. Her clients have included: Human Resource Managers Development Program at the University of Michigan, Waterford Wedgwood, BAE Systems, Saint Gobain, The Hartford, Charter One and American Airlines.

Melissa’s work in leadership development began at Merrowvista Education Center in 1994 where she led groups on biking, canoeing and hiking trips in the White Mountains. 
           
Melissa bicycled across the United States with a team of able and disabled cyclists to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. She has served on the board of directors for Danny’s Team, a non profit organization creating opportunities for people in need.

Chris White
Consultant

Drawing on his two decades of working in the public sector, Chris specializes in communication and strategic thinking, particularly with governmental agencies and non-profit organizations.

Chris has served as a city councilman, consulted as a campaign manager and worked as an environmental lobbyist and policy advocate. He has been a speech writer and district administrator for U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey (NY) since 2001. He has also been a member of the board of directors of numerous organizations and currently serves on the Sustainable Land Use/ Transportation Committee in New Paltz, NY.

Additionally, Chris has led team development programs for a wide range of groups from non-profit and corporate organizations to inner-city youth at-risk. These programs have utilized a variety of outdoor adventure modalities.

Jerry Riverstone
Consultant

Building on his years of experience as an international consultant, geographer, and anthropologist, Jerry specializes in conflict management, negotiation and communication. His consulting has brought him from North to Central and South America where he has been involved in complex negotiations between governments and native peoples’ organizations. His work has focused on helping different groups to achieve a balance between individual and organizational needs. He has led community groups in discussions of planning and visioning processes and sustainable development.

Jerry has worked in a variety of situations for academic and governmental institutions as well as non-governmental and community organizations. His clients have included: the Wildlife Conservation Society, the United Nations, The Wyatt Group, Levin College of Law, the Rama Indian Territorial Government (Nicaragua) and IBIS-Denmark.

Jerry has also authored numerous books and articles. Currently he is conducting research on conflict management among the Asháninka and Yanesha Indians of Peruvian Amazonia. Bi-lingual in Spanish and English, Jerry is a Fulbright Scholar and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. He also plays the alto saxophone.

Jeffrey Lazarus
Consultant

Jeff’s consulting focus is in health care and includes extended contracts with the World Health Organization/Europe. A much-requested public speaker throughout Europe and the Americas, Jeff has worked as a consultant for Sida and UNICEF and holds a position as an external lecturer in international health at Copenhagen University.

From 1998 to 2004, Jeff was the editor of Entre Nous, the European Magazine for Sexual and Reproductive Health, and from 2001 to 2004, he worked as publication manager for the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

Jeff holds a PhD in Public Health and is also the author of more than 60 publications. Jeff is fluent in Spanish, French, Danish and English. He is a cycling enthusiast and runner.

Rufus Collinson
Researcher/Editor

Rufus’ quest is to change lives through the power of words. She researches the latest findings in Quixote’s areas of expertise, from team development, communication, and negotiation to conflict resolution. She gathers and distills the latest cutting-edge statistical data, relevant case studies and illuminating quotes that make the learning subject come alive. Rufus’ exuberant inquisitiveness lays the groundwork for successful participant transformation – from pre-work assignments, to workshop materials, to post-event success tools.

Rufus has worked in many realms as an editor and writer. From newspaper reporter to movie reviewer to managing editor of an adventure field journal, she has worked with a variety of populations and topics. She is also Manager of Communications, editor and book developer for Project Adventure.

Rufus is a published poet and has conducted experiential writing workshops at several conferences. In 2001, Rufus received the Karl Rohnke Creativity Award from the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). Rufus once got an entire plane-full of people to sing “This Little Light of Mine” at 30,000 feet.

Adam Issadore
Trainer

Adam leads Quixote Consulting’s Bang On My Drum All Day music team building program. He uses this rhythm-based event as a vehicle for community building, group and self-expression and connection to a common rhythm. His twenty years experience as a professional percussionist, educator and facilitator helps him add musicality and awareness to his work. Adam is the founder of Path to Rhythm. Whether he’s working with small working teams or groups in the hundreds, participants find that his blend of open heartedness and sense of humor make his events spirited, fun and unforgettable.