Consultants and Facilitators
Jessica Albin
Emily Breit
Emily Breit is a Professor of Finance at Fort Hays State University. She received her PhD. in Finance from Oklahoma State University and her undergraduate and master's degrees in business from Fort Hays State University. She focuses her research on commercial banking, small business lending, corporate governance, economic impact analysis, and pedagogy. She has taught courses in commercial banking, corporate finance, financial and quantitative methods, financial markets and institutions, and investments.
Rachel Dolechek
Dr. Rachel Dolechek is an assistant professor of business communication at FHSU. She received her doctorate from the University of the Incarnate Word and her undergraduate, MBA, and EdS from Fort Hays State University. She teaches courses in business, corporate, and managerial communication, as well as professional development. Her research interests focus on employability, business communication, and teaching and learning strategies in business education.
Cole Engel
Cole earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, both in 2007, a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting in 2009, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration with a specialization in Advanced Accounting in 2016. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in the state of Kansas and has been a member of the accounting faculty at Fort Hays State University since 2009.
Justin Greenleaf
Justin teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, focusing heavily on team dynamics. He graduated from FHSU in 2003 with a B.S. in Information Networking and Telecommunications and a B.S. in Organizational Leadership. He received his M.L.S. in Organizational Leadership in 2005 and his Ph.D. in Community Psychology with an emphasis in Community Leadership from Wichita State University in 2012.
Scott Gross
Scott Gross born and raised in Kansas. He combines creativity with a clear perspective and calm approach to solve communication challenges. He has 27 years of experience in design and print and finds a passion for elevating and engaging those around him while drawing inspiration from people, history, and old ephemeral design elements. Graduating from FHSU in 1991 with a BFA in Graphic Design, he has worked as a Graphic Designer, started his own design business and in 2001 he took an in-house design position with the Dessin Fournir Companies, a furniture design manufacturing company, and worked up to becoming the acting Art Director. For the past 6 years, Scott has provided hands-on mentorship, guidance, and inspiration at the FHSU Kansas Start-Up event and also gives talks and workshops about Branding, Concept Building, and Graphic Design.
Rose Helens-Hart
Dr. Rose Helens-Hart teaches courses in professional development and business and corporate communication. Her research interests are in the areas of employability and identity management. She completed her PhD in Organizational Communication from the University of Kansas, Master's degree in International Studies from North Carolina State University, and a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She enjoys training, consulting, and assisting people in pursuing their professional communication goals.
Silas Hibbs
Mr. Silas Hibbs is a Hays native and recently graduated Fort Hays State University with his MBA and MEd. Mr. Hibbs is currently a business education teacher and head soccer boys coach at Hays High School. He is also the Chairman of Significant Soccer, LLC. After receiving his undergraduate business degrees in Acct/Finance, Marketing, and Management at Tabor College, where he was a two-sport athlete in soccer and track & field, he worked for Koch Ag and Energy Solutions as a Marketing and Trading Representative for five years.
Jesse Jacobs
In 2000, Jesse began his career at Cessna Aircraft in Marketing. At the beginning of his tenure, he worked to improve customer satisfaction. Many surveys and customer segmentation projects were completed on the customer's perception of existing and new aircraft. With his dedication to improvement, Jesse was asked to be the first member of Marketing to pursue a Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. For the next two years he learned and applied Six Sigma process improvement techniques. Upon receiving his Textron BB Certification in 2005, he returned to Marketing as the Manager of Market Research. Picking up where he left off, he expanded the department and the number of research projects. Jesse managed the design, implementation and reporting of all customer research. In 2008, Jesse accepted the newly created position at Cessna as Manager of Market Forecasting and Pricing. Using his extensive background on the customer, he developed new techniques to help match aircraft production and pricing with market demand. Having the desire to move back to Western Kansas, Jesse accepted a position as instructor of economics at Fort Hays State University in August 2013.
Seth Kastle
Dr. Seth Kastle has been with the Fort Hays State University Leadership Programs since 2010. His primary teaching responsibility involves facilitating Leadership Studies courses at FHSU's partner institutions abroad. Seth retired from the Army Reserve as a First Sergeant in July of 2014. He also recently received his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from Baker University. Seth and his family live in the Hays area.
Robert Lloyd
Dr. Robert Lloyd is an award-winning teacher and researcher in the Department of Management at Fort Hays State University. In addition to teaching management courses, he has led students on travel courses to the Caribbean, South America, and Europe. He serves as the lead consultant for the Management Development Center and regularly provides guest lectures at universities around the world. Dr. Lloyd brings more than a decade of industry experience to higher education. In addition to private-industry consulting, he also managed his own fertilizer merchandising firm and real estate investments. He worked for six years as a commodities marketer for Koch Industries in Wichita, KS, spent several summers on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska as an outdoor adventure guide and manager, and served one season as auxiliary staff at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. He speaks fluent Spanish and conversational German and French.
Mary Martin
Dr. Martin is a Professor of Marketing at FHSU. Prior to joining the faculty at FHSU, Dr. Martin was co-founder of a strategic consulting firm in Charlotte, NC that offered clients marketing plans, marketing research, organizational strategy, business plans, and e-business seminars. Prior to that, she was Director of Marketing for a company that produced interior decorative coatings for aircraft. While there, she developed web-driven and traditional marketing strategies, including website promotion, design, construction, and maintenance.
Mike Martin
Dr. Martin is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Fort Hays State University. He currently teaches courses in Customer Service & Relationship Management, Business-to-Business Marketing, Strategic Selling, and Sales Management. Over his sixteen years at Fort Hays State, Dr. Martin has instructed over 200 students in introductory sales and customer service. His use of recorded role play methods gives students the opportunity to apply learned skills in a simulated B2B situation. Dr. Martin’s previous work for the Management Development Center included programs in social media marketing and customer service. Previous to his arrival at Fort Hays State University, Dr. Martin delivered training programs to store level employees and managers in inventory control and customer service for Checkpoint Systems. Dr. Martin also conducted in-store training and audit consulting services for Alpha Security Systems.
Jeni McRay
Jeni loves working with adult learners and emerging leaders in any setting and especially enjoys working with diverse audiences. She has extensive experience in technical and professional training, corporate training, adult learning and development, and higher education administration. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Leadership Programs at Fort Hays State University.
Dr. McRay has delivered multiple workshops and classes on leadership development, personality styles, team collaboration, professional development, emotional intelligence, and conflict management over the past 15 years, both in corporate and higher education settings. She resides in Wichita, KS with her husband, four daughters and dog, Callie.
Brandon McWilliams
Brandon McWilliams is a native of Lincoln, NE. Brandon graduated from Lincoln High School in 2006 and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Concordia University. While studying psychology Brandon fell in love with learning about human behavior and understanding how the mind works. Brandon has a passion for sharing CliftonStrengths with as many people as he can. He is currently coaching youth at Lincoln Lighthouse and has partnered with Lancaster County to provide strengths coaching for youth in the diversion program. Brandon also does coaching for local companies and individual coaching for other Strengths enthusiasts around the nation.
Kenton Olliff
Dr. Kenton Olliff is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, a Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor, a state board Certified Clinical Supervisor, and a National Board-Certified Counselor. He is an Associate Professor in Advanced Education Programs teaching in the Counseling Program at Fort Hays State University. Previously he served as Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs overseeing Student Support Services at Fort Hays State University. He also maintains a private counseling practice in Hays, and is a fourth generation funeral director.
Wendy Rohleder-Sook
Wendy Rohleder-Sook is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of Pre-Law/Legal Studies at Fort Hays State University. She earned her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Kansas and her J.D. from the KU School of Law. Wendy teaches courses in legal studies, including legal research and writing, legal advocacy, constitutional law, civil liberties, and the Supreme Court, as well as current political issues and the political science senior capstone course. In addition, she administers pre-law programs and advises students exploring and applying to law school. She focuses her research on women in the law and pre-law advising models. Prior to her current position, Wendy was the Director of the FHSU Financial Assistance Office, served as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the KU School of Law, and coordinated the undergraduate pre-law advising program at KU.
Gina Riedel
Gina Riedel has a wide range of skills including management, leadership, sales, recruiting, human resources and developing programs and processes. Gina completed the Kansas Community Leadership Initiative, through the Kansas Health Foundation, is a graduate of Institute for Organizational Development from the American Chamber of Commerce, completed the Dale Carnegie Course, and received her bachelor’s degree in Communications from FHSU. Gina led the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and was instrumental in starting the Heartland Community Foundation, the Hays Area Young Professionals, and bringing the community together to build the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex. Most recently, Gina graduated Leadership Kansas 2018, and has been appointed to the Grow Hays and the Heartland Community Foundation boards. Gina is the mother of four, and lives on the family farm, and loves being outdoors.
Kunal Sevak
Stacey Smith
Dr. Stacey Smith is an Associate Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Chair for the Department of Applied Business Studies at FHSU. She holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Her industry experience includes the convention & visitors bureau where she worked in event planning and Hyatt Hotels where she worked in the rooms division. While in the lodging industry, she also obtained exposure to food service operations and meeting planning activities. Stacey's consulting and training experiences include customer service, organizational assessments, team development, organizational culture, supervision, leadership, and management development.
Sarah Taggart
Sarah Taggart, IT Development Coordinator at Fort Hays State University, provides technical training for faculty and staff. She received a Bachelor of General Studies degree with an emphasis in Business from FHSU and brings over 15 years of experience to her current role, through previous positions in the FHSU Foundation/Alumni Association, Registrar’s Office, and as an Administrative Specialist in Technology Services. Sarah is a certified Microsoft Office Specialist in MS Office 365, Word, Excel, and Outlook and also provides training on other software used at FHSU, including Adobe Acrobat, CommPortal/MaX UC, MS Teams, Workday, and Zoom. See the Technical Training page to view training opportunities or schedule a session.
Angela Walters
Angela Walters is a Professor at Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS. Since 2000, she has served as the lead web development faculty member for the Department of Informatics. Her courses include topics such as HTML, CSS, web design, web standards, JavaScript, Apache/MySQL/PHP, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research, usability testing, data modeling, database and web application security, e-commerce theory and application, and mobile web application development.
Tammy Wellbrock
From her days of selling advertising for the newspaper industry, increasing alumni memberships at her alma mater, creating customer networks in the telecommunications industry, or teaching for FHSU, Tammy Wellbrock is passionate about connecting, enlightening and empowering others. Tammy served 8 years as the President/CEO for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce. Under her direction, the Chamber was a 2013 ACCE Finalist for Chamber of the Year. In July 2019, Tammy launched her professional coaching business, Girl Twin Solutions, LLC. She continues to facilitate for Leadership Hays, a community leadership program associated with the Kansas Leadership. Tammy received her BA in Communication in 1994, and MS in Communication in 2002, both from FHSU. In 2014, she completed her Institute of Organization Management (IOM) designation and earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) in 2016. She now serves as an IOM instructor, aiding Chamber and Association professionals in their professional growth, and as an Adjunct Instructor for the College of Business and Leadership Programs at FHSU.
Brett Whitaker
Dr. Brett Whitaker is an Assistant Professor in Leadership Programs at Fort Hays State University (FHSU). He has taught and developed curriculum and programming around global issues, global leadership, and futurism at FHSU. Dr. Whitaker teaches both on-campus and in FHSU Online. His administrative work concerns coordinating partnership programs with international universities. His research interests include leadership, global leadership, global issues, futurism, higher education, and curricular design. Dr. Whitaker received his PhD in Global Leadership from Indiana Tech, and is an FHSU alumni from his bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.
Whitney Whitaker
Dr. Whitney Whitaker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at FHSU. She has extensive research experience exploring the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques on reducing stress and promoting relational health and well-being. Her most recent research projects were published in the Journal of Positive Psychology and Mindfulness. Dr. Whitaker graduated from Kansas State University with her Ph.D. in social/personality psychology in 2016.
Sabrina Gaddis
Sabrina Gaddis is the Director of the Management Development Center (MDC), a division of the Robbins College of Business & Entrepreneurship (RCOBE) at Fort Hays State University. Sabrina has over 15 years of experience in economic development and has worked effectively in leading projects, organizing teams, managing organizational budgets and working within the guidance of boards. She enjoys meeting facilitation and work with non-profit organizations and has three years' experience facilitating training and development workshops. She has a Master of Liberal Studies with a concentration in Organizational Leadership, a B.S. in Business Administration, and recently received a Human Resource Management Certificate, all through FHSU.