Our Team

Shanna Ullmann is the founding partner of Transformation Partners, offering specialized consulting and employee learning and development programs empowering clients to be more successful in all aspects of their business engagements. She has worked with a wide range of professionals teaching them the art and practice of effective interactions and communications with clients and between colleagues.

Shanna has over 25 years of hands-on human relations, executive education and corporate training experience advising global corporations, universities, the US military and US Federal government organizations on Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Constituent Engagement, Cross Cultural Communications, Employee Relations, Professional Etiquette and Protocol, Business Communications, Mediation and Workplace Conflict Resolution. She currently holds a Dun & Bradstreet Open Ratings Past Performance Review of 100% satisfaction from clients. She has extensive experience as an adjunct instructor with the University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Central Florida, University of Colorado, Rollins College, USAF Air University and Fordham University.

Shanna is a certified Master Trainer by the American Society of Training and Development. She is a graduate of the Protocol School of Washington in Washington, DC, and is certified as a Master Trainer in Business Communications, Professional Business Protocol, and International Protocol. In addition, she holds certification as a Cross-Cultural specialist through the Interchange Institute in Cambridge, MA.  She is also a certified Workplace Conflict Resolution trainer through Mediation Training Institute International, as well as holding triple certification as a Professional Mediator in Workplace Conflict through Mediation Training Institute International, the Pulse Institute of Canada, and the Justice Center of Atlanta. Shanna holds a B.S. in Human Resources Management and a Ph.D. in Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

Robert Prescott has spent twenty years in industry and over 20 years in teaching and consulting positions. Included in Bob’s rich experiences is work in Corporate Engagement at the College of Continuing Studies at The University of Alabama, Graduate Faculty of Management at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, Director of Executive Education at Penn State and Director of Human Resources for BellSouth Communications, Inc.

His consulting initiatives have placed him in advising and teaching positions with such organizations as AAA, ARAMARK, Deloitte, Delphi Automotive Systems, Estee Lauder, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Lockheed Martin EIS, The National Basketball Association (NBA), Olive Garden Restaurants, Pitney Bowes, Scholastic Book Fairs, The Social Security Administration, T Mobile, UNICEF, Walt Disney World and the U.S. Army.

His extensive international work has been with companies such as Corporación Elite, Ecuador, Grupo Industrial de Monclova, Mexico, Mavesa de Venezuela, Minerven, Mota-Engil, Portugal, and the Bermuda Employers Council. In both corporate and academic settings, Bob has taught graduate level courses in the Executive Doctorate, MBA and Masters of Human Resources (MHR) programs and business application training in the areas of strategic leadership, organization behavior, influence strategies, human resource management, supervision, and enterprise consulting.

He is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Workforce Education and Development from The Pennsylvania State University. Bob co-authored the books The Strategic Human Resource Leader: How to Prepare Your Organization for the 6 Key Trends Shaping the Future (Davies-Black, 1998), HR Transformation: Demonstrating Leadership in the Face of Future Trends (Davies-Black/SHRM, 2009), and the Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management – Volume One (Wiley, 2012).

Fitzgerald Washington served as Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor for an unprecedented decade, having been first appointed to the position in 2014. He retired in October 2024 as the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in the department's history. Throughout his tenure, Washington played a pivotal role in achieving historic milestones, including the state’s lowest-ever unemployment rate and the highest workforce participation levels in Alabama’s history. His leadership was instrumental in developing and executing key initiatives that contributed to these successes.

A cornerstone of Washington’s leadership is his unwavering commitment to training individuals and groups to enhance workforce success. He believes in the power of targeted skill development and comprehensive support to ensure individuals are well-equipped for the workforce. Nationally, Washington was recognized for his leadership in workforce development, serving as past Chairman of both the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and the National Association of Government Labor Officials (NAGLO). In these roles, he helped shape national policies and best practices that improved workforce development programs and services across the country.

Before his distinguished career in public service, Washington spent years in private industry including 15 years at Buffalo Rock Company, where he served as Corporate Marketing and Sales Director. His passion is helping organizations in the focus areas of leadership, strategy, and team development.

Nathan Murphy is a senior leader with more than three decades of expertise in leading organizational change, team management, strategic policy development, mentoring, process improvement, and executive leader training. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Campbell University and his Master’s in Policy Management from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy while in the Bradley Fellowship program. In addition, he is a certified strategist and strategic forecaster and served at the Institute for Defense Analyses think tank in Alexandria, Virginia.

As a foundation, Nate served 27 years in the U.S. Army Intelligence and Special Operations. He has led multiple organizational efforts abroad as well as directly supporting the President’s national security staff and his directives. In addition, Nate served multiple times at the Pentagon in key strategic initiatives. He also previously served as the Deputy Director of Risk Management and Special Procurement Operations for ManTech as well as Director of Family Offices responsible for business development. He currently works to bring his practical experience into helping develop leaders at all levels.

Jacqueline Brito has spent sixteen years in industry and fourteen years in senior- level academic administration, coaching, consulting and teaching positions. Included in Jackie’s diverse experiences is work in recruitment, marketing, and career development at Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business in Winter Park, Florida; HR consultant at the Chicago Tribune’s Orlando Sentinel, a multimedia communications company; and internal audit and planning for the Orlando International Airport and the Birmingham International Airport Authority.

Her professional experience also includes healthcare administration and banking.

In both academic and industry conference settings, Jackie has facilitated graduate-level courses in executive education, MBA and Masters of Human Resources (MHR) programs and business application training in the areas of organizational behavior, balanced scorecard, human resource management, beyond diversity to talent engagement, legally defensible interviews, employee relations/positive employee relations, and recruitment, selection and retention.

Jackie’s articles on topics such as Building a Strategic Pipeline: 5 Ways to Win the War for Talent, Salary Negotiation and Women: Putting an End to the Gender Wage Gap, Could a Strong Work Ethic Hurt your Leadership Style?, The Best Hires Make the Best Admits, A Simple Résumé Update Could Result in a Higher MBA Salary, MBA Programs and Your Career:  From the Cubicle to the Corner Office, and Needs vs. Wants have been published both domestically and internationally. She holds a BA in Organizational Behavior and MA in Human Resource Management.

Timothy Ullmann is an organizational management and strategic operations professional with extensive national and international experience. He has advised U.S. military services, foreign national militaries, U.S. Embassies, nongovernmental and philanthropic organizations, corporate and higher education leaders as well as serving as a Pentagon liaison to Capitol Hill and the White House. He led cross-cultural teams in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, the Republic of S. Korea, Japan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In addition, he taught cross-cultural awareness in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the United States. He has also worked with a variety of U.S. industries and the U.S. Air Force providing organizational assessments, leadership and management skills, strategic planning, leadership development, public speaking and business communications, conflict resolution, and mediation training. In addition, he has  written organizational policies, procedures and guidance, change management guidance, leadership development, and cross-cultural manuals.

He holds a doctorate from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. In addition, he holds a MA in Organizational Management, The George Washington University, a MS in Operational Science, Air Command and Staff College, Air University, and a BS from the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. He also holds certifications in Senior Leadership Development and Business Operations; Budgets & Funds Management; Policy and Guidance Development, Critical Thinking Development; Workplace Mediation and Conflict Resolution; Cross-Cultural Engagement and Business Communications. He currently teaches Strategic Management at the University of Alabama College of Business.

Dr. Kim Huynh joins Transformation Partners, LLC in contributing to clients her twenty-two years of experience in professional and executive management. Her background includes strategic planning and implementation, marketing strategy development and execution, and organizational development.

Prior to joining this group, Kim served as CEO of two successful start-up investments and led these entrepreneurial firms in building the operations from the ground up to exit by acquisition. In her consulting practice, she focused on the SME sector in coaching CEOs and presidents of these small to medium size companies on strategic business issues, leadership issues, workforce performance and productivity. Her clients span a wide range of industries from telecommunication to pharmaceutical to aerospace manufacturing and environmental engineering. Kim’s work within two years with a client company helped place it at the Top Five as ranked by the Los Angeles Business Journal of the BEST 100 LA COMPANIES.

Kim is a certified executive coach, received her MBA in General Management and Doctorate in Executive Leadership. She taught certificate and professional development courses at The University of California, degree programs at San Joaquin Valley College and the Executive MBA program at Loyola Marymount University while in her role as Managing Director of all corporate training programs for the Center for Executive Learning at the College of Business Administration.

Tom Horvath’s professional career has taken him from the mailroom to the boardroom with roles ranging from Customer Service Rep to Chief Operating Officer.  Regardless of the job titles or role, Tom’s passion for “inspiring excellence” is steadfast – in fact, it is his personal life purpose.

His career illustrates practical expertise in strategy formulation, leadership consulting, executive coaching, performance management, marketing, sales, process improvement, product development, training design & delivery, and project management.  These skills and capabilities were developed at such blue chip companies as Prudential, Standard Register, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and CNL. In addition, Tom has led a variety of consulting engagements around the globe with all sizes of companies and non-profit organizations.  Notable career milestones include spearheading various departmental teams at Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation (resulting in their selection for the 1997 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award); top decile sales performance; and several community leadership awards.

Tom received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of North Florida and his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University.  He has extensive experience as an adjunct instructor with Cornell University, Penn State University, the Crummer School of Business – Rollins College, the University of Alabama, the University of Central Florida and the University of Porto – Portugal.  Tom shares the integration of theory with practical application to the world in which we operate.

Dr. Hector Diaz is an Emeritus Professor of EGADE Business School, at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. Has a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication (specializing in Leadership and Organizational Culture), from the University of Texas at Austin. He has focused for more than 20 years on the development of effective constructive leaders and culture, through his MBA courses and training sessions for several companies. He is accredited by Human Synergistics in the use of several assessments to help individuals develop their effectiveness and refine their leadership strategies to impact constructively in their Organizational Culture.

Before his doctoral studies, he was Director of the International Center for Executive Education (CINDE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey. For more than seven years the Center offered several programs for Senior Executives. The programs were taught in partnership with renowned universities such as Stanford, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Thunderbird and UT Austin.

In the last several years, he has delivered consulting and training projects with companies that include: HEB, MASECA Group, Heineken, Nemak, Postermedia, Constellation, FEMSA Group, Banco Base and Excel del Norte. 

Dr. Brian Griffith is an adjunct professor, author and former director of the Human and Organizational Development Program at Vanderbilt University. He joined Vanderbilt in 1998 and wrote two academic textbooks on teams and team leadership during his tenure. He received both the Peabody Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching and the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Vanderbilt.

Since 2013, he has worked extensively in the field of 360-degree assessments and has studied how they impact personal and professional development. He earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of South Carolina, an M.Div. in Pastoral Ministries, and a B.A. in Engineering Physics.

Jake is an experienced project manager who implements and monitors our projects from start to finish. He has a proven track record of meeting high expectations, managing multiple tasks and successfully delivering projects on schedule. His strong organizational and communication skills have been a key component of success to ensure all expectations are met and exceeded.

Jake coordinates client initiatives and goals based on proposal specifications, timelines and
deadlines. Rapid and effective correspondence with clients and partners build long term
relationships with our clients. He is also an experienced and knowledgeable budget manager with a proven track record of success in managing budgets, optimizing workflow and conducting forecasts. Jake holds a BS from University of Colorado, Boulder and a MS from University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Kyle Meyer is the Executive-in-Residence for Accounting at the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business. Kyle has spent 25 years in industry and 18 years in graduate education and executive education.  Kyle has provided consulting services to a variety of domestic and international for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Before joining Rollins, Kyle served as President of Pineloch Management Corporation, a family-owned business located in Central Florida.  He also served as Chief Financial Officer in a variety of industries including large scale real estate development with organizations such as The Ginn Company and Terrabrook.  Kyle spent five years on audit staff of Arthur Andersen & Co. at the beginning of his career.

Kyle’s areas of expertise include auditing, financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, entrepreneurship, and critical thinking.  He has advised closely held businesses with succession planning strategies, asset valuations, and shareholder buyouts.