Vicki Hess, RN, MS, Certified Speaking Professional, is the founder and principal of Catalyst Consulting, LLC.
A skilled Escape Artist, she helps people escape from Professional Prison and provides a passport to Professional Paradise. Vicki is passionate about working with forward-thinking organizations to develop fully engaged employees and leaders, who in turn deliver remarkable business results. Notable organizations that have sought Vicki’s expertise include Booz Allen Hamilton, Four Seasons Hotels, Piper Rudnick LLP and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and healthcare facilities nationwide.
A highly-regarded speaker, author, facilitator and consultant, Vicki is an expert in employee engagement, team dynamics, and workforce and leadership development, with more than 25 years of hands-on business experience. Prior to starting her company in 2001, she was responsible for non-clinical employee training, team building, customer service and leadership development for 6,000 employees at LifeBridge Health. Earlier in her career, Vicki was in major account sales for Xerox Corporation and managed a training department for a major computer retailer. A registered nurse, she also has more than a decade of experience in the healthcare industry.
Vicki is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the speaking profession’s international standard for platform skill. (Fewer than 10 percent of all professional speakers worldwide have completed the five-year process for CSP designation by the National Speakers Association.) She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development from Towson University and was an adjunct professor at The Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Business for five years, teaching “Principles of Training and Development.”
Vicki’s professional experiences and original workplace research led her to develop her proprietary Professional Paradise™ concept and proven SHIFT™ methodology for permanently changing unproductive thought patterns, actions and habits. When life threw her a sucker punch in 2008 and she was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer, she used her own strategies and techniques to prove that we can shift and find authentic joy at work and in life, no matter what comes our way. (After surgery and chemotherapy, Vicki’s prognosis is now excellent.)
Vicki is the author of SHIFT to Professional Paradise: 5 Steps to Less Stress, More Energy & Remarkable Results at Work and the 28-Day Diary Series™ – a collection of innovative workbooks which transform readers through long-term habit change. She is also a regular contributor to the Baltimore Business Journal.
Vicki’s husband, two almost grown sons and dog Gabby are the source of much of her joy and humor.
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Vicki Hess, RN
