John C. Fish – Attorney, Littler Mendelson

Mr. Fish has defended employers in a wide variety of employment and labor relations matters before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. He has also counseled employers on employee disciplinary matters, litigation avoidance, employee handbook policies, arbitration agreements, leaves of absence, the California Family Rights Act, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mr. Fish has developed hundreds of employee handbooks for employers around the country and has also co-authored a multi-faceted employee handbook computer software program.

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David Goldman – Attorney, Littler Mendelson

Mr. Goldman has advised management in all areas of employment and labor law in over a decade of practice. He now focuses his practice on helping employers prevent employee-related problems before they become lawsuits.

Mr. Goldman is currently the managing attorney of the Littler Learning Group, the division of Littler Mendelson devoted to meeting clients' employment law training needs. In this position he helps ensure that all training programs contain Littler’s best legal practices and cutting edge learning techniques and meet clients’ individual needs. Mr. Goldman has also trained management and industry leaders and published articles on numerous employment law, management, and training topics.

Mr. Goldman has also developed and reviewed employee handbooks, policies, and contracts. He has implemented alternative dispute resolution programs involving both arbitration and mediation of employment issues. When disputes do arise, Mr. Goldman has represented management in federal and state court and before government agencies. Mr. Goldman has counseled employers on traditional labor law as well, defending them against charges of unfair labor practices before the NLRB and state and federal courts.

Prior to his legal career, Mr. Goldman was an Assistant Vice President at Bank of Boston. In this position, he dealt with many of the legal issues relevant to the clients he now advises and trains.

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Barbara Findlay Schenck – Author, Branding for Dummies and other noted publications

Barbara Findlay Schenck is a marketing strategist and small business advocate. She is the author of Small Business Marketing for Dummies and Selling Your Business for Dummies, and co-author of Branding for Dummies and Business Plans Kit for Dummies.

A graduate of Oregon State University, she began her career in Honolulu, where she was admissions director and writing instructor at Hawaii Loa College (now part of Hawaii Pacific University) before joining the staff of Hawaii's largest public relations firm. Seven years later she moved with her husband, Peter, to Southeast Asia to manage a community development program for the Peace Corps in Malaysia. In 1980 they founded a marketing agency in Oregon, which was one of the Northwest's Top 15 at the time of its sale in 1995. Following the sale, they packed up writing projects and moved with their son to Italy for nearly two years.

Since 2000, Barbara's accomplishments include:

Co-writer, Portraits of Guilt, the Edgar Award-nominated memoir of internationally recognized facial identification artist Jeanne Boylan. (Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, 2001)

Author, Small Business Marketing For Dummies, praised by BusinessWeek (“marketing ideas are presented as real-world problems with real-world solutions…”), Scripps-Howard (“easy-to-implement solutions, 4 ½ stars…”), and Entrepreneur (“the ammunition entrepreneurs need to survive – and thrive…”), among others. Published in an updated second edition and in multiple languages. (Wiley, 2001, 2005)

Co-Author, Business Plans Kit For Dummies, a top-selling business planning guide for ten years. Published in multiple languages and to be released in an updated third edition in April 2010. (Wiley, 2001, 2005, 2010)

Co-Author, Branding for Dummies, named February 2007 Book of the Month by Intrabrand’s BrandChannel and listed on dozens of Amazon-reader Best Book lists. (Wiley 2007)

Author, Selling Your Business for Dummies, with expert advice and a foreward by John Davies, CEO of Sunbelt, the world’s largest business brokerage firm. (Wiley 2009)

Marketing Specialist, Microsoft Small Business programs, including online training for the Microsoft Small Business Relationship Program, columns and video programs for BusinessBreakthrough presented by Microsoft and Visa, and twice-monthly marketing columns for Business on Main, the MSN small business channel presented by Microsoft and Sprint.

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