Meet Our Partners and Associates

Carla Fischer

Carla Fischer is the President and founder of Annex Learning Inc., a company she formed in 1999.  Prior to establishing the business, Carla worked for General Electric for 12 years, seven of which were in training and organizational development.     Most of Carla's experience is related to career development, performance management, leadership training, and hiring and retention.  She has worked across several functions and industries including manufacturing, financial services, information technology, healthcare/pharma, and engineering. Carla has done work as a coach and advisor to employees at all levels in organizations and has significant global experience managing programs in India, Mexico, Japan, China, Thailand, South America, and across Europe. She has conducted over 70 training sessions outside the U.S. in English, and she is skilled in teaching and facilitating with simultaneous translation.      Carla managed programs at GE's Leadership Development Institute --Crotonville-- in Ossining, NY and at GE's global headquarters in Fairfield, CT. Additionally, she was responsible for leadership development and performance management programs at one of the GE Capital businesses.         Read Carla's full bio on the About Us page.

Jon Barb has spent over twenty-one years in the training and development of corporate employees including middle and top management. He has taught a variety of courses including: selling skills, presentation skills, negotiation practices, general supervision, creative problem solving, and meeting management.
    Jon served for five years as a staff trainer at Union Carbide’s Personnel Development Laboratory. While employed at Xerox Learning Systems, he was manager of program development and marketing for Xcellence, Critical Skills for Supervisors. As the corporate manager of development and training at Olin Corporation, Jon facilitated high level team meetings as well as managed their overall training curriculum.
    Jon also brings twenty-one years of Sales training experience, including: Basic Sales Training, Sales Management Training, Strategic Selling, Consultative Selling, Negotiating Skills, Sales Presentations and Partnering.
    Jon received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds a Masters degree in Human Resource Development form the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, New School for Social Research, New York.

David Gilman is the founder and principal of our consulting partner -- Gilman Performance Systems (GPS), located in Brookfield, Connecticut.  David is celebrating 25 years of experience in the field of Training, Development and Organizational Effectiveness. His broad range of accomplishments include the development of 75+ programs and 30+ feedback instruments in organizational performance improvement, leadership and professional staff skills training, sales and customer service training, and adventure training for leadership and team effectiveness.
    Prior to establishing GPS, David was a manager in the training departments of Salomon Brothers, Prudential Relocation, and GE Capital. He also held training positions with the SCM Corporation and NYC Transit Authority. Clients benefit from his extensive experience in internal corporate training, which enables David to bring this important internal perspective to all his projects and programs.
       Previously, David has served as the Assistant Regional Director for the American Society for Training and Development, and as President of the Society's Westchester Chapter. David holds an MBA in Management and Organizational Behavior and a B.A. in Business and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
    Click here to see the full range of products, services, and assessments offered by GPS.

Tracie Samuelson is an organization development specialist and training consultant who has helped leaders and teams from a wide range of industries improve their effectiveness. Her long-term career within a premier financial services company provides her with a strong business perspective and unique ability to relate to the challenges faced by leaders in today's organizations.
    Tracie has more than 15 years of experience as an internal and external consultant to organizations ranging from large global institutions to small non-profits. She has proven expertise in organizational assessment and diagnosis, group process, facilitation, instructional design, team building, and coaching. In her most recent internal role within a corporate university, Tracie led, developed and delivered numerous programs and processes that supported the organization's growth, talent retention, executive and leadership development strategies. This work, combined with her prior work experiences as a commercial loan officer and portfolio manager, reflects Tracie's ability to drive change, think strategically, and build partnerships with her clients.
    Samuelson holds a Master's degree in Human Resource Education from Fordham University and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Boston College. She has completed professional studies in organization development with National Training Labs and The Cape Cod Institute, and holds certifications from Corporate Coach University and Achieve Global.

Peg Wright's global experience in facilitating strategy development and implementation planning has enabled her clients to exceed corporate objectives. Peg adds value through her ability to focus groups on critical issues while challenging their assumptions.
    She has worked with executive management teams to craft strategic plans as well as with key leadership teams to develop implementation plans.  She also works with intact department teams to identify annual performance objectives and action plans designed to meet the annual objectives.
    Her work has taken her to Europe to facilitate the development of a European Vision, Mission and Critical Success Factors.  From this process she was able to help the Country Directors address issues brought on by the move toward a European Common Market.   
    Peg help design and facilitate a division-wide organizational improvement process.  With a team of 90 managers, she helped to identified resources, structure feedback and workgroup sessions, and plan for the design of an integrated approach.  She worked with the Human Resources department to develop a three-year Human Resources strategy with implementation plan.     
    A versatile professional, with more than 30 years of internal and external consulting, Peg has honed her skills through her work in the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Consumer Products, and Publishing industries.