Our Team
GEORGE LOYER is Director of Product Development and Instructor
Certification at First Steps Training and Development, Inc. He has an
international reputation as a Consultant and Seminar Leader in Project
Management, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Performance Engineering and
Customer Service. With over 25 years of experience as an Executive Consultant,
George is a seasoned professional with a practical and reality-based
perspective. George's expertise in training design, his dynamic skills as
a master presenter (he has conducted over 500 successful seminars and
train-the-trainer sessions), and his commitment to organizational change through
quality instruction make George an invaluable asset for our clients.
He has a proven track record of helping clients achieve high return on their
training investments. At Procter & Gamble, his efforts ranged from developing
and implementing a master facilitator program to improving operational critical
thinking skills with a one time $2.5 million investment; through these efforts,
P&G was able to save $10 million in less than one year with an ongoing $3
million annual cost avoidance. George also developed and delivered a customized
operator training package to improve operator training skills in a high
turnover, rapid skill acquisition environment. This training reduced scrap cost
by close to $40,000 per new hire.
George is also recognized for his expertise in restructuring existing
organizational methodologies to achieve greater efficiency. For example, he
developed a Project Management system for a large, privately held aerospace
company. This Project Management system integrated existing Project Management
components with new technology. The resulting Project Management system was cost
effective and easily integrated into existing, related management systems.
Other organizations that have benefited from George's assistance include AT&T;
BHP; Bell of Pennsylvania; Briggs and Stratton; Butterfield's Bank of Bermuda;
Construction Unlimited; The Cortina Inn; Deutsch Metal Components; Inc.; Ford;
General Motors; IBM; Mississippi Power & Light; New Zealand Aluminium Smelters,
Ltd.; Pacific Northwest Bell; Paragon Trade Brands; Potlatch Paper Company;
PricewaterhouseCoopers; Procter & Gamble; Scott Paper; Tunkhannock Area School
Board; Tyler Hospital; United Way; USF&G; Westpac Banking Corporation; and many
others.
George has a Chemical Engineering background from Baldwin-Wallace and a
Management degree from Rutgers The State University as well as post-graduate
work at Monmouth University. He and his wife Stephanie Picard live in
Fayetteville, GA.
ROB BENSON, IAF-CPF®, SAC® is the President of First Steps Training and
Development, Inc. He brings to
this role a strong background in instructional design, special expertise in
participatory change methods and a passion for facilitating executive growth and
enhanced performance.
Rob has achieved prominence in the Training & Development field, having earned
the highly respected International Association of Facilitators
Certified
Professional Facilitator®, a designation achieved after rigorous examination and
held by less than 500 facilitators world-wide. He is a Charter member of the
Society for Advancement of Consulting, an international organization which
grants membership based on demonstration of the candidate’s professionalism,
ethics, and history of successful interventions. A Certified Master Trainer of
the Best-in-Class Trouble
Shooting Logic methodologies, an Inscape Certified DiSC®
Trainer and a University of Southern Mississippi Certified Training
Professional, Rob has designed and delivered customized training and
train-the-trainer sessions for a diverse range of organizations. The Mid-South Region of the
Association for Experiential Education honored him
and two partners with the "Challenge Award," given in recognition of "a
collective effort to provide a community with outstanding services [i.e.,
training] that are experiential in nature."
Rob formerly served as program consultant with the Mississippi Commission for
Volunteer Service, where he successfully wrote and administered both federal and
state grants; organized and facilitated a statewide youth leadership corps;
provided training and best practices to state government, community, and
faith-based organizations in the areas of strategic planning, diversity,
conflict resolution, evaluation, sustainability, and staff and board
development. He designed and convened a multi-agency strategic planning effort
that resulted in the receipt of federal grants totaling over $1 million annually
and the establishment of the Center for Community and Civic Engagement at the
University of Southern Mississippi. His in-depth experience assisting
non-profits and foundations are currently being employed as he consults to the
W. K. Kellogg Foundation to develop a long-term strategic plan and regional
alliance to dramatically improve quality of life in the Arkansas, Lousiana, and
Mississippi Delta Region.
Rob received a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Oral Roberts
University and a Master's degree in Secondary Education from the University of
Tulsa. He, his wife Melissa and their three children live in Brandon, MS.
 ALEXIS
SPENCER-BYERS serves as Office Manager for First Steps. Alexis grew up
in San Francisco, received a B.A. in English from Amherst College in
Massachusetts, and moved to Jackson in 1995 to serve as an Editorial Intern with
Urban Family Magazine. Since then, she has worked for a number of
community development organizations and racial reconciliation ministries, in a
variety of capacities, including Administrative Assistant, Volunteer
Coordinator, Associate Director of Development and Network Administrator. She
is a writer of poetry and fiction, and is preparing to open a coffee house in
west Jackson.
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OUR NETWORK: In addition to our full time staff, we rely on an
extensive network of Certified Master Facilitators.
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