NSA-Arizona Board of Directors 2021-2022:
Elaine Simpson, President
Occupancy Solutions
Elaine Simpson is a passionate National Speaker, Consultant & Trainer with offices in Detroit, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona. Her passion for speaking and helping others began early on and it has stayed with her ever since. As an identical twin within a set of triplets born on Christmas day, Elaine has always strived to stand out from the pack and goes above and beyond to create workshops, trainings, and keynote presentations that are unique, energizing and equally as engaging. Sharing her positive and not so positive stories about being a triplet and her 30+ years in property management, Elaine uses her experiences, struggles, successes and stories, the good, bad and the ugly, to connect and relate to anyone who has customers and/or employees. With humor and interactive exercises, Elaine grabs the audience and takes them for a ride that they will enjoy, remember and learn from. Elaine is a graduate of Wayne State University, member of the National Speaker’s Association, a certified John Maxwell Coach, Trainer & Speaker and a National Apartment Association Education Institute Facilitator. Additionally, she is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Michigan and Arizona and a Certified Senior Real Estate Specialist. She is also the founder and president of Occupancy Solutions, LCC and has helped countless professionals with all of their operational, training, marketing and leasing needs.
John Iannarelli, CSP®, President-Elect
JI Consulting Group, LLC
John is a former FBI Special Agent and now a security expert, working with businesses that want to prevent physical and online threats. As a speaker, he conducts presentations on mission-critical operations to keep people safe incorporating his unique sense of humor. His over 20 years as an FBI agent took him around the world and he has written 5 books on cybercrime, terrorist activities, and active shooter. On a personal note, a highlight for him was the opportunity to meet Pope Francis on more than one occasion.
Rita Hudgens, Vice-President
Transform University
Rita Hudgens is an expert on how our brains impact our thoughts, decisions, motivation, and behavior.
As a Mental Strengths Coach, with almost a decade of experience working with executives and entrepreneurs across the country, Rita is sought after as a coach, speaker, and group facilitator because of the results people experience due to her coaching and training programs. She has the ability to take complex ideas, simplify them, and make them easy for her audiences to understand and put to action. Rita’s message inspires, motivates, and challenges her clients to think and act differently; consequently getting the results they want.
Bob Loeffler, Treasurer
Fearless Agent
Roger Rickard , Immediate Past President
Roger is the guy organizations call when they need to advance their influence. He provides vision and leadership as a spokesperson, professional speaker, educator, writer and consultant. His education, experience and enthusiasm enlighten audiences on key issues that turn passion into action. As Founder of Voices in Advocacy®, and Author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates; Roger works with organizations that want to ensure that their advocates are educated, engaged and actively supporting their mission. We are a non-partisan company that believes organizations and the people who support these organizations have the right to voice and express their beliefs through fair advocacy practices. His advocacy efforts include work with a wide cross-section of organizations at the local, state, national and international levels. Roger is recognized as an expert on advocacy engagement and grassroots activation.
Paul Barton, Director
Phoenix Public Speaking
Paul works with business professionals who are going places and don’t want public speaking to hold them back. Through presentations, 1-on-1 coaching and online courses, Paul gives audiences the confidence to speak up and the skills to stand out so that they can command a room anywhere, anytime. Paul’s presentations are known for their thought-provoking strategies and immediately actionable tips. With a long history in the corporate world, Paul knows exactly what it takes to make a great business presentation. Before launching his own company, Paul had a successful 20-year career leading communication teams at six fast-growing Fortune 500 corporations including APS, Phelps Dodge Mining Company, America West Airlines, PetSmart, Hawaiian Airlines, and Avnet. Those experiences led him to write what is now the No. 1 book on employee communications on Amazon. Paul is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and he is a professional member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) of Arizona.
Michael Haley, Director
Doreen Herman, Director
Fearless Agent
Seldom are the terms hilarious storyteller and theological scholar used to describe the same person, but Doreen Herman is anything but ordinary. Her colorful background combines years of business and world travel with advanced degrees in Intercultural Studies and Biblical Theology. Doreen’s speaking engagements and workshops provide strategies for communicating with difficult people, practical advice for overcoming adversity, and detailed instruction to build back stronger after failure.
Jim Plouffe, Director
The Lazy Manager
