Who We Are

In addition to the team members shown here, we’re honored to work with a global team of expert facilitators, trainers, graphic recorders, and executive coaches, who bring a wide range of skills and expertise to your project.

Who We Are

Melissa Dinwiddie

Founder, CEO, Leaders/Teams Communications Consultant, Lead Curriculum Designer & Facilitator

A former professional artist and trained improviser and jazz singer, Melissa Dinwiddie helps senior tech leaders increase their influence and reduce conflict by helping their teams communicate and connect better so their research has impact across the organization, all through her F.U.N. Method™. She designs interactive, playful programs that attendees rave about because they acquire new skills and behaviors and build connections while having a blast. Her flagship offering evolved from a program she initially developed for high-performance research teams at Facebook.

Melissa’s the author of The Creative Sandbox Way™: Your Path to a Full-Color Life, an acclaimed book on creativity that countless readers have sworn freed them from creative block virtually overnight.

Melissa has a reputation for creating impactful, memorable experiences that teach key skills while being fun at the same time. She loves collaborating, and is great at encouraging, cheerleading, and creating a positive vibe.

Melissa’s front-of-room experience ranges from traveling the country teaching calligraphy, to speaking on stages from Connecticut to California, to performing as a singer for audiences as big as 6,500, and presenting at professional conferences internationally. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s become sought after for her expertise in play-based techniques for leading engaging, interactive virtual meetings. When there isn’t a global pandemic going on, she performs improv with a number of different groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A graduate of UC Berkeley with a Bachelors in Social Science, and the University of Birmingham, England, with a Masters in Cultural Studies, Melissa lives with her husband in Silicon Valley and spends her free time making art, playing ukulele and double bass, or chasing her rambunctious kitties off the kitchen counter.

LinkedIn

(See more about Melissa’s background below…)

Britta Schell

Workplace Team Trainer

Britta helps gamechanger products & experiences deeply understand their users to become must-have brands.

She starts with a client’s goals, and where they are today. Where do you want to take your team, product, or brand this year, and in five years? What questions or challenges does your team keep circling around? Known for her unique abilities in storytelling and research communication, Britta develops real, meaningful & actionable insights.

The results are transformative: You’ll deeply understand your users, putting them at the heart of everything your brand does and every decision your teams make. This means: More users, engaging with your brand and products more frequently, recommending your brand, becoming your growth engine. New products and initiatives from your brand that launch successfully, because your users are at the heart of it all. More impact for your team, and increased collaboration and unity around your goals.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Britta served as Director, Digital Strategic Insights at MTV. She started her career in innovative brand strategy and advertising agencies. These experiences grounded her in the power of insights to supercharging growth and loyalty for brands—and that research must be actionable and engaging to be useful.

BrittaSchell.com

LinkedIn

Sheila Goldsmith

Workplace Team Trainer

Sheila Goldsmith is co-founder of the Upfront Theatre and a veteran of San Francisco Bay Area’s Theatre Sports, is also the founder and director of Improv Playworks a school for theatre improv in Bellingham, WA. She is the primary improv instructor at Improv Playworks and the facilitator of outreach programs and classes for local schools, businesses and other organizations. Sheila has worked in the field of theater improvisation for over 20 years, and has been facilitating a variety of workshops and classes for children and adults for over 30 years.

Sheila has worked and studied with many noted improvisers including Keith Johnstone, author of Impro. Her philosophy and practice are further shaped by intensive training in group facilitation and Community development at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. As a teacher, she seeks to create an atmosphere of trust, respect, safety and play, in order to connect us more deeply with our creative possibilities. Sheila has worked in the field of theater improvisation for over 20 years, and has been facilitating a variety of workshops and classes for children and adults for over 30 years.

LinkedIn

And Just for Fun…

A little more about our founder & CEO, in pictures!