About Us: Our Team

WILL HELMLINGER - Executive Instructor

Will Helmlinger is an Executive Instructor for Culbridge and an expert in corporate culture and human behavior.  He has extensive experience in the areas of professional development training design and delivery.  Will delivers Culbridge courses and workshops as well as professional mentoring and coaching in the Portland, Oregon market.  He also consults on a number of organizational change iniatives in multiple industries.  Prior to joining Culbridge, Will was an executive for HP Enterprise Services where he held the role of HR Business Partner/Director for the company's state and local government division for over four years. 

Will is an expert in building relationships with business executives and professionals globally.  He provides coaching and mentoring on a variety of professional development, career growth and organizational behavior topics. He has the unique ability to understand how human behavior and attitudes impact business and personal success and utilizes this knowledge in all his training and coaching. He works extensively with professionals from international backgrounds who are integrating into US business culture.  Specifically he has mentored and advised resources from Mexico, India, Pakistan and other parts of the Far East. 

Prior to joining HP Enterprise Services, Will co-founded Your Hire Authority™ with a focus on Executive Leadership & Coaching, Business Communication, Team Building, Talent Selection & Acquisition, and Behavioral Solution Based Sales™ training.  Prior to starting Your Hire Authority, Will held several executive and leadership positions including Union Bank, a Standard Chartered Bank of London, Oakwood International (National Human Resources Director), and Lloyds Bank of California (Employment Manager).

Will has developed and delivered training classes in the United States and Canada.  Programs included: “Behavioral Interviewing Skills for Managers", "Behavioral Solution Based Selling™", and “Time Management.”  He also developed a custom tailored leadership mentoring program for Portland Oregon based Saber Software.  He has presented on topics such as “Keys to Employee Retention,” “Employment Trends for the 21st Century,” “Help Me Hire Superstars,” “How to Hire a Consultant/How to Hire Employees,” “Attitudes and How They Relate to Success,” “Why People Buy—Getting Inside Your Customer’s Head,”   “Getting to Yes, Faster” and “How to Get What You Want.”

In addition to his extensive executive experience, Will authored the book “17 Secrets to Successful Hiring and Retention,” and has been affiliated with Inc.com and Fastcompany.com where he wrote numerous articles and special features for the magazines. He has also been published in the National Business Employment Weekly, Human Resources (Singapore), Oregon Business Magazine, Vancouver Business Journal, National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB.com), and Broker/Agent Magazine. His regular bi-line “Beyond HR” appeared in High Technology Career Magazine (BrassRing) for over five years. He has been quoted in Inc. Magazine, IT World Canada, Pharmacy Week, SHRM, and Purple Squirrel (high-tech recruiters magazine).

   

JERRY SPRIGGS - Executive Instructor

Jerry Spriggs is an Executive Instructor for Culbridge and an expert advisor on professional learning methodologies, curriculum design, and course delivery techniques. Jerry delivers Culbridge courses, as well as other skill development services, in the Portland Oregon area. He is also employed by Hewlett Packard and serves as the Instructional Design Manager for their State and Local Government division, serving clients in multiple lines of business. In this role at HP, Jerry led the effort to create blended learning methodologies, including eLearning methods, for multiple customer groups and his department serves tens of thousands of end-user customers.

Jerry is an expert in the professional training industry, with over 25 years of experience designing, delivering, and leading international training initiatives. He served as an adjunct faculty member for the Glendale and Rio Salado Colleges teaching business and interpersonal communication skills, including elements of speech, public speaking, and group communication. He also designed and delivered workshops on building self confidence and effectively managing change. Jerry earned his Master’s degree in Instructional Design from National University in San Diego, California.

With such extensive expertise in the training field his experiences are too vast to list entirely, however the following are a few of his tremendous accomplishments: 

 

JENNIFER DUFFEY - Director of Curriculum

Jennifer Duffey is Director of Curriculum at Culbridge, responsible for development and growth of the company's curriculum and training based intellectual property. She works as part of the Executive Team to provide guidance and direction on translating company vision into development and enhancement opportunities for company assets and provides the strategic design and development of the company's proprietary curriculum and training structure.

Prior to Culbridge, Jennifer worked as an independent curriculum design expert advising private education on the development of innovative programs. She has spent her entire career dedicated to the education, development, and advancement of individuals of all backgrounds. She is passionate about providing others with the education they need to develop the skills and capabilities to be successful in all facets of life, both personal and professional. Jennifer's learning vision is based on using practical, real life experiences to develop tangible interpersonal skills. This philosophy is deeply imbedded in the Culbridge Dynamic Classroom and Environment Based Learning approach.

In addition to her degree in International and US History from The Ohio State University, Jennifer studied Sociology and Psychology where she focused on the societal behaviors of individuals and their interactions with other cultures. Jennifer has extensive training and certification in Reggio Emilia, an Italian learning methodology and approach. Reggio uses "Environment" as an instructor, applying a practical project-based and life experience approach to the learning process. Jennifer has extensive expertise in Reggio, along with other education and learning methodologies, and instructs other educators on how to apply these methods successfully.

  

JAY ZOLLINGER - Outside General Counsel and Legal Consultant

Jay Zollinger is outside General Counsel and Legal Consultant for Culbridge, LLC.  Jay provides a unique and innovative approach to legal services whereby the focus is on providing legal solutions that help move business forward rather than identifying legal impediments to doing business.  It is this entrepreneurial DNA that enables Jay to add significant value to the company as a whole and in particular to Culbridge's Business Launch Accelerator™ services for entrepreneurs and growth companies.  Jay graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.  He also has a Master's degree in Political Theory from the University of Utah and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, Philosophy, and Film Studies from Boston University.

Jay is a practical, business minded lawyer who leverages legal skills honed over a decade of law practice at the highest levels to help his clients achieve and exceed their business goals.  He thrives on solving legal problems in a helpful, professional, highly responsive manner.  Jay is passionate about identifying the legal tools that help bright, energetic, entrepreneurs realize their vision and goals.  Jay provides these services as part of his private law practice, the Law Office of Jay Zollinger. (www.outsidegcservices.com)

Prior to opening his own law firm, Jay was General Counsel to Saber Software, Inc., Oregon's fastest growing private company in 2007.  During the two and a half years he was at Saber, Jay managed all of Saber's legal affairs, built a legal department, and helped run the company as part of Saber's management team.  It was in this context that Jay developed a deep understanding of how to address a company's legal needs without detracting from its business goals.  In December 2007, Jay and the rest of Saber's management team finalized the sale of Saber to EDS.

Jay was a partner at Perkins Coie, the largest law firm in the Pacific Northwest, where he had a complex business litigation practice.  While the primary focus of his practice was business and contract disputes, he also gained extensive experience in product liability, corporate governance and securities regulation, and employment law.