SMITHSON-BELL CONSULTANTS

A TEAM OF EXPERTS DEDICATED TO LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL

Jean Smithson-Bell, MPA

A Leadership Development Consultant and Principal of Smithson-Bell Consulting since 1998.

Toi w. Hutchinson, esq

A Chairwoman of the Senate Revenue Committee since 2013 and skilled tax policy expert.

JEAN SMITHSON-BELL, MPA

a Leadership Development Consultant
& Principal of Smithson-Bell Consulting

Jean Smithson-Bell is a Leadership Development Consultant and Principal of Smithson-Bell Consulting since 1998.  In this capacity, she partners with leaders to move an organization’s strategic initiatives forward by developing organizational interventions, providing development strategies that increase leadership capacity and improving employee retention capabilities.  She enjoys helping people feel confident, competent and able to maximize their full potential.

Smithson-Bell has been a designer and facilitator of training and organizational development programs for the last 20+ years.  She has worked with a diverse workforce of managers and employees to achieve educational objectives, leadership initiatives, intact departmental teambuilding outcomes, and individual coaching consults within both public and private sectors.

Companies that Smithson-Bell has worked with in her practice include Kaiser Permanente, Stanford University, Stanford University Hospital, the City of Oakland, the City of Santa Clara, the County of Alameda, the Superior Court of Alameda County, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, and PeopleSoft.

Smithson-Bell holds a B.S. degree in Education and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Management.  Smithson-Bell is down-to-earth and approachable. 

Senator Toi W. Hutchinson, ESQ

a chairwoman of the senate revenue committee
& skilled tax policy expert

As Chairwoman of the Senate Revenue Committee since 2013, Hutchinson has honed her skills as a tax policy expert working to modernize Illinois’ antiquated tax code to match the economy as it actually operates today.  Along with her revenue committee work, she currently serves on a national State and Local Taxation Task Force, which studies tax policy amongst all 50 states.

A graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Ms. Hutchinson completed law school at Northern Illinois University while serving in the State Senate, and just recently joined Chapman and Cutler Law Firm as Director of Community Relations and Social Responsibility in January. 

Senator Hutchinson currently serves as President Elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization of nearly 8000 legislators and 25,000 staff from around the country.

Hutchinson is a gifted motivational speaker who specializes in the areas of leadership, negotiation, networking, collaboration, and civics and issues important to women and children.

martha cephas, bs

a senior learning professional with 20+ years' experience
creating & delivering leadership development programs

Martha Cephas is a senior learning professional with over 20 years’ experience, creating and delivering leadership development programs for leaders at all levels. 

Working with small and large groups, Cephas is known for being an effective facilitator and has worked with hundreds of managers to strengthen their leadership talents.  With her additional background in employee relations, Martha is able to help leaders identify what new or enhanced skills are needed to manage difficult workplace situations and to foster staff engagement.

Cephas enjoys coaching new and emerging leaders to bring out their best talents for success and has produced numerous onboarding programs. She brings compassion and positivity to her work and quickly builds trust with her clients.

Cephas is certified in Korn Ferry’s 360 Feedback and Coaching assessment tool along with several leadership development programs. 

TAKASHA EDMOND, MA

aN ASSOCIATE FOR SMITHSON-BELL CONSULTING &
A Myers Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner.

Takasha Edmond is an Associate for Smithson-Bell Consulting. In her current role, she consults with managers, leaders and directors, to identify, create and facilitate learning opportunities that increase the interpersonal and communication skills of individuals and teams.  An energetic speaker with a collaborative approach to consulting, learning solutions design, delivery and follow-up.

Takasha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from Sacramento State University and a Master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Golden Gate University, in San Francisco.  She has a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution, and is a certified instructor for Vital Smarts Crucial Conversations / Crucial Accountability and a Myers Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner.

adriene bennet, ms

a smithson-bell consultant with a focus on leadership strengthening and developing employee relationships.

Adrienne Bennett has worked at the corporate level on fundraisers, team retreats, team building and managed booths during sales conferences.  Bennett’s consulting focuses on Leadership strengthening and developing employee relationships.

She believes people are at the heart of every organization, and performing as a team enhances collaboration which leads to successful project implementation and successful outcomes.

Bennett has worked for many Bay Area companies including Google, Bank of America, Merchant_e Solutions, the Clorox Company and Kaiser Permanente.

Bennett received her Bachelors of Art in Communications from San Francisco State University and her Master’s of Science in Health Care Administration with a concentration in Management and Change in Healthcare from California State University Eastbay. Bennett is a native of Oakland, California.  She also started The Grand Plans Events and Wedding Consulting firm in 1999.

Lisa bishop, MBA, ba

aN ASSOCIATE FOR SMITHSON-BELL CONSULTING &
professor, Marketing, management

Lisa provides training and consulting for the CPS HR Training Division. Her expertise is in leadership development, facilitation, and training. She has extensive experience in team building and employee engagement. Lisa enjoys designing interactive training, facilitating staff and board retreats. She helps teams become more efficient, so they can more effectively do their work. She also thrives on generating buy-in from the team through relationship building.

For more than a decade, Lisa has conducted soft skills training for public agencies; and volunteer management training for non-profits. She says “I’m truly committed to empowering, engaging, and enabling employees to their full potential”. She does webinars, retreats, workshops, coaching and facilitation. She honed her leadership and training skills during her time with Kaiser Permanente, overseeing the Employee Advisory Council for the Technology Risk Office.

She was also an Adjunct Professor, Marketing with University of Phoenix Lisa holds an MBA, Management/Marketing and BA, Management/Marketing from Golden Gate University. She also has several certifications in Emotional Intelligence, Disc, Leadership Development and Results-Based Training.

Lisa has provided project consulting services, coaching and training for the following organizations:

• Kaiser Permanente • American Diabetes Association • American Heart Association • Economic Opportunity Council of San Francisco • City of Oakland • Port of San Francisco • San Francisco Board of Supervisors • DMV • CCHCS • FI$Cal • CDCR • Cal HR • Covered California

She currently teaches these classes, and many others:

• Interpersonal Skills • Communicating Effectively • Crucial Conversations Talking When the Stakes Are High • Crucial Accountability • Mastering Emotional Intelligence • Influencer • Change Anything • Disc • Supervisory Skills • New Managers • Transitioning from Individual Contributor to Manager • Effective Teambuilding • Leading Effectively • Managing Up • Confident Leader • Leadership Principles and Practices • Art of Navigating Relationships in the Workplace • Building a Trusting Rapport