Onward >

You've read 'The Dream Manager' and you're ready to implement. 

Good news! You don't need to figure it out on your own. Lean on me as your Fractional Dream Manager. I have the tools and personality to help you implement a game-changing dream program within your business.

I specialize in using technology and one-to-many coaching models to make life coaching, dream coaching, and mental fitness coaching available at scale within businesses, and accessible to those who need it the most.

🚀 Launching your Dream Manager program doesn’t need to be complex or crazy expensive. It just takes the right partner.

And you've found him!

Principal Consultant | Dream Coach & Activator | Hope Dealer

Project 14.4

The Project 14.4 handbook ⏱️📒 is now available via digital downloads with hard copy coming in November 2024. Snag it and learn how 14 minutes & 24 seconds will change you life by generating an up 🌀 spiral of contagious momentum. Stay tuned for coaching, community, keynote, and workshop opportunities for you and your team.

Architect → Author → Activator

Digital Wise Owls

Personal Heart Transformation to Unleash your True and Best Self - that’s Love ⤵️
I'm honored to be part of Joon Chang's personal transformation mission and one of the founding members of this growing movement & community. The best is yet to come. Stay tuned for more 🦉

Master Community Member

Positive Intelligence

PQ Mental Fitness Coach

Zillion Insurance

VP - Partner Success

Forsite Benefits

Engagement & Operations Leader

Motion Connected

Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company

♦ Cross functional leader in sales unit with accountabilities that bridged personal lines and commercial lines divisions.
♦ Developed and enhanced partnerships with eCommerce savvy jewelry businesses, making it quick and easy for their clients to protect their jewelry with a trusted industry leader.
♦ Acted as business owner / sponsor for a corporate initiative focused on streamlining technical integration process with industry partners while also improving the customer's experience.
♦ Owned a newly launched concierge program that provided a carefree experience for luxury jewelry consumers who value an exclusive level of service when protecting their jewelry.
♦ Built and maintained a portfolio of differentiating member benefits that complemented core insurance products.
♦ Led a talented group of commercial lines oriented customer relations specialists.

Director, Signature Service & Express Partners

♦ Developed underwriting talent and maximized the individual strengths of each team member to better the team and organization.
♦ Leveraged people and change management skills to guide our teams and agency force through a significant system conversion that heavily impacted day-to-day operations (Guidewire).
♦ Played an integral role in stabilizing the loss ratio of our commercial lines book of business - moving from a historical average of 56% to 39% in each of the last three years.
♦ Sponsored a project that successfully implemented a member benefits sales approach including the delivery of a sales tool to effectively demonstrate the full value of a client doing business with Jewelers Mutual.  
♦ Co-lead of an initiative that successfully delivered a new cross-functional model for identifying, courting, writing, and servicing large and specialty accounts.  Exceeded premium targets in first year by $480K. 
♦ Heavily influenced the creation of an innovative policyholder benefit to assist members with the mental / emotional trauma resulting from being the victim of a jewelry crime.
♦ Fostered ongoing, positive relationships with our independent agent partners with a focus on mutual respect and appreciation.
♦ Managed top line performance and profitability of commercial lines results for our south region, and in collaboration with leadership peers, managed the same for the entire commercial lines book.
♦ Reinvigorated focus on leveraging loss prevention expertise as a significant differentiator.  
♦ Led the continual enhancement of our loss prevention educational offerings.  This included initiating use of YouTube, social media, webinars, and evolving our online learning environment.
♦ Frequently spoke at jewelry industry events with a focus on security and life safety.  Consistently received positive feedback on presentation skills, style, and content.

Director, Commercial Lines Underwriting & Loss Prevention

♦ Built an active, business-oriented PMO focused on delivery of top corporate initiatives.
♦ Advised PMO collaboration with outside expertise to successfully implement billing, claims, and policy systems companywide (Guidewire).
♦ Actively managed a project to convert an AAIS-based business owner’s policy (BOP) to an ISO-based product.
♦ Actively managed a project that delivered and implemented a reinvigorated future-state model for the organization’s loss prevention function touching people, process, and technology.   
♦ Developed leadership talent and succession plan resulting in a seamless transition when moving to a new position.  
♦ Facilitated strategic planning and annual business planning for the enterprise.
♦ Ensured business plan execution through the effective use of project management practices.
♦ Led the establishment of a formal business analysis function within the organization.
♦ Supported the introduction of agile practices within the organization.

Director, Project Management Office (formerly Strategy Management Office)

♦ Led projects aimed at simplifying the process of obtaining a quote and binding personal jewelry insurance at the counter of the jewelry story and online.
♦ Collaborated with a project team to deliver a solution that won a “CIO 100” Award.

Senior Project Manager

♦ Managed the day-to-day activities of 12 analysts responsible for troubleshooting system and process issues, process improvement, software testing, and business intelligence/reporting.
♦ Frequently consulted to lead and resolve operational and technical issues such as productivity bottlenecks.

Production Support Manager

♦ Responsible for customer service, risk selection, and pricing of a territory of retail, wholesale, and manufacturing jewelry risks in NY, NJ, PA, and FL.
♦ Co-lead of project to replace policy/claims/billing processing system.
♦ Took over project management responsibilities mid-stream after working on the project as a business unit representative and demonstrating talents and abilities.

Commercial Lines Underwriter

Sentry Insurance

Sales Representative

Accenture

Analyst

The Dream Dude 🔥 Helping 100,000 people DREAM ✨ again, more or bigger → 🚀 Dream Manager Implementation Pro →Transforming YOU into a FULFILLED LEADER people are talking about via the 'Onward' High Performance Ecosystem

I'm a *hope dealer* specializing in dream-activation and momentum-generation.

Business leaders inspired by The Dream Manager book, look to me as their go-to partner in launching a program for their people.

I've also created a method, movement and handbook called "Project 14.4 - How 14 minutes & 24 seconds will change your life" geared at helping mid-career professionals create an up 🌀 spiral of momentum in their life. 

My superpowers are approachability, encouragement, and innovation.

I use technology & one-to-many coaching models to make life coaching and dream coaching available at scale within businesses, and accessible to those who need it the most.

🚀 Launching your Dream Manager program doesn’t need to be complex or crazy expensive. It just takes the right partner.

Currently, I'm on a mission to help 100,000 people DREAM ✨ again, more, or bigger.

And now, to my story 👇

After 14+ years in an organization, I was a wreck.

I’d lost my energy, drive & hope.

Outwardly, I looked successful - making good money, dressed well, fit, smiling, super family. 

But inside I was a mess.
 
I was living a life of quiet desperation.

I didn't know what my life dreams were, and I was terrified to even look for them. 

I just knew they were no longer about climbing the corporate ladder… and becoming a powerful executive.

But, I was scared of what others would think. Including those closest to me.

Because I was less engaged and passionate in my life as a whole, I naturally started showing up to work less engaged.  I started to bring less energy to my family and friends, too.  

Then one September day in 2016, I hit the eject button.

I quit my "dream career" without a plan and with a wife and kids to support.

I knew I needed to bet on me. I also knew I needed to make time, room, and space in my life to figure out how to best show up as a greater version of me… how to make sure my life made a difference (while also paying the bills).

Miraculously, Matthew Kelly's book The Dream Manager crossed my path at just the right moment. It gave words to both my leadership style and what I was personally struggling with.

It inspired & encouraged me to reignite my life goals and dreams.  

It guided me to clarity of my life’s purpose… which has turned into my career.  

Now, I get to help people identify & get after their life goals & dreams. 

When your people become more engaged in their life as a whole, they naturally become more engaged & effective in the workplace.

Which is good for both the business and the person. 

It's all about the Win-Win!

Onward ✌️

Mark Cumicek

Lucia Kanter St. Amour

Under the Sisterhood

UTS is a social impact company that addresses the critical gaps in women’s health education, diagnosis, and treatment. As CLO, I'm responsible for: legal guidance on general business operations, partnerships, and organizational practices; contract review and negotiation with vendors and partners; policy development ensuring legal, ethical, and privacy compliance; risk awareness and mitigation; recommending practical strategies that project the organization’s integrity and vision; addressing potential legal issues related to employment and board members; liaising and supervising outside counsel; partnering with cross-functional teams to effectively communicate the organization’s mission, support its programs, and amplify its social justice initiatives.

Chief Legal Officer

Pactum Factum

Chief Legal/Negotiation Officer for various corporations, NCAA athletes, and organizations; U.S. mediation liaison to Supreme Court of India 2022-2023; have mediated/negotiated 1000+ cases; host of "Forces of Good" podcast. Seasoned employment law and negotiation expert. Pactum Factum Press publishing.

Attorney | CLO | Publisher

UN Women

VP, San Francisco  - the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945. UN Women USA is the official, membership-based non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for UN Women, the United Nations agency that advances gender equality and female empowerment globally.  Events and projects include: Cities for CEDAW a nationwide, grassroots effort to encourage local governments to become more gender equitable; EVAW - an effort to End Violence Against Women; The Gender Equal Pay coalition; HeForShe, a social movement campaign providing a systematic approach and targeted platform through which men and boys become agents of change for the achievement of gender equality; Women In Climate Change Gender Action Plan; Bi-annual Global Voices Film Festival

Vice President - UN Women USA

Spectrum Strategies for Autism

501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing sibling programming; and rescue dog matching, placement and training to families with children with Autism and other special needs.

University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings)

Teaching:  Negotiation / Mediation Clinic / Mediation Certification for Professionals / Special Education  Law. 2003-2012 taught regular course(s) on-site each semester. I tried to retire, but noooooo. They wouldn't let me 😂 2013-present continue on faculty as hybrid (remote and on-site) coach and instructor

Law Professor (Adj.)

International Chamber of Commerce

Serving as judge and mediator for ICC mediation competition in Paris, France

Mediator and Judge

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

Teaching Negotiation practical skills course and supervising independent studies

Lecturer

EEOC

One of the small team of original designers of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s pilot mediation program in 1996 for the San Francisco Regional Office, and later mediated EEOC cases from San Jose to Sacramento

Mediator

Judicial Council of California

In-house employment law attorney for the Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), the policymaking body for the entire California court system for 58 counties and the Supreme Court of California. I advised the Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of California, and trial and appellate court judges and court officers, contributing to major policy and legal decisions on employment and labor issues that affect the entire judicial branch of California. During that time, I was also selected by the California Division for Judicial Education and Research (CJER) as a representative attorney for the judicial branch to conduct ongoing discrimination and harassment training through live, televised, satellite broadcast programming to court employees statewide. The target 20,000-member audience consisted of judges, human resources professionals, court directors and court staff. Broadcasting live with a studio audience, I also co-hosted CJER’s production of “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  A Celebration of Justice,” as part of the Division’s Continuing The Dialogue television series. The content of many of the broadcasts drew upon expertise in the field of Civil Rights and various discrimination and fair employment laws.

Attorney - Office of the General Counsel

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Upon dissolution of boutique labor & employment firm in San Francisco, joined Orrick's Employment Law group and handled all aspects of litigation and client counseling. Closest clients I worked with included Gap, Apple, Oracle, Electronic Arts

Employment Litigation Attorney

VP Emerita UN Women | Attorney Action Figure 🦸🏻‍♀️ | Arresting Author | Chief Negotiation Officer | Plucky Podcast Host | Irreverent Int'l Keynote | "What Box?" Bellwether

📚 World domination through literary seduction. Elegant. Defiant. Irresistibly true. Are you ready for what's next (October 13, 2025)? MY WRITING IS ORGANIC USING REAL INTELLIGENCE (AI wishes it could write like me)

I'm not bossy. I'm BOSS. A UN Women VP, provocatrice, attorney/law professor turned negotiation GOAT . . .

(Buckle up. This is ..."a lot")

🦸🏻‍♀️ I help women harness the power of everyday negotiation—from conning a toddler into eating peas to running the boardroom. I authored the Little Black Dress of negotiation books. Why?

Because negotiation isn’t just for business. It’s everybody’s business 🧐

(But you don’t need me to “empower” you. Nor do I sell a “masterclass” or certification from my own “institute”)

🌍 World Mediation Peace Activist. Benevolent & incurable explorer (dubbed “creative savant”—you know who you are). A bit wild at ❤️‍🔥, I struggle with purpose and disrupt with goodwill—through advocacy, teaching, writing, broadcasting, philanthropy, art & sports.

🗣️ Polyglot. Passionate about people & social progress. JEDI agent (not a Star Wars ref). I’ve practiced law in private, public & non-profit sectors; have taught internationally, including over two decades as faculty at two University of California law schools.

I get that people are messy multitudes—and how they actually behave in conflict & decision-making.
What makes me next-level? Decades of deep experience in negotiation, behavioral economics, game theory, plus dope training in:

✔️ Emotional micro-expressions
✔️ Lie detection
✔️ Neuroscience & decision analysis

Oh, and I know the #1 most stealth negotiation skill. 😎

(Kinda like x-ray vision. Hint: it’s NOT “speaking your truth.”)

WHAT I’M NOT:

❌ A sales/marketing bro who built my expertise off a “masterclass”
❌ A brand
❌ Your income stream
❌ After your 💰 or approval
❌ One to trademark words. Ahem™ 🙄 (you know the type)

Special needs parent & dog whisperer—chaos doesn’t faze me, and persistence is my default setting. CEO of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing dogs & sibling support for families with special needs kids.

🫶 Turn-ons: Cake, shoes, pour-over coffee, decent literature
🤢 Turn-offs: NIMBYism, vapid buzzwords, elitism, posers

💡 Meyers-Briggs type? ENFJ-A (same 2% club as Obama & Oprah).

🕸️See more on pactumfactum.com, but TLDR: 
I’m 95% human Labrador (begs the question: what’s the other 5%?). Find it endearing or annoying. That's on you. Either way, I’ll be me because, as Oscar Wilde said, “Everyone else is taken.”

P.S.
❌ I don’t do casual Zoom coffee chats
✅ I’ve already overpaid it forward

taplio

The Battle

Mark Cumicek

S. Lucia Kanter St. Amour

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