LIZARD BRAIN FACILITATORS AND CONSULTANTS

BRIAN TARALLO - MANAGING DIRECTOR

Brian Tarallo is the managing director of Lizard Brain. He is a certified professional facilitator who specializes in visual methods and virtual meetings. He works in the federal and state government, defense, engineering, and healthcare industries. Brian is also the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, Surviving the Horror of Online Meetings. In 2023, Brian was awarded an IAF Facilitation Impact Award.

Brian has served as a business process improvement manager for a federal agency, an operations manager and later a senior consultant for a Washington, DC-based consulting firm, an associate and later an associate partner for a Washington, DC-based engineering firm, a project manager and an operations manager for a national development firm, and a development volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps.

• 20 years of experience in facilitation, strategic planning, leadership development and training, organizational development, team development, and visual consulting

• MBA focusing in development and finance, Arizona State University

• Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF), International Association of Facilitators (IAF)

• Certified Virtual Facilitator (CVF), International Institute for Facilitation (INIFAC)

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Master Practitioner, one of 160 globally

• Certified to deliver the FIRO-B Assessment and the Grove Team Performance Model (TPM)

• Trainer and partner, the Grove Consultants International

• Contributing author, “The World of Visual Facilitation”; Blijsie, Hamons, & Smith; 2019

• Author, “Surviving the Horror of Online Meetings”; 2021

• Founder, OGSystems Visioneering Team

• Founder, NOVA Scribes

• Member and presenter, International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP)

• Member and presenter, Mid-Atlantic Facilitators' Network (MAFN)

• Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute (PMI)

• TEDx speaker, TEDxLizardCreek 2014

• Experienced in delivering Red Team Facilitation, Blue Ocean Strategy, the Grove Consultants’ Strategic Visioning, Generative Scribing, Kinesthetic Modeling, Crucial Conversations, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, the Organizational Cultural Assessment Indicator, Social Styles, the Tuckman Model of Team Development, and Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team

CHRIS CUSHING - PROJECT COORDINATOR

Chris is a vibrant force driven by a passion for helping those who uplift others. With a solid foundation as a proud USAF veteran, Chris seamlessly blends decades of leadership, customer service finesse, and unwavering professionalism into everything she does. Chris champions a human-centered ethos that guides our every endeavor.

Armed with a diverse background spanning nursing and business operations, Chris embodies the perfect blend of compassion and strategic insight. Her dedication to continuous improvement shines through her completion of over 430 CEUs from MGE Management Experts, Inc. in St. Petersburg, FL, between 2018 and 2020. This intensive training encompassed many vital skills: communication mastery, critical thinking prowess, statistical analysis finesse, marketing magic, sales savvy, and executive leadership excellence.

At the core of Chris' essence lies an unwavering commitment to our clients and team. Her tireless efforts ensure we deliver nothing short of excellence, crafting unforgettable experiences at every turn.

RACHEL THOMPSON

Rachel Thompson works at the intersection of strategy and design using human-centered and visual methods. Rachel has over a decade of professional experience with human-centered design and design thinking, strategic facilitation, graphic recording and graphic facilitation, experiential learning and teaching, and coaching. Rachel uses her range of experience to help people integrate sustainable changes into their work and life.

Currently based in Washington, DC, Rachel has a B.A. in Anthropology and French from Kansas State University. She is Design Thinking Facilitator at the Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and an Adjunct Instructor for the Design Leadership MA/MBA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

She has been a part of the leadership team of the Service Design DC Meetup, NOVA Scribes, the DC Graphic Facilitation Meetup, the Design Thinking: DC Meetup, and the DC Service Jam. She is a member of the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP) and Mid-Atlantic Facilitators' Network (MAFN).

LAUREN GREEN

Lauren Green is a graphic facilitator, graphic recorder, and ICF-certified coach with specialties in organization development, strategic communications, and performing arts. Lauren specializes in coaching and facilitating with visual templates. She draws from best practices in adult learning that encourage inclusive and engaging group processes. Lauren holds a master’s in Organization Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University (2016). Her graduate work includes special concentrations in group dynamics; collaborative technology; knowledge management; self-leadership; diversity and inclusion; and Appreciative Inquiry. She is a certified MBTI® and EQi (emotional intelligence) Practitioner. Lauren is trained in the DiSC Workplace Assessment tool and also certified to deliver the Grove’s Team Performance Model as well as Impact’s Team Performance Indicator.

Lauren does graphic recording (large-scale visual note-taking) for conferences, meetings, workshops, and other events. She aims to create visual knowledge artifacts that increase audience engagement and retention of information shared.

In previous work experiences, Lauren has managed online communities for several organizations that span the performing arts, animal welfare, education, and hospitality fields. Lauren enjoys applying performance metaphors and mind-body techniques to her current work. She aims to create an engaging and energized experience for every group that she facilitates.

• M.S. Organization Development and Knowledge Management (George Mason University)

• ICF-Certified Coach

• Certified Team Performance Practitioner (Grove) 

• Certified MBTI Practitioner

• Trained DiSC Workplace Assessment Facilitator and Coach

• Certified EQi 2.0 and EQi 360 Practitioner 

• Certified to Deliver Impact’s Team Performance Indicator

• Trained and experienced in facilitating using organization development, change management, and design thinking techniques (Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, Lean-Startup, LUMA Institute)

• Trained and experienced in using graphic recording and facilitation tools in strategic planning and visioning sessions

• 5 years of experience working with non-profit groups and organizations 

• 8 years of experience in digital and strategic communications design and delivery 

RENATTA ALGALARRONDO

Renatta makes meetings visual at both in-person and virtual events. 

With her business and organizational development experience, she creates real-time visualizations that become roadmaps for participants to guide their current decisions and map the futures. Renatta uses her experience with global Fortune 500 companies to organize and illustrate complex functions and processes. 

Fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, she is called upon to illustrate international and multicultural events in multiple languages. 

Her diverse career includes roles as an entrepreneur, HR manager, and pioneer and leader in the emerging field of graphic recording. She is a co-founder and board member of the IFVP Institute, the non-profit arm of the global professional association for the field of visual practitioners. She also chairs the development of the first professional certification process for visual practitioners. 

Renatta combines her business savvy, drawing ability, people skills, and communication acumen to create spaces for others to be successful. 

Her top five CliftonStrengths  themes are: Achiever • Empathy • Learner • Adaptability • Individualization

ANDREA HANCOCK

Andrea has 20 years of experience as an Instructional Designer designing and developing classroom, online, and blended learning experiences. Visuals are essential to the retention of new information; Andrea has successfully worked with images and charts in training and meetings to promote critical thinking and problem solving in her years as a government contractor. 

In addition, Andrea has been trained in and uses The Grove's Strategic Visioning process. She has also done graphic facilitation and graphic recording for the last 5 years.

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Graduate Certificate in eLearning, and a Masters of Education in Instructional Design. She is a member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly ASTD), the eLearning Guild, the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), and the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP).

Andrea grew up in Virginia, Italy, and South Africa thanks to parents serving in the U.S. Government. She currently lives in the Northern Virginia area with her husband, 2 kids, 2 dogs, and whatever wildlife decides to wander into her backyard that day. 

In her spare time, Andrea enjoys making jewelry, running, reading, volunteering as a Community Educator for the Alzheimer's Association, and leading her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

ANGELA KRIEG

Angela Krieg a rising star on the Lizard Brain team. She collects stories and ideas to bridge gaps in communication and empathy. As a NOVA Scribes scholar and with a background in editorial illustration, she attended her first IFVP in 2020.

She received her BFA in illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology, Angela is formally trained in art, working in a variety of mediums and fields. She believes in making information more accessible for people and has been working in mental health and social justice. Using the power of visuals, she helps to distill information and enhance communication for businesses, social gatherings and events.

Her mantra is to observe, collect and learn. Living in Brooklyn, she is an obsessive sketchbook artist. She connects to her community through visuals, recording her experiences on paper or an iPad. When she is not drawing or painting, she is usually rock climbing, drinking coffee or looking for stories that rival the standards of today. 

Angela is also active on Instagram. You can see what she is up to by following her @gaelanart

ERIN GORDON

Erin is a strategy consultant and visual practitioner with experience across a broad range of topics such as supply chain, systems integration, data analytics, communications, change management, leadership and organizational development. She holds an MBA and MS in Strategic Management from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and BS in Commerce and Spanish with minor in Studio Art from the University of Virginia. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Yoga Instructor (RYT-200).

As a former muralist, Erin's work in strategic visualization combines her passion for art with background in business. Since 2012, Erin has explored integrating visual practices into her consulting work to include graphic facilitation, recording, virtual visualization, collaboration and experience design. In her spare time, you'll find Erin out on the trails or her yoga mat if not co-creating over a glass of wine!

TRENT WAKENIGHT

Trent Wakenight uses visual meetings to help organizations with change management and strategic communication, turning cool concepts into even cooler pictures. Trent is an outcome-oriented strategic communication and strategy development professional. He has extensive experience in strategic visualization, graphic facilitation, project management, organizational change, and program assessment.  He supports officials in government and academia with accomplishments in the intelligence community, defense, homeland security, STEM, online education, and public health.

Trent has been a practicing graphic facilitator and graphic recorder since 2011, with experience in the graphic recording field since 2002. He conducts graphic facilitation and graphic recording to support change management and strategic communication activities for U.S. government agencies. His work products include concept visuals, storyboards and video development, sketchnotes, corporate visions maps and strategic plans, and integrated marketing and communication plans. Trent is the founder of Marker Ninja, providing visualization support to think tanks, non-profit entities, government agencies, and the private sector in areas such as science and technology, government policy and national security, public health and safety, human rights and empowerment. Trent is also a professional writer and note taker. He is a former English teacher and aspires to be a race car driver.