About Workshop University & Our Consortium

  • Guiding Leaders and their Teams to create a culture of trust and psychological safety, to foster open and healthy dialogue and to achieve high performance not because they have to…because they are inspired to.


    Workshop University® LLC is a Professional Development firm that works with Leaders and their teams to create cultures of psychological safety, authenticity, collaboration, innovation and open and healthy dialogue.  We train and coach your leaders and teams to communicate openly and honestly, increase productivity and team effectiveness and become powerful leaders who impact bottom-line results.

  • Double your impact and income with your message

  • It's time to share your message with workshops, webinars and on-line courses

  • Who we serve


    Corporations who are looking for high impact, highly experiential training, coaching and/or e-learning programs that will increase employee engagement, motivation and retention while making a positive impact on the bottom line.

    Leaders & Managers who want to increase trust and psychological safety among their teams, master their own emotional intelligence and develop it in their teams and inspire and motivate their team members so they are engaged, inspired and committed to be a high performing team.

    Internal Corporate Trainers who want to reignite and up-level their live or virtual training programs with leading edge experiences and interactions to create lasting change for employees and bottom-line results for the company.


How Workshop University® LLC came about

After moving up the corporate technical ladder in the early 1990s as one of the founders of Cambridge Technology Partners, an IT consulting firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jean Marie DiGiovanna discovered her true passion for training.

Cambridge Technology Partners IT Consulting Firm As the first Practice Manager for the firm, she trained over 60 project teams and presented to clients around the world. Soon, she became the company’s most sought-after trainer, coach and facilitator as the start-up grew from just 90 people in Cambridge to more than 4,000 employees worldwide in nine years.

ThinkPeople Coaching & Training FirmWith her desire for more work/life balance, she left the Corporate world and started her own training, coaching and consulting firm in 1998 called ThinkPeople®.  She delivered training to high-tech companies in the areas of communication, team effectiveness and leadership. In addition, she  facilitated executive and leadership off-sites and strategic planning sessions.

Backed by her skills in training and experiential learning, and her Coaching Certificate in Life & Business Coaching in 2000, Jean Marie added public workshops on life and business strategies to her service offerings.

WU-logo-newSoon after, requests came in from Entrepreneurs who attended her workshops seeking assistance in developing their own workshops and sharpen their presentation skills. With her passion for experiential training and desire to help, she met the requests.

Jean Marie began guiding more and more colleagues to share their BIG MESSAGE through experiential workshops, webinars and virtual programs. As a result, in 2004, Workshop University® LLC was born.

She then formalized the company in 2006 and has since integrated ThinkPeople®, her Corporate Training & Coaching business into the fold so that all of her offerings in Corporate Training, Executive Coaching and and Business Coaching are found in one place.

As project and service needs have expanded, Workshop University has created a Consortium of Leadership & Organizational Consultants, Facilitators, Trainers & Coaches in the industry. Our Consortium brings over nine decades of cumulative work experience to our programs enabling us to deliver the highest quality work with the greatest impact.

Message from the Founder

Greetings and Welcome to Workshop University® LLC. I’m going to guess whether you are a leader, manager or individual contributor, you have unique gifts and talents to offer and value to add to any team. And, ultimately you want to find meaning in your work and make a difference in your organization and the customer’s you serve.

Keep your audience engagedI am passionate about helping organizations create a culture of psychological safety, authenticity, collaboration and belonging. I do that through keynote speaking, coaching and training and facilitation and/or a combination. I see so much brilliance and magnificence in each leader and employee that it aches me when that brilliance is not being recognized and fully realized.

Have fun while you are working - you can make your workshops and webinars and on-line courses funI am committed to creating the space for “ahas” and lightbulbs to go off in my audiences and training programs and 1:1 executive coaching. As Emerson describes success, he states, “…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded”.

I am a big believer that learning should and absolutely can be fun. I’m committed to creating experiential learning that engages audiences and employees so much that they don’t even realize they are learning. And, YES, this can be possible in live and virtual training programs. As an in-person trainer at heart, I never thought I would enjoy delivering virtual training, but I have found ways to keep it not only engaging for my attendees, but engaging for me too. If I can get there, so can you.

When things get stressful, keep looking up!Lastly, if you are noticing your “fun” factor is low, go out and find some! I like to go find a playground and get on the swings as it brings me right back to childhood again. Getting outside is key as it takes me out of my head and into nature.  Step away from your desk and take in your surrounding no matter where you are. And, most of all, keep looking up and keep laughing. Laughter is the key to feeling alive. Laughter feeds your soul, so go on, have a chuckle on me!

The Founder of Workshop University

New Head Shot

Jean Marie DiGiovanna,  is an international keynote speaker, leadership development expert, certified executive coach and best-selling author. With her body of work on Renaissance Leadership and over 25 years of experience across the globe, she helps leaders and their teams shift the way they think, lead and communicate rapidly creating a culture of increased trust, collaboration and innovation. She is a master of experiential learning and has a unique ability for asking the questions no one is asking and deeply listening for what’s not being said. She has a gift for creating a safe environment where leaders and their teams find their voice, speak their truth and resolve conflict swiftly and gracefully. She is a disruptor, a change catalyst and an innovative thinker working with leaders to uncover hidden talent, unlock new ideas and positively shift the culture so that no talent is left behind. She brings the heart & soul into business and the “being” back into human.

Having studied Computer Science back in the day and being one of the founding partners of Cambridge Technology Partners, a high-tech startup in the early 90’s, she knows what it takes to grow a company from ninety people to over 4000 worldwide, how to bridge the gap between technology, people and process and how to create a culture of collaboration, authentic leadership, high-growth and innovation.

Jean Marie was named a “Top 10 Coach of Boston,” by Women’s Business Boston. She is the co-author of “Success is a State of Mind” and the author of the bestselling book “Stop Talking Start Asking: 27 Questions to Shift the Culture of Your Organization”. Jean Marie’s programs are highly engaging and content-rich, with tools leaders can apply immediately to create high performing teams and shift the culture of their organization.

In true Renaissance Spirit, when Jean Marie isn’t working, she is busy traveling the world (when the airways open up more), working in her art studio, skiing fast and dancing to live Latin music. 

“That which you set out, deliberately create and believe in will come to you.  With steady focus, a clear mind and an active spirit, anything is possible.”

~ Jean Marie DiGiovanna

Our Consortium

Our client’s needs are our highest priority. In addition to our Faculty below we bring in the Leadership & Organizational Consultants, Facilitators, Trainers & Coaches to meet the goals and objectives of your program. Our Consortium provides over nine decades of cumulative work experience enabling us to deliver the highest quality work with the greatest impact.

Dr. Bob Gonet

Dr. Bob Gonet has over 20 years of leadership development, change management and employee engagement experience. He has coached and trained over 3,000 US, Europe, and SE Asia professionals whose roles include: CEO’s, Vice Presidents, Directors, and Middle Managers. Industries he has worked in include: automotive, financial services, health care, higher education, manufacturing, medical devices, retail, technology, telecommunications and utility.

Dr. Bob received his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership & Administration from Bowling Green State University in 1997. Some major companies and institutions in which he worked include: Ohio Northern University, UMASS Dartmouth, Bridgewater University, Bryant University, Ocean Spray, Midas, Hasbro, Honda, Reebok, United Solutions, Avid Technology, Keystone Partners, Southcoast Hospital Group, Staples, Sullivan Tire, and others.

Grounded in a background as a full-time Department Head and Administrator and Adjunct Faculty member, Bob has worked very closely over the past 20 years with University and College VP’s, Deans, Department Directors, and Support Staff both in a leadership coaching and training capacity.

Bob is someone who provides practical tools and techniques that are immediately applicable. With his metrics-based, straight forward, and flexible approach, he can adapt his style and delivery for a wide variety of leaders while remaining authentic. He is known for helping leaders increase their leadership effectiveness & performance leading to significant increases in productivity, team cohesion, sales, and profitability.

What is truly unique about Bob is that he immediately establishes rapport and trust with his clients and inspires them to achieve stretch goals they once thought were unattainable. In addition to his Ph.D. in HIED Leadership & Administration, Bob has a Master’s in Counseling and is a graduate of the accredited Coaches Training Institute, which specializes in the latest cutting-edge coaching techniques. Bob is also certified in several career performance assessment and 360 leadership tools and customer and employee opinion surveys.

Nancy Marmolejo

Nancy Marmolejo (she/her) is dedicated to helping STEM professionals advance their careers and visibility by developing strong leadership skills and personal brands.  With extensive experience working with BIPOC professionals in engineering, tech, and aerospace, she delivers her topics in a way that speaks to an individual’s background and life experience, affirming natural strengths while supporting career success. Her approach weaves in years of practice in DEI, Belonging, Social Justice, and Emotional Intelligence. 

She holds a Masters Degree in Multicultural Education, has over 10,000 hours of coaching and training experience, and has completed extensive training in communication, behavioral assessments, positive psychology, and personal development.  She brings evidence-based strategies to forward thinking organizations ready to cultivate the talents of their high potentials and emerging leaders.

A multiple award recipient, Nancy has been named Woman of the Year from Alianza Indigena/The Indigenous Alliance, Entrepreneur of the Year by The Hispanic Business Women’s Network, and was one of 10 national finalists to receive the Anna Maria Arias Memorial Award sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank and The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Nancy is part of Workshop University’s Consortium of Experts and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she balances family life, business, community involvement, a love of the arts, and volunteer work.