JPA for Governance

“I wish I could put you in my pocket! You are an excellent instructor of Leadership and Collaboration, the best I have had in many years. Thank you!”
Diane Seefeldt, First Premier Bank

“Joan’s presentation on the Link between Leadership and Emotional Intelligence was absolutely fabulous! And I heard many others say that, too. She had all 350+ attendees listening to her every word. Joan is extremely informative, interesting, engaging, and funny! Her topic was one that everyone related to and she tailored it perfectly for our audience. I highly recommend Joan! We will definitely be using her again!”
Gail Peters, IIA Midwestern Regional Conference Programs Committee Chair

“We have had nothing but positive responses from the people who attended the conference on 4/8. Your presentation on Psychological Profiling of White Collar Criminals was extremely well received.”
Jeff Potochney, Senior Agent, FBI Philadelphia, PA Office

“Joan’s seminar was excellent! I hope to attend another of hers in the future.”
Gary Leeds, AICPA Not for Profit Conference

“I worked with Joan Pastor producing a series of psychology features for WXPN Radio. I was impressed with Joan’s ability to make each feature especially interesting by presenting fresh new approaches to general psychological principles. She would relate each theme directly to real-life experiences and tell specific stories to make the point come alive for the listeners. Joan speaks very amiably and draws you in, as if it were a one-on-one conversation.

“Joan would come in with information on new research or she would offer a truly unique interpretation of psychological phenomena. She is a wealth of information and insight, and her mind works quickly to draw together a lot of information, pull it together on the spot, and express it in a clear statement.”
Amy Salit, News Director, WXPN 88.9 FM

“One of the areas Joan excels in is developing a plan to correct identified problems and to monitor progress. In every session I have been in with Joan (it must be close to 20 now), she has left us with an action plan and critical success factors and a follow up plan. I would not be overstating Joan’s ability by saying that every session I have been in has been a huge success and that profitability, morale and team work all improved significantly due to the training.”
Brenda Morris, CFO, Icicle Seafoods

“I hope our paths cross down the road in the future. I always enjoyed our time together and I know you are working with many other business people bringing them great values to improve on what they do daily in their jobs as well.”
Doug Sellin, COO (Retired), Union Bay Sportswear

“Joan’s presentation was definitely different than any other fraud and ethics class I have attended. Her superior knowledge within the field of psychology and how it relates to both business and ethics was praised by all that attended. The participation through questions and case studies made it a very exciting and interactive class. This presentation is a must for Human Resources, Finance or departments of any business or association worldwide interested in fraud, and for people at all levels of the organization.  Last, but certainly not least, her office staff was great to work with and made the process of bringing in a speaker as simple as possible. Thank you for a great JPA International, Inc. experience!”
Leanna Nighswonger, Accountant, Washington River Protection Solutions, Richland, WA.

“I am writing to thank you for developing and conducting the Advanced Facilitation Skills Training for our staff. Once again, you have provided quality, effective training which will help us in administering our Risk Assessment program.  I have heard a lot of positive feedback from the staff, especially regarding the skills learned for dealing with difficult people. The opportunity to practice these skills during the training has allowed our staff not only to develop their skills, but to strengthen them as well.  As I work with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans throughout the United States, I am continuing to recommend both your beginning and advanced facilitation skills training.  As always, I enjoyed working and talking with you. I hope to continue our relationship with JPA as we continue to expand and enhance our audit programs.  Thanks again.”
Lori A. Oakes,  Consultant, Internal Reviews, Blue Cross/Blue Shield FEPS, Washington, DC

“Thanks for presenting to the IIA San Diego Chapter Fraud Seminar in July 2010.  Fraud audit training usually provides foundation suggestions on what to do and what to avoid in handling fraud incidents. However, Joan offers a unique and valuable fraud education with her psychological approach and insight.  She highlights psychological factors and behaviors of a fraudster to consider when conducting an audit and/or investigation.  The case studies and student interaction made this session very interesting and enjoyable!  Her presentation is great for all personnel levels, including management, executives and boards members that may be interested in ethics, creating ethical business cultures and preventing fraud. We look forward to having you back for a future seminar!”
Christy Decker, 2010-2011 President, IIA San Diego Chapter

“On a scale of 100, the participants evaluated this seminar at 94; that is truly remarkable, coming from such an exacting group of internal auditors.  As a group they felt this information would have very practical applications in their jobs…as for recommendations, the majority had only one:  attend the seminar!”
Michael Twomey, Vice President, IIA Chicago Chapter

“As usual, your high standards provided the participants a wealth of useful information.  The evaluations on your session, Leadership Skills, received the highest grade of the four sessions.”
Deborah McLaughlin, Chairperson, IIA Boston Chapter

“I really appreciate your dedication to this program and the time you put into your presentation.  I enjoyed working with you and hope to do so again in the future.”
Sandra McMahon, Project Manager-AICPA Conferences

“Joan’s course on Negotiation Skills provided insights and strategies that I have employed in recent investigative interviews with outstanding results. She provided information that can be applied immediately to achieve positive outcomes. I highly recommend this training for any investigator looking to improve their interviewing skills.”
James T. Nolan, Corporate Vice President, Special Investigation Unit, New York Life

“It has been almost three weeks since your two-day presentation to my staff.  As you suggested, we convened a staff meeting to review some of the things you covered and to make individual commitments to practice one of your techniques over the ensuing thirty days.  This letter is to convey my thanks to you for the wonderful job you did and to share with you some of the comments I heard as we did our ‘review’.

“To a person, there was enthusiastic agreement when one individual said that these two days were the most valuable training they have received from any of the workshops and conventions they have attended since they came to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa.   Specific comment was made about how truly practical and useful the information was proving to be as they used it both at work and at home.  Again, specific mention was made of the sections on how to positively work with individuals of differing behavior styles, the steps to be used to calm  an  angry  person  and  resolve  conflict  positively,  and  the understanding they gained through your descriptions of the three learning styles.  I can tell from personal experience that several of them learned from the section on learning styles, because they are using the information when they present to me.

“As I indicated when we visited on Friday, I will be contacting the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to suggest that they ask you to speak at their national internal audit conference.  Your understanding of internal auditing was one of the things that made your presentation so valuable.”
Sonja R. Whitesell, Director, Audit Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield

“Joan Pastor’s presentation style is very engaging, and the seminar was interactive.  Joan had great insights into the Psychology behind Fraud, and even shared references to movies that demonstrated certain personality disorders, which I intend to watch with a new appreciation.  Our chapter was pleased with the fantastic turnout of over 50 attendees.  Overall, it was one of our best seminars!”
Carmela J. Schmitz, Vice President – Audit Officer, Special Projects Manager, Associated Banc-Corp

“I am writing in my role as past Vice President of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).  Joan has spoken at a number of AICPA conferences over the last 11 years or so.  My particular area of focus is CPAs in business and government, who represent the largest segment of our 340,000 members.

“The first time I heard Joan speak was in a concurrent session on Leadership and I was impressed not only with her message but with her delivery as well.  Joan is a very engaging and dynamic speaker, and knows how to ‘work the room.’  The session was well attended and was followed by lunch.  During the lunch, word spread about how great Joan’s session was, so when the session was repeated in the afternoon, we had to bring in extra chairs.  She became the hit of the Conference!”
John F. Morrow, CPA, Director, PWC

“I met Joan during one of the seminars organized by the North Jersey IIA Chapter. I was really impressed with her methodology of conducting the training programs. She has fine tuned her HR programs to suit the special needs of the Internal Audit professionals and I was amazed to see her in-depth knowledge about the Internal Auditing profession. Later , my association with her as a participant in one of her HR research projects on Global Leadership Styles too was a memorable one. I still use her assessment results to understand and develop my leadership qualities. I wish her the very best in her chosen career.”
Raj M Venkatachalam,, Internal Audit Consultant & Former Chief Audit Executive
Board of Research & Education Advisors – IIA Global for 3 years

 A member of her professional inner circle–who has seen Joan in action as a trainer and facilitator–has endorses her on LinkedIn to help potential clients quickly identify her strengths: Service Category: Business Consultant, Year first hired: 2002 (hired more than once), Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert “Dear Joan, I’ve written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation:  “I hired Joan on two occasions to train my colleagues and myself in how to facilitate risk assessment workshops. Joan’s training helped me get a good start in facilitation. The realistic exercises gave me confidence when I was facilitating my own workshops shortly after the course. The other attendees also found the course very useful,and, based on several requests, we held the course again a few years later for new people in the group. In addition to facilitation training, Joan’s course was basically a primer on applied psychology for business people, with helpful lessons on personality types, team building, and how to deal with destructive personalities. In addition to expert knowledge in her own field, Joan has a strong technical grasp of auditing, risk management  and business process, which shows in the delivery and relevance of her teaching.”
Dave Eden, P.Eng.

“Joan, participation in your assessment, as well as in your classes at IIA, impacted me and continues to play a part in my life. Thank you again for your work.”
Leigh Johnson-Steele, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits

“I greatly enjoyed your talk on “Improving Leadership Skills Across the Organization” at the AICPA NFP Executive Forum. The Leadership exercise was particularly helpful and one that I hope to use in my own organization.”   
Ann E. Hazinski, CPA, MBA, CGMA – Vice President for Finance & Chief Financial Officer – American Board of Pediatrics

“I can’t say enough good things about Joan Pastor.  She really delivers to her clients and presents information in a way that people really “get it.”  She is a frequent presenter for the International Institute for Internal Auditors (IIA). I am a member myself and met her in early 2012 at one of their conferences. She gave an outstanding presentation on Persuasive Communication Skills. Her presentation was after lunch and she kept us awake and involved the whole afternoon because her presentation was very good and effective. I learned a lot. I think is her background in psychology that makes her good at what she does because she seems to really understand people.  I’ve also checked out some of her books and materials from her website. That has also been helpful to me, especially her Conflict Management book.”
Marie Vernon – Director of Accounting at Central Alabama Community College

“Over the past fifteen months, I have attended three of your seminars: The Psychology of Fraud, Interviewing Skills for CFE’s and Auditors, and Conflict Management and
Negotiation Skills for CFE’s and Auditors. Each has exceeded my expectations. Your knowledge of a broad range of human behaviors and professionalism in presentation
were outstanding. Your enthusiasm and style kept us all engaged every second of the presentation. I heard several of the participants at each of these seminars describe you and your presentation as “super”. I agree with their assessment wholeheartedly! “I appreciate the way you made sure that all of our questions were answered. I have not only learned much from your seminars; but have also found them enjoyable and absorbing. For all these reasons, I not only recommend your seminars to my peers, but plan to attend additional ones myself in the future! Thank you for sharing yourself and your knowledge with us.

“Wishing you continued success in your presentations and research!”
S. Ben Herbert, CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner