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OUR PRACTICE LEADERS

All of our people are highly trained professionals with a wealth of practical real world experience.

Lateyfa Ali, President and General Manager, has over 25 years experience in talent management, personnel assessment, executive coaching, executive search, strategic planning, team leadership, and project planning. Lateyfa has also used her talent and project orientation on a wide variety of HR outsourcing projects and especially on diversity and inclusion initiatives and training. She has also been instrumental in assisting organizations with regulatory compliance including HR Audits, AAP development and EEO litigation investigation. Her corporate experience includes VP of Human Resources at a $15 billion diversified financial institution where she established innovative recruitment and employee relations programs. She also held senior positions at the General Motors Center for Human Resources and the Housing Division of the City of Atlanta. Lateyfa's generalist experience, leadership skills and diverse background make her uniquely qualified to manage value-based performance improvement projects.
lali@ekward.com

Eileen Ward, Founder, was named 2005 Outstanding HR Professional by the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association. She offers our clients a wealth of talent and more than 30 years combined experience in executive search, corporate human resources, human resource consulting, small business development and career transition counseling. She is widely recognized for her skills in recruiting hard-to-find talent, especially engineers and highly compensated executives. As a colleague and business advisor, Eileen's counsel is frequently sought by senior management on a wide variety of personnel and organizational challenges. She supports the community through memberships and volunteerism with emphasis on helping those in need. 
ekward@ekward.com

Drexel Andrews, Senior Consultant, is a lead career coach and specializes in return-to-work challenges. Having held senior level positions in corporate operations throughout her 25-year career in sales and marketing management, she has direct expertise in transitioning employees to effectively manage change. Her professional background includes extensive experience in the strategic planning, hiring, developing and motivating of a diverse workforce. Using a consulting focus that includes needs assessments, work/life balance, personal branding and onboarding for success, Drexel is known for her compassionate yet practical approach that quickly brings results. Drexel’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in both Education and Social Sciences from Elmira College, and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology with a concentration in Marketing. Drexel is an active volunteer with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
dandrews@ekward.com

Elizabeth (Beth) Bradley, Ed.D., Senior Consultant, earned her doctorate in curriculum planning at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her work in curriculum and staff development and accountability models has been commended. As an investigator and consultant, Beth has experience handling complaints of sexual abuse and harassment. She has consulted and conducted training in New York, Massachusetts and Arizona on the topics of professional behavior, harassment prevention and handling allegations of misconduct. Beth, a certified Franklin Covey 7 Habits and Trust Building trainer, has worked with boards and leadership teams and has received numerous statewide awards. Her interests lie in building a climate of trust in the workplace.
ebradley@ekward.com

Laura Corey, SPHR, Principal of E. K. Ward & Associates of the Southern Tier, is a founder and President of the Jamestown-area chapter of SHRM. She brings more than 20 years of human resources experience to EKW&A of the Southern Tier. As a former Director of Human Resources for one of the largest worldwide ISO-9000 registrars, Laura has proven leadership skills in staffing and recruitment, training and development, employee relations, organizational development, compensation and benefits as well as experience in international human resource management. Her experience in a team-based Fortune 300 corporation's start-up manufacturing facility with first line supervision, high performance work teams, and organizational skills assessment and development has given her extensive manufacturing expertise along with international and service operational capabilities.
lcorey@ekward.com

Matilda (Mati) Lorenzo, Senior Consultant, brings over 20 years of successful HR management and development experience to E. K. Ward & Associates, particularly in the areas of employment, employee/labor relations, performance and resource management, process evaluation and program development. Matilda’s ability to motivate, build commitment and develop relationships clearly became evident at EKW&A where she began as Manager for the Fisher-Price Career Center in East Aurora.  Her diverse background has enabled her to operate in a number of roles including directing several key career transition centers, performing in an offsite employment function for various clients, recruiting and conducting search, facilitating organizational focus groups, developing and delivering training, and consulting on numerous human resource projects. She has first-hand experience of how employers assess job applicants and applies that knowledge to present individuals in the best possible way based on their background and career.  Matilda has attained lifetime accreditation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), received SPHR’s Niagara Falls Chapter 1999 Outstanding Member Award, and is an approved administrator of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).  She is a cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with an emphasis on organizational development and a minor in Management.

Doreen Murphy, Career Transition Practice Leader, has over 20 years experience in management and human resources. Her background includes recruitment, training, HR compliance, employee assistance, compensation, employee relations, and productivity improvement. Doreen's experience is applicable across a wide range of consulting projects. She participates in local roundtable groups and is responsible for ensuring a smooth and consistently high level of response to our clients via operational planning and scheduling. Doreen has coordinated and conducted thousands of employee separations, and designed corporate outplacement programs serving employees at all levels, and she spearheads the start-up operations for our dedicated career management and career transition centers.
dmurphy@ekward.com

Linda Warning,  Career Transition Practice Leader, consults with clients locally and nationally to provide expertise across a broad cross-section of business disciplines including leadership alignment, strategic planning, executive development, organizational design and re-engineering, talent management and employee transition.  In addition to her human resources background, Linda also achieved senior management responsibility in consumer finance, and ran a successful business for more than five years before joining EKW&A. Once here, she led a major initiative to link family-owned businesses with New York's Ownership Transition Services program. Linda uses her unique background and skills  effectively with senior executives who are considering self-employment. As a senior business leader, Linda consistently delivers strong operating results in productivity and efficiency improvements, as well as technological advancements.
lwarning@ekward.com

Susan Jones, Senior Executive Search Consultant, specializes in senior level recruiting assignments for domestic and international clients. Prior to joining EKW&A's Executive Search practice, Susan held senior HR positions at several companies with local and global operations. With over 20 years of recruiting experience, her focus has been to service clients with difficult-to-find talent. Susan has a particular penchant for selling to the recruited candidate. She excels at building both strong client and candidate relationships that ultimately result in successful placements.  Susan is based out of our satellite office in Columbus, Ohio.
sjones@ekward.com

Jan Reicis, Senior HR Consultant and Executive Coach, serviced as a Senior Level HR Executive with corporate and operations HR leadership experience for global companies such as TOSOH, Graphic Controls (Division of TYCO), and Moog, Aerospace and Defense.  Jan contributed to senior executive teams directing company growth through planning, improving organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement and executive development.  Jan is recognized for creating and aligning human resources vision with corporate philosophy.  Coaching areas of excellence include: Building Executive Competence, Succession Development, Onboarding and Leadership Development.  Jan holds an MBA from State University of New York at Buffalo and is adjunct faculty for the School of Management and a faculty member of Daemen College, School of Administration.  

Martha Townson, Executive Career Consultant, has over 25 years experience in organization development, human resources, strategic planning and business management. This blend of skills and experience makes her an effective and credible partner in planning and implementing large-scale and complex organizational changes. Martha has helped organizations diagnose and solve problems on all operating and strategic levels including board and governance levels such as the identification and development of appropriate cultures in pre- and post-merger environments. Martha is particularly effective in facilitating the development and implementation of major strategic initiatives with minimal operating disruption by building broad-based commitment. A skilled facilitator and recognized authority on a variety of human resources and organization development topics, she provided research assistance for “Fifty-two Peaceful Societies” and co-authored “Making A Difference”, a guide to career transition.



OUR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Monica Alfano, Administrative Assistant, has over 10 years experience in administrative support and customer service. She has worked in a variety of industries as a Human Resources Assistant, Administrative Assistant and CSR. Monica is responsible for coordinating our front office functions, from greeting career transition participants to assisting them in meeting their unique needs. Monica's excellent technical skills are invaluable in the preparation of participants' marketing materials including stand-out resumes. Her outgoing personality and friendly demeanor make each and every participant feel welcome at E. K. Ward & Associates.
malfano@ekward.com 

Tanya Harrington, Controller, has over 25 years experience in Accounting/Bookkeeping for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. Her background includes monthly closing and consolidation of reports for international accounting, general ledger entries, in addition to generating monthly/quarterly/annual reports required by the federal and state government. She has proven creative abilities in the design and implementation of efficient PC applications. She also is known for her in-depth knowledge of QuickBooks Financial Software for Small Business.
tharrington@ekward.com

Jaime Johnson, Administrative Assistant, EKW&A of the Southern Tier, has an administrative/human resources background that includes experience as an HR coodinator and staffing consultant. Jaime is responsible for the successful implementation of all front office practices, from reception, to ordering supplies, and all other administrative duties. Jaime is also responsible for assisting the Client Services Manager in ensuring that all of the processes of Client Services run smoothly, from administering client work orders to producing resumes.
jjohnson@ekward.com

Lynn Salatti, Office Administrator, hails from Canada with extensive experience living overseas (from Europe to Southeast Asia to the tip of Africa). With over 20 years experience supporting executives in diverse fields including human resources, sales, general management, and not-for-profit translation and interpreting services, Lynn brings a unique sense of flexibility to her position. Her professional and can-do attitude enhance any project she works on, while her strong organizational skills and expertise in desktop publishing, computer systems and software ensure the smooth functioning of all aspects of our operations.
lsalatti@ekward.com

Ma

"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."

Coach John Wooden