Principal, George R. Cooper III

Mr. Cooper brings fifteen years of senior management experience in engineering, maintenance, operations and quality to his current practice. With more than a decade of consulting service with Development Concepts, Mr. Cooper provides services to a wide variety of industries and across all organization levels.

His area of consulting practice spans the development of content-validated technical assessments used for selection, qualification and training needs assessment, and the development of customized training curricula and materials to assist clients in improving the skills of their incumbent workforce. He also serves as a consultant to organization leaders in large-scale reorganization, process improvement, and restructuring projects.

Mr. Cooper's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee's Executive MBA program.

Principal, Jerri L. Yates, Ph.D.

Dr. Yates initially earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical and materials engineering from Vanderbilt University. After years spent in engineering and manufacturing management, she entered a doctoral program in psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, completing the doctorate with a concentration in industrial/organizational psychology.

Dr. Yates has worked in senior management and executive positions in manufacturing, human resources, and new media businesses in addition to her continued consulting practice for over twenty years. She also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus.

Dr. Yates' areas of specialty cross the boundaries of organizational and individual services, with an overarching emphasis on the health and effectiveness of the system, whether the system is an organization, a group, or an individual.