Gail Houck is a consultant, strategist, and trainer in the area of organizational performance improvement. She specializes in call center / contact center customer service; online customer service; call center migrations to contact centers; and, pre-employment selection and development systems, skill building courses, training tools, and DISC assessments. Her skills also include online business strategies, and Web site and online applications design & development.

Ms. Houck has experience with high-tech, service, financial, government, retail, manufacturing, non-profit, health and professional businesses. She has over twelve years of corporate experience including responsibilities for business development and sales; and, the management and training of personnel. In addition, Ms. Houck has over twenty-one years of educational / training experience in areas as the Internet / Web, marketing, interpersonal relations and cultural diversity.

She is also responsible for development and implementation of an Internet training program at the World Bank, and provided training at the World Bank and for other organizations, such as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Ms. Houck was an adjunct instructor of Web site planning, architecture and HTML at the Northern Virginia Community College and does advisory work at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Maryland.

She holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in International Business from Thunderbird (American Graduate School of International Management); undergraduate work in Management and Industrial Relations (dual major) at Rider College; graduate studies in psychology, education and interpersonal relations at Marywood College and Pennsylvania State University; and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from Rider College.

Ms. Houck is author of "Utilizing the Internet For Customer Service," Customer Satisfaction Management Frontiers - I (1997) and a contributing author of Getting Your Yen's Worth: Negotiating in Japan (1984).

She has been a guest on television and radio, such as News Radio for Tucson and Philadelphia, and Voice of America - China Branch Business Forum (radio and live TV). Ms. Houck has been quoted in publications such as BusinessWeek Online, ComputerWorld, Baltimore Business Journal, FORM, and HomeCareXtra magazines. Ms. Houck has accepted numerous invitations to speak on "Shifting Client Cultures to the Internet & E-commerce" and held conference workshops on "Web Site Design Considerations for Customer Service" at Online Customer Service and Web Self-Service Conferences.

She was also invited to give Internet / Web presentations at the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) 1998 National Leadership Conference and 1997 International Conference. She presented on "Customer Service Using the Internet" at the 1997 World Customer Service Congress; and on Web site planning and marketing at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) 1997 National Marketing Conference, ad 1996 & 1998 Nonprofits Online Conferences.