Institute Team

John K. Clemens
Like most executives, Hartwick Leadership Institute founder and Executive Director John Clemens claimed that he was “too busy” to dig into some of the greatest leadership and management handbooks ever written: classic works by such authors as Homer, Machiavelli and Hemingway. But a year of sailing in the Mediterranean gave him time to immerse himself in such literature. He changed careers, dove deeper into his studies, and became a professor at Hartwick College. With a million-dollar grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, he founded the Hartwick Leadership Institute and began transforming great books and films into Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases. Clemens co-authored a best-selling book on the subject entitled The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway. This was followed by The Timeless Leader and Movies to Manage By. His latest book is Time Mastery: How Temporal Intelligence Will Make You a Stronger, More Effective Leader, written with Scott Dalrymple. Clemens’ published articles appear in Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Across the Board, and The Journal for Policy and Management Studies. More Information about Mr. Clemens can also be found at the Washington Speakers Bureau.

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Denise M. Warren 
Denise joined the Hartwick Leadership Institute in 2006.  For the past eight years, she was Vice President of Investor Relations for The First American Corporation, a $4 billion public business information company; she telecommuted from her farm home in East Meredith, NY.  Her primary responsibility was to present the company story to investors worldwide.  Denise has held management positions in national public relations firms and worked with public companies to communicate their investor story via corporate materials, one on one and group meetings. She provided presentation and speech training for several Fortune 500 CEOs and managers.

Denise is co-owner of Stone & Thistle Farm and Kortright Creek Creamery, a family-owned organic farm and goat dairy selling organic, grass-fed meats and organic goat milk and yogurt.  Her family includes one husband, three children and over 700 sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, cattle, horses and dogs.  She is active in 4-H, Slow Food Catskills and Farm Catskills, a small farm advocacy organization.

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Bob Brzozowski
Bob joined the Institute team in January, 2005. As Director of Client Services, he works closely with each corporate client from initial contact through seminar or keynote delivery, ensuring a seamless and productive relationship. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from Saint Anselm College and a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of the Americas in Puebla , Mexico . After several years of college teaching, he turned to international education, primarily with Marquette University in Milwaukee , and Edge Hill College in Lancashire , England . His involvement with the Association of International Educators included a Fulbright scholarship to Germany ; educational consulting in Latvia and Russia ; conference planning; and state, regional and national leadership roles in the association. Bob lives with his wife and two children in Oneonta, where he continues to pursue his interest in history as president of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society.

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Brooke Chilson
As Sales Manager for Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases and Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Cases for the past ten years, Brooke enjoys making contact and forming relationships with professors and helping them to integrate the Institute's cases into their courses. It's her passion!

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