Rhiannon Surrenda, MA.

Rhiannon is a dynamic trainer and coach; who brings her enthusiasm and passion for empowering others to all of her trainings and consultations. Rhiannon works with executives, teams, individuals and entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries to help them become high performers and succeed in their professional and personal development goals.

As a trainer and business consultant for the past 18 years, Rhiannon excels at leadership development, building high-trust workplaces, developing emotional intelligence, essential communication skills, change management/resilience, working across generations, process improvement, strategic planning and development and delivery of train-the-trainer programs. She has extensive experience working with a variety of organizational structures represented in differing industries: Government, private and public companies, non-profit/NGO, education, venture capital firms and community-based organizations.

As a long-term consultant for The Leadership Edge, she has worked on a variety of organizational projects including but not limited to: Strategic planning for multiple divisions at Google (Global Supply Team and Global Data Center), Executive retreats for GreenBiz, Early Bird Venture Capital, Napa Hospice and Change Resilience trainings and a train-the-trainer training for Memorial Healthcare, as well as 360° Executive team evaluations for many organizations. Furthermore, she works with emerging leaders as well as Executives, coaching them to their full potential.

In addition, as a senior consultant/trainer for Municipal Resources Group (MRG), Rhiannon provides trainings and coaching on a variety of topics while integrating personal, professional and leadership development, with an emphasis on the practical application of new tools and knowledge on the job. She delivers Leadership and Supervisory Academy’s for the City of Santa Cruz, City of Monterey and the City of Roseville. She is also working with Contra Costa County delivering trainings on building a High-Trust Workplace to support their on-going organizational culture shift. In addition, she is working with Silicon Valley Clean Energy delivering trainings to address challenges as well as leverage opportunities with a goal of developing an optimized high-performing team.

Further, as the lead trainer for New World of Work, she traveled the state delivering 21st Century Employability Skills instructor trainings to CA Community Colleges, Workforce Development Boards, Adult Ed, K-12, Community Based Organizations and many others.  She also developed and delivered a train-the-trainer program to increase outreach efforts and sustainability.

As a senior trainer/project specialist for Cabrillo Corporate Training, Rhiannon provided workforce development solutions to local businesses in Santa Cruz County. She created and delivered a wide range of customized trainings serving Government (City, County, NetComm(911), Police, Education), Healthcare organizations, NGOs/nonprofit and for profit organizations. She also contributed to the development and delivery of the Supervisory and Leadership Academy’s at Cabrillo College.  In addition, she provided coaching to first time managers and Executives to support their leadership development.

As the Executive Director for The California Corporate College, Rhiannon led the provision of results-driven training solutions for corporations, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations across the state of CA to ensure high-quality, consistent trainings at all locations.

Rhiannon is also a certified facilitator of Being In Action, delivering empowerment and stress management trainings for women leaders.

Rhiannon’s clients and students consistently mention her high energy, expertise, relatability, listening skills and appreciate her genuine love for her work to help people and organizations grow and succeed.

Rhiannon has a Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology and a Graduate Certificate in Organizational Conflict Management from John F. Kennedy University. She is a certified trainer for Development Dimensions International, Inc., True Colors®, New World of Work 21st Century Employability Skills, Culture Works What Motivates Me and is a CCCAOE Leadership Academy Master trainer. In addition, she has completed and been certified in the AchieveGlobal Inc. Leadership Training, Compression Planning®, Interaction Associates Facilitative Leadership® Training, Interaction Associates Facilitating Change® Training, Technology of Participation Training (ToP)® and is a Being In Action Master Facilitator.