Great Things Happen Here

Private Coaching Division

The Executive Team

• Lauren Zander, Founder/Chairman
• Beth Weissenberger, Founder/CEO
• Laurie Gerber, President – Private Coaching Division
• Gabriella Jordan, President - Education Division
• Linda Falzarano, Director Media & Marketing
• MaryAnn Gonzalez, President - Corporate Division
• Johanna Sawalha, Senior Vice President

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Lauren Zander

Fueled by a commitment to make a difference, Lauren Zander decided early on that she would do what she had to, to create change. Little did she know that it would lead her to become one of the country’s top life coaches, particularly in the area of interpersonal relationships.

Of her early professional life, Lauren candidly reveals her past motto…“Save the Trees. Kill the People.” Concerned with the issues of global warming and human impact on the environment, Lauren Zander graduated from George Washington University with a BS in Environmental Studies, and after college, held the prestigious post of Earth Fellow at the UN Development Programme’s Global Environment Facility for several months. It was during this time, that she also began exploring personal development education, which revealed in her a strong commitment to the truth. Focused on the truth, Lauren found herself drawn to working on the issues facing people around her, rather than the environment. She quickly realized that the only way for her to “save the trees” would be perhaps, to “save the people.” Following her own truth, she subsequently moved on to start at the individual level, leading others towards their own personal change.

To Lauren Zander, the truth is not a luxury; it is a necessity for change.

She signed on at one of the country’s first personal development corporations, coaching individuals and leading seminars on a daily basis for seven years. During this time she asked herself over and over again, “What does a person need to focus on so that they can change?” The answer to this question, coupled with her desire to help people solve their specific issues – the saving their marriage, the losing weight, the stopping smoking – led Lauren directly to the development of The Handel Method and the founding of The HandelGroup. Her coaching methodology became instantly successful with her private clients, and continued to develop as she initiated a coach training program, schooling other would-be coaches in the techniques of The Handel Method. This led to the creation of The HandelGroup, an international corporate consulting and private coaching company, which comprises private, corporate, education, and seminar divisions. With nearly two decades of experience and a client list which includes hundreds of individuals, groups, entrepreneurs and couples and families, including students at MIT, executives at BASF, bp, Sony BMG, Diptyque, the executive team of Vogue’s Publishing Director, Tom Florio, and NYU Medical Center, Lauren Zander and the The HandelGroup offer an extraordinary history in personal development education.

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Beth Weissenberger

From managing the accountability of every facet of The HandelGroup, to ensuring the dissemination of those teachings to its clients, Beth Weissenberger lives up to the principles of The Handel Method every day in her role as CEO. "At The HandelGroup, we specialize in helping people take focused and powerful action in every area of life and as the CEO, my commitment is to make our methodology accessible throughout the entire world so that all people have access to the tools necessary to create lives and results they are proud of."

Beth first experienced the value of The Handel Method on a phone call with younger sister, Lauren Zander and was immediately struck by her sister’s coaching. This was the first time that she truly understood and recognized the genius of Lauren’s methodologies. Through Beth’s leadership and initiative, and Lauren’s innovative approach, the two came together to form The HandelGroup, LLC.

Since coming on board as CEO in 2004, Beth has headed major structural reorganization efforts. Assisted by her executive team of Presidents and Managing Partners, she has developed The HandelGroup into a company, which now comprises corporate, private, educational, and seminar divisions in both the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, she is accountable for the Corporate Consulting Division in its entirety, nurturing client relationships and, providing coaching at the highest level. Beth guides the entire staff of The HandelGroup in addressing their work by way of addressing every area of their lives, such that they become experts in The Handel Method and develop lives characterized by deep self-respect and pride. Today, Weissenberger credits her own experience of The Handel Method as life changing.

A graduate of New York University, Beth completed her B.F.A. in Theatre. At 21, she became one of the youngest staff members, at one of the largest personal development companies in the country. After a brief time in financial markets as a stockbroker with Drexel Burnham, she partnered her past corporate and managerial experience to take on the expanded full-time roles as senior trainer, corporate manager, and international program leader. For 15 years she coached over 50,000 people globally for one of the leading educational corporations in the world.

Over the next eight years, Beth honed her craft as a senior management consultant at a California based firm working primarily with public companies facing integration challenges. As head of sales, she, along with her team, produced the highest sales ever in the eighteen-year history of the firm. Beth has worked with companies; both public and private, to deliver results, such as doubling sales forecasts, and integrating “warring” divisions resulting in the signing of a multi-million dollar contract in a short timeframe. Her ability to evolve corporate culture and bring about exponential financial growth has become her legacy. With twenty plus years of experience in coaching on both the corporate and private level, and a legendary background in management and sales, Beth Weissenberger is a perfect fit for her role as CEO of The HandelGroup.

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Laurie Gerber

Laurie Gerber is President of the Private Coaching Division of The HandelGroup, an international coaching company which specializes in teaching corporations, educational institutions, and individuals to take focused and powerful action in every area. Passionate about personal development, Laurie has been coaching individuals and groups for the last 10 years. Before coming on board with The HandelGroup, Laurie owned and operated Partners for Parents, a tutoring and educational consulting business, for seven years. As the President of the Private Coaching Division she oversees 20 coaches in their work with clients on improving all areas of life, including career, health, body, love, romance, time management, bad habits, and many others. For the last 15 years, Laurie has been teaching and coaching adults and children in a variety of settings including lectures, discussion groups, seminars, classroom teaching, tutoring and one-on-one coaching. Recent lectures, panels and workshops have been presented at Equinox Fitness, Weston Fitness, Soho House, Soho Parenting Center, the JCC of Manhattan and for Natural Health Magazine’s Women’s Wellness Weekends. She is a contributing writer to Big Apple Parent and a regular guest on Sirius Radio’s “Be Happy Dammit” show. Laurie holds a degree in Education and Political Science from Swarthmore College, along with teaching certification. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.

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Gabriella Jordan

As President of The HandelGroup Education Division, Gaby Jordan not only leads with a high degree of expertise, but sets an example of living a life of her own design. Having mapped out her future in law at an early age, Gaby graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Theory from the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to pursue a law degree at Columbia University where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

For 15 years, she was a partner in a prestigious New York law firm specializing in litigation. Additionally, for several years she co-chaired the Hiring Committee responsible for hiring lawyers for that 200 person law firm. After 15 years of litigation, Gaby decided that the daily battles of a trial lawyer were no longer for her. The qualities of teamwork and partnership which attracted her to that firm presented themselves again in a more entrepreneurial environment as Gaby was invited to be a Vice President of Paradigm Direct, a direct marketing company. Brought on to join the leadership of the company through their most exciting and challenging growth period, Gaby distinguished herself as one who consistently generated results. These results included leading the ATT wireless team which produced over 250,000 customers for that company (more than any other single distributor worldwide). She stayed on for three and a half years, drawing upon her expertise in litigation and her twelve year background as a coach, seminar leader and world-wide trainer with one of the country’s largest personal development education companies.

Committed to a life of her own design, when she left Paradigm, intending to work on her own, she was approached by Lauren Zander to come on board at The HandelGroup as a Corporate Consultant. As The HandelGroup developed, it became clear that with her background in training, and mentoring seminar leaders along with program development, Gaby possessed the unique skill set necessary to lead The HandelGroup Education Division. Under the leadership of Gaby Jordan, The HandelGroup Education Division is committed to introducing The Handel Method into the mainstream educational system through courses which provide growth-oriented direction inherent within the classroom learning environment. “It’s about lifelong learning,” says Gaby.

Her vision as President is to offer life skills and tools which enable individuals to deal with their lives truthfully. “The opportunity of Personal Integrity is to be able to be true to yourself, to honor yourself and your voice.” Gaby believes strongly that all individuals, regardless of their stage of life, student, businessperson, parent or grandparent, can honor themselves and live a life of their own design. She encourages them to ask “Whose life is this? Is my life going to be the one that I say I want to have, the one that I’m designing?” For Gaby, a life of her own design includes not only her professional endeavors, but also the nurturing of herself, her marriage, her two daughters and her musical abilities. As a singer (she has two CDs), she balances her family life through music, singing in the Mother’s Chorus at the UN School, and regularly making music with her husband, also a singer and lawyer. As in her own life, Gaby is deeply committed to offering all individuals the opportunity to create truthful, vibrant lives of their own design. She does this through her leadership of The HandelGroup Education Division.

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Linda Falzarano

As Director of The HandelGroup Media and Marketing Division, Linda Falzarano creates the platform upon which The Handel Method and its teachings reach the greater public. She combines her backgrounds in design, production, marketing, personal development education and the media to forward The HandelGroup and the principles of The Handel Method into the public eye.

The Handel Method offers one the tools to truly design their life, but as Director of the Media and Marketing Division, Linda provides the leadership such that those tools are presented to the public in an easily accessible manner. She designs for The HandelGroup, so that The HandelGroup might lead their clients towards lives of their own design. Her responsibilities include all aspects of branding and identity development, including website design and development, product and content development, event production, and the supervision of media projects for radio, television and print.

Linda began her artistic career at Parsons School of Design on a full scholarship in Photography and Fine Art. In 1994, Linda joined Largent Studios Ltd. as a scenic artist and over the next six years became a driving force behind the studio’s growth. At Largent Studios, as both an Art Director and Production Designer, she was responsible for hundreds of design productions for clients such as MTV, VH1, HBO, CBS and Sony Music Entertainment; working with artists and personalities such as Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Destiny’s Child and Jennifer Lopez.

In 2001 Linda formed elevendesign, an independent design studio serving the entertainment industry. Building on her years of participation in live events, film and television, Linda created a studio with a sophisticated sense of style that reflects substantial industry experience. Some of elevendesign’s clients included Christina Aguilera, Def Jam Records, A&E Biography Channel, ABC, Fox Television, Fuse TV, The New York Times, Screen Gems, VH1 and NFL Films.

Linda’s background in design and production are further supported by her experience at one of the top personal development education companies in the country as a marketing and registration associate. Committed to the difference that The Handel Method can generate in one’s life, she brings to her work with The HandelGroup, an innovative mindset, and an eye for design focused upon the individual.

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MaryAnn Gonzalez

MaryAnn Gonzalez has been with The HandelGroup since its inception. Currently, President of the Corporate Division, she has also served as a Senior Coach and Trainer in the Private Coaching Division and a Senior Consultant in the Corporate Division. In her role as President, MaryAnn is responsible for the management and expansion of The HandelGroup Corporate Division. As a coach, MaryAnn consults to executive teams and professional individuals throughout a range of industries. A fierce believer in human progress and the ability of individuals, teams and organizations to evolve functionally and culturally, MaryAnn’s talent lies in her ability to quickly pinpoint and resolve personal development and business issues that cause the performance of management teams to stagnate. In her work with various organizations, MaryAnn guides teams to identify and resolve areas of issue whether political, professional or personal. Through a safe and confidential process, MaryAnn then works with individuals to enhance their outlook of personal responsibility and accountability. MaryAnn’s style of coaching leaves no stone unturned and addresses even the most difficult situations be they negative personality traits or corporate dysfunction in the form of damaged reputations or working relationships. Prior to joining The HandelGroup, MaryAnn worked in the insurance industry at a Fortune 10 company. Having spent some of her formative years on a commune, MaryAnn has an unusual talent for and history with human and group dynamics. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.

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Johanna Sawalha

In addition to 12 years of coaching experience, Johanna Sawalha has founded and headed several companies and teaches those business strategy skills to her clients. As a speaker and writer, she has led courses at the Learning Annex in New York City and worked as a columnist for Modern Economy doing global analysis of world trends, among other forums.

Johanna Sawalha graduated with honors from New School University, Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training, as well as from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Her understanding of music lends creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to her coaching style. Her clients range from corporate executives to up-and-coming artists. She also has expertise in the area of health and well-being with particularly great results around weight loss. Johanna Sawalha produces extraordinary results for her clients by getting them highly effective and fully engaged in their own lives. As a native of Sweden fluent in several languages, Johanna Sawalha works with clients both domestically and internationally. Her business experience combined with her arts background provides the foundation for her remarkable client relationships.