Rosalind Joffe

Building on her own experience living with chronic illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis, Rosalind Joffe founded the chronic illness career coaching practice, cicoach.com. Dedicated to helping others with chronic illness develop the skills they need to succeed in their careers, Rosalind firmly believes that living with chronic illness does not preclude living a full and successful life.

Rosalind Joffe, co-author of Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working, Girlfriend! published by Demos Medical, is a recognized national expert on chronic illness in the workplace. As a leading career coach, she has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, msnbc.com, WebMD, ABC Radio, as well as a variety of regional and national media outlets. Rosalind has published in dozens of disease organization and health journals. She is a sought-after speaker and workshop leader for organizations that include the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, BiogenIdec, State Street Corporation, New Directions, Association of Career Professionals, HealthTalk.com, New England Arthritis Foundation, NENMMS, and the Scleroderma Association.

Rosalind holds a Masters in Education, is a certified Mediator, has completed training in Focusing Practice and the ICF-accredited Corporate Coach University program.

Why I Founded This Company

My personal experience began almost thirty years ago when I was unable to lift myself from bed without help and had lost vision in one eye. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and my life would never be the same. Over the years, the disease was relatively mild and manageable but I continually made decisions large and small, based on my health. This was particularly true regarding my career.

Then, 15 years after the initial diagnosis, I was hospitalized with a second auto immune disease, ulcerative colitis. I had two young children, a husband and a successful, demanding career.

Getting my health under control was a major challenge. When I was physically able to return to work, however, I confronted an equally daunting challenge. How could I continue to be professionally successful with a disabling disease that got in the way of my ability to be perform?

At the same time this disabling condition meant I faced new concerns:

• How do I talk about this and when?
• How do I manage my tasks when I can barely manage my health?
• How do I plan my career when I can't even plan for tomorrow?

There were few resources to guide me. I resented that most books (and caregivers) advocated that stress is bad, work is stressful and people with chronic illness should stop working. Many of us don't view that as the only option. I certainly don't.

Through trial and error I reached the point where I could once again thrive in my work. My experience living and working with chronic illness has become my inspiration and forms the core of my work with others.

Here are a few things that I have learned:

• Illness, like any type of adversity, is best dealt with when viewed as a challenge to be met.
• A clear vision of where you are and where you want to be gives you the strength and clarity to move forward.
• Workplace success in the face of illness is transforming. It gives you the power and the confidence to face other challenges large and small.

At the time of my diagnosis, my neurologist predicted that my illness would teach me a valuable life lesson: Illness enables you to see clearly what matters. And to that, I add a lesson of my own: illness does not preclude professional or personal success.

Now that you know about Rosalind, read about the work and the results achieved through cicoach!”

Dr. Jennifer Christian

Dr. Jennifer Christian is a nationally-known physician thought leader with a special interest in work disability prevention and reduction. She is residency-trained and board-certified in occupational medicine, holding both an MD and MPH from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her 20 year career in occupational medicine has been spent in multiple settings: in private practice, in heavy industry, in public health, in managed care, in workers' compensation insurance, and in consulting.

Since 1999, Dr. Christian has been President of Webility Corporation, whose purpose is to serve as a catalyst for positive change in disability benefits and workers' compensation systems. Webility provides management consulting as well as live and web-based training services to employers, claims payers, and healthcare organizations.

Fredi Shonkoff

Fredi Shonkoff is Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations and Corporate Secretary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. In this capacity, she manages the corporate governance activity, oversees much of the charitable giving for the company, leads the diversity initiative and is the corporate liaison to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. Shonkoff also has oversight responsibility for the company's appeals and grievance program, and leads a community governance project for the CEO. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Fredi held a position with similar responsibilities at Bay State Health Care.

Fredi serves on the Boards of the Crittenton Women's Union and the Boston Center for the Arts. She is a member, and immediate past chair, of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Women's Network Advisory Board.

John Packowski

John Packowski is a Managing Director of First Republic Bank. A banker with deep roots in the Boston area, he works with high net worth individuals, their families and their businesses.

Prior to joining First Republic, John worked for Boston Private Bank & Trust Company in Boston for 13 years, most recently as a Senior Vice President, Investment Management and Trust. Prior to that, he worked for Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company of Boston for five years as a Private Banking Officer. Packowski was educated at Northeastern University and is involved in a number of non-profit organizations including the Kelly Packowski MS Foundation.

Jacques-Olivier Quilghini

Jacques-Olivier is an Associate Principal (junior partner) in the New York office of a leading global management consulting firm, where he has concentrated on advising the senior management teams of large financial institutions, both in the United States and overseas. His experience has primarily focused on consumer banking and finance as well as wealth management, on- and off-shore. The institutions he has had the opportunity to serve over the years are located in North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, and Asia (including India and Japan). His responsibilities have recently shifted to supporting the Financial Services practice’s Knowledge efforts in New York (e.g., development of proprietary databases, tools, and approaches to serve clients).

Jacques-Olivier has a B.A. from ESCP - Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris (France) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (HBS) where he was a research student in Competition & Strategy for Professor Michael Porter.

Now that you know about Rosalind, read about the work and the results achieved through cicoach!”