SF AT WORK | SF AT PLAY
Social Fluency is a pioneering social skills training program that helps people develop rewarding relationships that lead to success in life and business. The company was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California with a satellite office in Vancouver, Canada. To date, more than 2,000 people have graduated from Social Fluency’s programs – including numerous corporate client teams in the tech sector and beyond.
Our incredible team of trainers and coaches includes psychologists, highly credentialed executive and life coaches, as well as training and organizational development experts. All of our instructors have not only been certified by Social Fluency, but they have brought with them a vast array of specialized training and education that has contributed to the ongoing content that Social Fluency provides. We are highly selective and only provide the best people to train your staff. Specialized one on one coaching is available for senior executives, managers and anyone wishing to substantially progress in their career.
Results are 100% Guaranteed.
Nadeem is our co-founder, sole angel investor and Social Fluency's first ever student.
Nadeem lives and works in San Francisco and is passionate about fostering entrepreneurship, changing the world through the merger between entertainment and health care, and pulling double-duty trying to get his daughters to eat their veggies.
Nadeem can often be heard saying, “It’s all about Fluency”.
For more details click on...www.nadeemkassam.com
Devon is a co-founder and is lead developer of Social Fluency's exciting new online content, which will be launching soon. He is also a dynamic speaker and thought leader on the topic of social skills.
After being diagnosed with skin cancer on his face at the age of 23, Devon went through a bout of depression that robbed him of his once natural social ability. Fortunately, he was able to recover stronger than before by immersing himself in research and implementation of social and emotional intelligence skills, with their roots in social psychology and human behavior. With a new-found passion for developing himself and others, Devon learned that social behaviors could be formalized, scientifically proven for their effectiveness, and, most importantly, adopted by anyone.
Devon is passionate about sharing with the world how to develop advanced social skills to achieve a happier, more productive life full of social freedom. He resides in Vancouver, Canada with his partner Cordia where they enjoy surfing, running and meditation.
Rachel serves as President and Lead Corporate Instructor for Social Fluency. A successful entrepreneur, passionate leader, and organizational development expert for the technology industry, Rachel thrives on understanding people and organizations to facilitate their growth. Rachel has 20 years of experience working with technology and other knowledge industry professionals. She is a highly sought after facilitator - leading workshops on leadership, personal branding, communication, social and emotional intelligence skills, as well as other topics related to behavioral science and neuroscience.
Rachel completed the Leadership Institute of Seattle’s (LIOS) Coaching and Consulting in Organizations program at Bastyr University’s School of Applied Behavioral Science. The LIOS program is globally recognized for its commitment to leadership development through education that transforms and engages the community in ways that strengthen and inspire individuals and the systems they inhabit. She received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Evergreen State College, focusing on multicultural education and social justice.
Rachel’s cross-discipline experience includes leadership at knowledge-industry organizations ranging from public relations to marketing and sales to training and organizational development. She has been a trainer-of-trainers and developed curriculum and countless training programs for the technology sector.
In her free time, Rachel enjoys gardening, cooking and spending time in the great outdoors with her partner Angus and two dogs, Finnegan and Fiona.
Rick Schaefer joined Social Fluency in 2012 as Executive Vice President. Prior to Social Fluency, he served as Executive Vice President of Growth Resources, an enterprise software company solving organizational development, manager/employee, and recruiting optimization needs using predictive behavior assessments. A GRI Certified Consultant and trainer, Rick leads the GRI portion of Social Fluency training, coaching and curriculum development with this progressive behavioral science platform.
His dynamic “people, not parts” approach to executive leadership has transformed companies across the USA for more than three decades. Rick has created in-house training programs for numerous companies, and he is known for creating innovative training strategies that leverage state of the art communication technologies.
Rick was CEO/founder of VendorRate, an online vendor reputation service for technology providers. He has served as interim President for Content Rules (global content optimization) and Executive Vice President for Netline (online lead generation and marketing). Rick was also the CEO of ERA Software Systems, an innovative software developer that supported the Federal Government’s transition to electronic grant systems for universities and medical research institutions. Rick’s early technology career spanned executive leadership positions at infrastructure, hardware manufacturing, and semiconductor distribution companies that served domestic and international markets. He holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
A marathon enthusiast until Father Time took a bite out of his knees, Rick now spends his spare time bicycling the roads and hills around Silicon Valley
Jesse Lara is Social Fluency's Corporate Engagement Manager. Prior to Social Fluency, Jesse spent his time immersed in both corporate and consumer sales for a Fortune 100 company. Jesse has also been active helping launch startups using the skills he gained during his entrepreneurial studies at San Francisco State University.
While working with startups, Jesse identified a major problem among developing companies; their inability to effectively communicate with all stakeholders. Jesse followed his new found passion of helping companies improve their communication at all levels of the organization. Jesse came on board in 2012 to help spread our mission of reviving social fluency for the betterment of companies and their employees.
As a fourth generation entrepreneur and after a too long experimental corporate career in management, sales, marketing, and communication with Fortune 500 companies such as MetLife, Merrill Lynch and American Express, Eric left his power suit behind to follow his true passions--teaching communications and being social. He is a longtime student of the study of human behavior, the science of attraction, theatre, music, and business.
Eric sits on the board of BookBank USA, a non-profit organization to ensure underprivileged children get books, and also serves as CCO and Head Men's instructor at Social Fluency. Eric received his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Northern Colorado and studied business ethics and cultural studies at the University of Jerusalem. As a former punk rock musician, Eric enjoys traveling, playing his guitar, exercising and socializing in his spare time.
Fantasha is a Manager and Instructor driving Social Fluency’s Family Fluency R&D
Having lived on her own in the foster care system since the tender age of 13, Fantasha had to teach herself how to navigate through life as a confident and well-balanced individual. Discovering her deep passion for health and wellness, Fantasha became a successful Personal Trainer, acquired various certifications, and built her own successful fitness training company. Realizing her clients’ root of unhealthy lifestyles were attributed to a lack of social skills, Fantasha was attracted to working with Social Fluency.
Fantasha is the proud mother of two joyful, young daughters. When she’s not busy being super mom, she can be found buried underneath a pile of social psychology books. Fantasha has been instrumental in the continuous development of our Women's and Family Fluency courses.
Will is a Men's Play and Work instructor as well as the co-developer of the Family Fluency program. Will is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the supervisor of Edgewood Center's Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program. He has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). He underwent residential training in Zen Buddhism at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery and studied Kokikai Aikido for three years. .
However, it was not until he got involved with Social Fluency that he was able to have a good time at a party. He credits Social Fluency with giving him practical, versatile, and life-transforming ways of thinking and behaving that now allow him to take advantage of the vast array of social and professional opportunities that are available to us daily. Will is passionate about passing on these practices to children and adults who want to reclaim a life of dignity, meaning, and good cheer with others.
Will enjoys playing guitar in a local band, philosophical discussions, wabi sabi artwork, and, most recently, playing billiards.
Megan Kaden, Psy.D. serves as a Lead Instructor for Social Fluency and has more than 10 years of experience as an instructor and coach. Megan holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and dual bachelor’s degrees in clinical psychology and studio art from Smith College. The scope of her training encompasses both Eastern and Western philosophy, grounded in her belief that authentic connection is truly revolutionary. Megan has travelled extensively around the world and is also a certified CrossFit coach. By combining her passions for physical fitness with emotional and psychological wellness, Megan helps her students and clients to achieve more holistic health and success in personal and professional realms. She is driven to help others form meaningful and fulfilling connections in all facets of their lives.
Growing up, Megan was challenged to overcome social anxiety in order to explore her true gift for connecting with others. Through a process of self-exploration and learning, Megan discovered a core source of strength, empathy and wisdom in her fears. These experiences deepened her ability to understand, connect and teach others how to harness their fears and transform them into strengths. As a clinical psychologist, her training as well as her dedication to self-growth informs her work at Social Fluency.
When she’s not teaching or coaching, she is learning about human phenomena, pursuing fitness challenges and exploring new culinary adventures.
Lani serves as an instructor for Social Fluency. Out of her frustration that the modern world has led us away from face-to-face interactions and placed screens in between us where handshakes and hugs used to live, Lani has made it a point to dedicate her work to increasing the connection – real, live, tangible human connection – in people’s lives. Lani approaches life as a “social artist” and looks at each interaction as a social experiment. She believes in playing, making mistakes, and celebrating vulnerability. Nothing is more exciting to her than helping other people connect, communicate effectively, and feel confident in their self -expression.
Lani’s curiosity in social dynamics and relationships has led her to spend many months living in India, Nepal, Southeast Asia, and South America where she researched love, marriage customs, communication styles, and what it means to be “in relationship” from the perspective of many different cultures. In addition to her teaching at Social Fluency, she helps individuals create the thriving love lives that they want with her private relationship and dating coaching practice in San Francisco and Berkeley.
Lani attended the Coaches Training Institute where she received her certification in Co-Active coaching. She has also studied Somatic Ecopsychology, and RC-S (parts work therapy) which she integrates into her work. She received her bachelor’s in creative advertising from The University of Colorado at Boulder where she studied the psychology behind communicating a message to the masses. When she’s not seeing clients or teaching, she can be found tinkering around with art supplies, trying to learn contact improv, and her latest venture…learning how to paraglide.
Araya Anderson works for Social Fluency as their Office Manager. After graduating from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Sociology, she jumped at the chance to become involved in the real life application of her studies. Araya enjoys dinner party extravaganzas, a good cup of tea, and risking her life biking through the streets of San Francisco.
