Company Info

Performance Breakthroughs, Inc. is a veteran-owned, Virginia-certified small business (SWaM). Established in 1998, we have since delighted nearly 200 client organizations from the federal and local government, corporate, non-profit, and academic sectors – as well as numerous individuals in coaching engagements.

You will find that we display passion in our work, have the client's "best interests at heart," listen and collaborate well, and possess deep individual experience and expertise that we leverage in a synergistic manner.

Client Bill of Rights

We embrace the philosophy of treating our Clients as we wish to be treated. Thus, as your coach, consultant, and/or instructor/facilitator, we believe each Client has the right to:

1. A sense of TRUE VALUE. We will always have your "best interests at heart," and deliver the best result(s) possible.
2. Open, honest, and CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS. We will always pay attention to what you tell us, ask probing questions to learn more, tell you what we think/feel and not what you want to hear, ensure a sense of urgency and attention to detail in all we do, respond promptly to any questions you may have, and provide you with regular status updates about your projects.
3. MUTUAL TRUST. We will always preserve your privacy, respect your confidentiality, and promise not to disclose Client information or results without your approval. We will always keep our commitments.
4. PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR. We will treat you and your employees with courtesy, respect, fairness, integrity, and ethical and professional behavior.
5. Seasoned, experienced, and PASSIONATE PROFESSIONALS. We promise you no novice coaches, no junior consultants, and no neophyte trainers. We will always provide you with seasoned professionals who are extremely experienced, possess proven expertise, and have demonstrated proficiency in their field.
6. "WIN-WIN" SOLUTIONS, not excuses. We will always collaborate with you to find logical "win-win" solutions to accomplish your needs.
7. DEVELOP THE CAPACITY to do the work yourself. We promise to not "hang around." We will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to move forward without us.
8. BEST PRACTICES. We assure you that we will stay current with the industry's and/or topic's body of knowledge and best practices, so that we do not provide you with outdated or obsolete information or skills.
9. QUALITY and CREATIVITY. We will instill quality and creativity in all we provide, ensuring your requirements are met with creativity, vision, innovation, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. Furthermore, we promise that participants in our workshops will always be engaged, feel challenged, and never be bored or apathetic.
10. CLIENT DELIGHT! We will always strive to exceed our clients' expectations, and not be satisfied merely meeting them. You – the Client – are our focus. We know that without you, we would cease to be.

Principals

A. Jeffrey Parks is the founder and President of PBI. Jeff served a 20 year career in the US Coast Guard and finished as the Director of Training and Workforce Performance Improvement as well as the Service's Leadership Training Manager. He is also certified in Strategic Change Management (CSM), was a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT), and is an Adjunct Instructor for the Federal Executive Institute and George Mason University. He is passionate about helping organizations, teams, and individuals achieve excellence. Jeff shares his expertise freely and helps clients as a trainer, executive coach, and organizational coach.

Ellen Gray, PWD, is PBI's Vice President of Client Success. Ellen is a passionate presenter and facilitator bringing over 20 years of leadership in the management and workforce development industry. As a seasoned management consultant and trainer, she has focused her talents and energies on building and sustaining High Performance Teams and Organizations, management skills development, interpersonal communication, time management, and career services.

Carol Houtz, PBI's Vice President of Creativity & Communications, has over 35 years of business experience in a variety of communication leadership roles – as an executive, consultant, and trainer – in both the public and private sectors. She is passionate about helping businesses and individuals write more clearly and efficiently to help them produce more effective business communications. Carol is also recognized as the creator of the "POWER Business Writing" series of training workshops, aimed at helping individuals and teams improve their business writing skills.