Mission and Vision

Every great company has a powerful vision mission. Braintrust Group is no exception. We have spent many countless hours pondering the question of what we are about. If you think about it, it really isn’t a very easy question to answer. We know that we love Agile, we know that we love Scrum, but is that enough? Ultimately is that our vision mission? We strongly believe that we exist to “help people grow.” Our vision and mission reflect this passion. We hope that our paths will cross soon and that we can help you grow in your Agile journey.

Values

If you are looking for a boring, classroom lecture where you can take a nap and earn SEUs, then you are in the wrong place. If you think that having dance parties and playing charades sounds fun, then you are in the right place!

No matter which one of our classes you attend, you will be entertained, challenged, and engaged. We guarantee you will leave with a new set of skills ready to be applied immediately, and will have fun learning!

Passion Fuels Everything

Passion Fuels Everything

Have Fun

Have Fun

Be Professional At All Times

Be Professional At All Times

Dedicated to Everything That We Do

Dedicated to Everything That We Do

Pay Attention To The Small Details

Pay Attention To The Small Details

Continue To Grow

Continue To Grow

Our Story

In 2008, Braintrust Group was one of the first trainers and educators in the world to realize the power of Agile. Based on that vision, we quickly grew into one of the leading Agile and Scrum training providers in the world.

Now 14 years later, we have a new vision. After training over 25,000 professionals in Agile, we’ve realized that these same core principles that get work done can also be applied to entire Organizations and businesses. Braintrust Group is the only Agile and Scrum specialist in the world that is focused on teaching Leaders and business owners how to take the proven principles of Agile and apply them to their entire business—just as we’ve done in our own business.

With a dedicated team of Certified Scrum Trainers (CSTs), Agile Coaches, and Agile Advisors, Braintrust Group is filled with real-world, experienced practitioners. We don’t just teach Agile, we are Agile.

The Goldilocks Approach: Every organization has to find the porridge that is “just right.”

Just Right

Just Right

Finding the right process for managing work is a lot like Goldilocks looking for the bowl of porridge that is “just right.” Having no process leads to chaos and having too much process slows progress to a crawl. Every development team has to find the porridge that is “just right”.

Agility for Everyone

Agility for Everyone

We founded Braintrust Group because we believe that the correct application of a lightweight process is the fastest path to success. We have extensive experience with implementation planning, engaging and guiding teams and leaders through the adoption of Agile methods such as Scrum and Kanban.

The Perfect Blend

The Perfect Blend

Braintrust Group believes in a two-phase, blended approach to Agile implementation. First, we lead with training so your entire team is on the same page with base level of knowledge and the skills to move forward. Then we follow training with personalized coaching at the team and organization level. Over hundreds of project deployments, we have found that the perfect blend of training and coaching leads to successful implementation with true organizational change.

SCRUM ALLIANCE R.E.P. CERTIFICATION

Often referred to as the world’s finest platform for becoming an ambassador of Scrum, there are less than ~150 CSTs in the world and only about half of those reside in the United States. With our CST status, Braintrust Group is able to offer Certified Scrum Master® (CSM) and Certified Scrum Product Owner® (CSPO) training classes. CSM and CSPO certifications are the most internationally recognized Agile certifications for software development and beyond. Employers throughout the world are asking for them by name.

Meet the Team

In a world of one-off trainers and companies focused on all kinds of trainings, Braintrust Group is proud to have a dedicated team of Agile Experts. From Trainers to Coaches to Agile Advisors, our team boasts over 100 years of collective Agile experience.

Brian Rabon, CST, PMP

Chief Executive Officer

Brian is our visionary leader. Though he is world-renowned for his training skills, his public speaking, and his effective coaching style, we know him for his aversion to shoes and his love of skiing.

Dan Reynolds, CSM, CSPO, CAL

Vice President Sales & Marketing

Vice President Sales & Marketing — When it comes to helping our clients plan their Agile roadmaps, design coaching plans and create custom engagements, Dan is the man.

Allyson Bowers, CSM, CSPO

Agile Advisor

For more than a decade, Allyson has worked with Teams and individuals to help find meaningful solutions for Organizations to help lead Agile initiatives, as well as helping individuals to pursue career growth.

Kristyn Bara, CSM

Agile Advisor

Kristyn’s number one responsibility is building solutions that meet client’s business challenges. She recognizes that there is not one solution that matches every situation, so she focuses on creating adaptable strategies for each client.

Scott Dunbar, CSM, CAL

Agile Advisor

Scott specializes in building meaningful relationships with customers. As a solutions specialist, his role is to guide clients through their business challenges and build innovative solutions that deliver proven ROI.

Kate Megaw, CST, PMP, CAL

Trainer

Kate is a passionate trainer, with a special interest in Certified Agile Leadership Training & Coaching.

Anu Smalley, CST

Trainer

Anu is an IT professional with over 20 years of industry experience. She has extensive experience with large scale agile transformations and specializes in leadership coaching and large group facilitation.

Fred Mastropasqua, CST, CS@ST, CSP, PMI-ACP

Trainer

Fred’s robust experience makes him a very well-rounded, with an understanding of all IT disciplines and the business. This technical experience coupled with Fred’s management experience served to cultivate his training style based on his real-world experiences.

Cathy Simpson, CST, PMP

Trainer

Cathy is a Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach with a passion for bringing joy, happiness, and productivity to work. As a Scrum Trainer, she teaches groups of people to use the empirical process to build complex products and solve complex problems. Her driving questions in life are “What’s possible?” “How do we make it happen?” and “How do we have fun doing it?”

Lucy O’Keefe, CTC

Trainer

With a decade of Agile experience, Lucy has held every role in the Scrum Team – Developer, Product Owner, and Scrum Master, and has also been a Scrum Master Manager and Agile Coach for the past few years. Lucy is extremely passionate about Agile and loves coaching, training, and mentoring others so they may become as successful as they desire in their roles.

Maryann Mellor, CSM

Customer Relations Specialist

MaryAnn has one of the most critical jobs in the entire company. She handles customer service correspondence and is the creator of all classes, both public and private. So when you find your dream class with your favorite Trainer, MaryAnn is the one who hooked you up.

Jeffrey Van Brunt, CSM, CSPO, CAL

Facilitator

Jeff is our jack of all trades. When he’s not busy fulfilling online orders or making sure our class attendees have the files they need, he’s the smiling Facilitator in many of the classes!