Our Authors

Claudia Christian is an actress, writer, singer, songwriter, director, producer, and voice-over artist. She landed her first TV series at age 18 with NBC’s Berringers and her first studio feature at 20 in the cult hit The Hidden. She has since appeared in over 50 films and hundreds of TV shows, including the sci-fi megahit Babylon 5 and the film Clean and Sober with Morgan Freeman and Michael Keaton.

Kwame Christian is the Director of the American Negotiation Institute where he conducts trainings that help to make difficult conversations easier. He’s the host of the world’s most popular negotiation podcast, Negotiate Anythingand his best-selling book, Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life, has helped countless individuals navigate difficult conversations. In addition to his work at the American Negotiation Institute, he also serves as a business lawyer at the law firm of Carlile Patchen and Murphy LLP, a contributor at Forbes, and professor of negotiation for The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, the top-ranked dispute resolution program in the country, and as a professor of communication and negotiation at the MBA program at Otterbein University.

Cassandra Clare is the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices trilogies of young adult fantasy novels. Her first book, City of Bones, was a 2007 Locus Award finalist for Best First Novel. Her books have been translated into 32 languages. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two cats.

Dr. Simon Cleveland is faculty director and associate professor of the practice at Georgetown University. He has over 20 years of experience in the fields of corporate and government leadership, higher education administration, project management, information systems, and technology management, having worked in various leadership roles for organizations such as MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Homeland Security, NASA, Accenture, America Online, Georgetown University, and City University of Seattle. Dr. Cleveland holds a PhD in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University, an MS in Project Management from The George Washington University, an MA in Leadership from City University of Seattle, and a BS in Management and Marketing from George Mason University. He is certified as a project management professional (PMP), Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB) expert, and Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Dr. Cleveland is the author of 45 peer-reviewed publications in journals and conferences, is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Kerzner Scholarship awarded by the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, and is a Tropaia Award recipient for Outstanding Faculty at Georgetown University. 

With more than two decades in the education and publishing industries, Dr. Marisa Cleveland is adamant about supporting efforts toward the betterment of the human condition. Cleveland is the executive director for The Seymour Agency, a Hodges University Board of Trustees member, and a New York Times bestselling author. In 2021, Cleveland was honored with a Distinguished Online Teaching nomination for Southern New Hampshire University, where she is an adjunct professor. Gulfshore Business and D’Latinos magazines honored Cleveland with the Arts and Culture 2015 FACE Award, and in 2014, Gulfshore Business selected her as a “40 Under Forty” honoree. Cleveland holds an EdD in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University, and an MA in Educational Administration and a BS in Speech Communication from George Mason University.