Presenters

Lee Fjelstad, Vice President

The Vice President of the Verbal Judo Institute and an international trainer with a professional background that includes over twenty years of speaking and training experience, Lee is a highly animated, humorous, thought provoking, and entertaining presenter. He has instructed audiences on Verbal Judo in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and in England.

Lee has been interviewed regarding Verbal Judo as the subject of magazine articles ranging in interest from Conde Nast Traveler and Broker Magazine to sports publications like Referee Magazine, and in newsprint articles from the USA Today and the Wall Street Journal to small town newspapers. He has been seen and heard internationally on CNN, nationally on NBC, ABC, and Fox, in Canada on the CBC, and on local television and radio across North America and in Europe.

Lee has a professional background that includes over five years as a Operations Shift Supervisor for a $130 million computer research and development facility working with classified materials, and an additional six years of work for the Federal Government protecting nuclear weapons systems and assets. He has also been a reserve police officer in New Mexico, has trained close quarter combat to the US military, and self-defense and defensive tactics to police, corrections, probation and parole, and military law enforcement officers, and close quarter combat to military forces in Europe. His continued instruction to federal and local government agencies in self-defense and protections filled a gap in defensive tactics programs as well as Lee creating civilian programs for corporations, women's groups, and the airlines.

Lee has instructed martial arts classes and self defense seminars for over twenty-five years and retains 2nd degree black belt ratings in Shotokan (Japanese) and Tae Kwon Do (Korean) karate. He has also trained in Hapkido, Combat Judo, Arnis, and Aikido. His educational background includes degrees in English, Business, and Organizational Communication with additional work in Psychology and Behavioral Science. Lee, Dr. Thompson, and Mr. Andy Sanano, a noted master martial artist from Rapid City, South Dakota, Lee created and developed an instructional video on self-defense for adults and children called The Total Defense System," combining protective personal defense techniques with the tactics and strategies of Verbal Judo which sold internationally.

In contrast to his physical training background Lee now spends over 250 days per year traveling and teaching audiences to communicate effectively using the techniques and strategies of Verbal Judo. His client list ranges from corporate and customer service industries, city and county government employees, to airlines, banking and real estate operations. His audiences now number several hundred thousand people attending his Verbal Judo lectures world-wide.

Dr. George J. Thompson, The Founder and President

Dr. George J. Thompson is the President & Founder of the Verbal Judo Institute, a tactical training and management firm now based in Auburn,NY. Doc Thompson, aka “Doc Rhino,” has an eclectic background, having taught English on the High School level (4 yrs), English Literature on the university level (10 yrs), and served as a full and part-time police officer. Also a martial artist, he holds Black Belts in Judo & Taekwondo. Doc has created the only Tactical Communication course in the world. Dr. Thompson has written four books on Verbal Judo, each analyzing ways to defuse conflict and redirect behavior into more positive channels. The Institute offers Basic & Advanced courses in the Tactics of Verbal Judo.

Doc received his B.A. from Colgate University (1963), his Masters & Doctorate in English from the University of Connecticut (1972), and he completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric & Persuasion (1979). Widely published in magazines & periodicals, his training has been highlighted on such national shows as NBC, ABC, & CBS News, CNN, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, LETN, In the Line of Duty, and Fox news, as well as in the LA Times, NY Post, Sacramento Bee, and other publications.

Aside from his well known Police & Correction courses, Doc “Rhino” has designed special courses for educators, medical personnel, government & business employees, and the airlines. The Verbal Judo Institute has branch offices in Australia and Canada, and a national Team of instructors who teach from coast to coast. Doc has taught over 175,000 police officers, and his course is required in numerous states across the country.

On a personal note, Doc and Pam are the proud parents of three-year old, Tommy "Rhino" Thompson, and Doc, a survivor of throat cancer, has returned to active teaching. He also currently offers VJ training on the internet, at www.vjou.com., and has two more books forthcoming, Verbal Judo Leadership: The Hard Right (with Gregory Walker), and Hammett’s Moral Vision, the book publication of his doctoral thesis.

You can browse his web site, www.verbaljudo.com or check out Doc's Online University at www.vjou.com and write him at VJI, Inc.,2009 W. Genesee St. Rd.,Auburn,NY 13021. Doc's Office phone: 315-253-0007

To view the biographies of other Verbal Judo Trainers visit www.verbal-judo.com