About Bristlecone Learning

The point of training is to increase an individual’s capabilities and a company’s ability to move toward its vision. People who participate in our trainings report seeing an improvement in their ability to get things done, yet what we do is to help people become more aware of what makes them tick. What we think really matters is helping people become more effective, personally.   An effective person is a better leader at work, at home and in their community.
 
So, it is expected that attending a training or buying one of our products will help your employees achieve better bottom line results.   But we know  for sure that as a result of attending one of our programs, participants grow personally, and that’s where change begins.

Our passion is about making a contribution to the betterment of the world: connecting people and communities to each other, learning to fear – less, restoring compassion, and paying the environment back for the services it provides us.  We think the best way to accomplish this is through leaders in business, so that’s where we work. Because we care about making real, lasting change.  Because we want your people to be the best people they can be – which coincidentally will make your company the best company it can be.

Managing Partners

Betsey Upchurch

Betsey Upchurch is the Managing Partner at Bristlecone Learning, LLC. A gifted facilitator, she is much in demand for team building and leadership development. Her approach is direct and honest yet gentle, humorous, and compassionate. Participants in Betsey’s workshops say they make significant breakthroughs in understanding themselves and how to be more effective on the job. She has a knack for reaching the heart of those who participate in her programs freeing them to learn, change and grow.

Her latest work has been centered around growing leaders who create focused engagement, accountability and responsibility.  She effectively utilizes leadership practices, training, coaching, and action learning for effective application and reinforcement of leadership training.

As Director of Duke Leadership Training Associates at Duke University, Betsey was responsible for creative and engaging solutions that addressed the root causes of issues within organizations enabling real change.She is considered a leader in experiential technology, having presented at many national conferences for trainers and experiential educators.

Betsey has a certificate in Organization Development from the University of North Carolina. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Experiential Training and Development Alliance and Leadership Evergreen. She is a past board member of the Association for Experiential Education and served on a task force to write facilitation standards for the Association for Challenge Course Technology. Her leadership workshops and seminars, delivered all over the United States and in Canada, are in high demand.

Jim Morris

Jim (James) Morris is the Senior Partner of Bristlecone Learning, a global consulting and leadership development company that teaches aspiring, emerging and enduring leaders how to reach their full potential and bring out the best in the teams and the organizations they lead. Morris is also the author of The Five Insights of Enduring Leaders.

Morris has been an innovator in the field of leadership development and organizational transformation for more than 20 years. He has worked with high-ranking leaders at some of the world’s most successful and innovative organizations including IDEO, Interface Inc., World’s Finest Chocolate Company and Looney, Ricks, Kiss. His expertise is grounded in experience managing and leading the nation’s two largest experience-based training and development organizations, working with over 70,000 participants annually.

Often described as a “natural, born leader,” he has an instinctive and extraordinary ability to teach and to lead others. He is equal parts motivational expert, coach, adventurer, educator, learner and leader.

Morris is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Key Executives program. Visit Jim's profile on LinkedIn.