Karel Murray

President, Our Branch, Inc.

PERSONAL I am a baby boomer who loves music, great food, reading fiction, Starbucks, and movies. My travel schedule is extensive due to my career as a motivational humorist and business trainer and I love every minute of what I do. I'm the author of two books and co-author in another work. I'm currently seeking ways to become a synidcated columnist like Erma Bombeck...she has passed on and now there is room for me. LOL PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY Karel brings meaning to mayhem with her “nothing but the truth” approach to business and life. An accomplished author and humorist, Karel has made radio and television appearances and she enjoys local, regional, and national publication of her articles. In addition to Hitting Our Stride: Women, Work and What Matters (http://www.HittingOurStride.net), she is the author of Straight Talk: Getting Off the Curb. Karel is a featured author in Extreme Excellence: Dynamic Interviews with America’s Top 10 Performance Experts, and publishes a monthly newsletter—Think Forward!® read by thousands of subscribers. She is the author of the CPR for Managers Series and has created a weekly podcast series where she interviews industry experts on various topics: http://www.JustForAMomentPodcast.com. Karel holds a BA in Human Resources and has earned numerous designations and certifications, including the prestigious National Speakers Association CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) and the Real Estate Educators Association DREI (Distinguished Real Estate Instructor). Her resume includes experience as a human resources regional executive of a large commercial insurance firm, as an award-winning sales person, as a manager of a top producing real estate office, and now as owner of Our Branch, Inc., a national and international speaking and training company. She has received several awards for her community service, including the Blue Springs Missouri Chamber of Commerce Award, and once taught a pig named Nelson to jump rope . . . but that’s another story. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and a Board Director for the Minnesota NSA Chapter, Meeting Professionals International and has served as a Board of Director member and officer for the National Real Estate Educators Association. As a professional keynote speaker, Karel has had the pleasure of connecting with hundreds of audiences throughout the US and abroad. When not on the road, Karel can be found in Waterloo, Iowa, with her ever wonderfully patient husband Rick and their attentive brood of four—at last head count—cats and dogs. “Being an ‘ex’ executive with the Ritz Carlton Hotel Co., I was exposed to awesome speakers from Horst Sheltz, President and CEO of Ritz Carlton to Stephen Covey . . . She is right up there!” Julie Naberhues Specialties: Keynotes - Motivation and Humor Management skill building Communication / Negotiation that includes branding and identity marketing