Naomi R. Henderson, Founder and CEO
Naomi holds a M. Ed. and a B.S. in Special Education and Psychology from American University and is a licensed practitioner of NeuroLinguistic Programming [NLP]. She holds certificates of completion from Synectics, as well as the Creative Problem Solving Institute and is the co-founder of the RIVA Training Institute, where she serves as a Master Trainer. Naomi has been a researcher since 1964, and has led more that 4,500 focus groups and interviewed more than 50,000 people in groups or individually and is a nationally recognized Master Moderator. She writes a quarterly column for the American Marketing Association journal on issues related to qualitative research.
Jo Ann Hairston, Co-Founder
Jo Ann Hairston is currently serving as a Master Moderator on projects for a variety of clients on the RIVA roster. Responsible for marketing and conducting qualitative research both locally in Houston and across the US as required. Jo Ann has conducted more than 3000 focus groups. As a co-founder of the RIVA Training Institute, Jo Ann developed the basic course curriculum and structure for courses that train qualitative researchers in the art and science of focus group research. More than 25 years after developing the basic course structure, Jo Ann is still a senior trainer in the school and is responsible for training hundreds of individuals in qualitative research techniques.
Veronica Gilbert, Controller
Veronica is the Controller & Office Manager at RIVA. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration & Accounting from Hood College. Before joining RIVA, Veronica worked as a public accountant for a small CPA firm. She also has 20 years of experience working in the private industry in both the accounting and administrative/management capacities. Veronica is responsible for all financial issues as well as human resources at RIVA.
Amber Tedesco, Director of Research and Training/VP of Operations
Amber has been with RIVA since February of 1998. She holds a B.S. in Family Studies from the University of Maryland. Over the years Amber has worked her way up to Vice President of Operations as well as the Director of Training and Research. As Director at RIVA, Amber is the first point of contact for research and training custom clients. She oversees all research projects from proposal through final report and invoicing as well as working with clients on research methodology and scheduling of projects. She also oversees all training custom courses and works with clients on type of training will work for their team. Amber is a RIVA Trained Moderator, Coach, and Analyst.
Melanie Barnes, Project Manager
Melanie has been with RIVA since August of 2005. She holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Maryland. During her undergraduate career she was an active member of the Macklin Business Honors Institute, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), and Phi Theta Kappa. Melanie's highly organized system and innately perceptive skills are an asset to RIVA in her role as Research Analyst. She is also a RIVA Trained Moderator.
Danielle Vontobel, Project Manager
Danielle came to RIVA in December 2005. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In her career, Danielle has worked as a web designer, office manager, team leader, and graphic designer. With her eclectic skill set, Danielle has excelled in efficient management of resources and planning as well as streamlining processes at RIVA. She is also a RIVA Trained Moderator and Analyst.
Monique Kittka, Training Manager and Recruiter
Monique joined the RIVA family in October 2006. She graduated from Hood College in May of 2006 with a B.A. in both French and English and successfully completed the Honors Program. Throughout her undergraduate career Monique was a highly active student. She was President of the French House, an active member of the National French Honors Society (Pi Delta Phi), studied abroad for a semester in Strasbourg, France, and participated in the "Opportunity Rocks" program, sponsored by John Edwards, to help rebuild hurricane-devastated New Orleans. Monique brings her enthusiasm, organization, and commitment to her current role at RIVA. She is also a RIVA Trained Moderator