Meet the Team at Civility Partners

by Oct 13, 2021

In the past few months, we’ve had some new additions to the Civility Partners family and we figured we should make some introductions!

Each of us brings a unique perspective and background to the work we do!

Catherine Mattice

CEO/Founder

As you may already know, Catherine founded Civility Partners in 2008 as a result of working in a toxic environment, and has since led the Civility Partners team in serving a huge array of clients with consulting, training, and coaching services. She’s written three books, one of which Ken Blanchard called, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic” of workplace bullying. Catherine’s also been cited in such media outlets as Forbes.com, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur, and USA Today, and appeared as a guest on such venues as NPR and CNN.

Rebecca Del Secco

People & Culture Consultant

Rebecca started out as a part-time intern while she was getting her Bachelor’s degree in Business, with a focus on human resources, from San Diego State University. Within a few months, Catherine saw her potential and made her a full time employee. Years later, Rebecca continues to knock it out of the park designing training programs, unique performance management systems, mentorship, and onboarding programs. She also recruits like a boss for one of our rapidly growing clients, having hired 21 people so far this year.

Kathy Grey

Culture Change Consultant

One of our newest members, Kathy Grey, is an engaging and passionate leadership coach, facilitator, and conflict mediator. Catherine and Kathy met about a decade ago when Kathy was building a 30+ training team for No Bully, a nonprofit organization focused on building positive school environments that minimize bullying and harassment in the K-12 arena. Kathy is one of Catherine’s heroes, and she continues to support school communities as a respected thought partner and Senior Education Advisor for Power of Zero, a London based charity.

Toni Herndon

Training Guru & DISC Facilitator

Toni Herndon, EdD., is our very enthusiastic facilitator, conflict mediator, and certified DISC® trainer. She prides herself on bringing the opportunity forward for learners to engage in transformation, and transform she does. She consistently receives rave reviews from clients as she leans on her decade of experience as a facilitator, life coach and court mediator. (She was also a zoo keeper in a previous life, which might help too.) In addition to her work with Civility Partners she provides training for the National Conflict Resolution Center and Moxie Institute.

Sameen Maali

Marketing & Client Relations Coordinator

Sameen just recently graduated from San Diego State University, too. Rebecca, Sameen and Catherine say, Go Aztecs! After starting out with us as an HR intern, Sameen soon found her passion to ultimately be in social media and marketing, which led her to take on her new role as Marketing & Client Relations Coordinator. She manages all of our webinars and conference presentations, creates marketing content, and works on client projects. She is learning so fast and we are so proud to support her in her new career goals!

Clara DePre

Executive Assistant

Clara is our newest team member and our Executive Assistant, Project Manager and Director of Getting Stuff Done with nearly 15 years of diverse experience spanning luxury retail, management consulting and leadership development. She supports Catherine and the team in the daily operations of the business. We learned a long time ago that Catherine needs a keeper to keep things moving. Clara is based on the East Coast and is also a proud mom of two young boys.

Now that you’ve gotten to know our team a little better, we hope you feel a better sense of connection to the Civility Partners fam. Don’t be a stranger and reach out to us if you would love to learn more!

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

Pride Month: Performative Vs. Actual Activities

Happy Pride Month! This month, you'll see rainbow logos, employee resource group events, and social media campaigns celebrating LGBTQ+ employees and communities. But Pride Month wasn't created as a marketing campaign or even as a celebration. It began as a protest....

5 Things Ryan Breslow (& Most Executives) Gets Wrong About HR

“Fire your entire HR department.” Wait… what?  That was essentially the message Ryan Breslow, CEO of Bolt, delivered recently when he announced he had eliminated the company’s entire HR team because they were allegedly “creating problems out of thin air.” According to...

“What to Say May”: Turn Good Intentions into Everyday Courage

May has always been a month of transition. Spring in full bloom, fresh energy, and just enough optimism to believe people might actually follow through on their good intentions. So this year, we’re channeling that energy into something practical. We’re calling it...

3 Reasons Gen Z Won’t Take B.S. From Their Employers

Gen Z is quickly becoming one of the most influential voices in the workplace and they’re not staying quiet.  In fact, research shows that Gen Z employees are highly values-driven. Nearly 9 in 10 say purpose is critical to their job satisfaction and they increasingly...

3 Ways to Handle Employee Departures Without Damaging Your Culture

Employee departures are more common and more impactful than many leaders realize. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently reports millions of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, with quit rates hovering around 2–3% in recent years....

“Job Hugging” & 4 Ways to Respond

Nearly 48% of employees say they are staying in their jobs longer than they otherwise would for stability and security, and about 75% expect to remain in their roles for the next few years. At the same time, voluntary quit rates have dropped to around 2%, one of the...

Workplace Red Flag: “We’re Like a Family!”

Have you ever worked in, or heard someone mention, a workplace that prides itself on being like a family, or family-oriented? “We treat each other like family here,” they say.  People mean it as a signal of care, loyalty, and belonging. But calling your workplace a...

Unpopular Opinion: “Open Door Policies” are Just for Show

Most employees don’t feel safe speaking up at work. In fact, research consistently shows that a significant portion of employees, often more than half, hold back concerns, ideas, or feedback because they fear negative consequences. And yet, ask almost any organization...

Employees Afraid to Discuss Work Toxicity?

I just returned from the Ohio Safety Conference (OSC), where I spoke about Why Safety Fails Without Culture & Behavior. In addition to my session, we hosted a booth where we handed out some swag, including copies of my book, Navigating a Toxic Workplace For...

Should HR Come as a Pair? Compliance vs. Strategic HR

Have you ever noticed how small most HR teams are in comparison to everything they’re expected to do? In many organizations, HR makes up only about 2% of the workforce. Yet they’re responsible for the business’ most valuable asset - PEOPLE. That means culture and...