Brendan Sullivan
Brendan Sullivan is an experienced corporate workshop facilitator, and has been a professional improvisational performer and coach since 1986. He has designed and facilitated his creativity workshop for a wide variety of clients, including BP (Amoco), Sara Lee, Aetna, First Health, Zurich North America, Jenny Craig, Marriott Hotels, Miele Appliances, the Chicago Public School System and the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Brendan is an instructor at the University of Chicago's Graham School. His seminar is titled "Accelerating Innovation." Brendan is also an active member of the Chicago chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, and has presented his workshop for the Midwest Facilitators Network and the Association for Experiential Education. Brendan is an approved provider of continuing professional development for the Illinois State Board of Education.
Before his career as an improviser and coach, Brendan sold advertising for a living, including five years with the New York Times Magazine Group as Midwest Advertising Sales Manager for Family Circle's special interest magazines. Most of his clients were Fortune 500 companies. Brendan took a lot of people to lunch and played a lot of golf.
Brendan has combined his extensive improvisational training, coaching and performance experience with his years of practical experience in the business world to design an effective program to help organizations to think like a good improv team. Improvisation is about active listening, support, teamwork, trust, collaboration and respect. The results include more dynamic ideas, stronger listening and communication skills, greater collaboration and a healthier work environment.
Brendan has performed professionally throughout the country on improv stages, most notably with the award-winning improv group "Blue Velveeta" He is a graduate of the renowned Second City Training Center, the Players Workshop of Second City and the ImprovOlympic, where he is also a teacher and coach.
For many years, Brendan was a producer, comedy writer and character voice for the highly-rated Jonathon Brandmeier Radio Showgram, in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Brendan has also written scripts which were produced for television and the stage, as well as feature articles in magazines and advertising copy for business publications and radio commercials.
As an actor, Brendan has appeared in national television commercials, feature films, television productions and the theater. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Brendan and his wife, Susan, have four children. They live in Chicago.
