Jane Praeger

Jane Praeger, founder and CEO

Jane began her career as a documentary filmmaker for public television. Since founding Ovid, named after the great Roman poet and storyteller, in 1992, she has coached hundreds of executives on how to communicate in a way that engages audiences and drives results. She is also a founding faculty member of Columbia University's Masters Degree Program in Strategic Communication and currently teaches in the Women in Leadership program at Columbia Business School.

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Heather Thomas

Heather Thomas

Heather Thomas has crafted and delivered hundreds of persuasive presentations in her career, helping to win tens of millions of dollars as the head of business development for the Omnicom company Critical Mass. After teaching classes in Strategic Storytelling at Columbia University with Jane Praeger for three years, Heather joined Ovid in 2011 as a strategic partner, with a focus on helping people present in high-stakes business situations. Heather is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University.

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Terrence O'Brien

Terrence O'Brien

Terrence O’Brien works with individual clients and small groups on improving their delivery and performance. He specializes in helping people develop “executive presence”, speak with confidence and authority, and present complex ideas simply and clearly. Previous to joining Ovid as a coach, O’Brien founded the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and was its Artistic Director for 27 years. HVSF specialized in presenting Shakespeare with clarity and emotional depth, and under his leadership, the company received glowing reviews in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the New Yorker, and established O’Brien as one of the country’s leading directors of Shakespeare.

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Lena Gilbert

Lena Gilbert

Lena Gilbert has been working as a communications coach and videographer for Ovid since 2005. She has an especially astute antenna for industry jargon, and once she spots it, knows how to replace it with language that everyone can understand. As a trained dancer and experienced instructor, she is able to translate her movement skills to help clients communicate with ease and clarity in their bodies. In addition to her work with Ovid, Lena is a performer, choreographer and blogger.

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OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Kenna Kay

KENNA KAY

Creative Director & Brand Strategist

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Gwen Hyman

GWEN HYMAN

Writer &
Writing Instructor

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Catherine Mevs

CATHERINE MEVS

Leadership Communications Trainer

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