About Us
CTR's network of instructors, designers, and facilitators are all highly qualified and come from diverse industries and backgrounds. We take the time to understand your company's culture and work with you to determine the best fit for your audience.
President & Founder
Melissa Christenson
Melissa Christenson, President of Creative Training Resources, has over 30 years of experience in training and organizational development, encompassing needs assessment, curriculum design and development, program delivery, coaching, evaluation, and post-assessment. Melissa is a highly engaging, much sought-after facilitator, especially for presentation training and coaching. She has worked across many industries with companies ranging from non-profits to Fortune 100. She has been a speaker at the Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly ASTD) and the Society for Human Resources Management international conferences. For the past six years, she has also been part of the Northeast HR Association's (NEHRA) faculty, delivering sessions on Enhancing Executive Presence for the Executive HR Women's Program and she is currently a performance and speaker coach for TEDxPortsmouth. Melissa received her Master of Education in Organizational Development and Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Prior to founding CTR, Melissa was the Worldwide Training Manager at Reebok International, LTD, where she received three National Telly Awards for her video-based learning programs.
Our Team
Sharon Currier
Sharon Currier has 30-plus years of experience in training, coaching, strategic human resource consulting, talent acquisition, and organizational development. She is our clients' trusted, results-focused thought partner, coach, and advisor. She has provided services for startups to Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries with a deep focus on marketing/advertising, consulting, technology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and manufacturing. She is certified as a Human Capital Strategist, has an advanced certification in corporate coaching from Coach U, and is a Hogan Leadership Assessment certified practitioner. She received the New England Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship award and three EMA awards for employment branding work. She is currently President of the Board of Directors for Friends of the Family Centre, a 501c3 focused on raising awareness and funding for at-risk youths. Before joining CTR, Sharon held various senior executive roles in sales, new business development, and human resources.
Juliann Decker is one of the lead trainers for CTR's management and presentation programs. She has been sharing her creative, energetic approach to training and development for over 25 years. Juliann received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her Master of Science degree in Training and Development from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Juliann is the past president of Talk of the Town Toastmasters in Newton, Massachusetts, and was a guest facilitator at Peking University in China, providing feedback and coaching to the MBA students during their final presentation assignments. Before joining CTR, Juliann oversaw the management development program at Monster.com and Aspen Technologies.
Juliann Decker
Gina Lucente-Cole has more than 20 years of experience in project and team leadership, directing multiple departments in complex organizations. She specializes in helping organizations increase results and performance through her expertise in organizational development, team facilitation, management and leadership development, interpersonal skills training, emotional intelligence, and performance consulting. She is also especially passionate about helping individuals learn how to manage their time and priorities. Gina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Bentley University and a Master of Science degree in Training and Development from Lesley University.
Gina Lucente-Cole
Heidi Parenti is the lead trainer for CTR’s business writing programs. Clients rave about Heidi’s ability to make the learning and content fun, engaging, and relevant. They also appreciate how she provides practical techniques that can be used for all types of business writing. In addition to teaching our corporate clients how to write more effectively, Heidi also has over 20 years of experience teaching English at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. Heidi holds a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Teaching from the University of New Hampshire.