Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR

Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR

Mary Gormandy White teaches at Chattanooga State Community College and is co-owner of Inside Insights, Inc. where she provides training and consulting services related to management, leadership development, communication. and HR. Her professional background also includes experience in higher education administration, instructional design, operations management, retail merchandising, and public relations. She has been part of the LoveToKnow Media team since 2007.  You can connect with her via LinkedIn.

Human Resource Management

As managing director of Inside Insights, Inc., Mary specializes in training, behavioral assessment, and consulting services focused on building better workplaces through developing skills related to HR, management, leadership, communication, team building, conflict management, employee selection, and more.

Mary's HR-related certifications include SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and Everything DiSC® Certified Practitioner. She also teaches certification exam preparation courses for HR professionals, including online exam prep classes for the SHRM-CP/SCP, PHR/SPHR, and aPHR credentials.

Mary is a long-time Society for Human Resources Management member and volunteer, and also belongs to an Association for Talent Development (ATD) chapter. She is a frequent keynote speaker at HR conferences and association meetings nationwide and is a contributing writer for XpertHR. She is also the author of 101 Human Resource Management Tips in the LifeTips book series.

Communication Expertise

Mary has a Master's degree in Communication from Auburn University and an undergraduate degree in Business Communication from Spring Hill College. She worked professionally in advertising and public relations for several years, where she was involved in media buying, print and broadcast production, copywriting, writing for media, publicity, event planning/management, and more.

She currently teaches Fundamentals of Communication as a community college instructor. She has taught a wide variety of communication classes in higher education and corporate training settings, including public speaking, public relations, interpersonal communication, workplace/professional communication, crisis communication, conflict management, and more. She is an experienced public speaker who frequently delivers keynotes at conferences and association meetings. She also provides training services related to workplace communication.

Business Operations Management

Mary has extensive experience in operations management, having worked as a school director for a large proprietary education company before becoming an entrepreneur in 2003. She has been involved in every aspect of setting up a small start-up business, as well as managing an existing company with a large number of employees and a significant operating budget. 

Public Relations and Marketing

Mary's professional background includes positions as PR Director, Media Director, Research Analyst, and Account Coordinator with established advertising agencies. She handles marketing for her own small business and has also provided PR and marketing services to a number of clients, including both service and product-oriented businesses as well as nonprofit organizations. She is the author of 101 Successful PR Campaign Tips in the LifeTips book series.

College/Higher Education

Mary works as a community college instructor, where she teaches in-person, virtual, and online Communication Fundamentals courses and serves on several college committees. Her students include traditional college freshman and sophomores, adult learners, and dual enrollment/early college students who are simultaneously attending college and high school. She also provides freelance services to educational publishers, for whome she develops course materials and writing assessment items.

Prior to starting MTI Business Solutions, she spent nine years working in higher education as a career college school director, department chair, and instructor. She has also worked as an adjunct instructor in several colleges and universities, where she taught a wide variety of courses in Communication, Marketing, and Public Relations. 

Jobs & Careers

Mary is a human resources expert who has spent a significant amount of her time teaching college students how to prepare to enter and navigate the workplace. She has extensive experience providing training on topics like job search strategies, resume writing, interview skills, and workplace communication. She has provided outplacement training services for companies going through downsizing. Her HR background allows her to provide job seekers and college students with the benefit of an employer's point of view.

Gardening

Mary relocated from a lifetime in suburbia to establish a multiacre hobby farm, where she now grows and preserves approximately 80 percent of her family's produce, which she documents on the Garden Insights blog.  She cultivates in-ground and raised bed vegetable gardens and also grows fruit (grapes, blueberries, and plums) and pollinator-friendly flowers. She is a Master Gardener intern working toward certification via the University of Tennessee Extension Master Gardener program. 

Food and Cooking

Mary is a long-time cooking enthusiast who has created original recipes and adjusted existing ones to meet specific diet and health goals since her teenage years. Now that she grows most of her own food, she shares cooking and food preservation tips on GardenInsights.info. Mary has also handled public relations for a number of food-oriented fundraising events, including a wine festival and a seafood festival. 

Charity

As a community college instructor, Mary has firsthand experience working with a not-for-profit entity. She also has many years of experience as an active volunteer with several nonprofit organizations including the Junior League and the Society for Human Resource Management.  She has held a number of volunteer board positions, including elected and appointed roles, and has provided public relations services for a number of fundraisers and nonprofit campaigns. Her small business also provides training services to a number of nonprofit organizations. 

Retail Merchandising

Mary has five years of experience working as a merchandising specialist for several merchandising service companies on a contract and part-time basis. She primarily serviced product lines in department stores including Kohl's Belk, Dillard's, and JCPenney, where she provided merchandising services for clothing, lingerie, handbag, and luggage lines, as well as housewares and home decor products. She has experience setting up and maintaining retail displays according to planogram, as well as inventory management and tracking sales trends and promotions. She also completed merchandising projects in supermarkets, mass merchandise stores, and drug stores.

Travel

Mary is a seasoned business and leisure traveler. Her corporate training work involves teaching seminars and workshops at various locations around the country, so she is a frequent business traveler. This experience provides her with first-hand insights into planning and preparing for business travel, as well as making the most of frequent traveler programs. She also travels extensively for leisure, including traditional travel, RV camping, and cruising. 

Mary also has professional experience promoting business and leisure travel destinations and events. For example, she has handled publicity for events such as the Gulf Coast Human Resource Management Conference and St. Margaret's Blessing of the Fleet. During her time working in advertising agencies, she worked on a number of tourism accounts, including tourist attractions, hotel properties, a convention center, and a number of golf courses.

Camping & Outdoors

Mary and her husband own an RV and enjoy taking it on road trips several times each year, accompanied by their dogs. Her RV adventures have ranged from short weekend jaunts to cross-country trips lasting several weeks. She has experience camping in all types of destinations, from rural locations in North Carolina and New Mexico to major metropolitan areas such as Dallas/Fort Worth and New Orleans. She also participates extensively in other outdoor activities, including hiking, kayaking, boating, and motorcycle adventures.

Most Recent Contributions by Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR

115 New Year Quotes to Inspire You & Welcome New Beginnings

As the old year comes to a close and the new year begins, you may be thinking about your life and the opportunities that are presently at yo ... Read More

2 Baked Potato Casserole Recipes That Are Spud Sensations

We love a potato just the way it is, baked simply with a pat of butter. But sometimes, we want to give our spud a little pizzaz. That's ... Read More

6 Charities Who Pick Up Furniture Donations for Free

If you're ready to part with the curb couch you picked up in college, avoid expensive truck rentals and hustling on social marketplaces& ... Read More

60 Celebratory Easter Quotes & Sayings for Kids

Easter is a time for families and friends to rejoice and celebrate together. You can make the holiday eggs-tra memorable for the younge ... Read More

Ultimate Meat Casserole Recipes That Are Deliciously Hearty

Sometimes, what you really want is classic comfort food. And is there anything more comforting than a meaty casserole hot from the oven? We ... Read More

All Contributions by Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR

Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR