Our Team

Donna M. Long – Founder & President
Ann Bauknight – Operations Manager
Ann McMichael – Office Assistant
Katie Booth – Graphic Designer

Donna M. Long, CSP - Founder & President

Donna's Demos

Donna M. Long is the owner of Learning Journey, Inc., which started as DML Training & Consulting, Inc., in 1989. She is co-owner and co-founder of JukeBox Learning, Inc. (started in 1999); co-author of the books JukeBox Journey to Success and Rock Your Way to Happiness, and author of the books Me, Myself & I - 52 Keys to Service Sucess, The Legendary Leader - 52 Ways to Coach for Commitment, and Change Happens! - 52 Ways to Seize Success.

A member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), Donna has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP), the speaking profession’s highest earned designation and the international measure of professional platform skill and experience. A CSP is a dedicated professional with a proven track record of continued speaking excellence. Less than 10% of the National Speakers Association’s 4,000 members and fewer than 450 people worldwide have met the strict requirements to achieve this designation.

Donna's training career started with Hyatt Hotels and moved to the world-recognized excellence of the Walt Disney World Co. team, where she worked for 15 years, including 1 ½ years at Tokyo Disneyland. Donna managed Human Resource Departments for both Hyatt and Disney.

Donna has served as adjunct instructor for the following Florida colleges:

• University of South Florida
• Daytona Beach Community College
• Valencia Community College
• Manatee Community College
• St. Johns River Community College

Donna specializes in customized program and process design, which includes train-the-trainer sessions allowing organizations to deliver her training company-wide by using internal facilitators. She is the creator of QUALITY FIRST, STRIVING FOR FIVE STAR EXCELLENCE and the SERVICE SAVVY series of workshops. Thousands of participants have attended her interactive sessions and she has worked with hundreds of private and public sector organizations providing innovative training that offers methods for helping individuals to achieve doing the right things right the first time! Participants rave about her ability to make learning fun and meaningful!

Donna’s projects include design and train-the-trainer sessions for four Disney projects including their Influencing Skills and Interviewing Skills management development programs, redesigning the Walt Disney World College Program, and designing the orientation and guest service components for the opening of Disney's Wide World of Sports. She licensed Columbia Medical Centers and a Florida county Tourist Development Council representing 160 hotels to use customized versions of her customer service program. In addition, Donna was the lead consultant in the redesign of a Manager-In-Training program (8 days of training) for a major full-service restaurant chain with over 460 stores.

Ann Bauknight – Operations Manager

Ann joined our team after a successful 20-year career in banking. She held numerous positions at Sun Trust over a 15 year period and served as the Operations Manager for First Commercial for 5 years.

Ann worked many areas of banking before becoming an executive. Her experiences as a customer service provider, loan officer, and especially as an operations manager over numerous branches, make her a valuable resource for Learning Journey.

Ann is responsible for our finance, daily operations, and customer service functions.

Ann McMichael – Office Assistant

Ann is a semi-retired secretary and clerical professional with more than 50 years of office experience. She has worked in numerous private and public sector organizations including Nationwide Insurance, State of Florida, Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Crownsville State Hospital and the Government Printing Office. Ann handles many clerical functions for Learning Journey, Inc. and is responsible for the monthly newsletter mailouts.

Katie Booth – Graphic Designer

Katie also started working for Learning Journey, Inc. (back when it was DML Training & Consulting, Inc.) during her high school days and continues to be a part-time resource while working as a full-time graphic designer for a Seminar company in Sarasota, FL. She serves as a graphic designer, computer consultant and Flash expert for Learning Journey, Inc.