Development Concepts

Development Concepts provides services focusing on the development of individuals within their work or personal lives as well as the development of organizations in how they function, ranging from the perspective of the individual to larger group and inter-group systems. For organizations, Development Concepts’ services include assessments used to select and qualify internal and external candidates, customized training to broaden the skill sets of incumbents, as well as executive, team, and associate development. For individuals, Development Concepts’ services include personalized consultation in both work and individual spheres of life, as well as online technical training to expand skills and online personality and career assessments to assist in personal growth.

Principal, George R. Cooper III.

Mr. Cooper brings fifteen years of senior management experience in engineering, maintenance, operations and quality to his current practice. With more than a decade of consulting service with Development Concepts, Mr. Cooper provides services to a wide variety of industries and across all organization levels. His area of consulting practice spans the development of content-validated technical assessments used for selection, qualification and training needs assessment, and the development of customized training curricula and materials to assist clients in improving the skills of their incumbent workforce. Mr. Cooper’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee’s Executive MBA program.

Principal, Jerri L. Yates, Ph.D. Dr. Yates initially earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and materials engineering from Vanderbilt University. After years spent in engineering and manufacturing management, she entered a doctoral program in psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, completing the doctorate with a concentration in industrial/organizational psychology. Dr. Yates has worked in management and executive positions in manufacturing, human resources and new media businesses in addition to her continued consulting practice. She serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. Dr. Yates’ areas of specialty cross the boundaries of organizational and individual services, with an overarching emphasis on the health and effectiveness of the system, whether the system is an organization, group, or individual focus.