Formerly in Law Enforcement Dan left that career in 1987 to pursue a career in Real Estate and at the end of one year he successfully opened a start-up Real Estate Company.  Using unique back office systems and dynamic training he built it into one of the top companies in Orlando, FL and sold it in 1998.

Since 1998, Dan has utilized his business development and training skills to open several successful businesses including Business Consulting Services, Real Estate Training and Consulting and New Home Construction.

Now with over 21 years of experience, Dan has trained and coached over 7, 000 agents and hundreds of real estate companies nationwide.  Dan’s systems and strategies are well known for taking top achievers to levels they never thought possible.  Dan uses his hands-on knowledge and experience to inspire and motivate as a Feature and Keynote speaker for large seminars and organizations.

Judy O’Brien-Burton
Vice President/Operations and Program Development

Judy has over 20 years experience in the real estate industry and has been designing and implementing training programs since 1998.

Judy began her real estate career in 1988 and joined Jack Gaughen Realtor in Harrisburg, PA in 1989.  Her ten years of sales experiences includes resale real estate sales, new home sales, asset management and relocation.

In 1998, Judy became the Director of Training for Jack Gaughen Realtor providing training and support to the agents and branch managers while developing programs to enhance sales performance and increase profitability. Judy also planned and implemented annual Management Retreats and planned and implemented the annual Mini-Convention for the company.  Judy authored and administered the Jack Gaughen Realtor 12-week Mentor Program.  This very successful program has been emulated in other large companies as a model program to ensure new sales associates get off to the best possible start.

In 2002, Judy’s experience as a national trainer and her industry knowledge and expertise lead to a new position as a Business Consultant for a large international real estate franchise.  She worked closely with top 50 companies throughout the northeast.  Judy holds several coaching and instructor certifications and has coached and trained hundreds of agents and sales managers throughout the United States.

In 2008, Judy joined the staff of The Training Academy as the Director of Program Development and Senior Coach. 

Dan Black
Vice President/Mid-Atlantic Region

Dan Black, Senior Instructor at The Training Academy guides Companies, Managers and Associates on how to maximize sales performance, increase profitability and build brand/customer loyalty.

Dan delivers results focused sales strategies and management programs across all levels of the Real Estate and other Industries.  His topics of expert instruction include effective sales communication, integrity coaching, managing for profit, effective marketing, recruiting and production growth, as well as, developing sales, communication and public speaking skills.

Along with a career that includes owning and managing a successful Realty firm for over ten years; Dan has developed management and associate training programs for entire Franchises, coached trainers, been an expert witness and is often consulted on corporate wide training and education programs.

Dan delivers motivational sales programs nationally to management and sales associates alike.  He is also a frequent keynote, feature or breakout speaker at organization functions and business conferences.  His unique level or expertise, energy and entertaining delivery has earned him recognition as a speaker trusted to deliver the right message, the right way.

With a belief that one cannot truly lead without spending time in the trenches, Dan continues to sell as an active Broker in Charlotte, NC and is recognized frequently as a Top Associate in Production and Customer Satisfaction.

David Brais
Vice President, Northeast Region 

David identifies himself as a Workplace Learning and Performance specialist.
With over thirty years of REAL Real Estate involvement at every level, he is a seasoned training and sales professional with diverse and extensive experience in sales, technology utilization training and related classroom and online delivery systems.  David is a talented presenter having delivered sessions at multiple State and National conferences including leading ‘train-the-trainer’ workshop sessions.  He is highly skilled in the delivery of all required learning objectives and incorporating experiential learning through interactive workshops while maintaining a positive learning environment.  Among his many career credentials he has several Coaching certifications.
As the VP and Director of Education of the largest NRT Metro region (New England), David was chosen to lead the delivery and implementation of several programs that later resulted in nationwide rollouts to all NRT metros.  He was chosen to participate in the first group of 25 educators at NRT to deliver an effective coaching platform and subsequently certified over 120 Managers and Department Heads who then delivered the program to over 5,000 Sales Agents and 100’s of staff members.
Other achievements include:

George started his real estate career in 1998 and quickly became a top producer for his company.  He later assumed a leadership position as Regional Manager and remains a consistent top producer and dominant force in his marketplace. 

In 2006, George began to share his successful sales techniques on a national level as a ERA Top Gun Academy Instructor. Since then, he has trained and coached hundreds of real estate associates throughout the United States.

George is a talented presenter who motivates audiences with his passion and enthusiasm.  As a coach and trainer, George strives to help good agents become great agents.