National Association of Professional Organizers - Georgia Chapter

Past Chapter Meeting Information

Date: April 13, 2010

Time: 5:30pm

Location: InDesign

Program Topic:

"Out from Under"© by The Atlanta Hoarding Task Force 

Compulsive hoarding is a complex disorder. The Atlanta Hoarding Task Force (AHTF) brings together professional organizers, psychologists, social workers and support services, such as housecleaners, handyman and contractor services, for the benefit of compulsive hoarders and their families. 

Judith Kolberg, Director of the Atlanta Hoarding Task Force (AHTF), will give the presentation which will explain the basics of compulsive hoarding. AHTF members Jonda Beattie, Diane Quintana, Michelle Cooper, Sue Williams, Summer Talamo Phillips, and Julie Schultheis will be on hand to answer your questions.  

"If there was a task force when I had my hoarding problem, I would have found relief much faster. I'm glad the foundation is being put in place for others so they don't have to suffer as much," comments Jenny S., a client of FileHeads Professional Organizers. 

The result will be a faster decluttering experience with the support to get through the project and mitigate future reaccumulations.  http://www.atlantahoardingtaskforce.com/ . 

Speaker Information:

Judith Kolberg wrote her first book, Conquering Chronic Disorganization in 1999 soon after founding FileHeads Professional Organizers, among the first professional organizing companies in the Southeast. She is the recipient of the industry's highest honors including the prestigious Founder's Award from the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). Her contribution to inaugural certification program for professional organizers was recognized with the President's Award. She is the former President of the Georgia chapter of NAPO and has served as NAPO's Director of Professional Development.

Kolberg is the founder of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. Her second book, What Every Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Chronic Disorganization launched an entire profession of organizers specifically dedicated to addressing the needs of individuals who are chronically disorganized. She served as the Director of the NSGCD for seven years and is the recipient of their highest honor, the Highlighter Award. What Every is a required textbook for the certification of organizers specializing in chronic disorganization and has sold over 10,000 copies. Conquering is a recommended text for the certification of all professional organizers and has sold over 80,000 copies in the U.S. and Korea. 

FileHeads clientele includes business owners, entrepreneurs, upper management and corporate executives from all over the country, and individuals with special organizing challenges including people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and clinical hoarders. In 2002, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life was published by Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis, a worldwide academic press. It is co-authored with Dr. Kathleen Nadeau. ADD-Friendly has sold over 75,000 copies in the U.S., Canada, England, and the Netherlands.

Kolberg is a native of Levittown, New York and a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton with a B.A. in Sociology. She derives her organizing skills from her early career as a political organizer doing lobbying, special events, and campaigning. Her political activism and a background in executive secretarial and corporate office management brought her to New York City where she often worked in the shadow of the World Trade Center. Deeply affected by the events of September 11th, 2001, she wrote Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Home and Your Family for Any Natural or Unnatural Disaster. This book and several of her other books are published by Squall Press, the publishing company she founded and still continues to run.

Kolberg's depth of experience and humorous delivery has made her a popular corporate trainer and keynote speaker. She addresses live, by teleclass and webinar approximately 1,500 people per year on organization/disorganization related topics and has been covered in more than 60 print, TV and radio media outlets. She resides in Atlanta.

Agenda:

5:30 - 6:00 PM -- Visitor Check-in

6:00 - 6:30 PM -- Meeting begins -- general business, announcement, spotlights

6:30 - 7:30 PM -- Keynote Program

7:30 - 8:00 PM -- Networking, Introductions

8:00 PM -- Final announcements and adjournment