Mary and Chuck Lofy have developed and honed methods that really work and they have a track record to prove it. Essentially they guide clients out of the chaos that inevitably accompanies change, toward a fresh clarification of purpose leading to deep organizational revitalization. One colleague dubbed the process "Doing the Lofy Loop." Using stories gleaned from years of practical experience, the Lofys describe their methods in a book called Vitality: Igniting Your Organization's Spirit.

Before Chuck Lofy began his career as a consultant to organizations coping with the challenges of change, he was a university professor, administrator and counselor.

As interim Academic Vice President of Mankato State University in Minnesota in the 1980s Chuck was once asked to oversee a very painful downsizing. It fell to him to eliminate a staggering 25 per cent of all faculty and administrative staff positions in this large regional university. Dr. Lofy was able to effect the changes required without incurring the rancor of the university community, and in the process he helped the school to become a more stable, less bureaucratic, more student-focused institution. He was subsequently appointed Student Services Vice President.

Chuck Lofy has an innate grasp of the human dynamics involved in organizational upheaval, and an ability to help people to accept change and loss without losing spirit. The lessons he gleaned from his experience as a university administrator proved invaluable when he became a full-time consultant in 1987.

That year Chuck formed Lofy Associates. Two years later his wife, Mary Mead Lofy, joined the business. The Lofys help businesses and organizations to revitalize themselves by helping them to deal constructively with the challenges of change. Lofy Associates has consulted with municipal, state and federal agencies, universities and school districts, and with small businesses, banks and Fortune 500 companies.

Chuck Lofy's corporate clients have included companies like 3M, General Electric, AT&T and Hewlett Packard. In the public sector Chuck was a consultant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its Agricultural Extension Services and to various public universities such as the University of Nevada and the University of Minnesota. In association with the Public Strategies Group, a national consultancy to the public sector, Chuck worked with the U.S. Department of Education to improve the quality of service delivered by its Federal Student Assistance Agency. For the State of Iowa he has been providing "re-invention" services to facilitate organizational changes in state government.

With his wife Mary, Chuck Lofy wrote a book called Vitality: Igniting Your Organization's Spirit. Using stories drawn from their work, the Lofys describe methods they developed during years of practical experience in the field. Their methods really work to guide businesses and organizations through the inevitable chaos of change toward fresh clarification of purpose and organizational revitalization. One colleague dubbed the process "doing the Lofy Loop."

Chuck Lofy completed his doctoral work at Innsbruck University in Austria and the Gregorian University in Rome. He received his B.A. and M.A. in philosophy from St. Louis University, and did post-doctoral work at the Menninger Institute in Topeka, Kansas. The Lofys live in Minneapolis. They have three adult children and, at last count, four grandchildren.

Mary Mead Lofy brings a mosaic of public and private sector experience to her work as an organizational consultant. She is a former business owner, elected official, community leader and teacher. For nine years she and her partners ran a gift shop, Harpies' Bazaar, in Mankato MN. Mary was a director on the board of Norwest Bank (Wells Fargo) in Mankato for 14 years. She won two elections to the Mankato City Council, where she served for eight years before running for Mayor. Mary was appointed to a number of state and local advisory councils, including the Mankato Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Police Civil Service Commission. She served on the board of the award-winning Minnesota Heart Health Project and was the marketing director for the Wellness Center of Minnesota. She also taught junior high school in Texas and Louisiana and adult education classes in Minnesota.

Mary Mead Lofy knows what it means to meet a business payroll and what it takes to make a government body tick. She understands the human dimension in every enterprise and the particular problems faced by both leaders and workers. Her own leadership and service have been recognized with a number of awards, including the Nicholas J. Coleman Award for Political Courage, the YWCA Leadership Award for Women, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Pathfinder Award.

Since 1989 Mary has been a partner in Lofy Associates with her husband, Chuck. The Lofys help businesses and organizations to revitalize themselves by dealing constructively with the challenges of change. Lofy Associates has consulted with municipal, state and federal agencies; with universities and school districts; with small businesses, banks and Fortune 500 companies. Working in collaboration with the Public Strategies Group, a national consultancy to the public sector, Mary led a team who designed and delivered a performance improvement program for the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Assistance Agency. The program was created for some 1200 Student Aid employees across the country. For the State of Iowa she has been acting as project manager for the "re-invention" of several state agencies.

Mary and Chuck Lofy wrote a book about their work and methods, Vitality: Igniting Your Organization's Spirit. Using stories drawn from their work, the Lofys describe methods they developed over many years of practical experience in the field. Their methods really work to guide businesses and organizations through the inevitable chaos of change toward fresh clarification of purpose leading to deep organizational revitalization. One colleague dubbed the process "doing the Lofy Loop."

Mary Mead Lofy holds a Ph.D in Human and Organizational Systems and an MA in Organizational Development from the Fielding Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. She has a BA in English (from the former Dominican College, Houston, TX) and did graduate work at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The Lofys live in Minneapolis. They have three adult children and, at last count, four grandchildren.