About Us

About Us

WHO WE ARE

We align and improve organizations by attacking the gaps between leadership expectations and worker perceptions.

KnowledgeVine is the only organization that goes beyond presenting the theory of Human Performance and coaches your team to apply those methods to their specific job.

The KnowledgeVine logo

Our Core Values

By adhering to our core values, the Knowledge Vine Team sets the standard and leads by example. We understand our actions today will determine our opportunities tomorrow.

Act with Integrity

Our behavior should always be beyond reproach. Do the right thing even if we are the only one doing it.

KnowledgeVine Core Values Hexagon

Add Value

Strive to always add value to our customers; every day and every job.

Demonstrate Expertise

Be technically sound in TOPI methodologies and credibly bridge the gap between information and application.

Responsive Engagement

Understand the customer’s perspective and needs, and find a way to meet those needs.

Sustainable Solutions

Provide solutions to our customers that are easy to understand, implement, and maintain in order to create lasting culture change.

Our Core Values

Act with Integrity

Our behavior should always be beyond reproach. Do the right thing even if we are the only one doing it.

Add Value

Strive to always add value to our customers; every day and every job.

Demonstrate Expertise

Be technically sound in TOPI methodologies and credibly bridge the gap between information and application.

Responsive Engagement

Strive to always add value to our customers; every day and every job.

Sustainable Solutions

Provide solutions to our customers that are easy to understand, implement, and maintain in order to create lasting culture change.

Lead Team

OUR CORE VALUES

We create improvement cultures focused on reducing the frequency and severity of workplace errors.

ACT WITH INTEGRITY

Our behavior should always be beyond reproach. Do the right thing, even if we are the only one doing it.

ADD VALUE

Strive to always add value to our customers; every day and every job.

DEMONSTRATE EXPERTISE

Be technically sound in error reduction methodologies and credibly bridge the gap between information and application.

RESPONSIBLE ENGAGEMENT

Understand the customer’s perspective and needs; and find a way to meet those needs.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Provide solutions to our customers that are easy to understand, implement, and maintain in order to create lasting culture change.

WE KNOW WHAT WORKS BECAUSE WE'VE DONE THE WORK

Have you met David Bowman?

David Bowman

CEO

David W. Bowman is well known as a true human performance practitioner with a thorough and strong working knowledge of the topic. His 30 plus year background in both the utility and petroleum refining industries lends to support the science, application, and data collection necessary to establish and maintain a true culture of performance improvement.

Meet Dave Sowers!

David Sowers

CFO

Dave has over 30 years of experience in power generation and the utility industry. He started his career in the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power Program and transitioned to commercial nuclear power as an operator and trainer in New Jersey and Louisiana. Dave returned to government service with US Army Corps of Engineers at a hydro-electric dam in Alabama. Throughout his career, Dave has served in many diverse roles including Plant Operator and Trainer, Emergency Responder, Control Room Supervisor, and Power Plant Manager.

Have you met Ken Hallaran?

Ken Hallaran

VP

Ken has over 25 years of utility and nuclear power industry experience. Throughout his career in the military and commercial nuclear industry, Ken has become well versed in human performance, organizational improvement, leadership, and causalanalysis. His experience as a field worker, supervisor, and manager has given him the ability to be effective in multiple areas and levels of an organization.

Meet James Merlo!

James Merlo

VP

Prior to joining KnowledgeVine, James was at the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) as a Vice President and Director of the Reliability Risk Management department.  Dr. Merlo served over 22 years in a variety of leadership roles in the US Army and earned his Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Psychology from West Point, his Masters in Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois, and his PhD in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida.

We're happy to have Todd Brumfield on the team.

Todd Brumfield

VP of Operations

Todd Brumfield brings over 30 years of operations experience to KnowledgeVine. He’s served in Director-level positions at several utilities in the United States with responsibility for areas including training, oversight, corrective action and self-assessment, nuclear security, regulatory assurance, and emergency preparedness. As a Team Leader at the World Association of Nuclear Operators, Todd lead diverse, multi-disciplined teams in evaluation of plant performance at facilities all over the world. Additionally, he earned a senior reactor operator license from NRC and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

David Bowman KnowledgeVine CEO

David Bowman

CEO

David W. Bowman is well known as a true human performance practitioner with a thorough and strong working knowledge of the topic. His 30 plus year background in both the utility and petroleum refining industries lends to support the science, application, and data collection necessary to establish and maintain a true culture of performance improvement. With military experience from the United States Marine Corps, a strong operational background with Chevron, and multiple diverse leadership roles within Entergy, David has the innate ability to assist any organization with establishing a highly reliable culture. David serves on the Board of Commissioners of Lane Regional Medical Center.

Dave Sowers KnowledgeVine CFO

David Sowers

CFO

Dave has over 30 years of experience in power generation and the utility industry. He started his career in the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power Program where he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). After the Navy, Dave started working in commercial nuclear power as an operator and trainer in New Jersey and Louisiana. Dave returned to government service with the US Army Corps of Engineers at a hydroelectric dam in Alabama. Throughout his career, Dave has served in many diverse roles including Plant Operator and Trainer, Emergency Responder, Control Room Supervisor, Power Plant Manager, Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer. In addition to the technical training received in the US Navy, Dave has a Bachelor of Science degree in Resources Management from Troy University, a Master of Science in Management degree from Troy University, and a Master of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from George Washington University.

Ken Hallaran KnowledgeVine Vice President of Information Technology

Ken Hallaran

Vice President of Information Technology

Ken has over 20 years of utility and nuclear power industry experience. He started his career in the United States Navy Nuclear Power Program. After six years, he moved into the commercial nuclear industry, where he held the roles of Operator, Lab Technician, Specialist, Supervisor, and Department Manager. Ken also obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology. Throughout his career, Ken has become well versed in human performance, organizational improvement, leadership, and causal analysis. His experience as a field worker, supervisor, and manager has given him the ability to be effective in multiple areas and levels of an organization.

Todd Brumfield KnowledgeVine Vice President of Operations

Todd Brumfield

Vice President of Operations

Todd Brumfield brings over 30 years of operations experience to KnowledgeVine. He’s served in Director-level positions at several utilities in the United States with responsibility for areas including training, oversight, corrective action and self-assessment, nuclear security, regulatory assurance, and emergency preparedness. He also served as the Director of Performance Improvement in Abu Dhabi, UAE, establishing the initial programs for corrective action, quality assurance, and management observation. As a Team Leader at the World Association of Nuclear Operators, Todd led diverse, multi-disciplined teams in the evaluation of plant performance at facilities all over the world. As an inaugural member of the WANO Hong Kong office, he led the development of the Pre-Startup Performance Objectives and Criteria which serves as the guidance document for evaluating all new nuclear facilities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology from Edison State and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. Additionally, he earned a senior reactor operator license from NRC and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

James Merlo KnowledgeVine Vice President of Operations

James Merlo

Vice President of Operations

Prior to joining KnowledgeVine, James was at the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) as a Vice President and Director of the Reliability Risk Management department. In this role, he led the electric reliability organization’s efforts to assess the industry vulnerabilities with regard to events on the Bulk Electric System and how human performance challenges affected system reliability. James served over 22 years in a variety of leadership roles in the US Army, including combat tours in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Significant positions include; Deputy Brigade Commander in Baghdad, Iraq 2004-2005 and as an assistant professor and program director at the United States Military Academy. Dr. Merlo earned his Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Psychology from West Point, his Masters in Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois, and his Ph.D. in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida. He is the author of over 50 publications on the subjects of human factors engineering and human performance.

KnowledgeVine is leading the nation in Human Performance implementation and resources.

Implementing Human Performance helps you...

Reduce

  • Risk
  • Insurance Claims
  • Accidents
  • Rework
  • Turnover Rate

Improve

  • Safety Culture
  • Productivity
  • Efficiency
  • Organizational Performance

LEARN MORE ABOUT KNOWLEDGEVINE

Whether you’re interested in our online REMEDY Human Performance improvement program, KV Shares, sustainable safety programs, or just want to learn more about how KnowledgeVine can help your organization, just drop us a line!