Key Alignor Team Members

Proven Results

Broad Industry Experience

John G. Shulman is an experienced attorney, negotiator, entrepreneur, author, and public speaker skilled in the art and science of interest-based negotiation. With an A.B. in English from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, Mr. Shulman trained with leaders in the negotiation and leadership development fields.

Mr. Shulman provides negotiation and conflict resolution training to United Nations personnel at the UN War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda. Mr. Shulman has also worked on a project in the Middle East with Professor Robert Mnookin, Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The project involved a dialogue among Israeli leaders to address internal conflict over withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank, and discussion among Palestinian leaders over approaches to negotiations with Israel.

Mr. Shulman has employed advanced interest-based strategies in negotiation, conflict resolution and leadership development with a wide variety of clients, including 3M, US Bank, the United Nations, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, Northwest Airlines, Petters Group Worldwide, AstraZeneca, Imation Corp., HealthPartners, PanAmSat, Thomson West, Schwan’s, and the NAACP.

In 1999, Mr. Shulman and colleagues with negotiation expertise founded Alignor, LLC to assist organizations in implementing an interest-based approach to decision-making and negotiation. Alignor’s approach is currently used by several large organizations, including Imation Corp., which awarded Mr. Shulman its prestigious “Chairman’s Business Turning Point Award.”

Along with one of the co-founders of Alignor, Mr. Shulman wrote and directed the award-winning and critically acclaimed human rights movie ‘JUSTICE.

Jeanne-Marie Almonor is an expert negotiator and co-founder of Alignor. Ms. Almonor is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she studied with Professor Roger Fisher, co-author of the seminal work on interest-based negotiating, Getting to Yes. Ms. Almonor provides negotiation and conflict resolution training to United Nations personnel at the UN War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda.

Ms. Almonor has worked in private legal practice as a litigator and negotiator, representing large corporate clients and handling high profile public interest litigation for more than a decade. Ms. Almonor has pioneered innovative and effective approaches to implementing interest-based analysis in large organizations. Prior to co-founding Alignor, Ms. Almonor worked as Executive Director of India Operations for Grupo Televisa, a Mexican-based multinational corporation in the entertainment industry.

Ms. Almonor has conducted negotiation training workshops for hundreds of attorneys, business people, and other negotiators.

Along with one of the co-founders of Alignor, Ms. Almonor wrote and directed the award-winning and critically acclaimed human rights movie ‘JUSTICE.’

Jim Hilbert is an experienced attorney, negotiator, public speaker and instructor, combining all four disciplines in his approach to decision-making strategies and interest-based negotiation. Currently Vice President of Professional Services at Alignor, Mr. Hilbert has developed Alignor’s training programs and process materials for applying interest-based analysis to negotiation, leadership development, conflict resolution and settlement strategy.

Mr. Hilbert has lectured and served as a guest speaker at public and private sector conferences throughout the U.S. on topics of negotiation, conflict resolution, civil rights and education policy. He has also designed and led a variety of negotiation and leadership development workshops for business executives and managers, lawyers, community activists and human resources professionals.

Mr. Hilbert received his BA from Carleton College, and his JD from University of Minnesota Law School. Mr. Hilbert was awarded a fellowship after law school at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Race and Poverty. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at William Mitchell Law School, where he teaches negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, and has been a Guest Lecturer at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, where he taught negotiation.

Along with the co-founders of Alignor, Mr. Hilbert was a producer of the critically acclaimed civil rights movie ‘JUSTICE.’

Sue Blaske is an experienced attorney and training professional. As Alignor’s Vice President for Business Development, Ms. Blaske is responsible for leading Alignor’s efforts to expand its relationships with strategic global partners and existing clients. She is a key member of Alignor’s executive team and takes a lead role in shaping Alignor’s business strategy.

Ms. Blaske has nearly fifteen years of business development, product promotion, and client consulting experience. Ms. Blaske spent several years in key account management for Thomson West, a Fortune 500 information technology company, where she earned a number of performance awards and other accolades.

In addition, Ms. Blaske was a training manager at Thomson West for the past four years, where she designed and led workshops for attorneys, sales and account management professionals, and company leadership. Ms. Blaske supported implementation of the Alignor Process throughout the Thomson West sales and account management organizations. As a training manager in a large organization, she developed unique insights into how Alignor’s interest-based approach to negotiations, sales and account management could most effectively be leveraged across the organization to drive results.

Ms. Blaske has studied Instructional Systems design and has led workshops and presentations for training professionals at international conferences. Ms. Blake’s love of teaching began in Ireland, where she taught taught in Letterfrack National School, County Galway .

Previously, Ms. Blaske practiced law for five years as an assistant public defender for the State of Wisconsin, defending indigent clients in criminal trials and civil commitment cases.

Rachelle Menanteau Peleska
Director of Professional Services

Rachelle Menanteau Peleska brings a wide range of experience to Alignor’s clients as Director of Professional Services. A versatile leader and training professional with extensive experience in the health care industry, Rachelle has over nine years of program management, community building, project implementation, and leadership development experience.

Before joining Alignor, Rachelle was the Senior Operations Manager of Emergency Response at the American Red Cross, Twin Cities Area Chapter. She also held positions with the American Red Cross as Education and Training Program Manager and Multicultural Outreach Program Manager. Rachelle received the Tiffany Award for outstanding leadership contributions at the Red Cross.

Rachelle received her BA and BS from the University of Minnesota and her Master’s in International Public Health from the University of Tulane in New Orleans. She has worked in Gambia, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Rachelle is fluent in Spanish. She has studied and lived in various countries, including Chile, Japan, Mexico and Gambia.

Welile Mhlanga brings a disciplined, process-oriented perspective to managing the operations of Alignor and supporting Alignor’s clients and partners. Mr. Mhlanga holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis on Environmental Engineering. Mr. Mhlanga also earned an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa.

Mr. Mhlanga was formerly an Engineering Assistant at EVS, Inc, a mass transit planning and design firm in Minnesota. At EVS, Mr. Mhlanga coordinated compliance issues with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He also conducted Phase I Environmental Assessments as well as Housing and Urban Development Reviews, including site visits to gather data and compile reports for various agencies such as the Hennepin County Environmental Office and the St. Paul Public Housing Agency.

Between May 2004 and May 2006, Mr. Mhlanga was appointed as a Research Assistant for Dr. David Andow’s research lab in the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota. As a Research Assistant, Mr. Mhlanga spearheaded the research and data collection on the impact of toxins used in genetically modified corn on non-target organisms. In addition, he conducted research using a computer simulation model to analyze the risk of the development of rootworm resistance in genetically modified corn.