We create workshops that improve communication. Strengthen trust. Increase collaboration.
And yes—they’re incredibly fun!
We use improv to do something most trainings can’t:
actually change how people show up at work.
We are the leading experts
creating dynamic, customized
improv-based workshops for:
HR DIRECTORS,
L&D TEAMS
We get it! You need workshops and events that land. You need everyone to feel like their time was spent doing something valuable and fun. And you need the needle to move.
Look no further.
EVENT PLANNERS,
EXPERIENTIAL LEADS
Planning a big offsite or event doesn’t need any more complication or risk. You want something reliable, energizing and can slot in to a curated agenda that’s a guaranteed home run.
Well, that’s what we do!
SENIOR MANAGERS,
TEAM LEADS
You know your teams can be working together more effectively and efficiently. You want it to go beyond theory or another stale training. And you need it to show up in how they work together.
You’ve come to the right place.
Choose your focus
We tailor all our programs to fit your needs.
If you’re looking to focus the workshop on one of these valuable areas, let’s do it! We will equip your team with the skills and experience they need while having an energizing, fun time!
Serious training doesn’t have to be serious.
Meet our Founder, Holly Mandel
We’re very proud that Holly is the first female founder of a woman-owned-and-operated corproate consultancy using improvisation.
Holly has spent her career at the intersection of improvisation and business, working with everyone from Fortune 500 companies to creative powerhouses.
Her mission: help people communicate better and create together with an improv-infused ‘Yes, And’ Mindset!
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WHERE BUSINESS MEETS YES, AND
Holly Mandel serves as the CEO of iMERGENCE (est. 2011), which was designed to be the alchemy of organizational development and improvisational methods. Her passion and joy come from helping catalyze lasting change within teams and companies — transforming how people work together fueled by “Yes, And”. Her background explains the results IMERGENCE gets over and over.
THE GROUNDLINGS. (YES, THAT GROUNDLINGS.)
Holly trained, taught and performed at the world-renowned Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles— the institution that shaped generations of well-known and loved television and film performers.
Holly has worked alongside household names such as Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and Melissa McCarthy as well as many Saturday Night Live cast members past and present. She also created the longest running improv show in Los Angeles, The Crazy Uncle Joe Show.
She later founded and led the longest-running improv school in New York City, also the first and only female-founded improv school of its kind. She currently teaches Pace University in Manhattan, helping shape their BFA Comedy Studies program.
PSYCHOLOGY + SYSTEMS THINKING + SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION
With degrees in Psychology and Sociology from UCLA, Holly studied organizational development, collective creativity, and leadership through Integral Theory, Holacracy, Spiral Dynamics, and the energetics of transformation, EpiEnergetics.
She understands how systems work.
She understands how people work inside them.
And she knows how to evolve both.SHE SPEAKS ‘CORPORATE’.
Before founding iMERGENCE, Holly worked at Disney Pictures, FX Networks, ABC Television, Comedy Central, and in advertising as a freelance writer/producer.
She has lived inside corporate culture and understands them from having sat in the front seat for many years.
FORTUNE 500 TRUST
Her clients span from huge global organizations like IBM, GE, Walt Disney Studios, Apple, and Pfizer to boutique start-ups.
Holly loves personally designing each bespoke iMERGENCE program to ensure it is strategic, relevant, and transformational. Oh, and fun. Like…REALLY fun.
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As a Corporate Trainer and Director of Partnerships & Events, Sarah designs programs for and facilitate workshops for clients such as Capital One, Louis Vuitton, Genentech, Spotify, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Yale University, Deloitte and many more.
Her favorite part of bringing improv into the office is watching the shift that happens from the beginning of the session to the end. Colleagues go from, “ugh, I don’t want to do another dumb team building workshop…to holy $h*t, this was AWESOME!”She attributes the transformation to what she’s dubbed the ‘kale inside the brownie’ approach; improv teaches the tools you need to kick a$$ at work (kale) AND is super fun (brownie) at the same time!
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Lilah Guaragna is an actor and comedian based in New York City originally from Austin, Texas. Lilah has worked professionally in Film, Television, and Theater since childhood, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors from Pace University’s BFA Acting Program.
Lilah has extensive experience in social media marketing and project management, working for companies such as National Queer Theater, and BagelUp, parent company of New York Bagelfest.
Lilah is proud to be a part of iMergence, working with such strong, passionate, hilarious women.
From Our Clients
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"Hands down the best training I've had in my six years here. Most relevant, most eye-opening, and most fun too. Everyone here should do this.”
Gary R,
DIGITAS NY -
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“I highly recommend bringing this group in for your next event and watch how quickly everyone stops talking about work, relaxes, and taps into their creative, kind, generous, silly HUMAN selves.”
Kendall Murphy, Senior Director of Business Operations
PFIZER -
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“You exceeded our expectations! People really loved the exercises, and it shifted how they see their teammates. There was a new level of openness and creativity afterward.”
Joe Braun, Solutions Engineering Manager
CISCO -
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“You are amazing and we loved absolutely everything about our time with you. Thank you for providing us with this fantastic experience and some participants have already reached out to me to ask when the next session is!”
Laura Ruprecht, Director Learning & Development
ADIDAS -
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“Holly, Sarah, and their team at iMergence are masterful at inspiring participants to step past personal constraints and embrace the learning that comes from improv—no small feat with a group of 400 people."
Dr. Robert Phillips, Executive Director, Human Resources
HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HOSPITALS -
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"My first experience with corporate improv and I'm sold! The workshop was both fun and educational, with practical takeaways we can start using now. Perfect for our offsite!"
Cathy C, Sales Director
CAMPBELL EWALD -
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“People are still talking about the improv training. Your team brought incredible energy and made everyone, including our leaders, feel comfortable and engaged. It was a home run.”
Unique Muhammad, Corporate Events
ERNST & YOUNG -
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"Our group at BMS is one of technical expertise and careful analysis. We do tend to overthink situations and problems. What a great way to come out of our shells and to feel our way through a variety of situations. A valuable mindset shift and tools to get there again!"
Anna G, Network Planning Leader
BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB -
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“We received a rare 5/5 satisfaction score from all 160 attendees! The session aligned seamlessly with our summit objectives and left everyone sharing a common language and an open, attentive ‘Yes, And’ mindset.”
Amanda Patterson, Senior Director of Operations
VM WARE
Why is improv a game-changer?
Our founder, Holly Mandel, and Sarah Hicks would love to tell you!
IT STICKS
Improvisation is a powerful tool because it goes beyond just theories and concepts. It’s interactive, immediate and experiential. No powerpoints or handouts.
We create sustained change, not surface.
CUSTOMERS WILL NOTICE
Happy, fulfilled, and inspired employees create a dynamic company which customers will feel and be drawn to.
BEST SESSION EVER
Our workshops are tons of fun. As in “this was my favorite workshop ever” kind of fun. There’s as much laughter as learning!
You can also grab time with Sarah Hicks, our Director of Events, here:
