Co-Founder, Outfluence Developer

Al earned his Degree in Court Reporting from Baltimore Junior College in 1968. He began his career at the Maryland Workman’s Compensation Commission. In 1971 he accepted the position of Official Court Reporter in the United States Courts for the District of Maryland. In 1977 he formed his own business, today known as Al Betz & Associates, Inc.

In 2005 Al published his first book, Polishing the Pearl, and in 2008 he published Outfluence, The Better Way to Influence. He has also published Outfluence for Sales, Outfluence for Job Seekers and PowerWriters. In addition, he has assisted 30 individuals to write their life stories. He co-developed a training program titled “You Are Here . . . now what?”

Al has served in leadership positions in a variety of professional and business organizations. He has addressed audiences in 22 states on the topics of Inspired Performance, Constant Messaging, Customer Service and Leadership.

Co-Founder, President

Kay L. Betz is the President and Co-Founder of Outfluence, L.L.C., where she is a facilitator and training program designer. She has been the CFO of a prestigious court reporting firm since the 1970’s, and she was an instructor in the Department of Graduate and Professional Studies at McDaniel College for more than 20 years.

Kay has spoken on the topics of communications and personal development in her home state and at national conferences across the country. She has consulted on the topic of strategic planning for associations and nonprofit organizations. She feels honored to have worked with students who are interning and studying in the field of Human Services and providing services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through a special program at McDaniel College. Having worked and volunteered with high school students for most of her adult life, she put those involvements together, with her business and teaching experiences, to develop You Are Here… Now What?. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for Carroll Lutheran Village, serving as Board Secretary and chairing the Human Resources Committee, and the Lutheran Social Ministries of Maryland.

Rich Collins, Director of Marketing

Rich Collins was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Montgomery County. He graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a BA in Government & Politics. He met his future bride Anna in McKeldin Library where they both worked to help patrons in the Social Science Room.

Rich trained as a Sales Rep for IBM. He sold to commercial accounts in Washington, DC

He later worked as a rep for Lexis/Nexis in Washington. He opened new accounts in DoD, Navy and Air Force. He trained JAG officers how to perform legal research on their computers. He trained Patent Examiners how to use LEXPAT as part of their process. Rich helped: Defense Intelligence Officers, Librarians and speech writers for the Secretary of Defense.

Rich is a mortgage settlement agent. He has closed over 20,000 purchase and refinance transactions involving residential and commercial properties. Rich derives satisfaction from volunteering his time, energy and talent with the Lions Club and as a volunteer reader and live theater audio describer for the blind on behalf of The Metropolitan Washington Ear.

Rich treats people the way he likes to be treated. He worked as a baseball umpire for a number of years. He likens it to sitting on a powder keg. (Every now and then it explodes). Knowing what to say and what not to say is important when it comes to meeting people. Rich uses his confidence and experience to its fullest when networking and campaigning for his chosen candidates which he has done since 2018 in his home county of Carroll.