The Team
The Duncan Group team brings the education, experience, and skills vital to meeting the human resources needs of today's global and dynamic business environment.
Michelle Devlin-Oosterwal has been with The Duncan Group, Inc. for over 27 years. She attended Santa Fe Community College where she pursued a dual degree in Pre-Med and Pre-Law, with a focus on Native American Law; she minored in Photography. She then attended College of Santa Fe, and continued to pursue Pre-Med, with a focus on Chemistry. Michelle has recently been accepted to Harvard's Executive Education Program.
Her professional career began in Santa Fe, where she actively worked on issues facing Indigenous Populations, particularly in regard to Indigenous Law, American Indian Women's Rights, and working toward facilitating better conditions on reservations. In addition, she became heavily active in Conservation, with a focus on Marine Conservation and Animal Rights and Laws.
Her first role was working at Grey Advertising as a receptionist; she was promoted to Assistant to an Art Director. After working at Grey, she began her career at The Duncan Group, Inc., as a receptionist/recruiter assistant and then worked her way up to Partner.
Michelle's personal pursuits continue to include her volunteer work for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, where she has worked as an onshore volunteer, fundraising for the organization, for over twenty years. She continues to be active with various Animal Rights organizations, and actively writes about issues facing marine life today.
She had the privilege of being mentored by the late John Trudell, Founder of the American Indian Movement — a world-renowned activist, poet, musician, artist, and actor. She has traveled the world and continues to pursue her photography. Michelle currently resides in New Jersey with her two children, Angelica and Francesca, and husband, Marc.
Dr. Dale G. Caldwell has been with The Duncan Group for more than four years, playing a senior role in the firm's Training and Consulting practice. Dale graduated from Princeton University, received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate from Seton Hall University. He also completed the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program and the Rutgers Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance program.
Dale's experience includes serving as the Founder and CEO of Strategic Influence LLC, a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting, a professor and the executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and the Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships at Scholastic.
He is the author of eight books including the ground-breaking "Intelligent Influence: The 4 Steps of Highly Successful Leaders and Organizations." Dale is the President of the New Brunswick Board of Education and the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey. In 2009, he was named the "New Jersey School Board Member of the Year." In 2021, he won the "Andrus Award for Community Service" as the AARP New Jersey Volunteer of the Year and was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame. He is in demand as a speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, and diversity, and has been a featured speaker at the Princeton and Morristown TEDx programs.
Max Rodriguez leads the growth and program excellence of the firm's online training, curriculum development, and professional training work — built specifically for C-suite administrative assistants. His remit spans two fronts: expanding the firm's reach across executive education and corporate training, and overseeing the design and scaling of high-impact online and blended programs.
On the business side, Max identifies and closes new opportunities with Fortune 500 companies, mid-market enterprises, and government agencies seeking advanced development for their executive assistants, and builds the proposals, RFP responses, and enterprise licensing agreements behind them.
On the curriculum side, he works with instructional designers and subject-matter experts to develop competency-based programs in administrative leadership — advanced project management, data-driven decision-making, digital tool proficiency, executive communication, and strategic gatekeeping — integrating emerging learning technologies and interactive online delivery. He also serves as strategic advisor to enterprise clients, assessing internal talent gaps and recommending tailored training solutions.
