About Us
What We Do
You have a big, hairy, audacious idea. We help you talk about your idea so that others will understand and care.
We help leading thinkers working on ideas like free speech, innovation, and growth. Ideas that can change the world for the better.
Our training focuses on developing your skills as a speaker, listener, and leader. We approach training just as you would learn to play the guitar or swim. By testing, getting feedback, and iterating.
We will help you build confidence and clarity in your ideas. So you can effectively communicate with the people who matter most. Whether that’s investors, policymakers, the media, or anyone else.
Who We Work With
Entrepreneurs. Innovators. Engineers, CEOs, attorneys, economists. Wonks.
People who have big ideas to change the world.
Builders who are creating solutions to today’s most pressing problems.
Experts in their fields.
Leaders who need help connecting their complex ideas to their audiences.
Wonks who struggle – either through fear or the curse of knowledge – to communicate their ideas in clear and simple terms.
If any of the above describes you, you’re probably already familiar with this graph:
Entrepreneurs. Innovators. Engineers, CEOs, attorneys, economists. Wonks.
People who have big ideas to change the world.
Builders who are creating solutions to today’s most pressing problems.
Experts in their fields.
Leaders who need help connecting their complex ideas to their audiences.
Wonks who struggle – either through fear or the curse of knowledge – to communicate their ideas in clear and simple terms.
If any of the above describes you, you’re probably already familiar with this graph:
We work with innovators and early adopters. The builders and thinkers who create solutions to the complex problems we all face today. And who want to tackle the innovation curve by communicating their idea to new groups of people.
Who We Are
We are optimists, problem solvers, and adventurers.
Bob and Maryrose connected over a shared passion for running through the woods, swimming in rivers, and the power of humans to make the world a better place. With technology as a vital ingredient.
The Ewing School started with Friday lunchtime walks around the neighborhood. Bob and Maryrose had been dating for about 8 months. They were both on the communications team at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University outside Washington DC.
Maryrose worked on the marketing and web team while Bob had started a new internal speaker training program. He wanted to focus solely on speaker coaching without dealing with the administrative aspects associated with it.
The lunchtime walks started as vent sessions as Bob struggled to balance his passion and skill with the nuts and bolts of running a team. The walks quickly turned into business planning and strategy talks about how to take this challenge and turn it into an opportunity.
In October 2018, Bob broke off and started his own company. Within weeks, he had a full work load. And soon realized that the nuts and bolts of running a team were dwarfed by the nuts and bolts of running a company.
Maryrose was wrapping up her MBA and itching for a new challenge. Bob wrote down “make Maryrose official COO” in one of his anxiety mindsweeps. (It still hangs on our fridge today).
Maryrose took over all of the business aspects of running a coaching company. From invoicing clients and building a website to strategic planning and growth.
Bob and Maryrose now run the Ewing School alongside the Florida River in the San Juan mountains outside Durango, Colorado.
Our Team
President, Founder, Coach
Bob helps people to grow and connect.
He has coached thousands of professionals, activists, and students, empowering them to explain complex ideas in clear, compelling terms. Through individualized trainings and interactive workshops, Bob helps people nationwide and beyond connect with their audiences through empathic listening, public speaking, and networking.
Prior to founding The Ewing School, Bob pioneered a communications training program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he also built and led a record-setting media relations team. He was Director of Communications for the Institute for Justice, which has received more than two dozen national communications awards, and held the inaugural Leonard E. Read Research Fellow position at the Foundation for Economic Education. He continues to serve FEE as an alumni board member.
Bob is wilderness first aid certified and enjoys climbing mountains, floating rivers, and being unplugged outside with his partner and puppy.
CEO, Coach
Maryrose helps people make progress.
Maryrose’s coaching focuses on building clarity and confidence in what you have to say. And the ability to connect it to any audience.
With a background in marketing, product management, and pitching, Maryrose digs in to clarify ideas, simplify them for your target audience, and bring them to life with vivid stories and examples.
Maryrose volunteers with Women Outside, a Colorado-based group dedicated to teaching and inspiring women to enjoy the great outdoors. She is the Vice President of Durango Early Bird Toastmasters where she iterates on her own public speaking skills and helps others do the same. Maryrose earned her MBA at George Mason University.
In the summer, find Maryrose on the river, trails, or rocks. In the winter, find her skiing the cold smoke at Purgatory Resort. She lives in Durango, Colorado with Bob, Ollie, and Otis.
Coach
Kim helps people be authentic on stage.
Hailing from across the pond, Kim trained at a top London Drama School before working as a professional actress for 10 years in plays and musicals. She also worked as a voiceover artist and filmed a course she created for the camera. Kim specializes in presence and voice, bringing out your individuality and personality in presentations.
Kim looks for authenticity in your presentations, diving deeply into your ‘why’, working strategically on content and flow, and how to connect meaningfully with your audience. Embedded in all of Kim’s work is crafted practice, feedback, and experimentation, the only way to really grow in your presentation skills!
Kim lives with her husband and three daughters in the DC area where. Previously, she led the communications training program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she worked with economists and scholars to prepare them for conferences, TV, Zoom presentations, radio, podcasts, and testimonies on Capitol Hill.
Kim comes from a musical family (her father arranged for the Beatles!) and is a singer and musician. She absolutely loves Math and has a passion for Killer Sudoku – the really tough ones!
Laura Kramer
Executive Assistant
Laura keeps the trains running on time.
She is our Executive Assistant and helps us manage the back-end work that goes into keeping our speaking cohorts running smoothly.
She lives in the foothills of North Georgia with her husband, two daughters, and two labs. They all love to spend time outside and enjoy kayaking on the rivers, boating at the lake, and hiking in the mountains near their home.
Ollie
Chief Negotiating Officer
Ollie is the guy who makes things happen. He has wagged his tail and given kisses to hundreds of people nationwide, helping them smile and enjoy the present moment. He is as constant in his devotion as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
Prior to joining The Ewing School, Ollie believes he started a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Third Amendment. He is proud that since its inception, not a single British soldier has been quartered in an American house. (Ollie has no formal legal education.)
Ollie enjoys playing Monster, snuggling with his family, and eating socks.
(not recommended)
