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Peggy Klaus (born March 8, 1953) is an executive coach, leader of corporate training programs, bestselling author and speaker. She is the author of ''Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It and The Hard Truth About Soft Skills.'' President of Klaus & Associates, based in Berkeley, California, Klaus addresses thousands of professionals each year through communication and leadership training programs, keynotes and executive coaching at major corporations and organizations worldwide. Her client list includes firms such as JP Morgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard,, American Express, Mattel, Booz Allen Hamilton, Kaiser Permanente, Chevron Corporation, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, The National Football League, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and The Ford Foundation, among others. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, Klaus’ advice has been featured in hundreds of media outlets, including Today, NBC Nightly News, 20/20, Nightline, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review and O magazine.

Early Life
Klaus was raised in Elkins Park, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Beloit College, she earned advanced degrees in drama, speech, and theatre from the London-based Royal Academy of Music and the Drama Studio.

Career
In 1987, after several years as a freelancer and entrepreneur in cultural arts and theater in Philadelphia, London, Washington D.C. and Taos, New Mexico, Klaus moved to San Francisco, where she landed a job in television as talent-coordinator and producer for an ABC TV program called The Goodtime Café--a stand-up comedy and sketch show.

After the series ended, Klaus continued to coach comedians as well as professional actors, musicians and broadcasters for roles in television and film for the next five years.

In 1992, after seeing a good friend succumb to cancer, Klaus felt dissatisfied with the bedside manner of doctors she observed, and switched her focus to helping physicians communicate more humanely with their patients. She developed and taught a course in Doctor-Patient communications, which pioneered the use of actor-patients in simulating real life medical situations.

In 1993, she left the medical arena and decided to focus on the corporate world. It was then she founded Klaus & Associates, a company which provides communication and leadership training programs, keynotes, and executive coaching at corporations and organizations worldwide.

Klaus has written two best-selling books, the first published in 2004 entitled ''BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, and a second followed four years later entitled The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner.''

Since the release of BRAG!, Klaus has led over 1500 BRAG!-branded events for corporations and organizations where participants learn how to brag in an inviting fashion that support personal objectives and relationships. In 2004, Klaus launched BRAG! Connections--a program pairing high-school age girls with professional women to teach skill-building in self-promotion to both groups.

Klaus has been outspoken about her dedication to the empowerment of girls and women. In 2009, Klaus created a soft skills curriculum, Soft Skills 101: Lessons for Teens on Getting Ahead at School, at Work, and in Life, based on her book, The Hard Truth About Soft Skills, which is offered in schools for students in grades six and above. Additionally, Klaus serves as a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco, the Young Women’s Leadership Network, the Grace Institute and SAGE Scholars program. She has appeared as both a coach and speaker at conferences and universities including the Grace Hopper conference, Lean In conference, Simmons College, and Smith College’s Executive Program. Klaus' writing on gender, communication and leadership issues has been featured in The New York Times and other prominent media outlets.

Klaus has lectured to students and faculty at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business, Boalt School of Law, and the Harvard School of Public Health & Sciences. She has also served as lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Wharton School Executive MBA Program, the University of California, Davis MBA Program; Pepperdine University School of Law, and Smith College’s Executive MBA Program. Klaus board positions include the Young Women’s Leadership Network, the Women’s Leadership Board of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the Financial Women's Association of San Francisco Board, the on the Advisory Boards of Mentium and SAGE Scholars Advisory Board at the University of California, Berkeley.

Honors and Awards
In 2016, Peggy Klaus was awarded a Gold Stevie® Award for Coach of the Year in the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. She also picked up a Bronze for Woman of the Year in Business Services.

In 2016, Klaus was honored by the Grace Institute for her work with disadvantaged women.