About Us
Carol and Ken Adelman founded Movers & Shakespeares in 1997 to teach critical business skills through Shakespeare's greatest works. To date, they have delivered more than 300 practical, interactive, and fun training sessions to a diverse client base.
Movers & Shakespeares regularly receives rave reviews from organizations with whom they've worked, including the American Red Cross, Pfizer, Harvard Kennedy School, Boeing, Wharton Business School, Lockheed Martin, Social Security Administration, US Naval Academy, JP Morgan Chase & Company, Overstock.com, and others.
Carol Adelman is President of Movers & Shakespeares. She is also a senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity, where she specializes in international development. As a presidential appointee, she headed the U.S. Government aid programs in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe when the Wall fell. She is a lecturer at business conferences and appears in major media outlets.
Ken Adelman is Vice President of Movers & Shakespeares. He began teaching Shakespeare in 1977 at Georgetown University, and taught honors students at George Washington University for years. He was a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Director of the U.S. Arms Control & Disarmament Agency during the Reagan administration, accompanying President Reagan on his superpower summits with Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev.
Thoughts on Leadership
Giving Back
Carol and Ken have served on the boards of the American Shakespeare Center, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, fundraising for their performances and outreach programs.
❯ The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC
Carol and Ken Adelman helped The Shakespeare Theatre's community outreach program, which provides free innovative training programs and performances for DC-area students and families. Nationally known politicians and media stars such as Chris Matthews, Ted Koppel, Sam Donaldson, and Cokie Roberts volunteer for the Adelmans' program, donning costumes and putting on their best Elizabethan accents. The sold out shows have been highlights of Washington, DC's benefit season.
❯ The Aspen Institute, Aspen, Colorado
Carol and Ken regularly conduct Aspen Institute programs for the community and for top political officials across the country as part of the Rodel Fellows program. They have run several programs for the Institute's annual Aspen Ideas Festival, featuring such notables as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Bob Schieffer, and Secretary Michael Chertoff reciting glorious Shakespearean speeches on the presidential race of 2008 or economic crisis of 2009. Watch the Video!
❯ National Endowment for the Arts
Movers & Shakespeares has volunteered with the National Endowment for the Arts in its groundbreaking Shakespeare in American Communities program, which has brought live theatre and community education to small towns and military bases across America.
❯ Utah Shakespeare Festival
Carol and Ken Adelman have supported the Tony-award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival for more than 25 years through donations and speaking, spearheading the campaign to create the Seminar Grove, and contributing a series of finely sculpted Shakespearean benches for the Festival. Every year the Adelmans attend the festival with an entourage of more than 50 people who give their support to this amazing regional theatre.
❯ The Bezos Scholars Program, Aspen, Colorado
The Adelmans have conducted several sessions for high school students from disadvantaged schools who come with their teachers to broaden outlooks and learn to become leaders. Ratings from the week put Movers & Shakespeares at the top for real take-home value.
❯ The American Shakespeare Center
Carol has served on the board and contributes to this top-notch regional theatre in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which makes Shakespeare accessible to students across the country through its touring troupe.
