Concurrent Sessions

A broad range of concurrent sessions will provide you with the opportunity to customize the conference experience to meet your particular needs and interests—whether you work in the business, education, healthcare, or nonprofit sector.

CASE STUDIES give you a look at how an organization is using systemic tools to take wiser, more effective action, and offer insight into how you might apply those skills in your own setting.

SKILL-BUILDING WORKSHOPS offer practical, hands-on tools for creating and sustaining purposeful networks through disciplines such as systems thinking, Theory U, social action research, storytelling, and conversations that matter.

A01—Introduction to Systems Thinking
Kristina Wile, The Systems Thinking Collaborative

Systems thinking—seeing the underlying structures that drive our behavior and the interconnections in our world—is a key management skill for the 21st century. Understanding the power of structure can let leaders unlock their organization’s potential and avoid unintended consequences. In this workshop:

• Learn why systems thinking is the keystone of organizational learning.
• Through hands-on activities, practice basic causal looping skills and experience the dynamics of structural traps.
• Build a foundation of systems thinking knowledge and explore new ways to address the complex issues in your organization.

For those who are new to the field, this session presents an excellent opportunity to explore the vocabulary and tools of systems thinking and their application to organizations in ways geared to all types of learners.

Kristina Wile is a managing partner of the Systems Thinking Collaborative. She has been using systems thinking and related learning practices to help organizations understand highly complex issues for more than 10 years. Kris has a master's degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management, and prior to that, worked as an electronics engineer.

Kristina Wile is a managing partner of the Systems Thinking Collaborative. She has been using systems thinking and related learning practices to help organizations understand highly complex issues for more than 10 years. Kris has a master's degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management, and prior to that, worked as an electronics engineer.

A02—Introduction to Organizational Learning
Marilyn Paul, Bridgeway Partners

In this highly interactive session, we will review some of the tools and principles of organizational learning, including the ladder of inference, creative tension model, building of a “container,” and causal loops. Using exercises, we will apply these tools to situations in our own lives and organizations, with a particular focus on the issues of time and workload..

Marilyn Paul, Ph.D., a principal of Bridgeway Partners, is skilled in facilitation, organizational diagnosis, systems thinking, leadership development, organizational learning, and coaching. She has a doctorate from Yale and an M.B.A. from Cornell. Marilyn is the author of It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys (Viking Compass, 2003). Her current research focuses on helping people in organizations manage time and workload with greater awareness and clearer intention.

A03—Uncovering the Source of Phenomenal Results in Hewlett-Packard’s Inkjet Division
Anne Murray Allen, AMA Associates; Bob Johnson, Conversant/Storytellers, U.S.A.; Greg Merten, HP (retired)

Many of today’s organizations adhere to a model that ignores the power of relationship and erodes social well-being across the business operating network. While companies may still achieve success following such a model, exceptional results will remain elusive. This session is about our shared journey and the realization of both extraordinary business opportunity and extraordinary personal development over a 20-year period at Hewlett-Packard’s Inkjet Division. Come hear about the lessons we learned as leaders inside this organization and how we see them repeated by other organizations willing to break from the pack with relationship-based strategies. Participants will leave with an introduction to (or for some a reminder of) the principles that are essential for increasing healthy, phenomenal performance in 21st-century organizations.

Anne Murray Allen is founder and principal in her own consulting firm, AMA Associates, a practice dedicated to working with clients in building healthy performance-based organizations. Prior to launching this practice, Anne retired from Hewlett-Packard Company, where she held various management and executive positions. She has co-authored an article on “The Nature of Social Collaboration” and is currently engaged with her co-presenters in writing a book. Anne holds an MBA from the University of Denver.

Bob Johnson is the president of Conversant/Storytellers, U.S.A. Prior to joining the firm in 2006, Bob had 25 years of experience as an HR executive at Hewlett-Packard. Bob has worked with numerous executive and business teams to accelerate breakthrough business transformation, catalyze employee engagement, and implement large-scale change. He has an MBA and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Michigan State University.

Greg Merten is a retired senior vice president from Hewlett-Packard Company, where he led the Inkjet Manufacturing organization from various positions over a 20-year period. He used this opportunity to become a student of leadership and organizational effectiveness. Today, he shares his experience with others who want to learn how to build extraordinarily capable organizations. Greg is a graduate of Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a solid-state physics focus.

A04—Teach Our Students Well: Introducing Systems Principles in the Classroom
Diana M. Fisher, Wilson High School, Portland, OR; Laurel Narizny; Harry Cassady

If we want to improve our organizations and the world, we need to teach our children—and ourselves—how to think long term, how feedback operates in complex systems, and how our decisions affect our immediate environment. Creating even simple system dynamics models reinforces our understanding of the importance of feedback in complex situations and offers modelers insight into counterintuitive behavior that would otherwise remain hidden. In this session, observe high school-level models of dynamic systems, and hear former students talk about the lessons they learned in creating them. In addition, learn how to introduce modeling into your local schools.

Diana Fisher received her master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Montana and has been a teacher since 1969. She currently teaches at Wilson High School in Portland, Oregon. In 1995, Diane received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for Oregon. She is the author of numerous resources on system dynamics modeling in the classroom, including two books: Lessons in Mathematics: A Dynamic Approach and Modeling Dynamic Systems: Lessons for a First Course.

Laurel Narizny is a junior at the University of Oregon and its associated Clark Honors College, where she is studying comparative religion with a focus on folklore and anthropology, with a minor in geology. She plans to get a degree in library science and possibly go on to graduate school.

Harry Cassady is a freshman at Oregon State University, and intends to go into engineering as a profession. As a pupil of Diana Fisher’s last year, he described her system dynamics class as "an awakening to a whole new way of thinking about the world." He also enjoys hiking, cooking and film editing.

A05—The Wisdom Lab: Tapping Our Collective Genius
Mitch Saunders, Action Learning Partners; Elizabeth Doty, WorkLore; Glenna Gerard, The Dialogue Group; Craig Fleck, Demeter Matrix Alliance, Inc.

How do we develop resilient responses to our most complex challenges? The Wisdom Lab is an innovation that taps into and utilizes powerful potentials available whenever people commit to working with the heart and soul of a living system to sense what’s needed, translate emergent options into practical forms, and test new responses for sustainability. In this session, we will work together on real issues, applying several principles, concepts, and practical tools as we experiment with some of the consequences of different options for action before committing to a particular path forward. Come prepared to explore the wisdom held in relationships and their larger ecologies.

Mitch Saunders is a pioneer in the areas of leadership, innovation, and organizational change. His specialty is helping leaders and organizations navigate critical transitions in ways that produce breakthroughs, while also evoking and amplifying the creative potential of the systems involved. Examples of his clientele include the Global Project on Conflict Resolution at Harvard University, Hewlett Packard, Intuit, Kaiser-Permanente, and the Los Angeles Unified Schools.

Elizabeth Doty is an organizational consultant dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to harvest insight from experience. Her firm WorkLore works with clients such as Intuit, Archstone-Smith, and Hewlett Packard to liberate resourcefulness through the use of story and simulation. Author of “Story as Organizational Learning” and originator of the Business Storytellerssm method, Elizabeth has been a steward of the Bay Area Society for Organizational Learning since 1999. She received her MBA from Harvard.

Glenna Gerard is co-founder of the Dialogue Group, co-author of Dialogue: Discover the Transforming Power of Conversation, and creator of Presence Walkabouts, in-depth programs for individuals and groups who wish to experience the power of place to deepen their capacity for listening and discerning what is essential in each moment.

Craig Fleck has worked for 20 years in organization development and learning.  Specializing in leadership, change, and coaching, Craig has developed global change methodologies for Sun, 3M, and other clients. He also consulted with GE Capital for 11 years and developed a leadership development program for high-potential leaders while working with them.

A06—Telling Stories, Making Meaning: The Power of Narrative in Organizational Change
David Hutchens, iconoclast communications

Organizational storytelling is emerging as a legitimate business discipline, informed by a rich body of theory. But while telling stories is innate and intuitive, many people are anxious about it. What is it about the organizational setting that often makes it an inhospitable environment for narrative? In a world of bullet-pointed reductionism, how can we create a climate that recognizes the value of more human and relevant ways of talking? In this highly practical and engaging session, author David Hutchens will introduce new tools and models for using narrative in an organizational context for the purpose of building culture, archiving knowledge, sharing meaning, and speeding change.

David Hutchens is a former advertising copyrwriter who writes on organizational learning, organizational storytelling, complexity theory, and more. He provides fresh communications and learning solutions for some of the greatest companies in the world, including IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, and BellSouth. David is creator of the internationally popular Learning Fables series, including Outlearning the Wolves, published by Pegasus Communications.

 

A07—Sustainable Cascadia: Inside Large-Scale Change
Stephanie Ryan, Offerings Publications, Inc./Whidbey Institute; Sandra Poulson, Sustainable Cascadia/RealTrust Consulting

Sustainable Cascadia is a six-year, multi-city and multi-stakeholder bioregional initiative to accelerate progress on sustainability on the West Coast of the United States. Because the scope of the initiative extends beyond any one organization’s jurisdiction, it is a real-life example of the kind of leverage that is possible when we scale up our definition of the “system” and tackle a societal issue at the appropriate level. This session shares the current insights, one year into the effort, of how organizers have generated a spiral of participation to convert visions to action. Experience an action-based learning process that incorporates the five disciplines of organizational learning. Learn key principles, such as being willing to learn as you go and using trial and error to discover what’s working over a long enough period of time.

Stephanie Ryan began her career in organizational learning at Innovation Associates, where she designed and delivered leadership programs to corporate clients. In 1992, she became an independent consultant working for community-based organizations. For the last two years, she has been part of the start-up team for Offerings Publications. Over the past decade, Stephanie has served in various capacities with the Whidbey Institute, including as a board member, consultant, facilitator, and program designer.

Sandra Poulson is the co-founder of Sustainable Cascadia. She is a seasoned organizational consultant and visionary change agent. Her practice, RealTrust Consulting, develops leadership skills, awareness, and collective capacity for achieving sustainability. Sandra helps clients move toward whole systems change by orchestrating collaboration across sectors and issues. She is a board member of the Whidbey Institute, where she collaborated on the development of a new program series, “Spirit and Practice of a Bioregion.”

A08 – From Chaos to Coherence: Cultivating Collective Capacity for Emergence
Peggy Holman, The Open Circle Company

What does it take to accomplish something useful when diversity, complexity, and uncertainty are the norm? For one thing, it requires a collective capacity for emergence—the ability to walk together along a path as it unfolds. In this session, dive into practices for welcoming disturbance, connecting deeply with others, and embracing dynamic tensions. Learn why relationship—to oneself, others, and the whole—is central to handling complexity, novelty, and conflict and how to convene a group that shares a commitment to a higher purpose. You’ll leave with insights for working effectively with others to address important, systemic issues, opening new possibilities, and evoking the courage to act.

Peggy Holman brings generative processes to organizations and communities, increasing their capacity for achieving what is important to them. She is co-author of the warmly received The Change Handbook. Peggy has worked with a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, a Colombian social service organization, the Israeli Ministry of Education, and U.S. journalists. Her MBA is from Seattle University.

B01—Systemic Storytelling: A Method for Weathering the Storm of Complexity
Marilyn Herasymowych and Henry Senko, MHA Institute; Dasa Chadwick, Alberta Energy and Utilities Board; Deana Lopez and Linda Crownover, Weatherford Independent School District

Without question, increasing change and complexity are creating a storm that few organizations are able to weather. As the storm gains momentum, it lashes out in unpredictable ways, leaving many complex problems in its wake. “Systemic storytelling” is a way to navigate out of the tempest and to prepare for other crises. Rooted in conventional systems thinking but easier to use in real time, this approach creates trust and generates collective consensus vital to effective action. In this session, you’ll learn how to recognize and deal effectively with patterns (archetypes) in complex situations. You’ll also be taken through a case study to show how this method works.

Marilyn Herasymowych and Henry Senko are authors, applied research consultants, and founders and managing partners of MHA Institute, Inc. Their specialty lies in developing generative communities of learning that are capable of creating novel forms of knowledge. Marilyn has a BS in Biochemistry, a PDAD in Education, and an MCE specializing in learning in the workplace. Building on his solid experience in managing operations in organizations, Henry has an MBA specializing in emergent strategy.

Dasa Chadwick is a learning and development specialist working in the public sector, where she develops and facilitates a variety of leadership development programs. Dasa’s experience includes 15 years in management and adult education roles in a variety of sectors, including hospitality, telecommunications, insurance and utilities. She holds a Certificate in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier and is currently enrolled in the Master of Leadership program at Royal Roads University.

Deana Lopez and Linda Crownover are administrators in public education. Linda is the principal of an elementary school and has experience in staff development and curriculum writing. She holds a master’s degree in education administration. Deana is a curriculum writer, staff developer, and administrative leader.  She holds a master’s degree in education.

B02—“Walking Our Talk”: Metaphor as a Tool for Building Creative Relationship
Betsy W. Geist, Antioch University Seattle

While most of us believe in our interconnectedness with others, our deep-seated mental models may sabotage well-intended efforts to generate collective will and action. Because they both reflect and create our mental models, the metaphors we use are an excellent leverage point for change within ourselves and others. In this interactive workshop, learn to notice what you are creating with your language and how you can build more creative relationships through different metaphors. Develop skills for changing habits of language that block the capacity for “walking our talk.” Come away with strategies for using metaphors that will lead to a more creatively connected world.

Betsy Geist is a professor at Antioch’s Center for Creative Change, where she designs and teaches classes in topics such as systemic thinking, global pluralism, communication design, and leadership. The former director of the Whole Systems Design Program, she is a certified mediator and has been a citizen diplomat with China since 1981. Betsy was a founding board member of both the Mediation Consortium of Washington State and the Five Willow Tai Chi Association.

B03—Profit for Life: Corporate Success by Mimicking Living Systems
Joseph H. Bragdon, Socially Responsible Investing Consultant

Global capital markets have bifurcated. Companies that mimic living systems in the ways they are organized and managed have outperformed their more traditionally managed peers by a wide margin over the past decade and longer. Using corporate case histories, Jay will explain why this is so and where the principal leverage points in this life-affirming style of management exist. Much of his talk will center on the power of social networks within the firm, which catalyze organizational learning and innovation.

Joseph H. Bragdon is a money manager for high-net-worth families and a pioneer in the field of corporate stewardship. His book, Profit for Life, condenses nearly 40 years of his research on the empirical connections between stewardship and profitability. As a result of his early work in the field, Jay cochaired the first national Conference on Corporate Responsibility in Investments at the Harvard Business School. A member of SoL, he is currently a director of the Sustainability Institute in Hartland, Vermont.

B04—Theory U: Three Superintendents Tell Their Stories
Thomas J. Ficarra, Morris Board of Education, Morristown, New Jersey; Gerald Vernotica, Washington Township Board of Education, Long Valley, New Jersey; Jane Mullins-Jameson, Mount Arlington Board of Education, Mount Arlington, New Jersey

Otto Scharmer has said that, in order to enhance their capacity for creating profound innovations, leaders have to change the inner place from which they and their organizations operate. Three school superintendents have formed a collaborative learning community to initiate this kind of shift, both as individuals and in their districts. Through their moving stories, hear how these leaders have used the Theory U framework to promote relationships based on personal growth, collegiality, and collaboration—and, in turn, generate an unprecedented capacity for leadership and shared vision. Learn the difference between open and closed systems, and gain an appreciation for the process through which the future emerges. Participate in self-reflection activities, and start to explore the “mystery” at the bottom of the U.

Thomas J. Ficarra, D.Litt., is superintendent of schools in a 5,000-student school district in Morris County, NJ. He has been an educator for 35 years. A practitioner of transformational change through organizational learning and leadership, Thomas is committed to the expressed value that it is a leader’s job and moral obligation to establish an environment in which each individual can reach his or her potential through work. He enjoys sailing and exploring Italy with his family.

Gerald J. Vernotica, Ed.D., has been an educator for 38 years. He is currently superintendent of schools in Washington Township, Morris County, NJ, and adjunct professor of Educational Leadership at Seton Hall University and Montclair State University in New Jersey. His research interests include change leadership and the new sciences. Gerald is also a supernumerary with the New Jersey State Opera.

Jane Mullins Jameson, M.S. Ed., has worked in the field of education for the past 25 years and is currently a superintendent of schools. She is vice president of the Morris County Association of School Administrators, representative to the NJASA Small Schools Committee, and a Geraldine R. Dodge Fellow. Jane is currently completing her doctoral work in Medieval Studies at Drew University. She is an avid gardener, bicyclist, and reader of children’s literature.

B05—Fuel not Force: Learning to Take Great Ideas to Scale
Krista Goldstine-Cole, Washington State Family Policy Council; Julie Grevstad, Tacoma Urban Network

You are on the pioneering edge of organizational and societal change, far beyond what’s known. To fuel your journey into the future, you need a systematic plan for stimulating innovation—a plan that will guide your learning investments in a cohesive way while avoiding the traps of traditional methods. This workshop will show you how to build a systematic learning program that is voluntary, reduces barriers to participation, mixes expertise with experiential learning and wisdom sharing, and documents how people have applied their learning in a way that helps take great ideas to scale. Hear how one community used this approach to fuel a systems transformation project that’s changing the lives of at-risk kids.

Krista Goldstine-Cole, M.Ed., is education director at the Washington State Family Policy Council, where she supports a multi-sector learning system through curriculum development, program and conference planning, and meeting design. An award-winning adult educator, Krista previously served the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts as a judicial education specialist. She recently formed a consultancy, Ken! Inc.

Julie Grevstad is executive director of the Tacoma Urban Network. She engages service providers, educators, and community members in reducing youth violence and improving outcomes for children who experience maltreatment and other adverse childhood experiences. Julie manages Washington State’s first Review of Community Efforts, which uses data, feedback loops, and other methods to improve programming and outcomes for court-involved youth.

B06—Embodiment Trumps Intention: The Body-Brain Advantage for Creating Results
Victoria Castle, Leadership Consultant

Energy organizes around what is most articulated in the system. Understanding that we are each a psycho-biological system (there’s more to us than just grey matter) gives us a huge advantage in how to be purposeful in how we direct our energy. Under pressure our neurological wiring automatically trades connection for survival. How do we move beyond that? This experiential workshop uses the inner technology of Somatics: recognizing that the self is indistinguishable from the body or lived experience, and that we are the product of our practices. So rather than talk concepts, we will engage in body-centered practices that build dignity, efficacy, and trust.

Victoria Castle is the author of The Trance of Scarcity which addresses our cultural predisposition to lack, struggle, and separation, and she was featured in the August issue of The Systems Thinker. She coaches Fortune 500 organizations and social entrepreneurs on how to be purposeful and effective in the midst of chaos and pressure. As a Master Somatic Coach, Victoria teaches at post-graduate and professional programs and speaks at conferences internationally.

B07—Beyond Community Policing: Including, Bridging, Building Innovative Communities of Practice
Edward Cronin, Fitchburg Police Department; Sayra Pinto-Wilson, Twin Cities Latino Coalition

In Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the police force is teaming with civic and community organizations in an innovative initiative to transform the level of community engagement and outcomes for at-risk young people. In this session, you will learn about leveraging relationships to amplify change efforts. You will be asked to sense, envision, and begin to actualize the work of moving directly through issues of trust, privilege, power, and oppression to build consensus, shared values, shared experiences, and ultimately shared visions for long-term change. Ed and Sayra will use a combination of tools, including the council process (circle), small-teams work, storytelling, and journaling, to create a container that will allow for deep listening, hard questions, and vibrant challenging dialogue. There will be no experts in this session, just co-learners. 

Edward Cronin is the chief of police of the city of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He has held that post for the past four years. His previous work includes the post of chief of police of the city of Gardner, Massachusetts as well as international policing training in Eastern Europe. Ed holds a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Sayra Pinto-Wilson is the executive director of the Twin Cities Latino Coalition in Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. She is also the associate vice president for Inclusion and Community Learning at Mount Wachusett Community College. Sayra’s previous work has involved intensive leadership development with inner-city multicultural youth, along with curricular development to improve youth development practice. Sayra received her bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.

B08—Navigating Personal and Organizational Networks in a Connected World
Michael Chavez, Duke Corporate Education

To be successful in today’s changing business environment, organizations must evolve from independent hierarchies to interdependent ecosystems. Understanding the networks that comprise these systems and the power they hold to transfer knowledge, spur innovation, accelerate decision making, and build commitment to making things happen is integral to being effective within this complex new landscape. How can leaders leverage and adapt such networks in the interest of performance and innovation? This workshop will provide a powerful model for social network analysis that any leader can apply. You will gain insight into the need to think and act differently in this interconnected landscape, learn tools to diagnose the current state of your personal network, and build skills to energize these relationships.

Michael Chavez brings to Duke CE more than 15 years of experience in the fields of executive management, marketing, strategy consulting, and organizational learning and development. As managing director, he is responsible for client relationship management, and design and delivery of client programs. Michael has extensive experience in program design, combining content, learning method, and technology to create unique learning experiences designed to achieve specific business and learning outcomes.

C01—Only You Can Prevent Firefighting: High-Leverage Interventions for Lasting Impact
David Stroh, Bridgeway Partners

Many organizations have developed “firefighting” cultures that pride themselves on their ability to manage crises. These actions, which are often highly rewarded, typically produce temporary improvements at the expense of sustainable impact, substitute heroic individual effort for effective collective intelligence, and, ironically, ensure that even more crises will develop. We will draw on the experiences of many different organizations to understand why firefighting tends to breed “arsonists” and describe the system dynamics that lead to chronic firefighting. You will also learn where the high-leverage interventions reside, what is required to break out of the firefighting mode, and how to apply different interventions that achieve more sustainable positive impact.

David Stroh is a founding partner of Bridgeway Partners and was a co-founder of Innovation Associates, the pioneering consulting firm in the area of organizational learning. His primary areas of interest are visionary planning, leadership development, systems thinking, organization design, and change management. David has worked with business, public, and social sector organizations around the world over the past 25 years and has a master’s degree in city planning from MIT.

C02—Generational Synergy: The Alchemy for Dealing with an Uncertain Future
Deborah Gilburg and Alan Gilburg, Gilburg Leadership Institute

In one way or another, every workplace involves people from different generations. School systems are often composed of Boomer administrators, Gen Xer teachers, and Millenial students. Business teams can include contributors of various ages. But do biased intergenerational assumptions undermine cooperation, trust, and a deeper understanding of the systemic dependencies that exist between age groups? By applying a powerful model of generational dynamics, start to address blind spots, recognize important areas of compatibility, and build the intergenerational partnerships required to tackle an uncertain future. You’ll also practice working in intergenerational groups in order to experience the synergy that can come from a deeper appreciation of generational differences.

Deborah Gilburg is a communications and facilitation expert, accomplished leadership development consultant, and experienced mediator and facilitator. She leads groups in addressing controversial organizational change issues. An expert on intergenerational issues, Deb continues to research, write, and speak about generational dynamics and its relevant impacts on the workplace and our nation’s future. She earned a J.D. at Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. in psychology at Trinity College.

Alan Gilburg is an organizational development consultant in both the public and private sectors and a true elder in the consulting world. He is an experienced coach, facilitator, and team builder, and has taught and written extensively on communication and intergenerational relationships (Baby Boomers and Generation X). Alan is an expert in the interpretation of Jungian typology. His book, Deep Type, is a key resource for accurately determining type.

C03—The SoL Coaching Model: Mutual Learning in Action
Heidi Sparkes Guber and Dave Flanigan, Signet Research & Consulting, LLC

Three years ago, SoL was contracted by the National Security Agency to pilot a coaching program for senior leaders. The program was extremely successful and now includes 17 coaches and 125 leaders. SoL coaches at Nissan, in contrast, support the ongoing action learning component of an established global executive development program. In both cases, we created communities of practice through which we, as coaches, could support each other and catalyze our learning, both for our own benefit and that of our clients and their organizations. In this workshop, we will explore the “SoL Coaching Model” that emerged from our work together, as well as the key learnings and relationship synergies that have transformed our practice and our results.

Heidi Sparkes Guber has designed and delivered groundbreaking programs for thousands of people in over 25 years of consulting to public and private organizations. She currently leads the GET Leadership program for global executives at Nissan and the Leadership in Change program at UCB Pharma. Heidi has participated in over 500 coaching interventions, including client relationships of up to seven years of leadership growth.

Dave Flanigan was a senior business executive for 33 years. As president of Ford Credit International, he led a 9,500-person company in 38 markets. As partner of Signet Research & Consulting, he now coaches and consults with senior business leaders focusing on vision implementation, strategic planning, and leader development. Dave’s passion is working with organizations in transformation. He holds a BA and MBA from University of Michigan.

C04—Leading 21st-Century Schools to Prepare 21st-Century Citizens
Tracy Benson, Systems Thinking in Schools, Pima County Regional Support Center

To prepare children to face the complexity of tomorrow’s world problems, educational leaders must develop the skills and courage to rethink our schools. Systems thinking can play an important role in this process, but too often, administrators and teachers lack specific techniques for putting the tools into action. In this session, begin to develop skills that lead to action focused on the development of future systems citizens. In this session, learn at least three strategies for building a systems thinking capacity within school- and district-level staff. You’ll also apply the habits of a systems thinker to problem-solving challenges and understand the influence those habits can have on organizational culture and the quality of relationships within the system.

Tracy Benson is a coordinator for the Waters Foundation Systems Thinking in Schools Project and an adjunct professor for Capella University. In her professional career, she has been a K-8 teacher, district-wide professional developer, middle-level principal, consultant, and author. For the past 10 years, Tracy has worked nationally and internationally to bring the value of a systems thinking approach to school leadership and classroom instruction.

C05—Catch! Leadership Lessons from Seattle’s Famous Fishmongers
Cyndi Laurin, Guide to Greatness, LLC

Our early ancestors used survival as the basis for determining success; if they reacted quickly and effectively to outside conditions, they survived. Today, we define achievement differently, yet many of us continue to jump into action in response to external signals rather than working purposefully toward what we want to create in the world. To attain performance excellence, leaders at all levels need to think differently about how we do things and engrain new thinking patterns into our daily routine. In this highly interactive presentation, hear how the fishmongers in Seattle’s World Famous Pike Place Fish Market have been successful by defining leadership and customer service in innovative ways. Explore how redefining leadership can optimize organizational capability and foster opportunities to lead from anywhere within the organization.

Cyndi Laurin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and organizational developer. She taught for 10 years in the College of Business at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Cyndi is the author of Catch! A Fishmonger's Guide to Greatness (published under her maiden name, Crother). In 2005, she founded Guide to Greatness, LLC, as a resource for organizations interested in integrating their people and processes to achieve desired outcomes and is currently working on her second book.

C06—The Power of a Personal Village: Systems Thinking from the Grassroots at Boeing
Albie Merrill, The Boeing Company; N’Shama Sterling, SterlingDynamics

According to author Marvin Thomas, a personal village “contains all of the people who . . . shelter you with warmth, caring, security, and a sense of belonging and purpose.” In 10 years of partnership and collaboration, N’Shama and Albie have brought systemic thinking into the mainstream of a large global corporation by operating “between the spaces.” They have fostered connection and community through teaching systems thinking, hosting World Cafés, and creating containers for transformational thinking. This is the story of their journey: how two women with passion and intention built a personal village with global impact. Learn how to overcome systemic obstacles and resistance to build relationships—not strategic alliances—and catalyze grassroots adoption of new methodologies.

Albie Merrill is an internal consultant for The Boeing Company. She sees her calling as creating environments where individuals can increase their conscious awareness of who they bring to work every day. Using systems thinking and other methods for stimulating transformational thinking, she’s out to change the culture at Boeing, one person at a time, to help create the company’s desired future.

N’Shama Sterling provides consultation for Boeing even after retirement, where she approaches sustainable change by exploring organizational and individual behavioral patterns using systems thinking and the enneagram. She is known for her holistic approach, wisdom, and intuition in supporting others to deepen their own learning and transformation. Certified in numerous disciplines, she relies on personal presence as the catalyst for change.

C07—Triumph of the Commons: Uniting a Community Around Conservation in Brazil
Marcos Santos, Projeto Atlantis; Anne Ogilvie, Earthwatch

How can a few individuals engage key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, economic interests, and philosophies around a critical issue? A group in Cananéia, Brazil, faced that very challenge in seeking to save the local population of tucuxi dolphins from the adverse effects of tourism. In just a year’s time, through lectures, meetings, and capacity-building programs, Projeto Atlantis has started to turn a community that was not united into one that is working toward shared goals and creating a more sustainable future for both people and the environment. Learn how careful efforts to build relationships and test assumptions can help gain the buy-in necessary to fundamentally address a shared issue. Gain an understanding of how the “Tragedy of the Commons” archetypal story can provide insight into managing complex issues.

Marcos Santos has been studying dolphins in an estuarine area in Brazil since 1995, when he created his own project known as Projeto Atlantis. His aims are to conduct field research driven towards nature conservation, using dolphins as flagship species. As a biologist, he received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Ecology from Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.

Anne Ogilvie is the program manager for Earth and Marine Sciences at Earthwatch Institute in Maynard, MA. Prior to Earthwatch, she worked for a number of non-profit education organizations, including the New England Aquarium and the Sea Education Association. She has a master’s degree in Adult and Organizational Learning from Suffolk University.

C08—More Than Just a Meeting Place: Leveraging Online Tools for Action
Christopher Johnson, ifPeople

In the past several years, social networking sites such as MySpace, FaceBook, and Linked In have generated a lot of buzz. These sites enable people with a common interest to meet and network on the Internet. But what if you want to leverage online collaboration tools to build lasting relationships, organizational learning, and collective action? How do you create trust and accountability in a virtual community? Drawing on five years of experience in helping organizations and networks utilize the Internet and on their own experience in assembling a virtual, distributed team, Chris will teach concrete methods and best practices for utilizing online tools to create communities of practice and foster effective action.

Christopher Johnson is a physicist turned entrepreneur who combines a passion for problem solving with a systems perspective. He has a decade of international experience in turning today’s challenges into opportunities for creating a more just, sustainable world. He cofounded both a business and a non-profit enterprise that leverage technology for innovative collaborations. Chris has been awarded several research fellowships, publishes and speaks internationally, and is active in educational, professional, and community organizations.