I started my career as an Outward Bound instructor, in the late ’60’s. Later, after several years working in Outward Bound and then with court referred youth in adaptive experiential education programs, I went back to college and earned a BA in Art History. After that, I became a high school art and technical theatre teacher, and a father. In the mid ’80’s I attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education (MEd, 1988; EdD, 1997), where I studied organizational change, educational change, systems theory, qualitative and ethnographic research and evaluation, and consulting theory and practice. I’ve been coaching and consulting with schools, school districts, support organizations, government agencies, and social service organizations now for 20 years.
My work supports schools, school districts, government agencies, and non-profit organizations in innovative leadership, team development, and positive, planned organizational change. My work focuses on helping organizational leaders and staff members clarify their values, purposes, and vision, to guide conscious creation of programs and activities that enact those values and vision. I help build broadly networked learning communities within and across organizations. This leads to the ability to design programs that hold together in coherent and aligned ways that feel seamless, personalized, and responsive to clients and membership, and to the broader community in which organizations do their work. I help craft real time professional development and knowledge management systems that support new organizational structures and a culture of innovation and results. I work hands on and over the long term with organizational members to develop leadership, engage in strategic planning, and create emergent organizational systems necessary for effective implementation of a transformational (fundamental rather than incremental or piecemeal) change agenda. I hold high expectations for the learning and performance of people and teams, and believe that healthy, equitable, and wise organizations can be created to serve a more democratic, socially just, and ecologically sustainable community and society.
I have two grown sons, both musicians, and am an avid backpacker and anusara yoga practitioner. I live in Oakland, CA. My consulting organization is: Inquiry & Learning for Change. You may reach me there, or at my LinkedIn Profile.
