To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Who I Am
I seek age-old truths, and do my best to ground them in practical actions.
I am a coach, consultant, trainer, and facilitator in the art and science of leadership.
I wake up each morning with one thought in my mind and heart--how can I make one contribution today to the health, sanity and well-being of someone or something?
I am a work in progress.
What I Believe
There is nothing that exists that is separate.
When we act as though any one thing is separate--or inanimate--there arises a tendency to use and abuse that thing. I hope one day we can all live with a respect for the essential aliveness of all beings, all aspects of this planet--people, animals, plants, air, water, rocks,
mountains -- the list goes on through 'all my relations.'
Nor are people separate from one another.
Many of us feel separate and isolated, deeply afraid and lonely. When we let ourselves feel interconnected, our isolation can dissolve. I hope I can help others to relax, to find a sense of peace, and to know that each one of us has a place in the larger order of life.
I believe there is a quality of intelligence,
a stream of deep wisdom, that lives in this experience of being connected. Action informed by this stream of wisdom is creative, life giving and life sustaining. When we are connected, and act with attention to the momentary guidance of the universe, we can shift the ways of living on this planet from fragmentation and polarization to wholeness and respect.
My Training
My belief in interconnectedness has influenced my personal and professional life for more than thirty years. It has taken me into the wilderness, where I travelled extensively as a professional mountaineer and wilderness guide, using both the outdoors and the indoors as classrooms to create transformational leadership experiences.
I often found myself working specifically in countries where deep change processes were occurring, such as the former Soviet Union, and I was compelled to take specific action, launching two leadership schools--one in South Africa and one in Bulgaria.
It drove me to get my PhD and teach in the Master of Nonprofit Management program at Regis University, where I also coordinated the Colorado Trust Fellowship, an initiative focused on building leadership throughout the non-profit sector of Colorado.
This thread of understanding, love and perception informs my work as a Director and Senior Consultant for Dialogos where I worked with a broad range of clients in both the government and private sector including British Petroleum, Renaissance Reinsurance, World Bank, International Finance Corporation and the US Forest Service (USFS).
Schooling
BA in Biology, Antioch College
MA in Human Development, The Fielding Institute
PhD in Human and Organizational Systems,
The Fielding Institute