Business Card Title: Learning Facilitator & Mentor | Speaker | Writer | Message Media Publisher
AKA: Big and Sometimes Uncomfortable Questions Asker (in case you hadn't noticed) | Seriously Fun No BS Champion of Life-Changing, Sustainable, & Contagious Learning Experiences
Although you and I may already be professionally connected on LinkedIn (my profile is here), often what we know about one another there is a listing of our academic achievements and work history, and the random posts their algorithms allow us to see.
Social media platforms can link us with others who share similar interests and perspectives, yet socio-political-cultural silos can prevent us from communicating with people who appear to be vastly different than we are and stifle our ability to see the many ways someone can be just like us at our very core: fellow imperfect human beings making out way through Life ... and all it brings. (FYI: I'm not on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, or TikTok.)
We all have unique lived experiences and stories that compose not only who we are in this moment, but can frame how we continually grow and evolve ... yet we may not get genuine opportunities to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of one another beyond the surface levels.
Additionally, we have all these cool devices created to bring us together - yet people are yearning for deeper connection, and share human wisdom and intelligence that goes way beyond the superficial - and is definitely not artificial.
The LifeSmarts we gain via the experiences that shape our stories, and how we can consciously choose to use them to educate, uplift, and bridge the gaps we've been programmed to see as barriers to truly communicating with one another to connect is at the heart of all the continuous adult education work I do ... whether it's via my writings and LearnCasts audio and videos; the communication-centered live, interactive Mindsets & Skillsets talks and classes I lead; public speaking engagements; my Upgrade Your Leadership Example™ Individual and Team Learning Facilitation and Mentoring opportunities; and Be Kind for a Change™ Message Media.
On this page and others I'll provide a bit of my own lived experiences and stories that led to how I came to do the work I love - and perhaps someday you'll share your own with me.
My Academic Education and Professional Certifications are listed in the bottom section of this page.
My Learning Facilitator Path and Perspectives
In my two+ decades of adult work/life skills Learning and Development facilitation I have designed, developed, and delivered courses, intensives to thousands of learners: corporate employees of Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profit organizations, start-ups, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), community college continuing education programs, in public and private workshops and intensives, and for law officers and first responders. Whether I am teaching in person or via live online/interactive formats, I strive to create what I call “high touch” Learning Experiences for all attendees.
My long-time passion and education in "Whole Systems" Mind+Body well-being merged with my professional focus after I was contracted to teach mindfulness courses for healthy "stress management." My corporate employee students confided to me privately back in 2011 that what is now referred to as toxic workplace leadership and culture was what was making them chronically unwell and unhappy, and I felt it was unethical to promise what I was teaching would counteract that. Unfortunately, the ethical component of traditional mindfulness is often de-emphasized in its modern application, and I wasn't permitted to openly address concerns that many students communicated to me privately – and as a longtime advocate of a healthy and safe workplace “speak up” culture for all employees regardless of their position, that doesn't work for me.
I also stopped teaching mindful awareness Life Skills for stress reduction and shifted to incorporating them into individual and organizational Stress Readiness, Responsiveness, and Resiliency learning programs starting in 2020. Being that I’m someone who wants to get to the “root cause” of any dis-ease and not just put band-aids over symptoms, I'd acquired a degree in Organizational Leadership to compliment the one I had in Psychology and focused upon teaching how to create sustainably healthy, humane, and harmonious workplaces.
My experience taught me that when a training is offered within an organization of any size or type, if it does not become part of their overall culture, and transparently reflected and continuously supported by leadership and managerial staff, it is unlikely to be adopted on a lasting, sustainable basis. This also moved me to speak and write about the importance of living with unbroken integrity in both our personal and professional spheres of influence, which led me to obtain Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance certification, and my Leadership Development work incorporated what I refer to as Ethical Intelligence.
When the huge boom of online "canned" one-and-done self-directed recorded educational courses and workplace trainings accelerated during the Covid pandemic after live, onsite learning evaporated literally overnight, and I scrambled to learn all the technical skills to deliver these types of trainings. Companies profited with all the new LMS technology, but sustainable learning and engagement experiences plummeted. I'd already experienced this myself when I earned my two degrees from ASU online, and while I worked hard to earn Summa Cum Laude for both, I wished I'd been on campus like when I began my college education there, but had to postpone it when divorce, and single parenthood, and Life Itself took precedence until I could finish them both online after I'd moved away from Arizona.
I honestly hated doing it. For me, while online learning has the benefit of reaching people no matter where they live (or even what time it is) and is more learning-budget friendly, for me there is nothing like being in the same room with all the attendees, being able to look into their eyes, see their facial expressions, body language, and laughter (I ALWAYS bring humor into a class), and having the entire dimensions of communication and interaction with one another. Thankfully after Covid had lost its grip on the global human populace, a gradual return to onsite learning began as many people realized that they too wanted what they'd missed. I stopped creating canned trainings, and now only facilitate live onsite and live/online/interactive webinars that do not contain any "edutainment" tricks and tools intended to keep attendees focused and off their phones. In my opinion, if the subject matter, content and my teaching style doesn't keep attendees present and engaged, they aren't going to "learn better" with those other elements.
I've extensively reflected upon and researched what elements of human behavior foster making wise choices in our personal and professional lives - and what doesn't. There is considerable resistance by many people to look deeply at the ways they sabotage their own success and damage relationships by thinking and acting in ways that are harmful to both themselves and others. Words like "ethical" "integrity" "character" "trustworthiness" often prompt ego-driven reactivity and defensiveness as they don't want to admit they don't always embody them, regardless of whether they proclaim them as core values.
The problem is this is extremely damaging in the long run, and all the denial, lame excuses, and justifications they offer up are simply a waste of time and energy when they could instead a) take ownership for their impact and b) commit to choosing differently and create new behavioral habits of response that empower them to lead by contagiously inspiring example in whatever sphere of influence they have in any given situation, interaction or moment - and there are no unimportant situations, interactions or moments.
All I have learned and experienced over the years has culminated into teaching what I describe as “Life Smarts” – the mindsets and skillsets so-called "soft skills" that can make us both wise and empower us to lead by inspiring example regardless of our age, formal education, or life circumstances, and build smart self-identity habits that can be learned by almost anyone - and by doing so make wise choices that will guide them throughout their entire life, and provide them with a legacy they can be both humble and proud of leaving behind when they are gone.
My own years of deep engagement in both personal and professional learning has earned me Subject Matter Expertise (SME) in a interdependent collection of human growth and change skillsets, and that is the foundation of all that I teach, advise, and write about. Continually evolving in my own awareness and knowledge that has led to embodied wisdom is my great joy and passion, and I approach teaching others with extreme reverence and responsibility with the impact of my influence upon them.
As a Leadership Development, Continuous Learning and Growth, and Behavioral Ethics specialist, I have been committed to serve people in upgrading what I call our "Individual Operating System" away from their old, unproductive, status-quo driven one that impedes actualizing their aspirations to become the best and most honorable versions of themselves possible - and to in turn courageously lift up others through their contagiously humane and positive example.
I love to make learning fun, and my “secret sauce” for lasting knowledge retention and positive behavioral habit change includes infusing love, humor, empathy, compassion, curiosity, adventure, and humanity into every Learning Experience. My own years of deep engagement in both personal and professional learning has earned me Subject Matter Expertise (SME) in a interdependent collection of human growth and change skillsets, and that is the foundation of all that I teach, speak, and write about. Continually evolving in my own awareness and knowledge that has led to embodied wisdom is my great joy and passion, and I approach teaching others with extreme reverence and responsibility with the impact of my influence upon them.
Academic Education | Professional Certifications
❖ B.A. in Organizational Leadership, Summa Cum Laude, Arizona State University
❖ B.A. in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude, Arizona State University
❖ Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance Certification (LPEC), ECI/Ethics and Compliance Initiative
❖ Certificate in Psychological First Aid, Johns Hopkins University
❖ Certificate in Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
❖ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, Kaiser-Permanente, San Francisco Medical Center
❖ Mindful Eating for Health Care Professionals training created by Duke University's Integrative Medicine program
❖ Certificate in Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of California, San Francisco, CA
❖ Basic certification in Transformative Conflict Mediation from The Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, which is affiliated with the Maurice A. Dean School of Law at Hofstra University, Hempstead
❖ Diploma in Hypnotherapy from the nationally accredited college Hypnosis Motivation Institute, Los Angeles, California
❖ Certificate in Clinical Hypnotherapy, American Institute of Hypnotherapy (non-accredited), Irvine, California
❖ Certified Massage Therapist and professionally certified in Polarity Therapy, Touch for Health, reflexology, and Chinese acupressure
❖ Becoming a Certified Master Gardener through the University of Illinois Extension and working for many years as an organic garden designer provided a visceral understanding about Systems Thinking, natural cycles, and a reverent relationship with nature essential for holistic human wellbeing. Nature teaches us that change is a constant whether we like it or not, so it's wise to resist fighting it and reframe it as an opportunity and adventure.