Fellows

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Amory B. Lovins, Ph.D.

Amory B. Lovins, Chief Executive Officer (Research) of Rocky Mountain Institute, is a consultant experimental physicist educated at Harvard and Oxford. He has received an Oxford MA (by virtue of being a don), seven honorary doctorates, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood (“Alternative Nobel”), World Technology, and Time Hero for the Planet awards, the Happold Medal, and the Nissan, Shingo, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes. His work focuses on transforming the car, real-estate, electricity, water, semiconductor, and several other manufacturing sectors toward advanced resource productivity. He has briefed 15 heads of state, held several visiting academic chairs, authored or co-authored 27 books (including 1999’s Natural Capitalism) and hundreds of papers, and consulted for scores of industries and governments worldwide. The Wall Street Journal named Mr. Lovins one of 39 people worldwide “most likely to change the course of business in the ’90s”; Newsweek has praised him as “one of the Western world’s most influential energy thinkers”; and Car magazine ranked him the 22nd most powerful person in the global automotive industry. To read more about Dr. Lovins, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Amory Lovins

• A Tale of Two Botanies
• Brittle Times, RMI’s Response
• Security Meltdown

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Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ph.D. (1929-2019)

 

Barbara Marx Hubbard passed away on April 10th, 2019.

You can read the letter released announcing her passing here:  https://www.barbaramarxhubbard.com/barbara-s-health-updates

On April 30th, 2019, her family and friends celebrated her life with a Memorial, which was broadcasted live through Zoom conferencing, sharing her memory through stories and insights. You can watch a recording of the Memorial by following this link:  https://www.agnt.today/inspirations

 

 

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Dr. Barbara Marx Hubbard has been a pioneer in positive options for the future for the past 35 years. A public speaker, author, social innovator and evolutionary teacher, she is President and Executive Director of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution.

A graduate of Bryn Mawr College with a B.A, cum laude in Political Science, Dr. Hubbard studied at La Sorbonne and L’Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris during her Junior Year. In the 1960’s she published one of the first newsletters on evolutionary transformation called The Center Letter in collaboration with Abraham H. Maslow, founder of Humanistic Psychology. She worked closely with Dr. Jonas Salk and was one of the original contributors to the Salk Institute. In the 70’s she co-founded The Committee for the Future in Washington D.C., which developed the New Worlds Educational and Training Center based on her work. She co-produced 25 SYNCON conferences to bring together people from every field and function to seek common goals and match needs and resources in the light of the growing edge potentials of humanity. In 1984 her name was placed in nomination for the Vice Presidency of the United States on the Democratic ticket, proposing a Peace Room in the White House and throughout the world to scan for, map, connect, and communicate what is working. She was one of the original directors of the Center for Soviet American Dialogue and served as a citizen diplomat during the late 80’s. She has been instrumental in the founding of many important organizations and initiatives including the World Future Society, New Dimensions Radio, Global Family, Women of Vision in Action, the Foundation for the Future, the Association for Global New Thought and The Alliance for the Advancement of Conscious Evolution. She was awarded the first Doctorate in Conscious Evolution by Emerson Institute.

Dr. Hubbard has authored five books: The Hunger of Eve: One Woman’s Odyssey toward the Future; The Evolutionary Journey: Your Guide to a Positive Future; Revelation: Our Crisis is a Birth; Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential; Emergence: The Shift from Ego to Essence: 10 Steps to the Universal Human.

Her EVOLVE website (a Global Community Center for Conscious Evolution, at www.evolve.org) serves as an education, resource and communication hub to foster synergy and cooperation among organizations and communities worldwide. She has launched a first on-line evolutionary educational program (available within EVOLVE) called Gateway to Conscious Evolution, It offers a new developmental path to the next stage of human evolution, linking global participants with key ideas and innovators now building a positive future. Through this work, communities dedicated to conscious evolution are being fostered. The Conscious Evolution Community in Santa Barbara is serving as a global model of future-creating community. Through interviews and tele-lectures with guest colleagues she is initiating a communication outreach for the emerging world, and through live presentations she powerfully communicates the New World view of Conscious Evolution as a guiding perspective during this period of radical change.

Dr. Hubbard is the mother of five and the grandmother of 6, and resides in Santa Barbara, CA. To read more about Dr. Marx Hubbard, visit her personal site.

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Cynthia Cherrey, Ph.D.

Cynthia Cherrey, the vice president for student affairs at Tulane University who helped lead the New Orleans school through one of the most challenging periods in its history, has been named the vice president for campus life at Princeton University. Her appointment is effective Aug. 1.

Cherrey, who also is the dean of students and a clinical professor in the A.B. Freeman School of Business, has been at Tulane since 2003.

From 1989 to 2003, Cherrey worked at the University of Southern California, serving ultimately as an associate vice president for student affairs and as a clinical associate professor in the Rossier School of Education. She received several honors there, including the Mahogany Leadership Award from the Black Student Assembly and Faculty of the Year by the Order of Omega. She led undergraduate courses in communication studies and graduate courses in educational administration and policy. At Tulane, she has taught primarily a freshman class on leadership and politics.

An authority on organizational leadership, Cherrey has been president since 2000 of the International Leadership Association, a global network of leadership scholars and practitioners. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in areas of leadership, organizational development and higher education. She also has served as co-editor of a publication series and co-written a book about leadership. She has been a speaker at conferences and events in the United States and abroad.

Cherrey was an invited participant in the W.K. Kellogg Leadership project to advance leadership knowledge, education and practice for the 21st century. She is a senior fellow at the James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. To read more about Dr. Cherrey, visit her personal site.

Academy Articles by Cynthia Cherrey:

• Seeing and Leading Organic Systems

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David Gershon

David Gershon, co-founder and CEO of Empowerment Institute, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on behavior-change, community empowerment and large-system transformation, and applies this expertise to issues requiring community, organizational, and societal change. His clients include cities, large organizations, government agencies, and social entrepreneurs. He has addressed a wide diversity of issues ranging from low carbon lifestyles, livable neighborhoods, and sustainable communities to organizational talent development, corporate social engagement, and cultural transformation. Over the past thirty years the empowerment programs he has designed have won many awards, and a major academic research study described them as “unsurpassed in changing behavior.”

David used this empowerment proficiency to conceive and organize at the height of the cold war, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund and ABC Television, one of the planet’s first major global consciousness-raising initiatives—the First Earth Run. Building on his background as the Director of the Lake Placid Olympic Torch Relay, he used the mythic power of relaying a torch of peace around the world to engage the participation of twenty-five million people in sixty-two countries, the world’s political leadership and, through the media, an estimated 20 percent of the planet’s population in an act of global unity. Millions of dollars were also raised as part of this event to help UNICEF provide care for the neediest children of the world.

David is the author of eleven books, including the award-winning Social Change 2.0: A Blueprint for Reinventing Our World, and best-sellers Low Carbon Diet: A 30 Day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds and, with his wife Gail Straub, Empowerment: The art of Creating Your Life As You Want It. He co-directs Empowerment Institute’s School for Transformative Social Change which empowers change agents from around the world to design and implement cutting edge social innovations. He has lectured at Harvard, MIT, and Johns Hopkins and served as an advisor to the Clinton White House and the United Nations on behavior change and community empowerment issues. To read more about David Gershon, visit his personal site.

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David Krieger, Ph.D. (1942-2023)

In Memoriam

 

David Krieger is a founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and has served as President of the Foundation since 1982. Under his leadership the Foundation has initiated many innovative and important projects for building peace, strengthening international law, abolishing nuclear weapons and empowering new peace leaders. Dr. Krieger has lectured throughout the United States, Europe and Asia on issues of peace, security, international law, and the abolition of nuclear weapons. He has received many awards for his work for a more peaceful and nuclear weapons-free world, including three awards for Peace Writing by the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology for his three books of poetry. He has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC and many other national and international television and radio shows.

Dr. Krieger holds leadership positions in many other civil society organizations working for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. He is one of 50 Councilors of the World Future Council, which seeks to be a voice for future generations, and serves as chair of the Council’s Peace and Disarmament Working Group. He is the Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility. He also serves as a member of the Executive Committee and International Steering Committee of the Middle Powers Initiative, which works with middle power governments to promote progress toward nuclear disarmament. Dr. Krieger is a founder and a member of the Global Council of Abolition 2000, a global network of over 2000 organizations and municipalities committed to the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

He is the author of many studies of peace in the Nuclear Age. He has written or edited more than 20 volumes and has written hundreds of articles and book chapters. His latest book is The Path to Zero: Dialogues on Nuclear Dangers (2012). Other books he has written or edited are: Never Enough Flowers: The Poetry of Peace II (2012) Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action (2011); God’s Tears; Reflections on the Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2010), published in Japanese and English; The Challenge of Abolishing Nuclear Weapons (2009); At the Nuclear Precipice: Catastrophe or Transformation? (2008); The Doves Flew High (2007); Joseph Rotblat – Visionary for Peace (2007); Today Is Not a Good Day for War (2005); Hold Hope, Wage Peace (2005); Einstein – Peace Now! (2005); Peace 100 Ideas (2003); Hope in a Dark Time, Reflections on Humanity’s Future (2003); The Poetry of Peace (2003); Choose Hope, Your Role in Waging Peace in the Nuclear Age (2002); A Maginot Line in the Sky; International Perspectives on Ballistic Missile Defense (2001); Nuclear Weapons and the World Court (1998); Waging Peace II, Vision and Hope for the 21st Century (1992); Waging Peace in the Nuclear Age, Ideas for Action (1988); Disarmament and Development: The Challenge of the International Control and Management of Dual-Purpose Technologies (1981); and The Tides of Change, Peace, Pollution and Potential of the Oceans (1975).

Dr. Krieger is the recipient of the Earth Charter Award for Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace by Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions (2011); the PeaceWriting Award for Poetry of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology (2010); The Golden Dove (2009); Occidental College Alumnus of the Year (2008); the PeaceWriting Award for Poetry of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology (2007); the Freedom from War Peace Leadership Award (2006); Global Green’s Millennium Award for International Environmental Leadership (2005); the PeaceWriting Award for Poetry of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology (2005); the Peace Educator of the Year Award of the Consortium of Peace Research, Education and Development (2001); the Gakudo Peace Award of the Ozaki Yukio Memorial Foundation (2001); Soka Gakkai Hiroshima Peace Award (2000); Peace Award of the International Journal of Humanities and Peace (2000); Soka Gakkai International Peace and Culture Award (1997); Soka University Award of Highest Honor (1997); Peace Award of the War and Peace Foundation (1996); Big Canvas Award of Santa Barbara Magazine (1996); and the Bronze Medal of the Hungarian Engineers for Peace (1995).

He serves on the Advisory Council of Free the Children International (Toronto), Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation (London), Right Livelihood Foundation (Sweden), the International Council of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide (Israel), the International Institute for Peace (Vienna), Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence (Virginia), Mayors for Peace (Hiroshima), the Peace Resources Cooperative (Yokohama), the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (Sweden), the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (New York), the Foundation for Conscious Evolution (Santa Barbara), and Peace Media (peacejournalism.com). He is a member of the Committee of 100 for Tibet.

Dr. Krieger served as Panel Chair of the Citizens’ Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq, held in Tacoma, Washington in 2007, and as a member of the Jury of Conscience of the World Tribunal on Iraq, held in Istanbul in 2005.

In his early career he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii and San Francisco State University. He worked at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions on issues of international law, ocean governance, nuclear terrorism and disarmament; and at the Foundation for Reshaping the International Order (RIO Foundation) in the Netherlands on the effects of dual-purpose technologies on disarmament, development and the environment.

He is a graduate of Occidental College, and holds MA and Ph.D. degrees in political science from the University of Hawaii as well as a J.D. from the Santa Barbara College of Law. Dr. Krieger served for 20 years as a judge pro tem for the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

He is married and has three children. His interests include tennis, hiking and poetry.

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David L. Cooperrider

David L. Cooperrider is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Professor Cooperrider is past President of the National Academy of Management’s OD Division and has lectured at Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Katholieke University in Belgium, MIT, University of Michigan, Cambridge and others. Currently David serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, a new “school within the school” focused on business and society leadership, at the Weatherhead School of Management.

David has served as researcher and advisor in the arena of sustainable development to a wide variety of organizations including, for example, Yellow Roadway Corp., Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, McCann-Erickson, Nutrimental Foods, World Vision, Cleveland Clinic, American Red Cross, and United Way of America. Most of the projects are inspired by the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology for which Professor Cooperrider is best known. His founding work in this area is creating a positive revolution in the leadership of change; it is helping companies all over the world discover the power of the strength-based approaches to planning and multi-stakeholder cooperation. Admiral Clark, the CNO of the Navy, for example met with David to bring AI into the Navy for a multiyear project on “Bold and Enlightened Naval Leadership”. And in June 2004 Cooperrider was asked by the United Nations Global Compact to design and facilitate a historic, unprecedented Summit meeting between Kofi Annan and 500 business leaders to “unite the strengths of markets with the authority of universal ideals to make globalization work for everyone.” Cooperrider’s work is especially important because of its ability to enable the transformation toward sustainable value in systems of very large and complex scale.

David’s often serves as meeting speaker and leader of large group, interactive conference events. His dynamic ideas on sustainable development and appreciative inquiry have been published in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Human Relations, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Management Inquiry, The OD Practitioner, and in research series such as Advances in Strategic Management. More popularly, Professor Cooperrider’s work has been covered by The New York Times; Forbes Magazine; Science, Fast Company, Fortune, Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, Biz Ed and others. He has been recipient of Best Paper of the Year Awards at the Academy of Management and top researcher and best teacher awards at Case. Numerous clients have likewise received awards for their work with Appreciative Inquiry. Among his highest honors David was invited to design a series of dialogues among 25 of the world’s top religious leaders, started by His Holiness the Dalai Lama who said, “If only the world’s religious leaders could just know each other, the world will be a better place.” Using AI, the group has held meetings in Jerusalem and at the Carter Center with President Jimmy Carter. David was recognized in 2000 as among “the top ten visionaries” in the field by Training Magazine and in 2004 received a major award in Washington D.C. for “distinguished contribution” to the field of organizational learning from the American Society for Training and Development.

David has published 13 books and authored over 60 articles and chapters. Cooperrider’s volumes include the best selling Appreciative Inquiry published by Berrett-Kohler (with Diana Whitney); The Organizational Dimensions of Global Change (with Jane Dutton); Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage and Appreciative Management and Leadership (both with Suresh Srivastva). David is editor of a new academic book series Advances in Appreciative Inquiry (with Michel Avital) published by Elsevier Science. David’s wife Nancy is an artist. His son Daniel is a philosophy of religion major at University of Chicago, and Hannah and Matt have just finished high school in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.  To read more about David Cooperrider, visit his personal site.

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Dipak C. Jain, Ph.D.

Dipak C. Jain has been named Dean of  INSEAD, the international business school based in Fontainebeau, France which also has campuses in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Bloomberg Businessweek ranked INSEAD #1 in its “Best International Business Schools 2010.”

From 2001-2009, Jain served as Dean of the Kellogg School of Management, where he had been a faculty member since 1987. More recently he has been the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and a professor of marketing at Kellogg. For the five years prior to his appointment as Dean of Kellogg, he served as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Dean Jain’s areas of research include the marketing of high-tech products; market segmentation and competitive market structure analysis; cross-cultural issues in global product diffusion; new product diffusion; and forecasting models. He has had more than 50 articles published in leading academic journals.

In 2003, he was appointed as a foreign affairs adviser for the Prime Minister of Thailand. He has served as a consultant to Microsoft, Novartis, American Express, Sony, Nissan, Motorola, Eli Lilly, Phillips and Hyatt International. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of Hartmarx Corporation, Deere & Company, Northern Trust Corporation and Reliance Industries (India). He is also a former director at United Airlines and Peoples Energy.

His long career in education began as a student in Tezpur (Assam), India. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics in 1976 and his master’s degree in mathematical statistics in 1978 from Gauhati University in India. He taught at Gauhati for the next five years before leaving for Dallas to pursue his Ph.D. in marketing at the University of Texas. In addition to his positions at the Kellogg School, Dean Jain has been a visiting professor of marketing since 1989 at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. To read more about Dr. Jain, visit his personal site.

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Don E. Beck, Ph.D. (1937-2022)

In Memoriam

Don E. Beck, Ph.D. has been the prototype for activists in the new millennium. His dedication to service and discovery saw him become profoundly involved in global ventures that continue to grow in scope and gather momentum.

In 1981, having taught for 20 years and been listed as “Outstanding Educator in America,” Dr. Beck chose to resign his professorship to dedicate himself to serving in the South African transformation process.

From that pivotal point in his life, Beck worked at the highest levels of social concern. Between 1981 and 2002, he made 63 trips to South Africa, working behind the scene with political, business, and religious leaders, and the general public in the transition from apartheid to democracy. He was honored in 1996 by a Joint Resolution of the Texas House and Senate with these words: “The Texas House and Senate takes great pride in commending a truly remarkable Texan, Dr. Don Edward Beck, for his invaluable contributions toward the peaceful creation of a democratic South Africa.”

In addition to serving alongside Nelson Mandela on the creation of deep reconciliation strategies in the post-apartheid South Africa, Dr. Beck consulted with Tony Blair and his Policy Unit in search for new ways to implement “Third Way” initiatives in the UK and abroad, and with Bill Clinton in discussing racial issues in USA. He also worked with the Singapore government and the Mexican government.

While much of Dr. Beck’s work was in the area of large-scale systems change, he was also active for more than 30 years in working with corporate leaders, public institutions, educational enterprises, and not-for-profit agencies on transformation. He was unique in that he moved freely between cutting-edge academic and scientific theories of value formation and change, and a proficiency in implementing practical and highly effective change in the real world.

Spiral Dynamics Integral 

Dr. Beck has inspired thousands of people toward a new experience of organizational and personal empowerment through Spiral Dynamics (Spiral Dynamics Integral), his unique values-based model that charts the evolution and emergence of human nature.

Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi), concerns itself with the deep complexity codes that shape our many worlds. The model describes and makes sense of the enormous complexity of human existence, and then shows how to craft elegant, systemic problem-solutions that meet people and address situations where they are.

Conceived and led by Dr. Beck, SDi is an advanced extension and elaboration of the biopsychosocial systems concept originated by the late Dr. Clare W. Graves of Union College, New York, and later developed as Spiral Dynamics—a model that Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine rather grandly dubbed “The Theory that Explains Everything.”

Beck built upon Spiral Dynamics in the development of a powerful new conceptual system, called MeshWORKS: The Search for Human Cohesion in a World of Fragmentation, which enables the essential process of integrating, aligning, and synergizing resources, especially at the community and local levels, to meet the needs of people at different stages of development (MESHWORKS).

Dr. Beck’s achievements:

• Founder in 2004 of the Center for Human Emergence

• Founding Partner of The National Values Center in Denton, Texas

• President and CEO of The Spiral Dynamics Group, Inc., a global enterprise

• Member of The American Psychological Association; The World Future Society; The International Paleopsychology Project, and the “Cadre-of-Experts on Ethnopolitical Violence,” named by the American and Canadian Psychological Associations.

• Head of PhD program at Adizes Graduate School •    Associate Professor, Conoco Corporate University

• Founder, The Institute for Values & Culture

• Fellow of the George Gallup Institute at Princeton. Beck was named outstanding professor at the University of North Texas in 1978; named an Honor Professor in 1979. He was also team psychologist for South African Springbok, winners of the 1995 World Cup Rugby competition.

• Beck is coauthor of Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership & Change (1996).

To read more about Dr. Beck, visit his personal site.

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Eddie Erlandson, M.D.

Eddie Erlandson brings a unique background as a physician and business leader to helping executives make needed changes. He uses his understanding of the science of stress and change, drawing on 25 years experience as a vascular surgeon and co-founder a Wellness program. He uses the technique of Resets to help people modulate their own physiology for enhanced and sustained impact as a leader. He models his commitment to fitness by participating in over 50 marathons and ultra-marathons.

He is a popular keynote presenter, as well as a coach and facilitator for teambuilding offsites. He has worked with executive teams across a number of industries, including high tech, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, services, government and sports. To read more about Dr. Erlandson, visit his personal site.

 

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Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. (1936–2024)

Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. is an evolution biologist, futurist, author, speaker and consultant on Living Systems Design. Showing the relevance of evolving biological systems to organizational design, she travels as a speaker in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. She makes television and radio appearances in addition to live speeches and workshops.

Dr. Sahtouris is a citizen of the United States and of Greece, with a Canadian Ph.D. She did her post-doctoral work at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, taught at the University of Massachusetts and M.I.T., was a science writer for the HORIZON/ NOVA TV series. She was invited to China by the Chinese National Science Association, organized Earth Celebrations 2000 in Athens, Greece and has been a United Nations consultant on indigenous peoples. She is a participant in the Humanity 3000 dialogues of the Foundation for the Future, the Synthesis Dialogues with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, and consults with corporations and government organizations in Australia, Brazil and the USA.

Dr. Sahtouris uses nature’s principles and practice, revealed in biological evolution, as useful models for organizational change. She applies them in the corporate world, in global politics and economics, in our efforts to create sustainable health and well being for humanity within the larger living systems of Earth. To read more about Dr. Sahtouris, visit her personal site.

Academy Articles by Elisabet Sahtouris:

• Celebrating Crisis: Towards a Culture of Cooperation
• The Biology of Globalization
• The Biology of Business: New Laws of Nature Reveal a Better Way for Business (Part 1)
• The Biology of Business: New Laws of Nature Reveal a Better Way for Business (Part 2)

Watch Dr. Sahtouris’s recent TEDx presentation “East and West in our Global Family”:

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Ervin Laszlo, Ph.D.

Dr. Ervin Laszlo is a Fellow of the World Business Academy.  He is the Founder and President of the Club of Budapest, President of theWorldShift Network, the Founder of the General Evolution Research Group, Co-Chair of the World Wisdom Council, Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, Senator of the International Medici Academy, and Editor of the international periodical World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution.  He has a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne and is the recipient of honorary Ph.D.’s from the United States, Canada, Finland, and Hungary.

Dr. Laszlo is the recipient of the Peace Prize of Japan (the Goi Award), and the International Mandir of Peace Prize in Assisi, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the author or co-author of 54 books translated into 23 languages, and the editor of another 31 including his new book,WorldShift 2012: Making Green Business, New Politics, and Higher Consciousness Work Together.

Earlier this year, with Marco Roveda, he electronically published a free e-book, Finding Bliss in the Shift, which describes the roots of our global sustainability crisis and the way we can overcome it through a shift in consciousness. To read more about  Dr.Laszlo, visit his personal site.

 

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F. Byron (Ron) Nahser, Ph.D.

Managing Director for CORPORANTES, Inc., an outgrowth of The Nahser Agency/Advertising, Dr. Nahser is currently a Senior Wicklander Fellow at DePaul University’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics and also Provost Emeritus of Presidio School of Management, San Francisco (offering the first accredited MBA in Sustainable Management). He lectures and consults with business and academic audiences in the US and internationally on business values, vision, marketing strategy, branding, social responsibility and integrative sustainable management.

The author of Learning to Read the Signs: Reclaiming Pragmatism in Business and Journeys to Oxford:  Nine Pragmatic Inquiries into the Practice of Values in Business and Education, he has developed a strategic business problem-solving model known as PathFinder Pragmatic Inquiry® which has been used by more than 100 organizations and thousands of participants including 3M, Levi-Strauss & CO., The Quaker Oats Company, Time Inc., Harris Bank, Kellogg School of Management, Stanford GSB, Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business,  DePaul University Kellstadt GSB, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, Presidio School of Management, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and many others.

The former chairman, president, and CEO of The Nahser Agency of Chicago, serving such advertisers as The Quaker Oats Co., CNA Insurance, Harris Bank, Schwinn Bicycle Co., Merlin’s 200,000 Mile Shops, Solo Cup Co., and Florsheim Shoe Co., Dr. Nahser earned a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, an MA degree in Religious Studies from Loyola/Mundelein College and the Ph.D. in American Business Philosophy from DePaul University.

In his four-year term as Provost and Co-CEO at Presidio School of Management, he re-positioned and re-branded the college, guided the faculty, refined and integrated the educational philosophy and the School’s curriculum and executive education program; and placed paramount emphasis on helping individual students discover their true callings through their careers, and organizations to connect their strategies with their values and vision.

Having successfully completed the first five iterations of the MBA program and played a major role in growing the School by ten-fold, from 22 students in 2004 to 220 students in 2008, Ron has been conferred the title “Provost Emeritus” by the College’s Board of Directors. As Senior Wicklander Fellow at DePaul’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, he is nowleading the launch of an Executive Education Program on Integrative Sustainable Management.

He is also a Curator of the Willis Harman Archive and the Founding Partner of the Oxford Leadership Academy in USA. To read more about Dr. Nahser, visit his personal site.

 

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George Land, Ph.D. (1932-2016)

In Memoriam

George Land was an author, speaker, consultant, and general systems scientist. In 1965 he founded a research and consulting institute to study the enhancement of creative performance. This research ultimately led to the formulation of Transformation Theory-a theory of natural processes that integrates principles of creativity, growth, and change. From these principles, Dr. Land developed unique strategic thinking and innovation processes for organizations. He invented the first computer-interactive approaches to group innovation, decision-making, and strategic thinking. His exceptional processes are now licensed by over 400 major corporations worldwide. Dr. Land has also taught interdisciplinary science and creative/innovative process to the faculties of some three dozen universities. Among his articles and books is his seminal work Grow or Die: the Unifying Principle of Transformation. Originally published in 1973 by Random House, it was a main selection of the Saturday Review Book Club and was submitted Random House as its nominee in the science category for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. With Dr. Beth Jarman he co-authored Breakpoint Beyond: Mastering the Future – Today, published by HarperCollins in 1993 now also available in Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish and Korean. Dr. Land has been elected a senior fellow of the University of Minnesota, a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences for his outstanding contributions to science, and a colleague and fellow of the Creative Education Foundation. In 1989, Dr. Land received the Outstanding Creative Achievement Award from the Creative Education Foundation for his lifetime achievements in creativity. In 1995, the Innovative Thinking Network created the George Land World Class Innovator Award in honor of Dr. Land. His listings include Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. He passed away in March 2016, but his work on Transformation Theory and creativity will continue to impact the world for decades to come.

Academy Articles by George Land

• Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future – Today

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Harrison Owen (1935-2024)

In Memoriam

Harrison Owen is President of H.H.Owen and Co. His academic background and training centered on the nature and function of myth, ritual and culture. In the middle ’60s, he left academe to work with a variety of organizations including small West African villages, urban (American and African) community organizations, Peace Corps, Regional Medical Programs, National Institutes of Health, and Veterans Administration. Along the way he discovered that his study of myth, ritual and culture had direct application to these social systems. In 1979 he created H.H.Owen and Company in order to explore the culture of organizations in transformation as a theorist and practicing consultant. Harrison convened the First International Symposium on Organization Transformation, and is the originator of Open Space Technology. He is the author of Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, Leadership Is, Riding the Tiger, Open Space Technology: A Users Guide (Second Edition. Berrett-Koehler), The Millennium Organization, Tales From Open Space (editor), Expanding Our Now: The Story of Open Space Technology (Berrett-Koehler), The Spirit of Leadership (Berrett-Koehler), The Power of Spirit: How Organizations Transform (Berrett- Koehler) and The Practice of Peace (Human Systems Dynamics Institute).

Client Engagements and Presentations: Owens/Corning Fiberglas, Procter and Gamble, Dupont, Eastern Virginia Medical Authority, Shell/Netherlands, Shell Tankers (Dutch), Shell/Canada, The French Ministry of Telecommunications (PTT), The US Forest Service, The US Internal Revenue Service, Jonathan Corporation, The US Army, Ikea (Sweden), Statoil (Norway), SAS Airlines, Young Presidents Organization, City University Business School (London), Gronigen University Business School (Holland), Taj Hotel Group (India), Congresso De Desarrollo Organizacional (Mexico), PepsiCola (Venezuela), National Education Association, Toronto-Dominion Bank (Canada), American Management Systems, American Society of Training and Development, Scott Paper, TELCEL/Venezuela, The American Society of Association Executives, The Presbyterian Church (USA), The Accor Hotel Group (France), Ermetek Corp (South Africa), The Union of International Associations (Belgium), Rockport Shoes, Corporate Express, The World Bank, AT&T, IBM, USWEST, The Organization Development Network, Lucent Technologies, Park-Davis Pharmaceuticals, Phillip Morris, and The Bank of Montreal. To read more about Harrison, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Harrison Owen

• Learning for Free
• Endings and New Beginnings: A Different Kind of Plant Closing
• Sustaining Spirit with Structure
• How is the Spirit?
• A Transformative Moment …Now
• The Business of Business is Learning

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Helen Palmer

Helen Palmer is the author of five international best-selling books in the literature of consciousness. Her works include: The Enneagram: Exploring the Nine Psychological types and Their Inter-Relationships in Love and Life, The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate & Business Relationships, The Enneagram: Understand Yourself and the Other in Your Life, and The Pocket Enneagram: Understanding the 9 Types of People. Her most recent book, The Enneagram Advantage: Putting the 9 Personality Types to Work in the Office, pinpoints the interpersonal dimension in teambuilding, coaching, communication and motivation. She consults internationally, presents lectures and regularly conducts workshops on the issues addressed in her books. To read more about Helen, visit her personal site.

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James B. Channon (1940-2017)

James B. Channon was born in 1940 and passed away September 10th, 2017.

Recognized worldwide as the original pioneer of the corporate visioning process he has been a trusted strategic designer for ten of the world’s hundred largest companies. He was the lead futurist and educational technologist for the U.S. Army. Jim has been described as a cross between Buckminster Fuller and Walt Disney. He created advanced visual language AVL and the virtual reality exercise VRX. He has done cultural voyaging with tribal groups worldwide. Presently his social architecture looks toward a new Pacific renaissance. Jim recently produced a thirty-hour theatrical outdoor adventure for three hundred business people in the great central desert in Western Australia. He is a lover of life, the fastest magic marker on the planet and a spell-binding story teller. To read more about James Channon, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by James Channon:

• The Ancient Art of Storytelling
• The 21st Century
• The Planet Is Twinkling With Connections
• Global MindChange Forum Discovers New Players Who Raise the Bar on the 100-Year Vision
• One People = One Planet
• The Global Mythology
• Responsibility for the Whole
• Project EarthRise: The Fellows’ 100-Year Positive Vision for the Earth
• The Strategic Vision: It’s More Than Meets the Eye
• Three Paradigm Shifts

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James “Mitch” Ewan

James “Mitch” Ewan is truly a leader in the hydrogen and fuel cell field. Mr. Ewan is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada. After a successful naval career that included command of diesel-electric submarines and a destroyer, Mr. Ewan entered private industry where he served in a variety of senior executive positions including senior management (Board Member, VP & GM) of publicly traded companies.  

His hydrogen and fuel cell career spans over 30 years. He led the team that designed and built the “Green Car”, the world’s first PEM fuel cell powered automobile. Mr. Ewan is the former Co-Chair of the United States National Hydrogen Association and served on the Business Advisory Board of the Florida Solar Energy Center. For the past 19 years Mr. Ewan has been on the staff of the University of Hawaii’s Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (“HNEI”) as the Hydrogen Systems Program Manager where he is helping to develop HNEI’s hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell programs including two hydrogen production and fueling stations, and three fuel cell electric buses.  

He is the host of the ThinkTech Hawaii weekly energy show entitled “Hawaii: The State of Clean Energy.” Mitch also serves on the advisory boards of several renewable energy and hydrogen related companies. He has been awarded two hydrogen-related patents.

Mr. Ewan also has several publications dealing with hydrogen and fuel cell energy. To read them, visit his publications page. For more on Mr. Ewan’s resume, visit his LinkedIn page.

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Jayantilal (Andy) K. Chande (1928-2017)

Sir Jayantilal K. Chande was born May 7, 1928 and passed away April 6, 2017.

Born in Kenya, Andy, who was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, was a fellow of the International Academy of Management and of the Chartered Management Institute, England. He had an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from International Management Centres, England, and a Consulting Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation (International Multi-Disciplinary Research Group). He was also a member of the Conference Board, New York, and of the Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California.

A former Member of Parliament in Tanzania, he had served on the country’s Executive Council – the highest governing organ. He had served either as Chairman or as a member of the Board of Directors of a number of private and public companies and of government and multi-government corporations including East African Railways Corporation, East African Harbours Corporation, Tanzania Harbours Authority, Air Tanzania Corporation and Tanzania Tourist Corporation. He was Chairman of Tanzania Railways Corporation and of Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited.

Andy was advisor to the Ministerial Committee of the Organization of African Unity dealing with the Arab League on the oil crisis. He was the deputy leader of Tanzania’s delegation to the UN Preparatory Committee for the Rio Conference on Environment and Development. He was elected to serve as the coordinator between the countries in G77 (and China) and G7 on fiscal environmental facility and participated in the Rio Summit.

Andy was a Board Member of the Muhimbili National Hospital – the largest teaching Hospital in Tanzania and Founder of a school for deaf children in Dar es Salaam. He was actively associated with many other educational, social and welfare institutions.

Andy is survived by his wife Jayli. They have three sons and three grandchildren. To read more about Jayantilal Chande, visit his personal site.

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Jean Houston, Ph.D.

Dr. Jean Houston, scholar, philosopher and researcher in Human Capacities, is one of the foremost visionary thinkers and doers of our time. She is long regarded as one of the principal founders of the Human Potential Movement.

In 1965, along with her husband Dr. Robert Masters, Dr. Houston founded The Foundation for Mind Research. She is also the founder and principal teacher of the Mystery School, a program of cross-cultural, mythic and spiritual studies, dedicated to teaching history, philosophy, the New Physics, psychology, anthropology, myth and the many dimensions of human potential. The Mystery School began in 1983 and takes place on both the East and West Coasts annually.

Dr. Houston is a prolific writer and author of 26 published books, including A Passion for the Possible, The Possible Human, Public Like a Frog, A Mythic Life: Learning to Live Our Greater Story, and The Passion of Isis and Osiris. Her book Jump Time explores a new Global Paradigm and speaks boldly of a re-genesis of human society. The questions raised in this book and the exciting suggestion of possibilities are producing new pioneers – Social Artists – working on the frontiers of this new global society. As well as the Mystery School, Dr. Houston offers seminars in Social Artistry.

A powerful and dynamic speaker, she holds conferences and seminars with social leaders, educational institutions and business organizations worldwide. Dr. Houston has worked intensively in 40 cultures helping to enhance and deepen their own uniqueness while they become part of the global community. She has worked in over 100 countries and is the recipient of many awards. She works at all levels of leadership and is currently broadening her work with the United Nations as a Senior Advisor to the UNDP – training leaders in developing countries this new field of Social Artistry (human development in the light of social complexity).

In 2007, Dr. Houston received a mandate from Dr. Monica Sharma, the Director of Leadership and Capacity Development for the United Nations to train 10,000 trainers, who in turn will be training some 100 million people worldwide by 2017.

Jean Houston’s ability to inspire and invigorate people enables her to readily convey her vision – the finest possible achievement of the individual potential – while sharing with her audiences and students throughout the world the inner fire and excitement of that possibility!

Academy Articles by Jean Houston:

• Our Evolutionary Journey: It’s Jump Time
• We are all New Yorkers

 

Contact Information

Phone: (541) 488-1200

Fax: (541) 488-3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.jeanhouston.org

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Joseph Jaworski

Joseph Jaworski has devoted much of his life to exploring the deeper dimensions of transformational leadership. As founder and Chairman of both Generon International and the Global Leadership Initiative, Joseph advises CEOs and senior executives in Fortune 500 companies. He specializes in the design and execution of large-scale organizational change as well as strategy formation and implementation. He is a pioneer and prominent thought leader in the discipline of ‘Strategic Foresight’, enabling leaders to deepen their capacity for tactical and strategic insight.

Joseph began his professional career as an attorney at Bracewell, a prominent international law firm, where he was a senior partner and a member of the executive committee. In 1975, he was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor awarded to the top 1% of American litigators. In addition, he ran a successful horse-breeding operation (Circle J Enterprises) and helped found several businesses including a life insurance company and an oil refining company.

In 1980, Joseph founded the American Leadership Forum, a non-governmental organization dedicated to strengthening collaborative civic leadership in the United States. Ten years later, he joined the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies in London to head Shell’s renowned team of scenario planners. Under his leadership, the Shell team made a fundamental shift in the way the company framed and used scenarios as a tool for strategy formation. Joseph encouraged the company to use scenarios not merely to adapt to different possible futures, but to generate—to participate in bringing forth—better futures.

Joseph returned to the U.S. as a senior fellow and member of the Board of Governors of the MIT Center for Organizational Learning, later co-founding the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL). Jaworski is the author of the critically acclaimed international best-seller, Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership (2nd Edition released June 6, 2011). He is also co-author of Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society (Doubleday/SoL, 2005), which explores the collaborative development of a new theory of profound innovation and change.

Joseph’s most recent book, Source: The Inner Path of Knowledge Creation, was published in January 2012. That book describes the development of the process of Generative Discovery, which enables organizations, teams and individuals to access the source from which truly profound innovation and discovery flow.

Jaworski currently resides in Wimberley, Texas. To read more about Joseph, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Joseph Jaworski

• Leadership – Six Essential Elements

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Kate Ludeman, Ph.D.

Kate Ludeman is a widely recognized executive coach, speaker and author. In 1988, Kate founded Worth Ethic Corporation. Her BS in engineering and PhD in psychology give her a unique approach when working with analytical, data-oriented executives who want to expand their emotional intelligence and create company cultures where people perform at their highest potential.

With 20 years of experience, Kate has worked with over 1,000 senior executives in a wide range of industries. She has coached CEOs, presidents and vice presidents in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America as well as the United States. Previously, she was Vice President of Human Resources for a high-tech Silicon Valley company.

In 1999, Kate was a featured speaker at the Fortune Magazine Summit of the Best and Most Admired Companies. In 1998, Worth Ethic was ranked on Inc. Magazine’s List of 500 Fastest Growing Companies, and Executive Women International honored Kate with the Ma Ferguson Award for Excellence in Business.

Her fourth book, Radical Change, Radical Results was released in May, 2003. Her previous books include The Worth Ethic, Earn What Youýre Worth, and The Corporate Mystic, now in its eighth printing.

Kate has written articles for Harvard Business Review, the New York Times and dozens of business publications.

In 1991-1992, Kate wrote and filmed Work-Wise, a weekly TV column for a news show aired by San Francisco’s ABC affiliate, which was nominated for an Emmy. Kate has appeared on more than 100 television and radio programs and hosted a portion of “Good Morning, Dallas” for a year. To read more about Dr.Ludeman, visit her personal site.

 

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Lance H. Secretan, Ph.D.

Lance Secretan is a pathfinder and missionary, and one of the world’s foremost thinkers about leadership, inspiring people at work and reawakening spirit and values in work and life. A master teacher, Dr. Secretan works with a gifted worldwide faculty changing the lives of people and companies and revolutionizing the way they think about leadership. He is an international best-selling author, an award winning columnist, philosopher, corporate healer, and one of North America s most sought-after keynote speakers, retreat leaders, and business advisors. Voted one of the nation’s top ten speakers, and one of the twenty-first Century’s most influential, he addresses audiences around the world. One in five of Industry Week’s 100 Best-Managed Companies are among his clients. Lance was the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the 1997 Special Olympics World Winter Games and former Ambassador to the United Nations Environment Program. In recognition of a lifetime of caring about people and the planet, Lance was awarded the prestigious International Caring Award (the US equivalent of the Nobel Prize), whose other recipients include Mother Teresa and Jane Goodall. The International Management Council has also recognized his contribution to leadership with the McFeely Leadership Award. Lance lives with his wife Tricia and their wonder dog, Spirit, on the edge of a 700-acre wilderness in Ontario, Canada. To read more about Dr. Secretan, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Lance Secretan:

• Inspire: Guiding the Contribution of Brilliance
• ONE: The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership, Part I
• ONE: The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership, Part II

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Lester R. Brown

The Washington Post called Lester Brown “one of the world’s most influential thinkers.” The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as “the guru of the environmental movement.” In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources.”

Brown started his career as a farmer, growing tomatoes in southern New Jersey with his younger brother during high school and college. Shortly after earning a degree in agricultural science from Rutgers University in 1955, he spent six months living in rural India where he became intimately familiar with the food/population issue. In 1959 Brown joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service as an international agricultural analyst.

Brown earned masters degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland and in public administration from Harvard. In early 1969, he helped establish the Overseas Development Council.

In 1974, with support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lester Brown founded the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues.

Brown has authored or coauthored 50 books. One of the world’s most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages. His most recent book is World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse.

In May 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. In November 2001, he published Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, which was hailed by E.O. Wilson as “an instant classic.”

He is the recipient of many prizes and awards, including 25 honorary degrees, a MacArthur Fellowship, the 1987 United Nations’ Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his “exceptional contributions to solving global environmental problems.” More recently, he was was selected one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers of 2010. To read more about Lester Brown, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Lester Brown:

• Wind Power: The Missing Link to Bush’s Energy Plan
• Eco-Economy Offers Alternative to Middle East Oil
• World Wind Generating Capacity Jumps 31 Percent In 2001
• World’s Rangelands Deteriorating Under Mounting Pressure
• Ecological Deficits Taking Economic Toll
• Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
• Crossing the Lines: What’s the Future of Wind Energy?
• Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Part 1
• Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Part 2
• Guns or Butter, Food or Fuel

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Marc Luyckx, Ph.D.

Born in 1942, married with Isabelle, six children, He is living in the neighbourhood of Brussels. He has studied mathematics, Philosophy and has a PhD in Russian and Greek Theology. He has lived in Italy, Brazil, and USA, and has lectured in Brazil, US and Europe.

He has been during almost 10 years, working directly for Presidents of the European Commission Jacques Delors and Jacques Santer, as a member of the “Forward Studies Unit”, in the European Commission, from 1990 until 1999. He was in charge of the meaning of the European construction and of its ethical, cultural, religious, and political dimensions, in the context of the paradigm shift. To read more about Dr. Luyckx, visit his personal site.

He is now active in futurology research and is:

• Director of “Vision 2020”, a think Tank on the post industrial society (New paradigm).
• Expert for the Information Society Programs of the European Commission, Brussels.
• Visiting Professor at Dunkerque, Rouen, IEPAL Brussels etc. University Degrees:
• MA in Mathematics (civil engineer) University of Louvain, Belgium 1960
• Baccalauréat en Philosophie. University of Louvain.1961
• Licence (MBA) in Catholic Theology. University of Louvain, 1967
• PHD (Doctoratus) in Russian and Greek Theology, (“Pontificio Istituto Orientale”), Rome Italy. 1972.

Honours and memberships

• Fellow of the “World Business Academy”, Ojai, Ca. USA
• Fellow of the “World Academy of Arts and Science”. USA.
• Member of the Exec. Committee of the Brussels-EU Chapter of the “Club of Rome”.

Latest Publications…

• ” Au delà de la modernité, du Patriarcat et du capitalisme: la société réenchantée.” Préface Ilya Prigogine (+), Prix Nobel 1977. Editeur: L’Harmattan, Paris. 2001.
• ” Neskey: An innovative research on Sustainable development and social inclusion” In Ianis Newsletter www.ianis.net/downloadables/repository/IANIS_NL_Oct_03.PDF October 2003, p.16.

Academy Articles by Marc Luyckx:

• Global Mind Change: Homage to Willis Harman

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Mark-André Olivier

Marc-André has co-developed and co-facilitated the Learning as Leadership curriculum for 15 years. He has studied organizational learning techniques with some of the most respected pioneers in the field, and combines this with a background in economic development, healthcare and intercultural dialogue. Marc-André’s unique insights into human behavior enable him to assist participants in moving beyond deep-rooted patterns that prevent them from achieving their goals. As a primary designer of LaL’s public and in-house training programs, Marc-André coaches management teams and executives to practically apply the tools of LaL to their current business challenges. He is a Member Consultant of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) and studied mathematics and physics at Reims University in France. He has lectured at University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business on the topic of “Mental Models and Leadership.” To read more about Marc-André, visit his personal site.

 

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Max Goldberger (1924 – 2012)

In Memoriam: the World Business Academy will miss our dear friend and colleague, Max Goldberger, who passed away in early March 2012 at the age of 88. We will remember him always as a brilliant, warm, and witty person whose life enriched all who knew him.

Max Goldberger was a brilliant physicist who worked on clean energy technology. Max grew up in the small Transylvanian village now in Romania. At 18, he was sent to a Nazi concentration camp where he spent 3 ½ years, surviving using his extraordinary facility for languages and technology.

After the war he worked on telecommunications research and development for the Romanian government, rising to a level equivalent to a brigadier. He escaped to the West on a trip to East Berlin, and made his way to the U.S. There he became a citizen and a renowned pioneer of advanced missile and rocket science, working with the Navy at China Lake.

Describing Max’s career, the Navy wrote: “His work on exotic fuels led him to champion environmentally clean energy. His international reputation led to projects for Zambia, Uganda, the Philippines, Taiwan, Somalia, Jordan, and the King of Thailand.”  Max eventually moved to Hilo, where he still works on cutting edge clean energy technology.

Max’s life journey is vividly described in Friends & Enemies, Presidents & Kings by Tammy Lee McClure.

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N. Mohan Reddy, Ph.D.

Dr. N. Mohan Reddy is Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Management at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. His interests follow two dimensions: The first is focused on how non-market institutions (professional societies, trade associations) influence the adoption and diffusion of new technologies. A second area of interest concerns the dynamics of how public goods (social goods) are created through private (corporate) interests. Dean Reddy serves on the Board of Directors for Brush Engineered Materials, Keithley Instruments, Smith Industries, Dealer Tire, Jumpstart, and MAGNET. To read more about Dr. Reddy, visit his personal site.

 

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Peter Hoffmann (1935 – 2014)

Peter Hoffmann, In Memoriam (1935-2014)

Award-winning Author, Journalist, and Academy Fellow Peter Hoffmann passed away on April 18, 2014. We are deeply saddened by his passing. His cutting-edge research on the developing hydrogen economy has been essential to the work of the World Business Academy. His latest book, Tomorrow’s Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet, from The MIT Press, is a perfect example of the passion Mr. Hoffmann brought to an often-dry and technical subject. He explained the possibility hydrogen has for recreating our planetary fuel system and enabling a world of abundant, renewable energy.

As a Fellow to the Academy, Mr. Hoffmann informed our work, providing us with the latest developments in the field of hydrogen. His comprehensive monthly newsletter, The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter, was the go-to source for essential information on the emerging industry. His ideas and vision live on. Much of his research is incorporated in the Academy’s ongoing California Moonshot Project.

Mr. Hoffmann’s obituary appeared in The New York Times. Memorial donations may be made in Peter’s memory to the Rhinebeck Science Foundation, P.O. Box 508, Rhinebeck NY 12572.

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Peter Hoffmann, a former Washington and foreign correspondent for a major business and technology news service, McGraw-Hill World News, wrote about hydrogen energy since the first oil crisis of 1973. From the late ’60s to the early ’80s he was stationed in Bonn, Germany from where he also covered what was then communist Central Europe, eventually as deputy bureau chief. In between he was bureau chief for four years (1970-74) in Milan, Italy.

Read The Hydrogen Solution, Hoffmann’s recent article cross-published by the World Business Academy.

His articles on hydrogen energy have appeared in Business Week, The Washington Post, the Friends of the Earth magazine Not Man Apart, Germany’s GEO, Britain’s Financial Times European Energy Report, Italy’s Ambiente, and McGraw-Hill’s Chemical Engineering and Chemical Week. He contributed the “hydrogen” entry to the 1986 New Book of Knowledge, a Grolier encyclopedia for young people. Peter and Sarah Hoffmann – she is H&FCL’s business manager – translated a seminal hydrogen energy book, Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier (Carl-Jochen Winter, Joachim Nitsch, editors – Springer Verlag, 1988, New York, Berlin), as well as several other books from German to English.

Hoffmann’s 1981 book, The Forever Fuel – The Story of Hydrogen, published by Westview Press, was called, “the book on the subject” by Kirkus Review. An extensively updated version, Tomorrow’s Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet (Foreword by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA), was published in September 2001 by MIT Press; a soft-cover version came out in 2002. The November/December 2001 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine said in its review, “this book has everything the reader needs to know about hydrogen — its discovery, the numerous attempts to use it as a fuel, its (quite good) safety record, and the practical and economic difficulties that must be overcome if hydrogen is to realize its potential as a nonpolluting, non-carbon-emitting fuel.” A New Scientist review said, “it clearly expounds the key issues surrounding hydrogen energy.” Chemical & Engineering News commented, “Peter Hoffmann discusses hydrogen and fuel cells – a key technology that is driving forward a hydrogen economy – with clarity and a light touch.” Translations have been published in Korea, Italy and, in 2009, in Arabic by a Beirut publisher with support from the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.

A revised and expanded second edition was published by MIT Press in the spring of 2012, including a new foreword by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, until his retirement in 2011 the foremost hydrogen advocate in the U.S. Senate. The New York Times called it “encyclopedic,” and the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association DWV referred to it as the “second edition of a Classic.” CHOICE, a journal of the U.S. Association of College and Research Libraries, named it “Outstanding Academic Title for 2012 in the category of Engineering.”

Peter Hoffmann’s The Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, the voice of the international hydrogen community, had been published continuously since 1986. It covered the science, business, economics, and politics of hydrogen and fuel cells – nationally and internationally.

At the 2012 world conference of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy in Toronto, Hoffmann was awarded the title of IAHE Fellow for his “distinguished and sustained efforts” on behalf of the Hydrogen Economy. In 2005, the National Hydrogen Association honored Hoffmann with the Robert M. Zweig Public Education Award for publishing “the oldest, continuously published news source of its kind,” the second such honor (in 1997, NHA presented its Public Education Award to H&FCL). And the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association (DWV) has called The Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter the “best specialized publication in the field worldwide,” on its German-language website.

To read more about Peter Hoffmann, visit his personal site.

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Peter Russell

Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest.

As a student, he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return to the UK and took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation.

He also has a post-graduate degree in computer science, and conducted there some of the early work on 3-dimensional displays, presaging by some twenty years the advent of virtual reality.

In the mid-seventies Peter Russell joined forces with Tony Buzan and helped teach “Mind Maps” and learning methods to a variety of international organizations and educational institutions. Since then his corporate programs have focused increasingly on self-development, creativity, stress management, and sustainable environmental practices. Clients have included IBM, Apple, Digital, American Express, Barclays Bank, Swedish Telecom, ICI, Shell Oil and British Petroleum.

His principal interest is the deeper, spiritual significance of the times we are passing through. He has written several books in this area — The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God.

As one of the more revolutionary futurists Peter Russell has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences, in Europe, Japan and the USA. His multi-image shows and videos, The Global Brain and The White Hole in Time have won praise and prizes from around the world. In 1993 the environmental magazine Buzzworm voted Peter Russell “Eco-Philosopher Extraordinaire” of the year. To read more about Peter, visit his personal site.

Academy Articles by Peter Russell

• Who’s Kidding Whom: Is Western Civilization Compatible with Sustainable Development?
• A Shift in Consciousness: Some Implications for Business
• Y2K and Spirituality 101

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Peter Senge, Ph.D.

Peter M. Senge is a Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also Chairperson of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL), a global community of corporations, researchers, and consultants dedicated to the “interdependent development of people and their institutions.” He is the author of the widely acclaimed book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization (1990) and, with colleagues Charlotte Roberts, Rick Ross, Bryan Smith and Art Kleiner, co-author of The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization (1994) and a new fieldbook The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations (March, 1999), also co-authored by George Roth.

Dr. Senge has lectured extensively throughout the world, translating the abstract ideas of systems theory into tools for better understanding of economic and organizational change. His areas of special interest focus on decentralizing the role of leadership in organizations so as to enhance the capacity of all people to work productively toward common goals. Dr. Senge’s work articulates a cornerstone position of human values in the workplace; namely, that vision, purpose, reflectiveness, and systems thinking are essential if organizations are to realize their potentials. He has worked with leaders in business, education, health care and government.

The Journal of Business Strategy (September/October 1999) named Dr. Senge as one of the 24 people who had the greatest influence on business strategy over the last 100 years.

Peter Senge received a B.S. in engineering from Stanford University, an M.S. in social systems modeling and Ph.D. in management from MIT. He lives with his wife and their two children in central Massachusetts. To read more about Dr. Senge, visit his personal site.

 

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Rajendra S. Sisodia, Ph.D.

Rajendra S. Sisodia, Ph.D., is Professor of Marketing at Bentley University, and was previously Trustee Professor of Marketing and the Founding Director of the Center for Marketing Technology. A leading figure in the Conscious Capitalism movement, he is also the Founder and Chairman of the Conscious Capitalism Institute.

An electrical engineer from BITS, Pilani (India), Dr. Sisodia has an MBA in Marketing from the Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Bombay, and a Ph.D. in Marketing & Business Policy from Columbia University, where he was the Booz Allen Hamilton Fellow.

His research, teaching and consulting expertise spans the areas of conscious capitalism, corporate strategy and leadership, globalization, stakeholder management, marketing strategy, marketing ethics, relationship marketing, and measuring and improving marketing productivity.

In 2003, Dr. Sisodia was cited as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers” and named to the “Guru Gallery” by the UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketing (the largest marketing association in the world). In 2007, he was honored with the Award for Excellence in Scholarship by Bentley University. In 2008, he received the Bentley University Innovation in Teaching Award. He was recently chosen as one of ten “Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of 2010’s “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America.

Dr. Sisodia’s book Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (with David Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth, Wharton School Publishing, 2007) has been translated into six languages and was named one of the best business books of 2007 by several organizations, including Amazon.com. His book The Rule of Three: How Competition Shapes Markets(with Jagdish N. Sheth, Emory University) was published by the Free Press division of Simon & Schuster in 2002, and has been translated into German, Italian, Polish, Japanese and Chinese. It was the subject of a seven-part television series by CNBC Asia, and was a finalist for the 2004 Best Marketing Book Award from the American Marketing Association. Other books include Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets (with Jagdish N. Sheth, Sage Publications, 2006) and Does Marketing Need Reform? (co-edited with Jagdish N. Sheth, M.E. Sharpe, 2006). Forthcoming books include The 4As of Marketing (with Jagdish N. Sheth), A Roadmap for Conscious Capitalism (co-edited with Shubhro Sen), and Conscious Capitalism (with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey).

Dr. Sisodia has also published over one hundred articles in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and Journal of Business Strategy. He has authored book chapters on “Consumer Behavior in the Future,” “The Future of Marketing Education,” “The Impact of Information Technology on Relationship Marketing” and “The Future of Marketing.” He has also written over two dozen cases, primarily on strategic and marketing issues in the telecommunications industry, as well as authored a number of telecommunications industry and company analyses. His research reports titled The Consolidation of the Information Industry (with Jagdish N. Sheth) and The Future of Wireless Communications (also with Jagdish N. Sheth) have been published by the International Engineering Consortium.

Dr. Sisodia is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Finance and Industry. He writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, The Economic Times, Upside and numerous other publications, radio shows and television networks such as CNN, CBC and Fox. His research has been cited in over sixty professional books and numerous academic articles. He has been interviewed on the American Public Radio national business programMarketplace, and appeared regularly with Steve Pearlstein of the Washington Post on the programsPublic Interest and One Union Station on National Public Radio, discussing business issues. He is on the editorial board of several journals, and was previously the Associate Editor of the Journal of Asia Pacific Business. He has served as reviewer for Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing and other leading marketing journals.

Dr. Sisodia was co-founder and Chairman of adAlive, Inc. (a VC-financed company in Waltham, MA) from March 2000 to June 2002. He has consulted with organizations and companies in the information technology, telecommunications, electric utility, real estate, healthcare and financial services industries. He has taught in numerous executive programs in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Chile, Dubai, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, India and England. Consulting and executive education clients have included AT&T, Nokia, Rabobank, KPMG, Ericsson, Siemens, Sprint, MCI, BellSouth, Bell Atlantic, Volvo, Northern Telecom, American Management Systems, Bellcore, IBM, Price Waterhouse, Perot Systems, Ernst & Young, Telecom Italia, Southern California Edison, United Nations, World Bank, Internal Revenue Service, US Postal Service, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A frequent and popular keynote speaker, Dr. Sisodia has made nearly 300 presentations at leading universities, corporations, non-profits and other organizations around the world. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Mastek, a publicly traded IT services company based in Mumbai, India. He is also on the Board of Trustees of Conscious Capitalism Inc., a non-profit based in Austin, TX. To read more about Dr.Sisodia, visit his personal site.

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Ravi Chaudhry

Ravi Chaudhry is a business strategy consultant, mentor to CEOs and corporate Boards, a public intellectual and an author. He is the founder Chairman of CeNext Consulting and Investment Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, a firm that provides strategic advisory services to corporations on sustainable global growth and competitiveness and to governments on investment promotion and development strategies. His clients include today’s and tomorrow’s Fortune 1000 corporations, NGOs, UN Organizations & Governments of Switzerland, Turkey, Brazil, Norway, Uganda and Canada. Earlier, he was CEO/Chairman of four companies in Tata Group, India.

He has done extensive work with global companies to create “Emerging Market Advantage” in their strategic framework, and has done intensive research on “why companies succeed or fail” in cross-cultural environments. He specializes in “Strategy Audit & Re-alignment” to bridge the gap between performance and potential.

Ravi is a mechanical engineer, with specialization in business strategy. He has served on the boards of several companies and organizations. He continues to be Strategic Advisor to the Swiss Federal Government; Member, EVIAN Brains Trust on Fair Global Trade at IMD Lausanne; Member, EthicMark® Judges Panel; Member of the Advisory Committee L’avenir d’Auroville; and Convener, Future 500 India. He is proactively engaged in a series of pioneering initiatives in the realm of good governance, equitable global growth and advancement of human spirit.

His book, Quest for Exceptional Leadership: Mirage to Reality, outlines the emergence of a new fifth phase of human enterprise, redefining the criteria of success as well as re-configuring the routes to success. It has been widely acclaimed as “the best handbook for corporate executives in years, a magnum opus, a seminal book, brilliant and thought provoking, a masterpiece worth reading, a ground-breaking new book, a rare combination of sound business thinking and accessible philosophy, a wise and practical book and an essential read for both business leaders and business schools.”

He calls for a giant leap forward from CSR to ISR—from “Corporate Social Responsibility” to the “Individual Social Responsibility” of the CEO—from generic corporate accountability to individual answerability of the CEO, prompted by the CEO’s conscience. He makes a compelling case that corporations do not have the option to wait: they have to re-align themselves with the new reality now. And those who embrace the new realism will experience a pleasant surprise: a ‘Triple Top Line’ of joy, peace, and contentment,’ not only for them, but also in the personal lives of people all around.

Ravi is a much sought-after keynote speaker, communicating messages that come straight from the heart and the enlightened mind in a language that is understood by all, while evolving a completely new vocabulary in the realm of business and societal leadership. He has analyzed the base camp traits of today’s leaders and vividly portrayed the journey to the summit of leadership by introducing the “Tripod of Exceptional Leadership,” anchored on the three unyielding pillars of Wholeness, Compassion and Transparency. Contact Ravi at [email protected].

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Stuart L. Hart, Ph.D.

Stuart is the S.C. Johnson Chair of Sustainable Global Enterprise and professor of management at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Business, where he founded the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. Before joining Cornell in 2003, he was the Hans Zulliger Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Enterprise and professor of strategic management at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he founded the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and the Base of the Pyramid Learning Laboratory.

Stuart has published over 70 papers and authored or edited seven books. His seminal article “Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World,” won the McKinsey Award for Best Article in Harvard Business Review in 1997, and helped launch the movement for corporate sustainability. With C.K. Prahalad, he co-authored the path breaking 2002 article “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid,” which first described how business could profitably serve the needs of the four billion poor in the developing world. Cambridge University selected Capitalism at the Crossroads, first published in 2005, as one of the 50 top books on sustainability of all-time. The book’s third edition was published in 2010. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work in the area of sustainable enterprise. To read more about Dr. Hart , visit his personal site.

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Wally Amos (1936-2024)

Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Wally Amos lived a childhood that was not always stable and trouble free. But as a child he had an innate spirit and gift to view the world with optimism. The most loving person in his life was Della Bryant, his aunt in New York City. At the early age of twelve, young Wally moved to New York to live with his aunt who assumed a parental role. She was also the first person to bake him chocolate chip cookies. Although the home was of modest means, it was abundant in the meaningful qualities that give a child principles, “a can-do” attitude.

After a four year stint in the Air Force, Amos began his early professional career in the stock room at Saks Fifth Avenue. He worked hard but was consistently underpaid. He asked for raises but was denied. Not having another job in place, but believing he was worth more Amos left the stock room ready for the next thing. That turned out to be the entertainment industry.

Just like at Saks, he started at the bottom. This time it was the mailroom at the William Morris Talent Agency. And just like before, Amos worked hard. At William Morris it paid off. Amos rose from mailroom clerk to agent in one year – their first African-American agent. He prided himself on his ability to find the next new thing. He was the first to book many of the top performers of that era including The Supremes, Simon & Garfunkle and Marvin Gaye.

When he felt he’d gone as far as he could with William Morris he formed his own theatrical management agency. Packing up his young family he moved to the west coast. There were ups and downs but Amos always stuck to his principles: work hard, be positive, and don’t look back.

It was during this time that Amos learned to unwind on weekends by taking up a new hobby – baking chocolate chip cookies. Baking relaxed him and made him reminisce about his Aunt Della’s cookies.

Over the years the entertainment industry began to wear on Amos. Show biz personalities weren’t always the easiest people to deal with. It was time for a change.

In 1975, long before there were “food personalities” like Emeril Lagasse, Paul Newman and Nigella Lawsohn, Amos came up with the idea that he could sell his cookies as an entertainment personality – a gourmet chocolate chip cookie. Borrowing $25,000 from friends, Amos opened the first freestanding store, on Sunset Boulevard, in Hollywood, CA, that sold only cookies: The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie store. Soon the entrepreneur became a national personality renowned not only for his cookies but for his ebullient and outgoing persona as well.

In 1985, a series of events began that led the company to change hands. It is now owned by the Kellogg Company. Amos eventually returned to baked goods through Uncle Wally’s Muffin Company.

Asserting that being famous only meant that lots of people knew who he was; Amos always wanted to use his wide recognition as a means to draw attention to an important cause. That cause became literacy. Amos dedicated his efforts to Literacy Volunteers of America where he served as their National Spokesperson from 1979 to 2002. As a literary advocate, Amos uses his well-known name to support educational causes and serves on the Boards of the National Center for Family Literacy, Read to Me International, and Communities in Schools, in addition to many others. In 2005, Amos and his wife, Christine, founded the Chip & Cookie Read Aloud Foundation, a publicly supported 501(c) (3) organization, to promote reading aloud to children.

He is the recipient of many honors and awards including the President’s Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, the Horatio Alger Award, and the National Literacy Honors Award. He has been inducted into the Babson College Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.

Amos is a well known inspirational speaker and is the author of eight books: The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips, The Power in You: Ten Secret Ingredients To Inner Strength, Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade, Watermelon Magic: Seeds of Wisdom, Slices of Life, The Cookie Never Crumbles: Inspirational Recipes for Every Day Living, Be Positive, Be Positive!: Insights Into How To Live A Joy-filled and Inspiring Life, The Power In Self-Esteem: How To Discover And Fulfill Your Life Dreams and Live An Inspiring Life: Ten Secret Ingredients for Inner Strength.

His most recent project is working with his wife Christine Harris-Amos who created Chip & Cookie, two dolls fashioned in the image of “boy and girl chocolate chip cookies.” Once again Amos is in the kitchen baking cookies in the Chip & Cookie retail store located, on Oahu, in Kailua Town, Hawaii. www.chipandcookie.com. For Amos it’s the next new thing.

Over the years, Amos has acted in a number of network sitcoms and appeared on hundreds of interview shows, news programs, educational programs and commercials. On the lecture circuit, he addresses audiences at corporations, industry associations and universities with his inspiring “do it” positive attitude.

Over 150 million Americans know Amos. His fame is grounded in quality, substance and a positive attitude.  To read more about Wally Amos, visit his personal site.

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Warren Bennis, Ph.D. (1925-2014)

Warren Bennis, In Memoriam (1925-2014)

Warren Bennis Ph.D. is University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California and the founding chairman of USC’s Leadership Institute. He has written 18 books including: On Becoming a Leader(which was translated into 19 languages), Why Leaders Can’t Lead, and The Unreality Industry, co-authored with Ian Mitroff. Bennis was successor to Douglas McGregor as chairman of the organization studies department at M.I.T. He also taught at Harvard and Boston Universities. Later, he was Provost and Executive Vice President of the State University of New York-Buffalo and President of the University of Cincinnati. He has published over 900 articles and two of his books have earned the coveted McKinsey Award for the Best Book on Management. He has served in an advisory capacity to the past four U.S. presidents (for better or worse) and consulted to many corporations and agencies and to the United Nations. Awarded 11 honorary degrees, Bennis has also received numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Award of the American Board of Professional Psychologists and the Perry L. Rohrer Consulting Practice Award of the American Psychological Association.

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William Mcdonough FAIA

William McDonough is a globally recognized leader in sustainable development. Trained as an architect, Mr. McDonough’s interests and influence range widely, and he works at scales from the global to the molecular. Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet,” noting: “His utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.” In 1996, Mr. McDonough received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, and in 2003 he earned the first U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for his work with Shaw Industries. In 2004, he received the National
Design Award for exemplary achievement in the field of environmental design. Mr. McDonough is the architect of many of the recognized flagships of sustainable design, including the Ford Rouge truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan; the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College; and NASA’s “space station on Earth,” Sustainability Base, one of the most innovative facilities in the federal portfolio.

Mr. McDonough has written and lectured extensively on design as the first signal of human intention. He was commissioned in 1991 to write The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability as guidelines for the City of Hannover’s EXPO 2000, still recognized two decades after publication as a touchstone of sustainable design. In 2002, McDonough and the German chemist Dr. Michael Braungart co-authored Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which is widely acknowledged as a seminal text of the sustainability movement. Their much-anticipated new book, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance was released in 2013.

Mr. McDonough advises commercial and governmental leaders worldwide through McDonough Innovation. He is also active with William McDonough + Partners, his architecture practice with offices in Charlottesville, VA, and San Francisco, CA, as well as MBDC, the Cradle to Cradle consulting firm co-founded with Dr. Braungart. He has co-founded, with Braungart, not-for-profit organizations to allow public accessibility to Cradle to Cradle thinking. These include GreenBlue (2000), to convene industry groups around Cradle to Cradle issues, and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (2009), founded at the invitation of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to create a global standard for the development of safe and healthy products. Mr. McDonough also co-founded Make It Right (2006) with Brad Pitt to bring affordable Cradle to Cradle-inspired homes to the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

To read more about William, visit his personal site.

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Yul Anderson

Yul Anderson is a nationally and internationally known Futurist.  Yul started his interest in the Future after reading Megatrends and Limits to Growth.  He continued his study of the future while pursuing a Masters at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).  He continued using his futures skills while working for the Cities of Boston, New York, Miami, and Atlanta; the Sates of Florida and Massachusetts and the County of Alachua in Florida. Internationally Yul used his futures skills in Sierra Leone and Nairobi Kenya.

Mr. Anderson developed the African American Future Society in 1995 and participated at United Nations 50^thAnniversary Summit meetings.  He was a member of the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations and wrote for African profiles magazine while covering the news story of the African – African American Summit meetings convened by the late Revered Leon Sullivan and writing for African Profiles magazine while covering the war in Sierra Leone. Mr. Anderson lived six years in Kenya working with parliamentarians and those seeking office in Kenya.  He also provides consulting services to businesses in the US and Africa.

Mr. Anderson is concerned about the future of Black America and Africa; and how futures connect the world.  He has provided futures workshops and lectured at Universities, World Future Society, Blacks in Government, the National Forum of Black Public Administrators. and facilitated a workshop with the Millennium Project.

Mr. Anderson is also an Associate Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, a Fellow of the Futures Forum, and sits on the Advisory Board of Ethical Markets, Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc. and Lifeboat Foundation.  He is also associated with the Federal Foresight Community of Interest, Public Sector Foresight Network, Shaping Tomorrow, Techcast Global, Mixed Methods International Research Association.

Mr. Anderson is from Boston, Massachusetts, raised by a single mom and has no brothers or sisters.  He attended public and private schools and then graduated from Dartmouth College and received his Masters from UMASS Amherst.  He is married to Brenda Anderson, a US Veteran.

Mr. Anderson is a master gardener and enjoys gardening and picture taking.

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Zhouying Jin, Ph.D.

Professor Zhouying Jin is a senior researcher and professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS) where she is Director of the Center for Technology Innovation and Strategy Studies (CTISS). She is president and founder of the Beijing Academy of Soft Technology and author of Global Technological Change: From Hard Technology To Soft Technology (Intellect UK 2005).

Prof. Jin is an academic member of Shanghai Academy of Systematic Science and a guest professor of Hohai University (Nanjing), Tsinghua University(Beijing) and Chinese University of Science and Technology. She was a member of the Professional Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1992-1998).

In the recent fifteen years she led more than 20 important projects whereof 15 projects were asked by central government, ministry, Chinese academy of social sciences, or international organizations. She had been in charge of the Strategy Research for the Nation’s S863 Plan, organized a cross-discipline team to led the project of ”Long-term strategy integration and sustainable development” asked by CASS, National strategy for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Evaluation of Nation’s High-Tech Research & Development Plan, Assessment for The Breakthrough Project, Service innovation and NGO organizations in China, Strategic Management and institutional innovation on Coal bed Methane industry, Green Car Development Guideline and Environmental policy in China, Environmental strategy for transnational Auto companies, etc.

She is also chair and founder of the Future 500 China; a Planning Committee Member of the Millennium Project and Co-chair of the China node of the United Nations University American Council;  a member of The Brussels-EU Chapter of the Club of Rome; a Senior Research Fellow of IC2 Institute at Austin; a member of World Future Society and a fellow of the World Innovation Foundation.