I'm on a journey. It started in 1959 when I was 10 and when to work for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon. I was there until I was 25. Well, I also went to school, became an anti-war protester and active in the student movement as well. Also while at OMSI I spent a year in Japan where I started to discover more of who I am.
In 1973, when I was 24, I moved to Spokane to direct the Environmental Symposium Series at the EXPO '74 World's fair and afterwards with others, including Susan Virnig who would become my spouse 4 years later, I co-founded and became the Executive Director of Northwest Regional Facilitators, general purpose community development corporation established to help people think about what kind of future they wanted and to determine how they would get it. I was at NRF for 25 years and during that time realized that I needed to learn more about what made enough of a difference to make a difference. In the mid-nineties I enrolled in a doctoral program in Learning and Change in Human Systems at CIIS where 10 years later I received my PhD with a dissertation on
Enspirited Leadership -- which fosters a new strength's based social movement.
Since 2000, I've been working with
The Berkana Institute to understand how we build communities which help us lead healthy and resilient lives. I believe we are in a pivotal time when we are creating a new world that works for all. My own personal website is
Resilient Communities.in 2010 I began extensive work in Japan. It has been a returning home, bringing back with me things I've learned from years and years of work around the world. Resilient communities are always intergenerational and much of my work is in intergenerational contexts -- helping people find respect, curiosity and friendship across the ages.
