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George co-founded Greater Good Studio in 2011 to use design to heal, be just, and be restorative, where he serves as Co-Executive Director. Previously, he spent seven years at a global innovation firm before being hired as the first human-centered designer at the Chicago Transit Authority. Since founding Greater Good, he has guided clients and teams through complex projects that honor reality, create ownership, and build power. He speaks frequently across the US and internationally. George is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University. Previously, he was a Full Professor (Adj) at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Linda Strauss is a seasoned Human Resources professional with over 25 years of experience in corporate HR and consulting. As the founder of Strauss HR Consulting, she helps employers manage employment issues effectively and compliantly through strategic programs and training initiatives. Linda holds senior HR certifications (SHRM-SCP and SPHR) and is certified in TRP™ Becoming the Totally Responsible Person emotional intelligence, Mental Health First Aid, and Workplace Conflict Mediation.
Linda’s expertise spans leadership development, coaching, HR compliance training, soft skills workshops, policy development, performance management, recruitment, mediations, investigations, and career advisement. Her diverse client portfolio includes the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, NM Secretary of State, Meow Wolf, Albuquerque Community Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She also teaches management and HR classes at UNM’s Anderson School of Management.
Linda has a genuine passion for helping people thrive at work and for tackling complex issues with practical knowledge, approachability, and humor. Her mission is to support clients in creating environments where individuals can grow, fulfill their organization’s mission, and enjoy their work. Whether navigating employee relations issues or teaching better feedback techniques, Linda’s message remains consistent: get out of your own way, focus on fulfilling your organization’s mission and realizing your potential.
Mitch Gray has combined over two decades of experience as a life coach, entrepreneur, community developer, and creator to develop a brand of leadership that is at its deepest level- human.
Having worked with over 10,000 leaders and individuals across the world, and having led teams across 7 different industry sectors, Mitch empowers people to build teams based on alignment, design culture based on empowerment, and lead from their humanity.
Mitch is the creator and host of The Mitch Gray Show podcast, inspirational speaker, author, and leadership consultant..
Dr. Jeremy Graves ignites minds and empowers organizations to unlock the hidden potential of their multi-generational teams. As Director of Professional and Continuing Education at Boise State University, he champions innovative programs that equip leaders with the tools to navigate the dynamic landscape of intergenerational collaboration. He's also a sought-after keynote speaker and author of three acclaimed books, Leading Across Generations (2018), The Leader Paradox (2023), and his newest book Change Leadership (2024), where he dissects the complexities of organizational transformation and provides actionable strategies for success.
Jeremy's passion lies in bridging generational divides and cultivating vibrant work environments where diverse perspectives collide to spark innovation. He draws upon his extensive experience teaching leadership courses in the LEAD program, leading workshops across the globe, and consulting with organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500s. His expertise in generational dynamics, team building, and cultural restructuring empowers organizations to achieve breakthrough results and unleash the synergy of intergenerational collaboration.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Jeremy enjoys cheering on the Boise State Broncos, catching a hockey game, Go Steelheads! and spending quality time with his family in scenic Boise, Idaho.
New Mexico Sports & Wellness Regional Personal Training Manager
M.A. Human Performance and Sport, New Mexico Highlands University
B.A., Human Performance and Sport, Physical Education, New Mexico Highlands University
NCSF, Certified Personal Trainer
During my professional life, I have developed diverse experience as a lawyer, manager, entrepreneur and professor. This provides me with a unique set of skills which, supported by an innate ability for lateral thinking and a creative approach, allows me to successfully address and find viable solutions to complex issues. I studied in Italy, Ireland, and the United States before practicing in leading international business law firms in Italy and Belgium and joining the Italian Railways as Deputy Director for EU affairs in 2002, with competences that gradually expanded to all international issues and domestic passenger transport. Since moving to New Mexico in 2013, I set up a gourmet food business and a consulting practice and developed an academic career in Business Administration, Management and Political Science. My academic and service interests include entrepreneurship, ethics, business law, economic development, international relations and identity issues.
Dr. Farley is an expert in human behavior, individual, program and organization development, with over 40 years of professional experience (20 years in federal government). He provides outstanding training and facilitation, coaching, and holistic people and systems management skills to enhance individual, team and organizational performance. Applying a multi-modal energy perspective, Dr. Farley assists in the generation of new ideas, plans, relevant options and effective results for healthy and productive organizational and personal growth. As a lifelong learner, Dr. Farley stays informed on developing energy systems to improve personal and systemic well-being and health.
Crista Benavidez is an internationally recognized speaker specializing in
interpersonal communication and organizational learning. Crista has nearly 30 years of
experience, presenting over 1000 programs, working with groups from a variety of industries
with clients such as United States Forest Service, Plains Regional Medical Center, IBM, Texas
Instruments—Mexico, University of New Mexico, CISA, and many others. Her subject
offerings include behavior/communication styles, effective leadership, customer service,
communicating with difficult people, effective teaming, and more. She is described by
audiences as engaging, dynamic, and highly motivational.
Jerome Deroy is the CEO of Narativ, and has led thousands of individuals through training programs all over the world in companies as diverse as Prudential, Cigna, Johnson and Johnson, and Capital One. He’s worked with household non-profit organizations such as UNICEF as well as Internet based companies and social enterprises. He has taught the art of persuasive storytelling to students, staff and faculty, in the Design and Management course at Parsons, The New School of Design, Cornell’s MBA programs, the RH Smith School of Business (University of Maryland), the City University of New York, Pace University, and Columbia University.
He coaches CEOs, startup entrepreneurs, and program officers in the art of storytelling for pitches, fundraising, presentations and keynote addresses.
After obtaining his MBA, he joined the bank BNP Paribas in Hong Kong, where he was marketing manager from 1999 to 2003. He moved to New York in 2004, working as a production manager and distribution coordinator on documentary films. In 2006, he started developing and leading Narativ’s training programs, focusing on applying the programs to client and staff communication and engagement.
John Cousins is an investor, tech founder, and bestselling author of Understanding Corporate Finance and over 40 other books.
John is the founder of MBA ASAP, which provides training to individuals and corporations including Adidas, Apple, General Mills, Kaiser Permanente, Lyft, PayPal, Pinterest, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.
John has taught MBA students at universities worldwide.
Currently General Partner at Tetraktys Global, a quantitative hedge fund, he is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols, including Databricks, SpaceX, Anthropic, Udemy, Coursera, Fastly, UiPath, Palantir, Bitcoin, Chainlink, Ethereum, and Solana.
John was the cofounder of Biomoda (IPO 2006), Advanced Optics Electronics (IPO 1999), FoodSentry (epic fail), MBA ASAP, and Tetraktys Global. He holds undergraduate degrees from MIT and Boston University and an MBA in finance from Wharton.
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death, is a pioneering and award-winning death educator. She uses humor, film clips, outside the box activities, as well as her wardrobe to teach about planning for end-of-life issues. She’s the author of multiple books, creator of The Newly-Dead® Game, host of The Doyenne of Death podcast, and producer/host of the Mortality Movies television series. The Association for Death Education and Counseling recognized her work with their 2024 Community Educator Award. Her website is www.AGoodGoodbye.com.
Tim Goloversic’s teaching focuses on experiences he has lived. He spent 20 years in the Army as a helicopter pilot. Including eight years in Germany and three in Japan. After four deployments, he thought about teaching how to help war torn countries recover after a conflict. A basis for this was the time he spent living and traveling in Germany, during and after the Cold War, and when the Berlin Wall fell. Germany is a good example of building and developing a nation after a war. During his three deployments to the Former Yugoslavia, he worked with NATO and the UN on Peace Enforcement and Peacekeeping missions. Including work on establishing democratic elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Tim experienced first hand the challenges and successes involved with nation building. As an Iraq war veteran, he has witnessed and researched the various attempts by foreign nations at rebuilding Iraq, which now resides with the people of Iraq.
In addition to this, Tim enjoys teaching a class on Leadership and Public Speaking. In the Army, he spent twelve years in leadership and staff positions. He was awarded the General MacArthur Leadership award for his accomplishments as an Aviation Company Commander while stationed in Japan. In Japan, he worked closely with the Japanese military and planned Nation Building missions in the Philippines.
Tim also worked for a short time in the corporate world as a Program Manager for an engineering firm.
He is currently a contract Academic and Flight Instructor and Chief Evaluator for the Air Force’s Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter Flight School.
Tim earned a BS in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Magna Cum Laude; an MS in International Relations from Troy University; and an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He instructed ROTC Leadership for three years at the University of Indiana. In addition he taught: Finance, International Relations/Political Science, History and Leadership at various universities since 2008.
While in the army Tim completed Warrant Officer Candidate School, Dean’s List; Flight School, Honor Graduate; Maintenance Test Pilot Course; Officer Candidate School, Distinguished Honor Graduate; and the Captain’s Career Course and Combined Arms Staff School.
He writes as a hobby and has published three books.
I am fortunate to be a part of the UNM Ombuds Services team. Every day visitors arrive with a goal, concern, or question and leave with a game plan for how to move forward productively. Visitors utilize Ombuds Services, whether their concern is new or persistent because they understand that workplace conflict is inevitable and need not be an ongoing burden.
I also provide various communication workshops that offer participants the skills to enjoy improved teamwork and morale. I have been a mediator for over 30 years, am a certified Crucial Conversations® trainer, Restorative Justice facilitator, as well as a Certified Organization Ombuds Practitioner®.
As part of the Ombuds Services team, I feel privileged to witness the strength, creativity, and dedication of our community that makes UNM a great place to work.
Erin Lebacqz has been teaching writing for over 25 years, in business and academic settings. She created the High-Value Writing program to help people writing for work or school meet their goals. By sharing strategies on writing with intention, Erin helps learners use practical methods to increase their writing’s clarity and concision. Erin’s work also focuses on writing to not only inform, but connect with, one’s readers. In today’s often remote professional setting, our writing helps us build and maintain our professional relationships. By writing with emotional intelligence learners can meet both sets of goals of intentional writing: informational goals and relational goals. Erin has taught in the following settings: private, public, and not-for-profit sectors college and graduate school U.S.-based and abroad.
Jessica, a cybersecurity enthusiast with over 10 years of experience in IT security and program operations. As the Senior Manager, Jessica has spearheaded a plethora of projects that have transformed our cybersecurity landscape, making digital assets safer one byte at a time! With a passion for threat analysis, incident response, and crafting top-notch security policies. Her strategic brilliance ensures that our defenses are always a step ahead of the game, keeping our precious data locked up tighter than a treasure chest."
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UNM Continuing Education Conference Center
1634 University Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87102
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