Beena Sharma

Join us as the Institute for Experiential Learning's Kay Peterson speaks with Michellana Jester, strategic management consultant and lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management.With two decades of management consulting and organizational and leadership development experience, Michellana designs uniquely innovative learning experiences for graduate students at MIT in partnership with entrepreneurs from around the world, assisting both to advance their personal and professional development. As a strategic management consultant, Michellana assists clients facing complex organizational and/or leadership challenges move to action. She has worked with private corporations, non-profit organizations, and public agency clients, specializing in leadership development, team building, and organizational change.  

In this episode of Learning at the Edge, Kay Peterson speaks with Greg Pawlson and Jean Johnson,  experts in health care and authors of the new book  “Advancing Healthcare Quality and Safety: Protecting Patients, Improving Lives.”Both Greg and Jean have made huge contributions to our national health care quality and safety reform,  and are currently helping health care professionals make advances in learning through coaching and leadership development.In Part II of Kay's interview with Greg and Jean, they talk about how their expertise in health care fields is integrated into their coaching. Health care work and coaching -- and also teaching -- are "helping" professions. And in health care, getting back to patient-centered care, emphasizing the patient relationship, and learning from and listening to the patient are all ways of better serving health care clients.

In this episode of Learning at the Edge, Kay Peterson speaks with Greg Pawlson and Jean Johnson,  experts in health care and authors of the new book  “Advancing Healthcare Quality and Safety: Protecting Patients, Improving Lives.”Both Greg and Jean have made huge contributions to our national health care quality and safety reform,  and are currently helping health care professionals make advances in learning through coaching and leadership development.In Part I of our two-part interview, Greg and Jean talk about their ongoing work in health care advancements, patient-centered care, and why learning is a key component in health care professionals' care of patients.

Beena Sharma, president of Vertical Development Academy and creator of the concept of Polarity Wisdom, speaks with Kay Peterson about the importance of vertical development and lifelong learning in adults. Her academy is dedicated to stimulating and fostering a more enlightened, humanized, relevant, practical and real-world appreciation of vertical development and its significance for the future.

Dr. Michael Schwartz speaks candidly about the current state of higher education, the important role of the university in today's political climate, and more.  As former president of Kent State University and Cleveland State University, Dr. Schwartz has a unique perspective on political activism on college campuses, and the ideal university experience for students. 

What can organizations of all sizes learn from large corporations' communication strategies, leadership development, and change management? Tim Fitzpatrick, retired chief communications officer for two of the largest energy providers in America, offers insight into learning in the corporate setting. 

What does creativity have to do with learning? How does being a creative thinker and creative learner help us to build self-awareness and be inspired to change? Kate Crawshaw and Trudi Boatwright, the creative duo behind Serious Woo, explain how and why their company seeks to bring creativity and humanity back into learning and work environments. 

Mark Collard, founder of playmeo.com, the largest online database of group games & activities in the world, speaks with Kay Peterson about his serious work in bringing fun and games to teams and organizations of all ages. 

Kevin Eikenberry, chief potential officer of The Eikenberry Group, co-founder of the Remote Leadership Institute, and author of the new book The Long-Distance Teammate, talks about using experiential learning to stay flexible, be motivational, and thrive in changing times.