Empowering Conversations in a Changing World

Instructors

Jeffrey and Laurie Ford

Jeffrey and Laurie Ford are, both literally and figuratively, a marriage of theory and practice. Jeffrey is an associate professor of management in the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He holds a B.S. in marketing from the University of Maryland, and an MBA and Ph.D. in organizational behavior from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Fisher, Jeffrey served on the faculties of the Institute of Management and Labor Research at Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, and the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University.

Laurie is a management consultant and owner of Critical Path Consultants. She holds a B.S. in psychology, a Master's degree in industrial engineering, and a Ph.D. in operations research engineering, from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Prior to starting her own business, Laurie was a consultant with Arthur Anderson in Washington D.C. Since then, she has served as a consultant to scores of businesses, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations, including Intel, Mead Paper, U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Ohio Hospital Association. Laurie has also taught graduate-level university courses in engineering, management, and organization design.

Jeffrey likes to say he teaches what Laurie practices, and Laurie says she practices what Jeffrey teaches. Their collaboration has resulted in a unique approach to making management easier and organizational change less painful.

Deb Helber

Deb Helber, MHA worked for The Ohio State University Medical Center for 31 years and served as the Chief of Staff for the Corporate Shared Services business unit. Since her retirement from Ohio State, Deb has worked as an independent consultant primarily for not-for-profit organizations who are focused on building healthier communities. Her work includes designing and hosting/facilitating conversations to: develop strategic plans and business plans for communities and organizations; identify community and organizational needs and discover opportunities for improving communities and organizations.

Tuesday Ryan-Hart

Tuesday Ryan-Hart, MSW is a host/facilitator who has spent her work life in non-profit settings improving systemic responses for all people in a community. Tuesday is the former Assistant Director of The Women's Place at OSU where she worked on institutional change initiatives for women on campus. Throughout her career, she has worked in social movements for gender equity and explored the intersections of multiple identities and oppressions in people's lives. She is a core group member of the Optimal Health project, a complex and mulit-layered effort aimed at co-creating a new healthcare system. She is also a board member of The Berkana Institute and a Steward of the Art of Hosting.