Meridian University

James Armstrong received his Bachelor's from the University of Virginia, his Master's from the University of Northern Colorado, and his Doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago. Jim has previously taught at Saybrook University and the Presidio School of Management. He is a management consultant with an interest in Executive Coaching, Organizational Development, and Strategy Development.

Jeff Black received his Bachelor’s from Ohio State University and his MBA from the University of Michigan. He has co-founded three ventures, written and published short fiction, and worked as a consultant to companies including Apple Computer, Prodigy, and Broderbund Software. Most recently he has worked as Executive Director of Cypress Performing Arts Association. His interests include blending creativity, social vision, and entrepreneurial action.

Peggy Dean recieved her Bachelor’s at the University of Texas and earned an Executive MBA at Southern Methodist University. She is the President of Peak Performance Corp and the Executive Director of the Jean Houston Foundation. She has been a consultant to Merrill Lynch, Smith Kline Beecham, University of Miami, Charter Medical; headed international cross-cultural project teams with focus on empowering leadership for a healthy shift in large-scale systems in Russia, Turkey and Dominican Republic; former manager at Recognition Equipment and senior VP at M Banks.

Elizabeth Doty received her Bachelor’s from the University of California, Berkeley and her MBA from Harvard. She is author of the book, The Compromise Trap: How to Thrive at Work without Selling Your Soul published by Berrett-Koehler in 2009. She also published “Winning the Devil’s Bargain” in the Spring 2007 publication of Strategy + Business. She has worked with Archstone-Smith, Intuit, Hewlett Packard and CTB/McGraw-Hill.

Ann Eells received her Bachelor’s from the University of Tulsa and her MBA from Presidio Graduate School. She has previously held positions in Marketing, Strategic Planning and Consulting at various firms including Deloitte and Sutter Care.

Carolyn Shoshana Fershtman received her Bachelor’s from the University of California, Berkeley, her Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law, and her Master’s and Doctorate from Meridian University. Shoshana has worked as an attorney consultant for environmental and Social Justice organizations for many years. She is a psychologist in private practice in Santa Rosa, whose interests include mysticism, dreamwork, depth psychology, somatic therapy and mindfulness-based approaches.

Mary Gavin received her Bachelor’s from George Washington University and her Juris Doctor from the School of Law, California University of Davis, where she was Executive Editor of the Law Review. She has previously held positions at Bank of America and SPG Solar. She is the co-author of the book, Fuse: Igniting the Full Power of the Creative Economy.

Maureen O’Hara received her Bachelor’s from the University of London and her Doctorate from Union University. Maureen was formerly the President of Saybrook University in San Francisco and is a member of the International Futures Forum and Global Business Network.

Leng Lim recieved his Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and Masters degrees from the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Divinty School. He is Managing Director of Pivotal Leadership and works internationally in Executive Development.

Aftab Omer received his Bachelors from M.I.T. and his Doctorate from Brandeis University. Aftab’s research has focused on the emergence of human capacities within transformative learning communities and his work includes assisting organizations in tapping the creative potentials of conflict, diversity, and complexity. Aftab is the President of Meridian University.

Ron Purser received his Bachelor’s from Sonoma State University and his Ph.D. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He is the co-author and co-editor of five books including 24/7: Time and Temporality in the Network Society, The Search Conference: a Powerful Method for Planning Organizational Change and Community Action, Social Creativity, Volumes 1 & 2 and The Self-Managing Organization. His book, The Self Managing Organization, was selected as one of the Top Ten Management Books for 1998.

Art Warmoth received his Bachelor's from Reed College and his Doctorate from Brandeis University. Art has been Chair of the Department and Professor of Psychology at Sonoma State University. He has been the President for the Association for Humanistic Psychology. His interests include ecological and community economics.