Gary Fontaine's

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Welcome to my "Strange Lands"

What I do here ...

My primary professional interests in research, training, coaching & intervention, and teaching center on the challenges presented by encounters with new ecologies--what I call "strange lands." These challenges include coping with ecoshock, getting the job done by dealing effectively with diversity, and maintaining the motivation to continue. One major focus is on helping people and organizations deal with new people, places, cultures and technologies. I am particularly interested in the experiences these challenges produce, the strategies developed to deal with them, and the communication and other skills required to implement the strategies effectively. Over the years I have applied this focus in research, teaching and intervention activities to contexts such as global assignments in business and government, our diverse, rapidly changing workplaces and communities at home, geographically dispersed teams, distance learning, knowledge creation and transfer, criminal justice, service delivery, and close relationships such as marriage. Most recently my emphases have been on coaching teams, managers and leaders to deal effectively with intercultural and global diversity and on self-organization and swarm optimization models of globalization in multinational enterprises. These and my other professional interests are illustrated more fully in my Resumé, training, coaching & intervention programs and clients & contacts, and a selection of abstracts from--and links to--some of my recent publications.

But my life is also travel to Strange Lands and exploring the people and places there, as well as hiking, skin diving, and collecting shells and other life experiences. If you are interested in those, check out my addresses and links on this page.

At work

I'm Principal Consultant of Strange Lands Global Assignment Specialists and an Emeritus Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawai‘i

On the "road"

Strange Lands everywhere including--Afghanistan, Australia, Barbados, Bulgaria, Burma, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Puerto Rico, San Martin, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Switzerland, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA. And any number of "virtual destinations" with geographically dispersed teams. With more to come I trust!

You might want to check out a geographical listing of my clients & contacts.

At home

On Mercer Island, Washington, USA.

By the beach at our Fontaine's SeaLovers Inn on the island of Boracay in the Philippines.

Where are your own Strange Lands?

If you are interested in exchanging stories of the world come visit me in Boracay or email me at garymfontaine@gmail.com.

and …

We are currently doing research on "Global Swarming" -- a Self-Organization and Swarm Intelligence model of the optimization processes of multinational enterprises around the globe. If you have been involved in your career in developing organizational strategies for getting things done for such enterprises we would very much appreciate your input ... email me at garymfontaine@gmail.com.

and …

Please check out my new bestselling ebook entitled "Presence in Strange Lands" available as a Google Book or an Amazon.com Kindle edition. It deals with the experience of global travel--how it impacts our state of mind, our feelings and our immediate experience of the world around us. Or check us out on Facebook.

and …

To my ebook entitled "Successfully Meeting the Three Challenges of All International Assignments"

available through eBookMall or as an Amazon.com Kindle edition.

To a geographical listing of my past and present organizational clients for whose personnel I have provided training, program development or consulting services.

The International Academy of Intercultural Research (IAIR) a professional association designed to foster high level research and training.

SIETAR a major professional association dealing with intercultural/international education, training and research.

To InterNations--Expatriates Community from Expats for Expats with communities in more than 300 cities across all countries of the world.

CultureCrossing A community built guide to cross-cultural etiquette & understanding

To Denizen an online magazine dedicated to Third Culture Kids, also known as "TCKs" or "Global Nomads" http://www.denizenmag.com/about/. It is a virtual village that provides anyone who shares the common bond of growing up in a foreign land a permanent "place" to keep in touch and find useful information and resources.

Aloha, Gary

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