Plenary 2

Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary - Canada

Sally St. George, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Sally’s specialty is teaching marriage and family therapy and social work practice courses, and she served as the University of Calgary’s designer and first director of the Couple and Family Therapy Program from 2016-2020. She is also a therapist and supervisor with the Calgary Family Therapy Centre. Sally is dedicated to studying and improving teaching methods in higher education. She has been awarded the Faculty of Social Work Graduate Teaching Excellence Award (2016), the Faculty of Social Work Graduate Supervising Excellence Award (2017), and the University of Calgary Teaching Award for Full-Time Academic Staff (Professor) (2017).

Sally is a co-editor of two books: Family Therapy as Socially Transformative Practice: Practical Strategies (2016) and Patterns in Interpersonal Interactions: Inviting Relational Understandings for Therapeutic Change (2014). She is also a Senior Editor for The Qualitative Report (http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/index.html), a free online journal dedicated to publishing creative and well-done qualitative research articles from many disciplines across the world. In this position, Sally reviews and edits manuscript submissions by joining with reviewers and authors in creating a positive and generative learning community.

Email: calgary_home@shaw.ca
Web: www.taosinstitute.net/sally-st-george

Principal, Xavier Academy - USA

Richard is an innovative educator who takes a collaborative and personalized approach to education, changing the way students experience school. Richard was born in Ecuador and spent his teen years in New York where he attended Xavier High School. He is a graduate from Holy Cross in Massachusetts and upon graduating he entered the field of education and moved to Texas. He has served as a teacher and administrative leader in a variety of schools ranging from large public high schools, to small private schools, and religious schools. After watching students become frustrated and hopeless in traditional and rigid school settings, Richard set out to create a new education model where learning is student centered, flexible, stimulating, and personalized. In 2007 Richard opened the doors to Xavier Educational Academy in West University, Texas. Since the founding the school has grown to 150 students grades 5-12. In addition to the West University campus, Richard has opened two additional campuses to serve more families throughout the greater Houston area. Richard is a life-long learner and has continued his education in collaborative leadership through the Houston Galveston Institute, where he serves on faculty.

Email: richard@xavieracademy.org
Web: xaviereducationalacademy.com/about-xavier/faculty/richard-de-la-cuadra

Virksomhetsleder UngInvest AIB - Norway

Ingebjørg Mæland is the head of YouthInvest. She holds a master's degree in Educational Leadership, having worked for the past 40 years with young people in Norway. She has conducted numerous seminars and workshops and developed a session-based University programme based on Appreciative Inquiry and other strength-based approaches. This study program is connected to Norwegian Technology University (NTNU). YouthInvest is an innovative, municipal, practice-oriented and strength-based training center for young people aged 16–24 primarily in Norway. More than 220 students participate each year. There is a continuous intake of students over the entire school year at five divisions located in different Municipalities of Viken County. YouthInvest offers practical workshops as well as a pedagogical workshop. The target group consists of young people who, for various reasons, are no longer participating in upper-secondary education.

Email: ingebjorgm@viken.no
Web: https://viken.no/unginvest/om-unginvest/vare-avdelinger/drammen/

Educator, Executive Coach, Consultant, Applied Behavioral Scientist - USA

Dr. Cathy Royal, Ph.D., is a teacher, coach, behavioral science sage, and beloved Nana for helping people discover how to bring antiracist practices into their life and work. Her leadership in Systems Thinking, Social Justice and Appreciative Inquiry has rendered her a powerful social justice advocate since the civil disobedience of the 1960s. Cathy uses her “lived experiences” and always speaks from her heart in coaching social enterprise leaders in authentically aligning roles/structures to vision/values. Cathy was part of the consulting team that co-designed a virtual Appreciative Inquiry Summit with 900 people participating at Portland State University on the topic of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice for the campus. Out of this summit over 25 projects were created by students, faculty, administrators and community members.

Email: ImagineUStravel@gmail.com
Web: spartinaconsulting.com/profiles/cathy-royal-phd

Spartina Consulting - USA

Jen Hetzel Silbert, MSOD, is a master group facilitator, author, trainer, strength-based executive leadership coach, and positive psychology deviant. She has a knack for facilitating rich dialogue for influence and action, a skill that has supported some of the highest rankings of the CIA; global conservationists and refugee camp survivors leading post-civil war nation building in West Africa; and a statewide strategic planning process focused on education equity and inclusion. Jen was part of the consulting team that co-designed a virtual Appreciative Inquiry Summit with 900 people participating at Portland State University on the topic of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice for the campus. Out of this summit over 25 projects were created by students, faculty, administrators and community members.

Email: jhsilbert@spartinaconsulting.com
Web: spartinaconsulting.com/profiles/jen-hetzel-silbert