MEET LEARNINGLIFE'S EDUCATORS
Jerry Allan is an educator, architect, and nationally recognized expert on creativity who believes that we can greatly enhance our lives if we understand how to effectively use the inherent creativity that we all possess. He is founder and president of Criteria, Inc., an interdisciplinary design firm, and professor of visual studies at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He teaches and facilitates nationally in areas related to creativity, futures, product development, and human potential.
Donna Bennett is a career consultant who has worked for over 25 years with corporate, academic, and nonprofit organizations, and is a frequent presenter on work, career and family issues. Her book, When You Lose Your Job, was published in 2002, and in 2005, she received the Minnesota Career Development Association's Marty Dockman Merit Award in recognition of the originality, timeliness, and enduring value of her contributions to the field of career development.
Mark Fischer is a certified financial planner who owns and operates Fischer on Finance, an independent, fee-based financial planning firm. Since 1986, he has been helping people craft life strategies for more meaningful lives and a better world. Fischer holds a Ph.D. and an MBA, has taught at several universities, and has done seminars with numerous organizations. He also authored the financial planning chapter of Mapping Your Retirement, published in 2007.
Katherine Hirsh is a cognitive psychologist who has worked with organizations and individuals on teambuilding, lifework development, and management training. She is an internationally recognized authority on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI® tool), and is especially interested in how the MBTI can be used as a decision-making tool. She has taught and lectured all over the world.
Steve Spruth is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. His academic interests include entrepreneurship, innovation and change, international organizations, and sustainability. His industry experience includes executive positions at Long Term Care Group, UnitedHealth Group, and Peak Health Care.
Ellen Thayer has been a helpline and technology training consultant in the University of Minnesota's Office of Information Technology since 1985. She currently provides support for the popular Moodle course management system, instructs Moodle courses, and maintains a Moodle site for internal collaboration. She also facilitates the development of short courses and online orientations for centrally supported applications and cloud computing. Her latest interest is in integrating informal learning, social networking, and e-learning with an open heart.
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Upcoming Workshops
Blueprint for a Successful Retirement (10/17)
Using a special tool, rate and build upon 52 factors that affect satisfaction, meaning, and happiness during retirement. Then create a blueprint for an authentic retirement that meets your goals.
Your Next Chapter: Exploring Life/Work Options (10/24)
Is there a life/work transition in your future? Learn how to proactively manage the transition from "status quo," through the uncertainty of change, to new sources of satisfaction and meaning.
Financial Planning for Life (10/29)
Financial planning should center on how we want to live. Now, take a holistic approach to financial planning in which you'll use your life situation, goals, and human and financial resources to create a financial plan for the life you want.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®: A Tool for Taking Charge of Change (11/9)
Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) for the first time or after a long time to learn how it can help you take charge of changes and transitions. Explore resistance to change, levers to get unstuck, methods for staying with new commitments, and more.
Exploring Self Employment: Start-Ups (11/17)
Have you ever dreamed of starting your own business? Learn sustainable ways to connect your passions and interests to the needs of others by exploring the process that entrepreneurs follow: idea generation, screening ideas, planning, launching, growing, and harvesting.
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter: Making Them Work for You (11/21)
Are you interested in online networking but don't know how to start or what to do next? Are you wondering how online networking could be valuable to you, either personally or professionally? In this hands-on introduction, learn how to use, navigate, and leverage the "big three" social networks, and leave ready to make them work for you.
