In the 1970s, while in graduate school, I founded and ran a consulting firm that specializes in program evaluation.
My third career spanned the period 1977 – 1992 in which I worked in the central administration of the University of Minnesota, holding a variety of positions including Senior Assistant to the President and Vice President of External Relations. In 1992 I returned to consulting work with The Public Strategies Group.
As I have grown older, I am in my mid-50s, I have learned how instrumental my formal education was in shaping the way I look at problems. Trained as a systems analyst with a BA in mathematics and an MBA in quantitative business analysis, most problems I view as pieces of a larger system. Yet with a Ph.D in higher education specializing in organizational psychology and extensive cross-cultural experiences, I also frequently see my consulting engagements through the lens of the agency’s culture.
Some my clients at PSG have been Scott County (Minnesota) Human Services, Minnesota Department of Health, City of San Juan (Puerto Rico), City of Hartford (Connecticut), New York Office of Mental Health, New York Office of Real Property Services, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, The St. Paul Foundation, Nevada Business Services, and the Universidad de la Republica (Uruguay).
I love working on knotty design problems in which a practical solution seems impossible. If you want "umpteen" alternatives on how to solve a problem, I am your guy! If you want a definitive answer with no "if’s, and’s, or but’s," you would be better off working with one of the other PSG partners.
I love working with people who want to explore new ways of doing things, and I have a soft spot for those with a self-deprecating sense of humor. I recently received one of my greatest compliments when a friend introduced me to an audience as "an entrepreneur." At times in my life I have written and published a lot of stuff, all on educational computing and the future of higher education.
I try to fend off old age through an exercise regimen that ranges from basketball to juggling, from aerobics classes to racquetball. I continue to be amazed by the highest of high’s and the lowest of low’s I experience as a parent of two kids under the age of sixteen. My wife, who is an administrative law judge, is a source of love, strength and practicality.
As Garrison Keillor, the poet laureate of Minnesota says:
Be well, do good work, and stay in touch. |
