Erika Powell (she/her)

Transforming workplaces & creating work cultures where employees connect and thrive is Dr. Erika Powell’s mission. Her work sits at theintersections of Leadership Development, JEDI, and Emotional Intelligence.

For the past 18+ years, she has facilitated learning experiences and coaching journeys that lead people on a path of greater understanding of themselves and each other, especially when differences, strong emotions, or disconnects arise. At the heart of her approach are connection & creativity. Recognising that these unprecedented times require creative, unconventional, and unique solutions, she leverages painting, photography, writing, doodling, and nature to curate moments in time that lead individuals, teams, and organisations to reconnect to themselves, connect with others across differences, experience meaningful connection, co-create their next steps from places of shared power, and to achieve the breakthroughs & shifts that are most important to them.

Erika is a lecturer at Sonoma State University and teaches MBA courses on leadership and innovation as well as employee engagement & motivation. She is a certified Professional Diversity Coach, Points of You Practitioner, and Mindful Facilitator. She holds a doctorate in Instructional Technology & Design and has a background in Intercultural Communication and Cultural Anthropology.

She lives on a little island off the Coast of Oakland in the Bay Area with her dogs, Magda & Papichulo, and is currently writing her memoir. Contact Erika at erika@thepowellconsultinggroup.com.

Allison Tsao (she/her)

Allison Tsao is an Organisation Development consultant, facilitator, and coach.  She founded Humans Who Lead in 2017, with the purpose of helping her clients connect with their deeper wisdom and purpose so that the organisations they lead can do good in the world. She guides clients through transformational processes at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systemic levels.

Her practice draws from many fields, including complexity science, human development, Gestalt principles, systems thinking, motivational theory, coaching, psychology, ecology, wisdom traditions, and the healing arts. She believes we must draw on trans-disciplinary practices to address the complex and chaotic challenges of our time and meet those challenges with our whole selves.

Allison has a Bachelors in Management, Marketing, and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a Masters in Organisation Development from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business. Originally from the US, Allison currently resides in Sydney, AU with her family and with nature. Contact Allison at allison@humanswholead.com.

Ling Thio (he/him)

Ling Thio is a Leadership and Team Coach empowering leaders to develop high capacity teams that are effective, adaptive, inclusive, meaningful and joyful to work with. He has a knack for observing complex human systems, identifying core limiting behaviors and coaching skills that empowers the group’s full potential.

He is passionate about co-creating a just world through personal growth, interpersonal skills, and cultural transformation. His broad knowledge from managing threat responses and removing psychological blocks, to building interpersonal connection and understanding complex group dynamics makes him a highly effective coach. He is known for his empathic listening, his wisdom and his candid yet caring style of communication.

Ling facilitates Interpersonal Dynamics classes at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Systems Leadership classes at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is trained in Organisational Development and Diversity and Inclusion (Matrix Leadership Institute), Psychotherapy (Hakomi), Trauma and Threat responses (Somatic Experiencing) Interpersonal Dynamics (Stanford) and Systems Leadership (UC Berkeley).

Previously, he played leadership roles in three successful Silicon Valley software startups as Lead Engineer, Chief Software Architect and Co-founder. He holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Ling was born in Indonesia, grew up in the Netherlands, lives with his wife in Oakland, California and has an unofficially adopted son from Côte d’Ivoire. Contact Ling at ling.thio@gmail.com.

Susan Walker  (she/her)

Susan is dedicated to empowering individuals to reach their highest potential. With over 25 years of experience coaching executives and leaders, Susan has honed her skills in team development and personal growth. Her passion lies in helping clients unlock their true capabilities and thrive.

Susan holds a Master’s in Positive Organisational Development and Change from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management as well as being a certified Coach.   She has worked with non-profit and for-profit organisations and leadership teams throughout her career.  She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

Through her holistic coaching approach, client and coach co-create a space for clients to embrace their authentic selves. Susan’s compassionate and empathetic coaching style fosters discovery, allowing clients to gain valuable insights, overcome obstacles, and achieve their desired outcomes. Contact Susan at susanwalkermorgan@gestaltcleveland.org.

Charlie Hathorn (he/him)

Charlie’s current primary interest is in supporting the development of early- and mid-career consultants in Organization Development (OD).  From 2008-18 he served as staff on the Pepperdine MSOD program.  He holds a strong belief that long term personal transformation occurs in community.  He maintains an executive coaching practice with clients across the US.

As a mostly retired practitioner, Charlie takes occasional clients from not-for-profit or charitable organizations and small for-profit businesses.  His consulting stance comes from a Gestalt/systems perspective.  He holds several certifications from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and graduated from their premiere graduate programs in 1989, 1992, 1994, receiving his most recent certification from the Institute in 2013. He has done extensive graduate work in Educational Psychology (Rutgers University), holds a BS (Physics) from the University of the South and a BEE (Electrical Engineering) from RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).  His MSOD degree is from Pepperdine.

In 2000, Charlie retired from Sun Microsystems where he was Customer Satisfaction Manager—International HR. He previously held training, development, and research positions at Federal Electric Corporation (ITT), Kilmer Federal Job Corps Center, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Corp, and Link Flight Simulation Division of the Singer Company.   Charlie lives with his wife, Janet, in Tucson AZ.  They have three adult children and four grandchildren scattered across the US East Coast.  Contact Charlie at chazhath@earthlink.net.