Speakers and Presenters

The Taos Institute 2022 Gathering is a week-long series of global, virtual events on the theme: Unfolding Dialogues – Relational Resources for Global Good. See below the list of guests and hosts featured during our Daily Global Connection Plenary sessions. For a complete list of speakers and presenters, please register to The Gathering. Click here to join us!

Francis Akena Adyanga, Ph.D. (Uganda) is a Senior Lecturer at Kabale University Uganda in the Faculty of Education. He is also the Faculty Dean, Faculty of Education. He is a passionate educator with keen teaching and research interest in Indigenous Knowledge, Social and Environmental Justice Education, Education in Emergencies and Post Emergencies Contexts and Global Citizenship Education. Francis was an invited guest speaker at the 2022 Oxford Forum for International Development Conference themed “Aurora: Redefining Progress and Navigating Transition.”
Join Francis’ session “Research in Multiple Worlds”, November 17, 2022, 5:00-6:30 am EST

Harlene Anderson (United States) is co-founder and board member of the Houston Galveston Institute, the Taos Institute, and Access Success. Harlene is the author of Conversation, Language, and Possibilities: A Postmodern Approach to Therapy, and co-editor of several books, including the newly published text Collaborative-Dialogic Practice: Relationships and Conversations that Make a Difference Across Contexts and Cultures. She is also the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on postmodern collaborative-dialogic approach to practices across disciplines, contexts, and cultures.
Join Harlene’s session “Context & Culture Influence Stories & Conversation… & Future Possibilities”, November 13, 2022, 7:00-8:30 pm EST

Pamela Brett-MacLean (Canada), a member of the Taos Institute Associate Council, completed her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies (Arts & Health) at the University of British Columbia. She is an Associate Professor (Psychiatry) and Co-Founder and Director of the Arts & Humanities in Health & Medicine (AHHM) Program in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Since 2020 she has participated in the inaugural cohort of University of Alberta faculty involved in the Alberta Institute, Wenzhou Medical University—China’s first cooperative education institution specializing in medicine.
Join Pamela’s session “Context & Culture Influence Stories & Conversation… & Future Possibilities”, November 13, 2022, 7:00-8:30 pm EST

David L. Cooperrider (United States) is the Fairmount Minerals Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Professor Cooperrider is past President of the National Academy of Management’s OD Division and has lectured and taught at Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Katholieke University in Belgium, MIT, University of Michigan, Cambridge and others. Currently David serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. The center’s core proposition is that sustainable value creation is the business opportunity of the 21st century, indeed that every social and global issue of our day is an opportunity to ignite industry leading innovation, eco-entrepreneurship, and new sources of value.
Join David’s Global Opening session “An Earthshot Moment for a Relational Organization Development & Change Field“, November 12, 2022, 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST

Hilary Cottam, Ph.D. (United Kingdom) is an internationally acclaimed author, innovator and change maker. She combines new thinking with radical, concrete practice. Hilary lives in London. She holds a PhD in social sciences and is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL. Hilary was named UK Designer of the Year in 2005 for her pioneering approach to social design and in the same year was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader for her work in the field of social change. In 2019 Hilary was honored with an OBE for services to the Welfare State. She is a Trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Her latest book is Radical Help. @HilaryCottam, www.hilarycottam.com
Join Hilary’s session “Relational Governance”, November 14, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

Bill Doherty (United States) is a co-founder of Braver Angels and the creator of the Braver Angels workshop approach. Bill is a Professor and Director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.  Bill combines a background in family therapy and community engagement. 
Join Bill’s sessions “Dialogues across Divides”, November 16, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

David Gallant (Australia) is a Lecturer with the Department of Social Work at the University of Melbourne. His research is focused on improving the physical, social, emotional and cultural outcomes for people in our communities. He is involved in a range of research areas including family violence, Indigenous populations, custodial environments, sport and recreation. David is also a program scholar within the Centre of Research Excellence Safer Families.
Join David’s session “Research in Multiple Worlds”, November 17, 2022, 5:00-6:30 am EST

Kenneth J. Gergen, Ph.D. (United States) is a Senior Research Professor in Psychology at Swarthmore College, and the President of the Taos Institute. He is internationally known for his contributions to social constructionist theory, technology and cultural change, and relational theory and practice. Among his major writings are, Realities and Relationship: Soundings in Social Construction, The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, An Invitation to Social Construction, and Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. Gergen has received numerous awards for his work, including honorary degrees in both the U.S. and Europe. 
Join Ken’s sessions: An Earthshot Moment for a Relational Organization Development & Change Field“, November 12, 2022, 12:00-1:00 pm EST; “Relational Governance”, November 14, 2022, 11:00-12:30 pm EST; and “Dialogues across Divides”, November 16, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

Marcela Losantos, Ph.D. (Bolivia) received her doctorate, cum laude, at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, focused on the permanence of children and youth in street situations in the city of La Paz. She is currently Coordinator of the Research Institute in Behavioral and Social Sciences at Universidad Catolica Boliviana (UCB). She is also the Local Coordinator of the Interuniversity Cooperation Program, “Inclusive Community Development to Improve the Quality of Life in Vulnerable Rural and Peri-Urban Regions in Bolivia.” This is a collaboration between UCB and the Consortium of Flemish Universities of Belgium. As professor in psychology she is teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses on childhood, family, and poverty as well as in the Master of Family Therapy at UCB, La Paz. One of the awards she received was the “Marie Curie award from the National Academy of Sciences”.
Join Marcela’s session “Creating Futures for Vulnerable Communities”, November 15, 2022, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST

Victoria Lugo, Ph.D. (Colombia) is a psychologist, with a Masters degree in Public Health, and a PhD in Social Sciences (Tilburg University). She is currently on faculty at the Universidad de Caldas in Manizales, Colombia and the director of the Master’s program in Social Justice and Peace Building. Her research interests focus on social constructionist ideas applied to conflict transformation and restoration with survivors from armed conflict. From 2018-2019, she was the national director of the study “Creating political abilities for transitions in local territories”, a participatory action research project located in six municipalities affected by armed conflict in Colombia.
Join Victoria’s session “Creating Futures for Vulnerable Communities”, November 15, 2022, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST

Sheila McNamee, Ph.D. (United States) is Professor Emerita of Communication at the University of New Hampshire and co-founder and Vice President of the Taos Institute. Her work is focused on dialogic transformation within a variety of social and institutional contexts. Her most recent books include: Practicing Therapy as Social Construction (with E. Rasera & P. Martins, Sage Publications, 2022) and Design Thinking and Social Construction (with C. Camargo-Borges, BIS, 2022). Professor McNamee has written extensively about alternative visions of social research.
Join Sheila’s sessions An Earthshot Moment for a Relational Organization Development & Change Field“, November 12, 2022, 12:00-1:00 pm EST and “Creating Futures for Vulnerable Communities”, November 15, 2022, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST

Ottar Ness, Ph.D. (Norway) works as a Professor of Counselling at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and serves as the Head of the Nordic Research Centre for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability. He is interested in co-creation and relational welfare as approaches to support wellbeing for all as a public value and mission for societal development by focusing on democratic innovation, relational governance and transformation of economic systems, such as wellbeing economy. He has also an interest in recovery processes in mental health, family and relational therapies. He uses mixed methodologies and participatory and action research methods and people-powered research based social change for the common good.
Join Ottar’s session “Relational Governance”, November 14, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

Norma Romm (South Africa) is a Professor in the Department of Adult, Community and Continuing Education at the University of South Africa. She is author of many books including Responsible Research Practice (2018), and Covid-19: Perspectives Across Africa (with A. Fymat and J. Kapalanga 2022). She has published over 100 research articles on transformative research towards social and ecological regeneration, and Indigenous paradigms of (relational) knowing. She has worked on commissioned research projects for organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), and International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Join Norma’s session “Research in Multiple Worlds”, November 17, 2022, 5:00-6:30 am EST

Inés Sametband (Canada) is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychology, Mount Royal University (Calgary, Canada), a registered marriage and family therapist and a Taos Associate. Her clinical work is informed by discursive and collaborative family therapy approaches. Her research focuses on how locally relevant cultural ideas and practices influence family relations, and how they feature in therapy conversations. She is currently conducting a qualitative inquiry on how family therapists engage with clients in ways that recognize and are inclusive of clients’ preferred cultural memberships. 
Join Inés’ session “Context & Culture Influence Stories & Conversation… & Future Possibilities”, November 13, 2022, 7:00-8:30 pm EST

Jeannette Samper (Columbia) studied Sociology and Psychology at St. Mary´s College, Notre Dame, Indiana and holds two Master’s degrees: one in Counseling Psychology and the other in Systemic Family Therapy. She received a diploma in Systemic Teaching, Training and Supervision (DSTTS) from KCC and has cooperated as Teacher, Trainer and supervisor with numerous Master’s level programs in universities in Colombia and most recently designed the training of Family Counselors (Proceso de Asesoría Familiar como Sistema Significante) at the Universidad de la Sabana in Bogotá. Based on her independent activity as a couples´ and family therapist Jeannette has published 30+articles in Spanish and English some of which can be found as a TAOS Institute WorldShare Book (Etnia Terapéutica: Integrando Entornos). Join Jeannette’s sessions: with TILAC members “Exploring Our Vulnerability in Contexts with Challenging Sociopolitical Discourses” November 15, 9:00 am – 11:00 am EST and “Global Closing: Moving into the Future with Relational Resources for Global Good”, November 18, 2022, 12:00noon-2:00 pm EST

Monica Sesma (Canada) is a Mexican Mestiza, social constructionist-oriented therapist, educator, supervisor, and researcher living in the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) and Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta. Monica is an Assistant Professor and the Academic Coordinator of the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, a Taos Institute Board Member, and Director of the ICCP Program. Her current clinical interest focuses on relational and systemic work with underserved communities. Monica’s research focuses on women, children, and their families and on immigrants, refugees, and newcomers’ human rights issues. 
Join Monica’s sessions: “Reconstructing “Migration”: Geographical, Emotional, Social, Identity and Relational Landscapes”, November 13, 12:00 – 2:00 pm EST and “Relational Governance”, November 14, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

Paloma Torres Dávila, Ph.D. (Puerto Rico) is committed to the healing and continuous development of communities, organizations, and individuals. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico, she has her private therapeutic practice and collaboratively works with universities, government agencies, private corporations, non-profits, foundations, community projects, and schools. Embracing a critical viewpoint of relational social construction to meet the challenges of our recent times, Paloma incorporates a trauma-informed perspective, social determinants of health, intersectionality theory, narrative and arts-based approaches, community participatory methods, and decolonizing and social justice practices. 
Join Paloma’s sessions “Creating Futures for Vulnerable Communities”, November 15, 2022, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST and “What’s normal?! Building new futures by performing and creating healing spaces”, November 15, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST

Diana Whitney, Ph.D. (United States) is Founder and President Emerita of Corporation for Positive Change, a consulting firm dedicated to the creation of appreciative organizations. She is an internationally recognized consultant, an inspiring keynote speaker, and a pioneering thought leader on Appreciative Inquiry, positive change, Appreciative Leadership and spirituality at work. She is a founder of the Taos Institute, a fellow of the World Business Academy, and a Distinguished Faculty with Saybrook University.
Join Diana’s session “Dialogues across Divides”, November 16, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST

Shi-Jiuan Wu (Taiwan) earned her PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy from Iowa State University. After studying and working in the United States for two decades, she moved back to Taiwan. In 2013, she founded the “Center for Creative Dialogue” in Taipei. In 2015, she assisted the “Shanghai Postmodern Dialogue” in China to begin its development and has continued to serve as the center consultant. In 2021, she founded the “Asian Center for Creative Dialogue”. She has committed herself to continuously introducing narrative and dialogue-based knowledge and related practices to Chinese-speaking communities throughout Asia. 
Join Shi-Jiuan’s session “Context & Culture Influence Stories & Conversation… & Future Possibilities”, November 13, 2022, 7:00-8:30 pm EST

Dan Wulff and Sally St. George (Canada) are a couple who have had the privilege of working together teaching, writing, and presenting for several decades.  They both serve as Taos Institute Board Members. Dan is Professor Emeritus and Sally is Professor Emerita from the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Their academic specialty has been engaging in and teaching social work and family therapy practice. They are also invested in qualitative inquiry as it relates to practice. Together they developed Research As Daily Practice (St. George et al., 2015; Wulff & St. George, 2014) to help practitioners utilize and develop new knowledge based on a systematic examination of their practice questions that is in line with the ways in which they practice.  
Join Sally & Dan’s session “Research in Multiple Worlds”, November 17, 2022, 5:00-6:30 am EST

To attend any of these sessions, join us for the Taos Institute 2022 Gathering, November 12-18, 2022!