I’m glad you’re here. I help people, teams, and organizations adapt, learn and grow as they face their toughest challenges.
As a leader when things got difficult I often worked harder, believing that sheer will and effort could get us through. Sometimes this worked, but there were many times when my press for results blinded my ability to see the big picture. I’m here to stand with you as you get the work done, maintain your integrity as a leader, and build resonant relationships with those you lead. I’m here to stand with you in that in-between-place of uncertainty and possibility. At the edge of who you are and who you are becoming.
I can help you and your team discover the places that require adaptation. Working together we can develop you and your team’s capacity for moving past self-protection and into a more spacious leadership domain–one of openness, learning, and radical trust.. I’m determined to help leaders and their teams find resonance, renewal, and to stand in integrity as they work to address problems without easy answers
Hi There! I’m Justin.
Our Values
Love: Leadership work requires deep connection to the strength of the heart. We include the heart as the engine of our development and renewal.
Open Learning: We iterate, refine, get up, and try again. We understand that the gift of new perspective and growth is wrapped in challenge. We share our learning openly with the field to empower the leadership of others.
Generosity: We nurture relationships, our community, and our world. We are committed to leadership that cultivates the power and growth of others.
Integrity: We are honest about the challenges, stakes, and impacts of our actions. We work with the whole person–both light and shadow–as we develop leadership capacity.
Connection: Our relationships and our ability to receive both beauty and challenge brings us the strength, courage, and focus needed for adaptive leadership.
My Background
I have dedicated the past twenty-five years in the trenches to designing experiences that cultivate human learning and development. I started my career teaching geometry during the day and building kayaks at night in Kwigillingok, Alaska. I have worked in public school districts in New Orleans and New York City; with rural communities in California, Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont; and with indigenous communities in New Mexico, South Dakota, and Washington State. I draw on this diverse background to meet my clients where they are and to customize learning experiences that will be transformative.
I’ve been a public school teacher, an executive director of a non-profit organization, a public school principal, and a designer working with communities to reimagine how we do school. As a district administrator in a medium-size district of 7,000 students I led post-pandemic engagement efforts, health services, Section 504 compliance, served as a Civil Rights and Title IX officer, and led our behavioral health efforts including suicide prevention, trauma-informed deescalation, and school counseling. I am dual certified as a both a special and general educator, and licensed as a School Principal and Program Administrator in Washington State. I completed my undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, majoring in Native American Studies and earned my master’s at Bank Street College in Special and General Childhood Education. I hold a doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard University. My capstone dissertation was Measuring What we Care About.
Along the way I’ve also been a wilderness guide, a ski coach and a band member. Most importantly, I’m a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, and a dedicated community member.
Tools I use
Adaptive Leadership Framework (Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky) | Practitioner
Fundamentals of Facilitation for Racial Justice Work (Interaction Institute) | Certification
Immunity to Change (Kegan & Lahey) | Facilitator Certification
Leadership Circle Profile (Anderson) | Certified Coach
People, Power, and Change (Harvard Kennedy School; Ganz) | Organizer & Practitioner
Negotiations Workshop (Harvard Law School) | Student and Practitioner
Restorative Justice for Schools (Sound Supports) | Certification