Our Team
Barry Oshry. For over 30 years Barry has been on a single-minded quest to unlock the mysteries of power and powerlessness in social system life. He began his work in the 1960s at Boston University where he developed large-scale organizational simulations for undergraduates in business. Throughout the 1960s he continued his research and program development at BU and at NTL Institute. In 1970 he created The Power Lab, and since the mid-1970’s he has developed and conducted organizational simulations with Tops, Middles, Bottoms, and Customers. These programs have been providing “system sight” to organizations throughout the world.
A pioneer in the field of systems thinking, Barry has been invited to address numerous professional conferences. He has written extensively on power, system change, and other social system issues. Among his writing are THE POSSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATION, IN THE MIDDLE, and SPACE WORK. His most recent books, SEEING SYSTEMS and LEADING SYSTEMS, have met with critical acclaim and are regularly used in a variety of graduate courses. Barry’s most recent writing project is the musical play, “WHAT A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING.”
Karen Oshry. As President of Power + Systems, Karen is the organization’s link with current and potential clients as well as with our worldwide network of trainers. She provides coaching on which program best meets an individual’s or organization’s goals. As a design partner in all of Power + Systems’ programs, she is adept at working with clients to tailor programs to meet their needs and to connect them with the most appropriate facilitator.
In addition to being Barry’s first editor, she enjoys cooking, traveling, finding great places to eat, taking long walks and reading. She also loves to spend time on Cape Cod. She is a regular volunteer at The Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for poor and homeless women in Boston.
The Rest Of The Team
Susan Berg worked for over a decade at Unisys Corp. where she was awarded the prestigious Chairman's Innovation Award for creativity in program development. She has extensive experience in designing change management projects and, along with The Organization Workshop she conducts programs on leadership, communication, creativity, and personal development. Susan holds a Ph.D. from U.C.L.A. and she speaks French, Spanish and some German.
Marsha Clark holds a Masters of Science in Organization Development from American University and founded her own company in 2000 after 21 years with a global high-tech company, including senior executive-level roles in both line management and support functions. She has been an associate of Power + Systems since 1999. Marsha provides consulting with an emphasis on change management and executive coaching. Her passion is developing and delivering leadership programs for women. She participates in The Power Lab as coach and anthropologist.
Jane Critchlow is an artist whose work is influenced by the systems lens that she acquired through her affiliation with the Oshrys and the Power + Systems team. She spent 15 years in high tech as an internal consultant prior to receiving an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Jane has been coach and anthropologist at The Power Lab since 1992.
David Green has an ability to bring together people with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints and focus on achieving common goals. Prior to starting his own consulting business, he worked in many roles including engineering, IT, operations management, project management and organization development in the US, Canada and UK. In his consulting practice David uses the The Organization Workshop for leadership development. He has a Degree in Engineering and a Certificate in Organization Development. David serves as an anthropologist at the Power Lab.
Teressa Moore Griffin is CEO of her own firm and has served as an international consultant and coach for 30 years. Her professional experience spans the pharmaceutical, financial and consumer products industries. She is a professional speaker and is published in the area of workforce diversity. Her educational training is in Psychology, Organization Development and Human Resources Education. She is a graduate of Beaver College and Boston University. Teressa serves as a coach at the Power Lab.
Marcia Hyatt has over 30 years experience in management and leadership development. She is a leadership coach and teacher. She is a recipient of the Minnesota Organization Development Practitioner of The Year Award, and is co-author of TOWARDS THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION: A GUIDE. Marcia has served as anthropologist at The Power Lab, and she conducts and trains others to conduct The Organization Workshop. In addition, she stars in the play, “What A Way to Make A Living.”
Anne Litwin has been an organizational development consultant for more than 30 years to a wide variety of organizations across the globe in the areas of executive coaching, managing change, leadership development, and cross-cultural diversity. She is a doctoral candidate at Fielding Graduate University, and is recent past Chair of NTL Institute, and is editor of MANAGING IN THE AGE OF CHANGE. Anne worked with Barry and Karen Oshry and Bill Woodson to develop the Merging Cultures Workshop. Anne serves as coach and anthropologist at the Power Lab, and conducts and trains others to conduct The Organization Workshop.
Mary Lou Michael holds a doctorate in Human and Organization Development from The Fielding Graduate Institute. Her 26-year career encompasses human resource management in a corporation, and for the past 21 years she has owned her own consulting firm. As senior associate with Power + Systems, Mary Lou is a coach at the Power Lab. She has been conducting The Organization Workshop in public and private sector settings since 1987.
Jonathan Milton has been a consultant, workshop designer and trainer for many years. He has been a senior associate with Power + Systems since 1984. He has been a senior trainer of The Organization Workshop and has trained others to lead The Organization Workshop since 1986. He has been on the staff of The Power Lab as coach and anthropologist since the 1970s. Jonathan is also a fledgling story and songwriter.
Phil Novick holds a Master of Science in Organization Development from American University/NTL Institute. He is an independent consultant who focuses on organization development, coaching, leadership development, interpersonal communication, and team building. Phil serves as coach and anthropologist at The Power Lab and as trainer of The Organization Workshop.
Dick Phillips has been involved in training for the past 35 years. For 28 of those he was a trainer with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he did needs assessments and designed and delivered programs in a number of areas, most recently in leadership development. He has been working with Power+Systems' concepts since 1997. He is a graduate of The Power Lab and serves as anthropologist. He's taught at George Washington University, Northern Virginia Community College and The University of Virginia.
Kevin Purcell has been an Organization Development Consultant for the past 26 years. He has spent the last 13 years as an internal and external consultant at Microsoft Corporation. Kevin has been an associate with Power + Systems since 1989. He has conducted 8 Power Labs (all at Microsoft) and more than 85 Organization Workshops in the past 15 years. Kevin has also designed an "Effective Consulting" workshop based on Barry's "Space of Service" material and he has conducted more than 15 "Merging Cultures" exercises with Microsoft leaders. Kevin has produced and directed two of Barry Oshry's written works for the stage for The Seattle Public Theater ("The Dance of Disempowerment” and “The Terrible Dance of Power").
Brenda Reynolds holds a Master of Science in Organization Development from the American University/NTL Institute. She has been an independent consultant and founder of her own consulting organization for 14 years. Her work focuses on organization development, coaching, leadership development, interpersonal communications, culture change, organizational transitions, and team building. Brenda has been a trainer of The Organization Workshop since 1998 and uses its theory as a basis for organizational consulting.
Lorna Rickard has over 17 years experience leading and facilitating cross-functional collaboration and team and organizational effectiveness. During her 10-year tenure at a major global financial services corporation, she was instrumental in changing its culture and market position, moving the company ranking based on revenue from number four to number one. She is a certified organization development consultant and uses The Organization Workshop in leadership development programs throughout the US. She also serves as anthropologist at the Power Lab.
Michael Sales co-founded New Context Consulting in 1989. He holds a doctorate in Education from Harvard and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Wharton. He has been a senior associate of Power + Systems since 1984. He has deliverered and trained others to deliver The Organization Workshop, and he participated in The Power Lab as coach and anthropologist, and occasionally as participant.
John Watters is Managing Director of Living Leadership, a leadership consultancy whose focus is to release untapped leadership potential within individuals, teams and across organizational systems. John has pioneered the introduction of Power+Systems' work to organizations across the UK. He has served as anthropologist at The Power Lab and trains trainers in the UK in The Organization Workshop. In Spring 2009 John is convening the first Power Lab in Europe in partnership with Power+Systems.
Bill Wilson brings 36 years experience in human resources, training and development, management, recruitment, consulting and sales to organizations looking for ways to create excellence and peak performance at all levels. Bill has been conducting The Organization Workshop since 1992 as part of his consulting practice for organizations large and small, US and International.
