Institute Board

Sasha Ardichvili

Alexandre ("Sasha") A. Ardichvili, is Associate Professor of Human Resource Education at the University of Minnesota, where he teaches graduate courses, directs doctoral dissertations, and pursues an active research agenda.  He is also a fellow at the Center for Ethical Business Cultures, were he is involved in a long-term research project on dimensions of ethical organizational cultures.  

Alexandre’s prior work experience includes faculty positions at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, a role as the research fellow and later co-director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Minnesota, management and executive positions in the energy industry, research analyst position at a leading foreign policy think tank in Russia, instructional designer position at a management development institute in Georgia, and visiting professor positions at several colleges and universities in the US, Poland, and Russia. In addition, he has more than 20 years of experience as a consultant in industry, and has conducted consulting and research projects at large corporations (including, among others, ADM, the Carlson Companies, Caterpillar, Medtronic, and Honeywell), and at numerous small firms and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Ardichvili has published an edited book and more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on organizational culture and leadership, knowledge management, and entrepreneurship. He has presented his work and organized workshops and symposia at numerous international conferences.

His educational background includes Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Minnesota, Ph.D. in management from the Moscow State University, and B.A. in Economics from the University of Tbilisi in Georgia. 

George Johnson

More to come...

Myron Lowe (Associate)

Myron is the Director of External Technology Initiatives in the Office of Information Technology, at the University of Minnesota. He is responsible for state and national level technology projects that support strategic University research and education goals.  He also directs planning and management of collaborative projects with other universities, state agencies, and corporations.

Anne Knapp

Anne has been studying complex adaptive systems for nearly 20 years and putting that knowledge to work in her various jobs in large private and public organizations -- most recently as an EVP at GMAC-Residential Funding. Anne left corporate employment in 2007 and is now President of Ready For Change, Inc. a firm dedicated preparing leaders and organizations to thrive in change. Her firm's primary work is research, process design and knowledge transfer in the areas of Organizational Performance, Change Management, Leadership Development and Strategic Communications.

Pat Seppanen (Associate)

Pat Seppanen holds an Ed.D in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University.  She has been involved with social programs for 35 years as an applied researcher-evaluator, program administrator, and practitioner.  Currently, Dr. Seppanen is the Director of Research Applications at Search Institute. In addition to designing and leading field-based studies, Pat serves as an evaluation consultant to youth development initiatives sponsored by other organizations (i.e., Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, YMCA of Greater New York, Tiger Woods Learning Center).   Pat attended the Human Systems Dynamics  Summer Institute in 2006 as part of Cohort  5.  Since then, she and her colleagues at Search Institute have been actively using HSD methods and techniques with individuals, programs, and communities as they work to transform the settings that touch the lives of children and adolescents.  Pat brings to the HSD board a background in grant writing, program development, and evaluation.

Kristine Quade (Associate) 

Kristine Quade is an independent consultant and combines her background as an attorney with a Master's degree in Organizational Development from Pepperdine University, together with her years of experience as both an internal and external OD consultant.

Recognized as the 1996 Minnesota Organization Development practitioner of the year, Kristine teaches in OD programs at Pepperdine University, Bowling Green University, the University of Minnesota at Mankato, and the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Along with others she has self-published The Essential Handbook: Behind the Scenes of Large Group Event in 1996 and co-authored The Conscious Consultant: Mastering Change from the Inside Out (Jossey Bass, 2002). Her third book entitled Organizational Development At Work: Conversations on the Values, Applications, and Future of OD is co-authored with Margaret Wheatley and Robert Tannenbaum, (Jossey Bass 2003).