HSD Team

Dr. Glenda Eoyang works with public and private organizations to help them thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the field of human systems dynamics (HSD), which she founded. Through Human Systems Dynamic Institute, Glenda uses her Models and Methods to help others see patterns in the chaos that surrounds them, understand the patterns in simple and powerful ways, and take practical steps to shift chaos into order. Her clients include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oxfam International, Canada School of Public Service, Cargill, Fraser Health Authority (BC), and Roche/Genentech.

Glenda’s latest book, with co-author Royce Holladay, is Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization (Stanford University Press, April 2013).

Royce Holladay has been working to support people as they navigate change for over 30 years. With a Masters degree in counseling, she began learning about the dynamics of personal change. Since learning about Human Systems Dynamics, she builds on and expands those skills in multiple areas of her work and personal life. She works with individuals of all ages, supporting them in the challenges of living, working, and playing in the complexity of today's world. Over the past decade, Royce has co-authored five books based on Human Systems Dynamics, including the book she and Glenda co-authored, Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization. Her most recent books are a series of brief guides designed to help people apply HSD principles to specific areas of work in human systems, such as coaching, instructional design, and facilitation.

Barbara Capps joined the Human Systems Dynamics Institute in January 2016 as the Executive Assistant to the HSD Executive staff. She brings a wealth of organizational skills and experience to provide adaptive support as the HSD Institute continues to expand its reach and the boundaries of the field. She's a strong team player, anticipating and responding to needs of HSD staff members, Associates, clients, or customers.

Wally's creative leadership style transforms traditional grantmaking and expands the scope of what is possible in philanthropy. Based out of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Executive Office as an Equity Associate, his collaborative approach to advancing equity clears complexity and pioneers new paths for change. Wally listens and watches; explains and persuades. His brand of problem-solving builds consensus and motivates by doing.

Previously, Wally served as a Community Innovation Associate with the Bush Foundation, in Saint Paul, Minn. He managed a portfolio of 16 grantees and more than $5.5 million in grants and oversaw the Community Innovations (CI) team’s approach to providing exceptional consultation to prospects and feedback to declined applicants.

Wally earned a BA in communications and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minn. He continues to receive multiple accolades, including NAACP’s McGee Youth in Action Award; Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul’s Emerging Legend Award; National TRIO Achiever of the Year Award; and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellowship.

Wally enjoys exercising with his Peloton bike, trying to make Somali food as well as his Mom or Gram, and traveling as much as possible.

Dr. Edward Ehlinger is a public health metaphysician who has spent his professional career working in various settings to advance health equity and optimal health for all. He has Integrated the values, practices, and approaches of medical care, public health, and social justice in his work as a Senior Assistant Surgeon with the National Health Service Corps, Director of Maternal and Child Health at the Minneapolis Health Department, Director and Chief Health Officer at Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, and Commissioner of Health at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Dr. Ehlinger is a Fellow of the American College Health Association, a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, and a Bush Fellow. He is a past president of the Minnesota Public Health Association, the North Central College Health Association, the Twin Cities Medical Society, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and the first board chair of CityMatCH.

Dr. Ida Rose Florez is an education systems psychologist who approaches the world, and how people learn, through a complexity lens. In her consulting work with governments, nonprofits and educational organizations, she brings the ability to translate big theoretical ideas into actionable next steps. She expertly curates and inspires internal and cross-systems teams to transcend perceived barriers and discover solutions that work. Her background includes systems development and reinvention at the state and national level; large scale program evaluation; design-based research; improvement and innovation science; STEM-learning ecosystem development; creation of online, customizable educator professional development resources; data collection and analysis; and international program development.

Ida Rose is laser-focused on equity and inclusivity. She spent her early career as a PreK-12 school psychologist, working on behalf of children with learning difficulties in urban and rural settings. Her more recent work has focused on informing large-scale systems change. Her testimony as an expert witness in the federal Horne v. Flores case led the Arizona Department of Education to overhaul the Arizona English Language Learners Assessment for kindergarteners. She has been published in Teachers College Record, Language Policy, the UCLA Civil Rights Project, and Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.

Dr. Florez is the former Vice President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2014 to 2018). She provided governance oversight as chair of the Affiliate Relations Committee to the massive reinvention of the NAEYC affiliate structure.

Ida Rose holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree and specialist certification in school psychology from Millersville University and a bachelor’s in behavioral science from National University.

Jennifer received a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Carleton College and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina. She began her career working in a teen health center in Boston. Although the healthcare services at the Center were valuable, she wanted to work on improving the environment and opportunities that shaped the lives of those teenagers 24/7/365. Jennifer studied community-focused public health and worked on tobacco prevention efforts–back in the day when it was still normal to smoke at home or in a bar. Since 1998, Jennifer has worked in county government in the areas of public health, human services, and community corrections.

Jennifer is committed to creating more ‘public goods’ like public health and public safety - knowing that none of us can do this alone. We can only create public goods together as a community.  

Her passion for working inside government systems is shaped by the knowledge that our government systems are enduring and will not disappear. So she recognizes that it really matters how we use our collective financial (taxes) and human resources. 

Jennifer loves the flexibility and adaptability of  HSD tools and perspectives. She uses HSD to understand and shape the criminal justice system to contribute to the health and productivity of this public good.

John Murray is the Recruitment Coordinator for Mennonite Mission Network, serving as a networking agent and a resource to individuals and groups seeking to serve in a variety of domestic and international contexts. Working in the religious non-profit sector since 2010, John has been privileged in partnering a number of organizations to help learn and facilitate cross-cultural experiences for people of all ages.

John holds an Associate of Arts in Music from Hesston College (KS) and a Bachelor of Arts in Cross Cultural Communication and Ethics from Prescott College (AZ). He joined the HSD community in 2016 as an Associate and has enjoyed the continued exploration and learning with others.

In addition to serving on the HSD Institute’s Board, John is an officer on the Board of Directors of Menno-Clinic, India, a non-profit hospital providing general, optical, and dental services for a small community in Andhra Pradesh, India and Growing Hope, a startup organization in the Twin Cities promoting urban farming and providing organic produce to those without access.

Laurie provides leadership for all direct services to Catholic Charities’ primary customers: people experiencing homelessness, older adults and people with disabilities, vulnerable children and their families, and refugees resettling in Minnesota. Laurie also oversees the agency’s research and evaluation and volunteer services divisions.

Prior to joining Catholic Charities, Laurie spent 20 years working to transform how public organizations delivered value with her colleagues at The Public Strategies Group (PSG), which she co-owned and led as CEO from 2007-11. PSG’s engagements took many forms, and Laurie enjoyed working with a wide range of clients from the Amtrak Police Department and New York State’s Department of Transportation to the Minneapolis Public Schools and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, among many others. She transformed herself several times over in the course of this work, which made for never a dull moment.

Laurie’s experience also includes service as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Crime Victim Services in Governor Ventura’s administration, and developing single-family housing in Minneapolis. She studied at the International Preparatory Institute in Budapest, Hungary before earning a Master of Planning degree from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, where she occasionally serves as adjunct faculty. In addition to serving on the HSD Institute board, Laurie is a board member for National Day One, a non-profit committed to victims of domestic abuse.

Phei Sunn was first acquainted with strategic foresight and complexity work in 2007 and subsequently ventured into the field of Organisational Development since 2010. Over her 20+ years span in the Singapore Public Service, Phei Sunn has worked across policy, operational, and corporate portfolios. The work in the Public Sector is appealing because it can be so complex and diverse, yet deeply bounded by a common mission and purpose.

As an internal OD practitioner, Phei Sunn has conducted delivered training programmes, consulted with public agencies and teams, and written case studies related to change and self-organising. She is passionate about designing and facilitating conversations, and developing others. She believes in deepening her reflective and adaptive capacities so that she can be a better use of self in her work. 

Phei Sunn holds a Masters in Social-Organisational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Masters in Public Administration from the LKY School of Public Policy, and a Bachelors (Hons) in Economics from the National University of Singapore. She also has a graduate diploma from the NTL-CSC Organisational Development Practitioner Certificate Programme, and is a certified Human Systems Dynamics Professional in working with complex adaptive systems.