Faculty & Staff

GIC Administrative Staff:

Jeff Vengrow, Interim Chief Administrator and Interim CEO

Tira S. Hawkins, Operations Manager
Email: ops@gestaltcleveland.org

Pat Zippert, Facilities Coordinator

GIC Office Email: registrar@gestaltcleveland.org

GIC Accounting Email: accounting@gestaltcleveland.org

GIC Faculty

GIC faculty members are outstanding scholars, teachers, and practitioners of Gestalt theory and its applications across multiple disciplines. The professional and associate staff have long-standing affiliations with the Institute. They have helped create, develop, and nurture our renowned learning and training opportunities. The visiting staff come from all over the world to share their diverse interests, talents, and experiences in Gestalt principles and methods. They include successful, practicing organizational consultants, psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers, and they bring years of study and hands-on experience to their faculty roles.

Many have written or edited seminal texts on Gestalt principles and applications. Sample the range of titles in the GIC Bookstore. 

Professional Staff

Frances S. Baker, PhD, RN is a psychologist in private practice who specializes in helping individuals and couples develop satisfying lifestyles. She enjoys developing in GIC's students a balance of artistry and pragmatism in the practice of therapy. She is also interested in multidimensional healing and its application and inclusion in the therapy process.
Philip R. Belzunce, PhD, SMFT, DAPA, RPP, CPE, CPC is a diplomate in psychotherapy, and a psychotherapist, lecturer, worldwide consultant, and supervisor for AAMFT. He applies a systemic approach integrating Gestalt, Ericksonian hypnosis, and family therapy methodologies. His training includes family therapy with Virginia Satir, Jay Haley, and Chloe Madanes. He is a certified Tao instructor and a Reiki Master. He is also certified in polarity therapy and as a spine realigner He is the author of What Really Matters Is the Heart and Heart Shadows, and the co-author of Once upon a Doggie.
Jean Berggren, MD is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine, and is in private practice.
Donna Marie Berwald, MA, LMHC, LMFT, LSW is a private practitioner in Fort Wayne, where she works with individuals, couples, and groups. She is on the faculty of the Working with Physical Process training program, and co-chairs the Working with Individuals training program.
Marlene Moss Blumenthal, PhD, LPC is a therapist and school psychologist in Cleveland, OH, specializing in adolescent and family therapy, psychoeducational assessment, school consultation, and family conflict. She authored "A Field of Difference: A Gestalt Consideration of Learning Disabilities," published in The Heart of Development and has published research in the areas of Gestalt therapy, mother-daughter relationships, and conflict.
Jay C. Brinegar, MA has over 20 years' experience in executive assessment and coaching, organizational change, and senior team development. He consults to a range of clients in the manufacturing, finance, and professional services industries. He is on the Board of the Seaman Corporation, a vertically integrated manufacturing company, and has served on GIC's Board.
Michael Clemmens, PhD is a licensed psychologist in Pittsburgh working with individuals, couples, and groups. He has 20 years' experience working with chemical dependency and personality disorders. He is trained in various forms of body work. One of his special interests is consulting with therapists to develop and maintain self-support. He is the author of Getting beyond Sobriety.
J. Rick Day, PhD, PsyD, MBA is an international organization and leadership development consultant. Previously, he was Vice President of Organization and Management Development at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix. Before that, he was Vice President of Corporate Services in a behavioral health care organization, and a clinical psychologist. He has consulted to diverse industries in both public and private sectors throughout the world, including several international 500 companies. As a clinical psychologist, he has worked with adult individuals, couples, and groups.
Debra Dunkle, PhD, LISW is a private practitioner in the Cleveland area. She works with individuals, couples, and groups, serving adolescents and adults. She has special training and consulting interests in experiences between larger groups--of cultures, races, faiths, and sexual orientations--and the individuals within those groups. She is also interested in adventure as growth, particularly for women. She serves on the faculties of GIC's Couple and Family Therapy and Small Systems and Working with Individuals training programs.
Barbara W. Fields, MSSA, LISW is a therapist in private practice, working with individuals, couples, and groups. She also works as a consultant and clinical supervisor. She serves on the faculties of the Gestalt Training Program, the Group Intensive Training Program, and Working with Individuals.
Karen Fleming, PhD is director of Adult Outpatient Services at Coleman Professional Services in Kent, OH. She works in both community mental health and private practice settings. As assistant professor of psychology for Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, she provides training supervision for pre-doctoral psychology interns. She works with individuals, couples, and groups. Her research and interests include theories of change and stability.
Isabel Fredericson, PhD has been involved with GIC almost since its inception. She has served as chairperson of the Educators Program, Humanism in Action, PG II, and the Group Intensive Training Program. She now resides in Santa Barbara, and continues to work as a teacher, trainer, and therapist.
Lalei E. Gutierrez, PhD, SMFT, RPP, CPE, CPC is a psychologist in private practice and a consultant member of ForeSight Consultants, Ltd. She is an approved supervisor for AAMFT. She trains and consults internationally, and is involved in the development of Gestalt practice in the Philippines. She applies a holistic perspective, integrating her special interests in cross-cultural, multicultural, and diversity issues with healing, energy, spirituality, and whole health in working with individuals, relational and intimate systems, families, groups, organizations, and communities. She is the co-author of Once upon a Doggie.
Elaine Brown Hammond, PhD has been a member of GIC's professional staff since 1972. She specializes in the use of hypnosis and imagery in conjunction with Gestalt techniques, and is exploring techniques for working with the body to restore balance, to free-up natural energy, and to promote holistic healing.
Frances L. Harris, MSSA, LISW is president of FH International, as well as a clinical social worker in private practice with individuals, couples, families, and organizations. She has a special interest in developing relationships between adult siblings and their parents, including consulting to family businesses. She is a former chairperson of GIC's Board of Governors and of the Cleveland Approach for Gestalt Practitioners. She teaches Gestalt internationally.
C. Wesley Jackson, Jr., PhD, ABPP is a diplomate in clinical psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology, and a certified health service provider, Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He is in private practice specializing in couple, family, and individual issues. He is especially interested in working with couples who have fertility or adoption issues, and is currently engaged in research on the change process. He is Chairperson of GIC Couple and Family Therapy and Small Systems Training Program.
Daniel E. Jones, PhD is a licensed psychologist with clinical experience in community mental health, hospital, and private practice settings. He is a clinical member of AAMFT. His interests include male development, individual psychotherapy, and couples therapy.
James I. Kepner, PhD is a psychologist who works with individuals and groups, and who specializes in body approaches to therapy. He is the author of Body Process and Healing Tasks: Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse, both published by GestaltPress.
Kay King, MSW, LSW is a therapist and assistant professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she oversees the training and supervision of psychology majors and interns, with special attention to returning adult students, and where she also offers consulting services to faculty and staff. She provides individual and group psychotherapy and educational programming, and teaches Gestalt therapy in her classes.
Mary Ann Kraus, PsyD is a clinical psychologist specializing in consultation and training with individuals, couples, groups, and organizations. She co-chairs the Gestalt Training Program, teaches in the specialization tracks Working with Individuals and Working with Groups, and is a faculty member in the OSD and Becoming a Better Intervener programs. Her interests include expanding integral and holistic theory, and creating capabilities for full-spectrum development in individuals, groups, and organizations. She has particular interests in gender issues and in women's development across the lifespan.
Lynne M. Kweder, MPA, LSW formerly GIC's executive director, is an independent consultant, primarily to nonprofit and public organizations. Her interests include working with organizational change, leadership development, strategic planning and structuring, development of boards of trustees, and race and multicultural relations.
Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, PhD is an organizational consultant forging public-private partnerships, reforming educational systems and curricula, and transforming and revitalizing bureaucracies to integrate corporate strategy, structures, and human resources. Her clients have ranged from organizations of 10 to the Executive branch of the federal government, when she consulted to the White House. She is founder and director of America Speaks, a not-for-profit organization and nationwide network that links authentic citizen voices with the governance of the nation.
Rick Maurer, MA works with leaders who want to lead change without migraines™. Through Maurer & Associates, he provides expertise to help you identify even deeply hidden resistance, overcome it rapidly, and thereby implement even the most difficult strategic and tactical changes.  Rick works closely with clients to develop and adapt change management strategies that will work in their unique culture. Due to the popularity of his books, Why Don't You Want What I Want?, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, and Feedback Toolkit, Rick's opinion has been sought by CNBC, NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Fortune, USA Today, The Economist, Industry Week, Nation's Business and many trade publications and wire services.
Mark McConville, PhD is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Cleveland, OH specializing in adolescent and family psychology. He is the author of Adolescence: Psychotherapy and the Emergent Self, and co-editor of The Heart of Development: Gestalt Approaches to Working with Children, Adolescents, and Their Worlds, Vols. I & II. He is currently working on a book on parenting and the development of the family field.
Jacqueline McLemore, PhD is an organizational consultant with over 20 years experience as a change management consultant, executive and life coach. She is president of McLemore Consulting Associates, Inc. Jacquie enjoys her collaborations with communities, organizations, work groups and individuals as they consider, plan and implement changes that are important to them.
Joseph Melnick Joseph Melnick, PhD is a clinical psychologist specializing in training and consultation to individuals, families, and larger organizations. He has a particular interest in the use of strategic and intimate approaches within organizations. He has published extensively, and is currently serving as editor of the quarterly journal, The Gestalt Review.

Herb Stevenson, MA, CDP, CPC is President/CEO of the Cleveland Consulting Group, Inc. He is a Certified Professional Coach and Certified Diversity Professional. Herb is on the professional staff of the post-graduate Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and the College of Executive Coaches, which certifies executive coaches in affiliation with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Herb is on the graduate faculty of Cleveland State University where he teaches assessment and diagnosis, facilitation, change management, and conflict settlement in the Master’s degree program in Organizational Psychology with a diversity management specialization. He is a member of the Organization Development Network (ODN), the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and the Academy of Management.

Jackie Lowe Stevenson, MSSA, LISW, EAGALA Certified is a private practitioner specializing in personal growth journeys through psychotherapy, physical process, nature, and the healing arts. She offers group and individual work through equine facilitated psychotherapy and learning. She is adjunct faculty at Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
Jody Niinita Telfair, PhD has a private practice in Gestalt therapy, working with individuals, couples, and families. She integrates Gestalt theory and methodology with Eastern systems and Native American philosophy. She is studying yoga and the psychophysical issues of the elderly. She has a particular interest in physical processes, energy, and the spiritual dimension of growth, health, and healing.
Denise Tervo, PhD is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. She has worked with children, adults, and families in residential, school, hospital, and mental health settings for 28 years. She is a graduate of Violet Oaklander's Child and Adolescent Gestalt training program, and is co-chair of GIC's advanced training program, Working with Physical Process. She is the author of Physical Process with Children and Adolescents, published in The Heart of Development: Gestalt Approaches to Working with Children, Adolescents, and Their Worlds, Vol. II (2003). In her Gestalt practice, she integrates physical process awareness and energy work.
Barbara Y. Thomas, PhD is a psychologist on staff at the Oberlin College Counseling Center, where she provides psychotherapy, educational programming, and consultation. Her interests include integrations of Gestalt, existential, dialogical and multicultural approaches to psychotherapy; adolescent and adult development; and cultural influences on identity development.
Nancy S. Wadsworth, PhD, LISW has extensive experience in the field of aging as a clinician, program developer, and consultant. She has developed innovative model programs based on Gestalt theory and methodology for geriatric interdisciplinary team training and for working with older adults and their families. As a principal of Wadsworth and Associates, she provides training and consultation to organizations on program development, interdisciplinary team training, and management of programs serving older people.
Mary H. Ward, PhD, ABPP has been on the professional staff at GIC since 1973 and has served on the Board of Governors. Her primary teaching at GIC was in the PG Program (now the Gestalt Training Program), and for several years she was the Director of Training. She was a professor at John Carroll University for 21 years, and is now Professor Emeritus. Essentially retired, she enjoys staying in touch with the faculty and students at GIC and JCU.
Mark J. Warren, MD, MPH is medical director of University Hospitals Health System/Laurelwood Hospital and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. In his clinical practice, he has particular interest in eating disorders, personality disorders, and in working with adolescents and young adults. He is exploring the relationship of Gestalt theory and practice to other exciting changes in clinical practice, including behavioral and spiritual techniques.
Gordon Wheeler, PhD teaches the Gestalt model worldwide with emphasis on using the model to deepen our understanding of self, relationship, child development, gender, evolutionary psychology, and the co-construction of experience. As Series Editor of GestaltPress (publishing jointly with Erlbaum/Analytic), he has worked with authors to develop some 30 Gestalt book titles over the past decade, as well as scores of chapters and articles. His recent books in the field include Beyond Individualism: Toward a New Understanding of Self, Relationship, and Experience (2000), the two-volume The Heart of Development: Gestalt Approaches to Working with Children, Adolescents, and Their Worlds (2001, 2003) with Mark McConville, and Reading Paul Goodman: Gestalt Therapy for the 21st Century (2004, in press). He is President and CEO of the Esalen Institute, and makes his home in Big Sur, CA and Cambridge, MA.
Victoria R. Winbush, MPH, MSSA, LISW is a licensed independent social worker in Cleveland, Ohio providing psychotherapy to individuals and families, and facilitation and consultation to groups and organizations. She is an adjunct faculty member at Cleveland State University's Diversity Management Program, and the Smith College School for Social Work, where she is also a doctoral candidate. Her clinical research interest is understanding how adolescents with mood/behavior disorders, along with their parents, perceive the adolescents' illness, and make treatment decisions. Her organizational research interest is examining the intersection of diversity-related issues and change management strategies.
Lester P. Wyman, PhD, LISW is a social worker, privately practicing as a psychotherapist and organizational consultant. He chairs ISRAGIC, GIC's training program in Israel. He trains Gestalt practitioners and trainers internationally.
Celia Young Celia Cheng-Ying Young, MBA, MA is the president of CELIA YOUNG & ASSOCIATES, INC. (www.celiayoung.com). Since 1986, Ms. Young and her associates have helped their clients develop vision and strategies and implement “change” in their businesses worldwide They coach and develop globally competent and multiculturally versatile leaders on the individual and group basis in order to help mold a new organization that is open to and capable of fully utilizing the “diversity” of its people. Ms. Young is a professional speaker on Pacific Rim cultures, cross-cultural communication, organizational behavior, organizational change, leadership, diversity and creativity, and multicultural marketing strategies. She has a BA in Business Administration from Fu-Jen University in Taiwan, a MBA in Marketing from Michigan State University and a MA in Counseling Psychology from Pepperdine University. Having been educated and had business careers on both sides of the Pacific Rim, she possesses an excellent and unique ability to straddle the two worlds. It is between the two worlds where Ms. Young continues to do her life’s work.

Associate Staff

Arye Bursztyn, MFA teaches dance at Seminar Hakibbutzim Teachers College in Tel Aviv, and facilitates workshops in dance, contact improvisation, and body process. He works with private individuals as well as with organizational development consultants, healers, expressive therapists, and educational counselors.
Cathe Carlson, MEd is a leadership and organization development consultant with 25 years' experience working with a broad range of executives in diverse businesses and industries in both public and private sectors, many of them Global 500 and Fortune 100 companies. Her primary focus is helping clients develop innovative solutions to complex issues while enhancing the quality of thinking and interacting in human systems. Current interests include personal and leadership coaching, development of consultants and other leaders, and transformational change strategies. Field theory, phenomenology, and dialogic existentialism are theoretical underpinnings of her work. She is currently a principal with an international consulting firm based in Houston specializing in building capabilities to support breakthrough performance.
Kirste Carlson, ND,RN,CS is a clinical nurse specialist in the Department of Nursing Education at Cleveland Clinic, and adjunct faculty at both Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University. She provides teaching, coaching, and consultation to health professionals in a variety of specialties, and maintains a clinical practice. Her particular interests include integral philosophy and psychology, physical process, and adult development.
Kathy Clegg, MD is a psychiatrist on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where she also directs the Public Academic Liaison Program for psychiatry residents and the psychiatry core clerkship for CWRU medical students. She has special interests in community psychiatry, addictions, and group process, and in working with survivors of sexual abuse.
Benjamin Danis, PhD is in private practice in Seattle. He combines the principles of Eriksonian hypnosis and Gestalt therapy in helping clients manage psychological and physiological stressors. His recent work has focused on mobilizing the resources of cancer patients in dealing with the diagnosis, treatment, and aftermath of their disease.
Jim Etzkorn, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, MI. Having worked at three university counseling centers, he has focused on developmental issues of young adults. He works extensively with gay and bisexual men, and presents workshops on issues affecting this population. Recently he has joined the staff of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Gender Services Program, which assists people seeking to transition from one sex to another.
Aviel Hadari, MA is a drama coach specializing in the transformational use of storytelling in group and individual work. He is chair of the Department of Psychodrama at Lesley College, and teaches elsewhere in the US as well as in Israel. He maintains a clinical practice and supervises practicing therapists.
Richard B. Hancock, MA is Principal of Richard B. Hancock and Associates, an organizational development group based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. With more than 20 years of senior management experience, he applies the Gestalt approach to resistance to whole-system assessments, large-group facilitation, team development, conflict resolution, and executive coaching.
Will Heindel, MA is a psychotherapist, group facilitator, mentor, and teacher with a private practice in Pittsburgh. He is the co-founder of MGM Psychological Associates and of The Hero's Journey, programs that empower men and women to renew vision, passion, and purpose in life.
Barry Johnson, Ph.D. is president of Polarity Management Associates. For the past 35 years, he has been working to help create organizations that are good places to work, to own, to do business with and to have in the community. In the process he has founded 5 organizations. The Polarity Management Map® and initial set of principles emerged out of his work in 1975. Since then he has continued to develop the map, principles with a variety of organizations all over the world. He wrote a book on his work with polarities (dilemmas, paradox) in 1992: Polarity Management, Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems. HRD Press.
Yaacov Kaiser, MA, MSW is a clinical psychotherapist who maintains a private clinic in Nahariya, Israel. He is a member of the Israel Psychoanalytic Therapy Association, and is trained in body bioenergetics, and in individual, couple, and family therapies. He is on the faculties of Tel Hai and Haifa Rambam, where he teaches and supervises students.
Robert Kolodny, PhD is an organizational consultant working with a wide range of human systems in the US and abroad. He teaches organization behavior and development at the New School University in New York City, and is a professional member of NTL. He has a special interest in working with value-based organizations, and his guiding professional vision is to help people build more satisfying and effective workplace communities, and more just and democratic civic communities.
Peter Krembs, MA has over 30 years' experience as a consultant to major international corporations, specializing in leadership and organization development and in transitioning experts/specialists to group leadership and strategic leadership roles. Previously on the faculty of G.E.'s international leadership courses, he is currently a faculty member of the Institute for Management Studies and the Carlson School of Management. He authored Leadership Challenges in Technical Organizations in Leadership in a New Era, and is co-author of On the Level: Performance Communication That Works.
Robert G. Lee, PhD has written extensively and presented widely on how shame and belonging regulate the relational field. His research on couples and shame led to an understanding of the hidden dynamics of the intimate couple. His current book, The Secret Language of Intimacy (GestaltPress/Analytic Press, in press) explores these dynamics, offering potentially transformational paths toward greater connection and intimacy for couples. He is co-editor of and contributor to The Voice of Shame: Silence and Connection in Psychotherapy (Jossey-Bass, 1996) and editor of The Values of Connection: A Relational Approach to Ethics (GestaltPress/Analytic Press, 2004). He is an editor at GestaltPress, and teaches and trains internationally. He practices psychotherapy in Boston.
Mary Jen Meerdink, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 15 years' experience coaching individuals, couples and organizations in the process of growth and transition. Her foundation in clinical psychology affords her unique tools and expertise to successfully support the processes of assessment, design, implementation, and maintenance of lasting individual and systemic change. She is also a lecturer and trainer specializing in leadership development, conflict resolution, and communication facilitation, assisting organizations in maximizing the productivity of their meetings and offering one-to-one coaching support to individuals in a variety of senior leadership positions and other key organizational roles.
Tali Mirkin, MA is a psychologist and therapist for individuals and couples at the Student Counseling Service of Ben-Gurion University. She teaches developmental psychology to educators of young children.
Hanna R. Scherler, PhD is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Istanbul, working with individuals and couples. She teaches part-time in a state university, and is involved in research projects that explore the adaptability of Western personality instruments to Turkish culture. Her interest is in the development of a Turkish sense of self. She has been active in studying the mental health responses of survivors of earthquake trauma.
Daniel Stone, MA is an organizational consultant specializing in strategic organizational change. He has worked extensively in corporate, public, and non-profit sectors. His particular interest is in understanding and supporting the natural flow of energy in human systems.
Yona Weiss, MSW, PhD is a social worker and family therapist working at the Family Therapy Unit in the Emeq Izrael Regional Council. She works with individuals and teams, and provides marital enrichment and family education services.
Rosanna O. Zavarella, PhD is a holistic psychologist in private practice with 25 years' clinical experience working with individuals, families, and groups. She specializes in women's health issues, chronic illness, childhood trauma, and life transitions. She incorporates energy healing, hypnotherapy, female shamanism, guided imagery, and ritual into her psychotherapy practice. She is a long-time student of Eastern psychology and incorporates its principles into her teaching and her practice.

Visiting Staff

Heidi Abrams MSSA, LSW is a therapist and an artist specializing in working with children and adolescents. She is particularly interested in fostering creativity over the lifespan, in theory and in practice. She received her post graduate training at The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland where she now teaches on creativity using a Gestalt relational model. She authored the article Towards an Understanding of Mindful Practices with Children and Adolescents in Residential Treatment. In her therapeutic work she integrates art, music, yoga, meditation, storytelling, dance and play.
Neal Apple, MD has been practicing ophthalmology in Silver City, New Mexico for the last 20 years and for the last 10 years has been practicing Body-centered Psychotherapy part-time. He received training at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland in the Working with Physical Process, and the Working with Individuals Advanced Training Programs and has completed the Cape Cod Couples Training Program. He has been facilitating workshops in Natural Vision Improvement and is interested in awakening the consciousness of the eyes and in using vision as a form of embodied spirituality.
Elizabeth Bach-Van Valkenburgh, LISW is the Clinical Director of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and adjunct faculty at The Mandel School of Applied Social Science. She has been working with survivors of trauma for over twelve years and is always seeking an embodied path for herself and her work.
Carrie Burick, MA, ATR is the Adult Therapeutic Services Coordinator for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center . She is a graduate of Ursuline College and has a Master of Arts in Art Therapy. She has worked in the anti-violence movement for over ten years and has experience working with individuals escaping domestic violence, homeless people, trauma survivors and mental illness issues. She is a graduate of the Gestalt training program and taking advanced training in body process work. Her specific areas of interest are providing wellness, expressive arts therapy and self care strategies for social service providers, clients and caregivers.
Peter Cole, Chartered Financial Consultant, LCSW is a co-director of Insight Financial Group, an innovative financial planning firm, and of The Sierra Institute for Contemporary Gestalt Therapy. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry with UC Davis School of Medicine. His work focuses on the intersection of many and psychology. Peter is co-author of Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Practice, as well as having published numerous articles on gestalt therapy theory and practice. He currently serves as a board member and treasurer of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Daisy Reese, and their five grown children.
Allison Conte, MSPODC has worked for more than 15 years with organizations of all sizes across a variety of industries, including energy, manufacturing, publishing, education and health care. As a leadership advisor and organization development consultant, she supports clients to solve complex problems, reach their full potential and realize their goals. Allison is a contributing member of the Integral Institute’s Business and Leadership Center, which offers global thought-leadership in the field of applied integral theory. She is a certified Appreciative Inquiry practitioner and is certified to coach leaders using the Leadership Development Framework and the Emotional Competency Inventory.
Amy Eugene, MSOD has over ten years experience working with and in organizations supporting team effectiveness, strategic planning, cultural competency, and knowledge sharing capacities. Amy’s interests and practices are in spirituality, nature, parenting, embodiment, energy and holistic perspectives. Amy is co-author of Knowledge Management in Practice.
Alan Federman, MA, LSW, LICDC has been an adjunct professor at Cleveland State, Baldwin Wallace and Lakeland Community College for the past 10 years and teaches a seminar on dialogue at Case-Western Reserve University. He has been a Gestalt therapist in private practice since 1989. Alan is interested in dialogue work and its applicability to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Lisa (Tong) Parola Gaynier, MA, CDP, is the Director of the first-ever Masters program in Diversity Management at Cleveland State University. She is a veteran of the OSD program, and an organizational coach and consultant specializing in leadership and cultural competence. She has published on Gestalt approaches to mediation and an award winning paper on cross cultural leadership.
Dick Hallstein has expertise in strategy implementation and change management. His perspective is based on 23 years of experience as a senior executive in the banking and retail industries, and 18 years of intensive consulting experience with major organizations in the United States and abroad. This combination is the basis for a powerful synthesis of ideas and practical solutions to challenging leadership and powerful synthesis of ideas and practical solutions to challenging leadership and business issues. Dick is the author of Memoirs of a Recovering Autocrat and Managing Change: A Leader's Handbook for Implementing Strategy.
Denise Hyble, MS, LMHC, LMFT has been a private practitioner in Bloomington, Indiana for over 20 years working with individuals, couples, and groups. As a consultant she provides conflict resolution and interpersonal communication in organizations. She is also a yoga instructor.
Amy Jacobs, PhD, ATR-BC is a painter, professor of art therapy counseling at Ursuline College, and a psychotherapist in private practice. She has been leading creative process and gestalt groups since 1975 and teaching gestalt theory since 1988. Her interests include using creativity as a pathway for healing and exploring the transformative power of ritual in community. Amy has worked in this country, England, India, and Sri Lanka training therapists and working with people dealing with trauma and loss.
Arlene L. Luberoff, MA, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with experience in clinical practice, management, product development, clinical supervision, and teaching. She has an additional degree in psychology with a specialization in diversity management and certification in polarity therapy. She currently practices privately and supervises undergraduate students in the field of communication sciences and disorders. Her special interest is in working with body-oriented and energetic approaches, which she integrates into her existing clinical and coaching practices.
Amy L. Luzar, MSSA, LISW is a psychotherapist who works with children, adults, and families in private practice and at the Neighborhood Family Practice. She is certified as a school social worker. She has experience in adolescent residential treatment, foster care, and social agency care management.
Maria Elena Maroto y de la Garza is the founder and general director of COPSI (Specialty Psychotherapy College in Mexico City).  As a psychotherapist, with specialties in gestalt therapy, core energetics and systemic family therapy, she works with adults, groups, families, and couples. She is works as a coach in industry.  Maria Elena is a graduate of the Mexican Dance Academy and uses her professional training in the field of body work.  She authored Stress: A Reality or Fashion.
Lois Meredith, PhD is a multilingual clinician, consultant, trainer, and playwright based in New York. Her special interest is creativity, with an emphasis on spoken language and its relationship to other areas of existential choice. She was a tenured professor at Oberlin College, and has served on the faculties of the Gestalt Institutes of Brussels and Lyon and of the Centre de Croissance of Montreal. Her play, The Ring, explores the theme of consciousness through a story of sibling love and betrayal.
Karen Moran, MA has partnered with her clients for the last twenty-five years to create productive, collaborative workplaces and organizations. Working with a broad range of clients, current themes in her practice include: affirmative processes of change management, and the development of skills to enhance inquiry, collaboration and learning. She is a partner with Consulting Partners, a small consulting group that focuses on strategy development, culture change, leadership development and team effectiveness.
Cameron Plagens, MAAT received her MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from Ursuline College. She has been involved in alternative healing and energy education for 10 years, and is a Reiki Master. She is currently in private practice at Westbay Counseling Center, and works with refugee children at Catholic Charities.
Daisy Reese, LCSW is the co-director of The Sierra Institute for Contemporary Gestalt Therapy and Insight Financial Group. Her clinical work focuses on Financial Psychology, Women’s Work and Group Therapy. Daisy serves as the incoming president of the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society. She is the co-author of True Self True Wealth and Mastering Financial Dimension of Your Practice. She is a lifelong student of Sufism. She lives in Northern California with her husband, Peter Cole, and their five grown children.
Olivia Schwartz, MA has been a teacher of writing her entire professional career, working in the classroom with students, privately with individual emergent writer adults, and as a facilitator for writing groups. She is a graduate of GIC's Gestalt Training Program, as well as of the advanced training programs Working with Individuals and Working Integrally with Groups, Small Systems, and Teams. She has also been a participant in the Integral Development Group, as well as numerous GIC personal and professional workshops. She currently intends to pursue her doctorate in clinical psychology.
Mamadou M. Seck, MSSA, LSW is a graduate of the National School of Social Work in Dakar. He has worked with juvenile offenders confined in institutions and implemented delinquency prevention programs for at-risk youth and their families. At the National School for Specialized Social Workers, he was Head of the Undergraduate Department and professor of Supervision and Social Work with Groups. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Mandel School of Applied Sciences, focusing on the issue of violent juvenile offending behavior and mental health.
Sarah M. Toman, PhD is an associate professor at Cleveland State University. She obtained her Masters and Doctorate degrees from Kent State University and is also a graduate of the Gestalt Training Program, Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. She has formerly served as Chairperson of the National Career Development’s Research Committee and as Secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT). Sarah has several career development publications that highlight interest inventory assessment, including articles in the Career Planning and Adult Development Journal which merge her two areas of interest: career development and Gestalt therapy. She contributed chapters about use of the Kuder Career Search in MacCluskie, Welfel, and Toman (2002), Using Test Data In Clinical Practice, and is co-editor of the 2005 text, Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory and Practice. Sarah maintains a psychotherapy practice with offices in Medina and Beachwood, Ohio.
Deborah Ullman, MA is co-editor of The Gendered Field: Gestalt Perspectives and Readings, and editor and co-director of GestaltPress. She maintains a private practice of individual and group psychotherapy in Orleans, MA, where she owns and runs a group bodywork practice. Her special interests include developmental gender issues, holistic approaches to healing, and yoga.
Michelle C. Vanderlip, MBA is Vice President - Human Resources of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland responsible for talent management and development. Previously she served in internal and external organizational leadership and consultancy roles for SOAR Consulting Group, the law firm of Baker & Hostetler, Ernst & Young and Parker Hannifin Corporation and has also served as adjunct faculty/guset lecturer at Cleveland State University, John Carroll University, Lake Erie College and at the CASE School of Management Executive Education Program. She brings over twenty-five years of depth to accelerating organization and individual capacity with passion for blending meaningful Gestalt work in a strategic context.
Curt Waller, MS draws on his 25 years industry experience in his coaching and consulting work. He helps his clients in enhancing productivity and quality of work life. He helps build inclusive organizations that can capitalize on the diverse talents for business objectives. He succeeds by combining principles of organization development and practical work experience along with computer technology. Mr. Waller earned his Master of Science in Human Resource Development from The American University/NTL Institute in Washington, DC. He is also a graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, OSD/BBI Program.
Timothy H. Warneka, MEd, LPCC is the founder of The Black Belt Counsulting Group. Tim works with complex systems (individuals, families, teams, and organizations) as a leadership coach, consultant, and therapist using principles from Aikido, a revolutionary non-violent martial art. Tim’s newest book, The Way of Leading People offers insights on Tao Te Ching.