June 18 and 19, 2012 - 6th Annual Social Justice Institute

This year’s Social Justice Institute explores the intersection of social Justice, leadership, and spirituality.  Featuring Sharon Daloz Parks, the Institute also includes invited sessions focused on participatory research, community service-learning, values-based leadership, sustainable change, social justice education, and spiritual development.  For more information and registration, please click here.

You just missed this workshop last month:  Innovation and Right Livelihood: Creativity for Leadership Effectiveness.  Taj is available to bring this work to your team or organization.  You can reach her by writing to Louise at:  lag4@stmarys-ca.edu

Workshop Description:

Imagination, creativity and innovation are essential tools for 21st century leadership. This full day workshop has two goals: (1) learning to foster and bring creativity for business and personal enrichment; and (2) applying what you learn in exploring and manifesting your “right livelihood” in the world. This course is based on the belief that each of us is creative, and all too rarely do we engage our full creative abilities as a core competency for success in business—and life. This is the beginning in understanding how to change old patterns of problem solving and explore new ways of discovering practical solutions and promising opportunities. You will use your creativity to present compelling ideas while bringing out creativity in others for idea generation and building stronger teams.

By attending this fun and experiential workshop, you will learn:

• techniques to ignite creativity within yourself and groups;
• ways to engage a diverse group for creative problem solving and opportunity creation;
• methods for sorting and prioritizing the ideas that come up when you are in a creative mode; and
• how to use multi-sensory modes for presenting ideas with clarity and conviction.

About the Facilitator:

Taj Johns is living her life by saying, “Yes to Creativity!” As a former Assistant to the City Manager of Berkeley, actress, and therapist, she has always maintained her creative pursuits like drumming and teaching, and has learned ways to incorporate these activities to make change and unlock our creative sources. For many years, Taj has studied and worked with top names in the field of creativity/innovation as it applies to business. She has practiced how to illustrate, live and teach a method of embracing one’s creativity through rapid prototyping, conducting creative sessions and understanding the importance of engaging diverse groups of stakeholders.

Taj has been a professor for 7 years using techniques from transformative learning theory to teach courses ranging from, Leadership and Personal Development and Social Justice and Business to Creativity and Right Livelihood and Building Learning Communities. She has been a long-time faculty member at Saint Mary's in the MA in Leadership program. The major tenet of adult learning theory is looking at one's assumptions. Taj explains, "Our inability to feel our creative source is usually inhibited by our assumptions about creativity and the importance in the workplace and in our personal lives." Her doctorate is in Integral Studies with a focus on Transformative Learning and Human Systems. Her path breaking research utilized a creative approach to exploring internalized oppression using body information and wisdom. Taj invites the whole person and his or her experiences into the learning circle to support transformation and liberation for all.