MNODN Board 2010-2011
MNODN Board Bios
Gwen Riedl
Board Chair
Gwen Riedl is an internal consultant and Manager of Organization Development for Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota In that role she works with executives, directors, managers and staff to improve systems that impact patient, family and employee satisfaction. She co-created a leadership development and succession planning system with leaders at Children’s. Gwen provides coaching and facilitation to individuals and groups on conflict management, leading teams and managing complex organizational projects.
In addition to her current role, Ms. Riedl has held similar positions with Express Scripts, a national pharmacy benefit management company, Snyder Drug Stores, a large, Midwest pharmacy retailer, Omni Hotels and TCF Banks, fsb. She has developed numerous management development systems and leadership certification programs.
Gwen also consults with churches and faith communities in visioning, strategic planning, volunteer leadership development and strengthening hospitality. She designed and teaches a course on hospitality for spiritual communities and non-profits to improve the welcoming environment and involve members in their communities.
Gwen holds a M.Ed. in Training and Development from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communications from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. She is the human companion to Lucy, a golden retriever, and together they are a reading therapy team for Hennepin County Libraries. Gwen’s other interests include cooking, bicycling tours all over the world and gardening.
Gary Fleishacker, Ph.D.
Peer Learning
Gary is Senior Partner of Strategic Learning for Latitudes Group and is a multi-faceted practitioner focusing on the purposeful development of individuals, teams and organizations. He has 30 years experience working with Fortune 500 manufacturing, engineering, and service firms, as well as across industries including health care, non-profits, education, government, and small business.
In addition to consulting, he is an adjunct instructor at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, teaching doctoral program courses in consulting skills, group dynamics, and strategic planning.
He has given presentations to numerous regional and national professional organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Minnesota OD Network, and as regional chair of the Association for Psychological Type International and president of the Twin Cities APT.
Gary holds a Ph.D. in adult and organization learning, an MA in interpersonal and small group communication and counseling certification.
Sheila Hines Edmondson
Programming Director
Sheila Hines Edmondson is a Senior Consultant with StayWell Health Management. Her role at StayWell includes communications, culture change and employee engagement. She creates programs that enhance individual and organizational health and productivity. Her interests include embracing the human side of change and growth through holistic business systems. Sheila is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, has completed Certifications in Organizational Leadership, Holism and Health and Wellness Counseling from the College of St. Catherine, a Mini Masters in Quality Management and a Masters in HR and Change Leadership, with an emphasis in Human Resource Development and Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas. Sheila is an active learner and advocate for healthy change.
Paul Pelkola
Secretary
Paul has over 20 years experience in a Fortune 100 company managing organization development and process improvement functions with projects in the Industrial, Consumer, Health Care and Electro-Communications Businesses. He is an Organization Development professional with a broad organizational and intervention background:
· Served businesses in markets ranging from industrial to consumer to health care products in manufacturing, business teams, corporate functions and operating committees.
· Organization design, development, and improvement. Expertise in change management for implementation of improvements in both human systems and work systems.
· Results/outcomes improvement and optimization of process flow in both technical and transactional processes.
· Strategic and Operations planning processes and action planning processes necessary to implement new and revised strategies.
· Multiple large group processes designed to create, communicate and/or implement organization-wide strategies, changes or improvements in both union and non-union organizations.
· BS in Fire Protection Engineering, NTL Certificate program (formerly the OD Track) and broad training in Organization Development and Effectiveness. Paul is a certified Six Sigma coach and Master Trainer, Zenger – Miller.
Michael McElwee
Newsletter Editor
Michael McElwee, Ph.D., M.B.A. was born on the East Coast, where he became an IT person, spent most of his life on the West Coast, where he became an OD person, and is now enjoying opportunities to explore the North Coast, where he contemplates chaos, complexity, and organization change. He founded Emergent Dynamics in 1995. His interest in organizational change through nonlinear dynamics was driven by connections he saw between behaviors in organizations and the systemic behaviors attributed to “chaotic”, “self-organizing” and “complex adaptive” systems in books about chaos theory, nonlinear dynamics and complexity science.
Finding no research connecting chaos and organization theories, he was fortunately able to uncover a behavioral links using experiential simulations in a workshop he created. After receiving his Ph.D. in early 1997, the original workshop was developed into the current Exploration, Leadership and Organization Change versions. All share a core set of experiential simulations soundly grounded in theory and enriched with tools and practice elements from several sources, and have been presented in large and small enterprises.
He has been a member of the national ODN, participated in the Bay Area OD Network in California, and has been attending MNODN meetings more or less regularly since getting settled in Grant. He is happy and proud to have the privilege of being your Newsletter Editor.
Janet Webster
Treasurer
Janet Webster is an organization consultant and educator specializing in new initiatives and change. She is experienced in assessment, instructional design, coaching, group facilitation, adult education, evaluation and research. She is the owner and principal at Swanson Webster Consulting, LLC.
Janet has worked in the areas of Leadership Development, Diversity, Change, Organizational Behavior, Strategic Planning, Performance, Employee Retention, Parenting and Work/Life Initiatives. She has designed and delivered courses and programs on Cross-Cultural Differences, Diversity, Leading Change, Effective Meetings, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Team Development, Communication, Facilitation, Stress Management, New Employee Orientation and Customer Service. Janet has also developed materials to support Flexible Work Arrangements.
Janet is a doctoral candidate in Organization Development at the University of St. Thomas. Her dissertation research is on “The Experience of Women Leaders Who took a Career Break to be Stay-at-Home Mothers.” She earned M.Ed. degrees in Human Resource Development and Early Childhood Education at the University of MN and completed her undergraduate work in History and Teacher Education at Middlebury College.
She holds a professional certificate in Human Resource Development and is a qualified administrator of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). In addition to the MNODN, she is a member of the national OD Network, the American Society for Training and Development – Twin Cities, the Twin Cities Association for Psychological Type and the UST OD Cohort Network.
David Crussel
Technology Director
David is a Business Consultant with Target Corporation. His responsibilities include strategic planning and guiding organizational maturation within Target.com's team.
David is certified as both a PMP® and Scrum Master which allows him to effectively guide technology leaders on the best practices for adopting new delivery methodologies. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from North Dakota State University and is pursuing an MBA at University of St. Thomas.
David is a passionate, but mediocre tennis player and lives in Chaska, MN with his wife and son.