Meet our instructors
Caitlin Brief
Caitlin Brief is an Equity & Access Development Coordinator for Professional & Organizational Development.
Steven Byers
Based in the Pacific Northwest, Steve Byers is an interdependent consultant and trusted advisor who works with leaders, leadership teams, organizations and other communities seeking to establish or renew their essential conversation. He focuses on helping human systems think, learn, and work together – better.
Steve is a graduate of the Organization Systems Renewal (OSR) program at Seattle University, where he learned to design and lead significant change through collaborative relationships. His recent work has included designing and hosting meaningful conversations in culturally diverse communities and organizations on such topics as employment and recreation for people with disabilities, access to health care in rural communities, strengthening families to prevent child abuse and neglect, social determinants of health in immigrant communities, and racism and fair policing. He helps teams in organizations improve their communication and thinking skills, and engage conflict, thus increasing productivity and raising morale. In Olympia he hosts the monthly First Wednesday Conversation about leadership, systems intelligence, and inquiry.
Steve teaches “systems intelligence” in the Masters in Leadership program at St. Mary’s College of California. He has been an instructor for Leadership Eastside, a non-profit organization training public sector leaders. He also co-teaches the Foundations of Authentic Leadership. Steve’s courses and workshops are highly interactive and designed so that participants recognize their own deep wisdom as they learn. He coaches leaders and leadership teams, sometimes via “Kayak Conversations.”
Prior to consulting, Steve worked in the private sector as a quality manager, informed by W. Edwards Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge.
Steve is a life-long learner. Recent learning experiences include “The Buddha Walks into a Bar” with Lodro Rinzler, “Courageous Conversations” with Hugh O’Doherty, “Powers of Leadership” retreat at the Whidbey Institute at Chinook, “The Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter,” the Center for Ethical Leadership’s “Gracious Space” workshop, multiple Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Summer Leadership Intensives, and David Whyte’s “Conversational Leadership.”
Steve has helped Microsoft, Mozilla, Washington State Family Policy Council, Washington Healthcare Access Alliance, Seattle Shambhala Center, Global 2 Local, PULSE NW, Parent to Parent, Senior Services for South Sound, Thurston County Community Network, King County Library System, Kaiser Permanente, and numerous communities in Washington.
Lesley Clarke
Lesley Clarke is a Diversity Recruiting Consultant with UWHR: Total Talent Management.
Ashley Grindley
Ashley Grindley is a Compliance Analyst with the UW Tax Office.
Lisa Hanna
Lisa Hanna joined the University of Washington in March 2010. Prior to joining the University, Lisa practiced employment and labor law in the private and public sectors for over fifteen years. Her practice focused primarily on providing counseling to employers on all aspects of the employment relationship, including complex employee relations issues, labor relations matters, policies, and agreements. In her law practice, Lisa worked directly with human resources professionals and executive management to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity, wage and hour, FMLA, and other state and federal employment and labor laws. Lisa’s practice also included providing employment-related training to employees and managers on topics such as harassment prevention, performance management, and disability accommodation. Since joining the University, Lisa has served as a senior human resources consultant and is now the director of employee relations for Campus HR Operations. Lisa received a B.A. in English from the University of Utah and earned her J.D. from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Lisa earned a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program in 2010.
Laura Hartless
Laura Hartless is a Labor Relations Negotiator with UWHR: Labor Relations.
Heather Harvey
Heather Harvey is the UTemp Staffing HR Manager with Total Talent Management.
Patricia Hughes
Patricia Hughes has been a successful leadership educator and facilitator for the past 25 years. She owns and operates Trillium Leadership Consulting in Seattle, WA, is a senior affiliate with the Center for Ethical Leadership, and has worked with over 100 organizations from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In addition, she is the author of Gracious Space: A Practical Guide for Working Better Together and Courageous Collaboration in Gracious Space: From Small Openings to Profound Transformation.
View a detailed consultant profile on Patricia Hughes.
Wendy Jans
Wendy Jans is a coach consultant, trainer, and instructor at Cultivate Learning in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She is committed to providing support, consultation and professional development for early learning coaches. Having been a coach herself, Wendy knows how challenging the work can be. Wendy values the opportunity to offer early learning coaches professional development through the UW Certificate in Practice-Based Coaching. She takes a coach-approach as an instructor in the feedback she provides to students on their work.
Wendy has worked in a variety of early learning settings, primarily Early Head Start and Head Start, as a supervisor, trainer, and consultant. Her work with Early Head Start and Head Start includes coaching and consultation for home visitors, teachers, and supervisors.
Mary-Colleen Jenkins
Mary-Colleen Jenkins is an Instruction Accessibility Specialist with UW-IT Accessible Technologies.
Gayle Johnson
Born and raised in Seattle of a proud pioneering family whose great-grandfather arrived in 1888, Gayle graduated from Roosevelt High School, attended the legendary Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and transferred to the University of Washington, where she received a B.A. in political science. Gayle is a transformational leadership development trainer and coach, helping leaders and create healthy environments for their staff to thrive. Her ability to observe the workplace and its leaders allows Gayle to identify the most effective training and coaching for leaders.
Gayle’s teaching style is open, highly interactive, and transformative for the participants. Her goal is to ensure participants can immediately use what they have learned when they return to their workplace. Gayle is a certified life coach and owns her own business, EVOLVE Life Coaching, where she trains both seasoned and emerging leaders and helps individuals navigate life.
Gayle has coached leadership, mid-management, and frontline staff on creating better relationships, conflict resolution, transparent communication skills, and building effective teams, all under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence. To support her experience as a transformational thought leader, Gayle pursued a Master of Transformational Leadership at Seattle University. This knowledge has led her to develop transformational leadership trainings and coaching approaches.
Over the last 20 years, Gayle has led teams in many nonprofit mental health, education, human services, and food banking organizations. Gayle’s clients have included governmental agencies and nonprofits. Her philosophy is that organizations are only as good as their employees, and employees are only as good as their leaders.
Katie Kelly
Katie Kelly is a Compensation Consultant for UW Human Resources. Most recently working as a HR Program Manager in Talent Development, Katie has over a decade of experience creating, managing, and leading people-focused programs and initiatives and developing high-performing teams. Kelly prioritizes building collaborative relationships with colleagues and business leaders to serve as a thought partner and advisor on People strategy and organizational development. Kelly received her B.S. in New Media Publishing, Criminal Justice, and Art History from Rochester Institute of Technology, and her M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College.
Catherine Kinyua
Catherine Kinyua is an Equity & Access Development Coordinator for Professional & Organizational Development.
Max Lane
Max Lane is the Training Operations Specialist & Assistant to the Director at POD. A former instructor at UW, Max specialized in curriculum development, and teaching traditional Composition, Multi-modal Composition & Communication, Intro to African American Studies, and 20th/21st century Black American Literature. Max received his B.A. and M.A. in English Language and Literature from Oakland University in Rochester, MI., and pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Washington.
Genevieve LeClerc
Genevieve LeClerc is a Human Resources Consultant for UWHR Employee Relations.
Jeff Leinaweaver
Jeff holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University and has served as adjunct faculty at UW’s Jackson School of International Studies. His prior work experience includes stints at Amazon Japan and the UN in Geneva for the Associated Press. He joined POD in 2019.
Applying his multi-disciplinary background in organizational theory, communications, innovation, and human resources, Jeff helps clients get unstuck, shift perceptions about themselves and their organization, resolve conflict, create new pathways for creative thinking, and become more effective, clear-headed, and engaged. He is adept at coaching leaders, facilitating workshops, and leading strategic retreats and enjoys using storytelling to increase communication competency, strengthen healthy narratives, and create positive results. At POD he has developed workshops on global leadership, implicit bias, and other areas.
View a detailed consultant profile on Jeff Leinaweaver.
Kevin Meenaghan
Kevin Meenaghan, Chief Strategist and President of Wardroom Success Strategies, has first-hand experience and insight into the power of the Wardroom. Kevin invested 26 years as a Navy pilot and officer. His own personal leadership journey began in the Wardrooms and flight decks onboard aircraft carriers, where his leadership abilities orchestrated the movements of hundreds of crew members as they assisted in the takeoff and landing of aircraft, and the employment of carrier strike group ships. His military leadership reached the highest levels, culminating in the facilitation of meetings with the President’s National Security Advisor, Secretary of Defense and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Upon his transition from the military, Kevin shared his leadership knowledge as an executive coach and college adjunct professor of business management. Kevin has facilitated the training of hundreds of leaders in business, nonprofit and government organizations. A 2014 graduate of Leadership Skagit, Kevin served as a facilitator for 5 years for the nonprofit organization.
Heather Nicholson
Heather Nicholson graduated from Washington State University in 2003 with a degree in Communications. She joined the University of Washington in 2006 in the Procurement Services department. She worked in Accounts Payable and Procurement Customer Service before transitioning to Training in 2016. She enjoys helping people understand the Procurement process and learn the tools necessary to do their work.
Joey Pauley
Joseph (Joey) Pauley has spent nearly two decades building and leading high-performance teams, most notably a design team whose products were voted “Best of the Web” by Forbes Magazine and praised by the International Herald Tribune, Town & Country, and The Wall Street Journal. His specialties include designing and facilitating retreats, leadership development, strategic planning, and developing organizational capacity.
After graduating from West Virginia University with bachelor’s degrees in computer programming, graphic design, and business, Joey led web design and development teams. Later he received an M.A. in organizational psychology and certifications in organizational dynamics and integrated skills for sustainable change. He is a past president of the Pacific Northwest Organizational Development Network.
Joey utilizes his knowledge and experience to increase effectiveness in private, public, and nonprofit organizations. As a trusted adviser, groups find that Joey’s process positively changes their organizational dynamics as they work on specific goals. For example, Joey instituted a collaborative process when developing Nomura Trading’s multinational strategic plan. The result was engagement and understanding that spanned language and cultures. His strategic, systemic approach is enjoyable, entertaining, and challenging. Results are often better communication, leadership, and collaboration.
View a detailed consultant profile on Joey Pauley.
Jevon K. Powell, Ph.D.
Dr. Jevon Powell is an organizational psychologist based in Seattle who has been consulting full time since 1997. He is a trusted advisor to senior management in a wide variety of industries, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations. His specialties include leadership development and executive coaching, change management, Lean and continuous process improvement, and team effectiveness.
The center point of Jevon’s coaching work is helping clients see things from new perspectives. He asks questions that provoke new insights and new behaviors. His goal is to help people achieve positive and lasting change so that they can be their most effective at work.
Jevon received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Chico. He began graduate studies in organizational psychology at the University of Washington and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the New School for Social Research in New York City.
View a detailed consultant profile on Jevon Powell.
Chuck Pratt
Chuck Pratt is a successful organizational leader, consultant, and instructor with more than 24 years of experience in partnering with organizations to improve work climates. His expertise is in leadership development, team building, conflict management, coaching, interpersonal skills training, group facilitation, emotional intelligence, and dialogue. Chuck has worked as a consultant for higher education, public sector, and health care clients, including UWMC, UWM, and Harborview. He earned an M.S. in instructional systems design from Utah State University. In addition to teaching quarterly courses for Professional & Organizational Development, Chuck also works with the University Consulting Alliance.
View a detailed consultant profile on Chuck Pratt.
Lee Riley
Lee Riley is an esteemed leadership consultant and coach, with a passion for transforming workplace cultures. His approach is grounded in the belief that strong leadership is key to organizational success, emphasizing the importance of building a positive and engaging work environment. Lee specializes in leadership development, personal growth for leaders, employee engagement, and team development. His workshops and coaching sessions are renowned for their ability to inspire change and foster a proactive approach to leadership and culture.
With an impressive track record, Lee has worked with a diverse clientele, including the City of Seattle, Microsoft, and UW Medicine, facilitating workshops, leadership programs, and retreats that drive meaningful change. His academic credentials include an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and an M.A. in leadership from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Lee is a Training & OD Consultant for Professional & Organizational Development.
View a detailed consultant profile on Lee Riley.
Skyla Savitch
Skyla joined POD in 2021 as the Training and Onboarding Specialist, managing and presenting Welcome Day for thousands of new employees each year, designing and facilitating a variety of open-enrollment classes for UW staff and teaching situational supervision and other modules in Level 1 of the Strategic Leadership Program. In March 2024 Skyla was promoted to Training and Operations Manager, becoming the lead facilitator for SLP. Skyla oversees the SLP curriculum, manages day-to-day operations and a service-focused team in POD, and continues to teach a number of open-enrollment classes.
Prior to joining the University of Washington Skyla hired, trained, evaluated and supervised dozens of student employees for Northern Arizona University’s Academic Success Centers. Skyla also worked as a career development specialist at NAU and, before entering higher education, held a variety of positions in the recruiting and staffing industry. Skyla has a dual bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Idaho and a master’s in Organizational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.
Ujima Sands (Donalson)
As assistant vice president of Total Talent Management for the University of Washington, Ujima teaches a number of courses in leadership development and other areas and has been the primary instructor for the Strategic Leadership Program (SLP) for the past ten years. Before joining POD, Ujima spent 15 years at Bank of America, where she served as an assistant vice president of Training & Development, as an operations manager in the Professional Development Program, and as a recruiter. Ujima has a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication and a master’s degree in Adult Education from Seattle University. Her professional expertise includes leadership development coaching and consulting, training and facilitation, curriculum development, project management, change management, organizational development, event planning, and recruiting. She is a certified professional coach and is certified to administer the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) and EQ-i 360. Ujima is also a certified practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In addition to teaching quarterly courses for POD, Ujima also works for the University Consulting Alliance.
Christina Scheuer
Christina Scheuer is a Seattle-based editor, writer, and teacher who is passionate about helping writers at every stage of their process. She was a tenured English professor at North Seattle College, where she taught composition, literature, and technical writing. Additionally, she has worked as a news editor for KUOW and a technical editor and writer.
Julia Shanahan
Julia Shanahan is the Director of University Business Services VP Office.
Clive Shearer
Clive Shearer left Britain over 20 years ago seeking new horizons for his skills as a facilitator, educator, coach, and consultant. He came on board with Professional & Organizational Development in 2004, and says his greatest satisfaction occurs when people gain lifetime lessons in his classes.
Clive teaches eight quarterly classes for POD: (1) Respectful Partnerships; (2) Conflict Resolution Skills for Health Care Professionals; (3) Difficult People and Difficult Behavior; (4) Training, Coaching, and Mentoring for Success; (5) Rapid Process Improvement; (6) Turning Negative Emotions Into Positive Outcomes; (7) Conflict Management; and (8) Stress Management. These classes, and his customized workshops, have been attended by over 9,750 UW and UW Medicine participants—many coming to two or more sessions. As an educator, retreat facilitator, and coach, Clive has served 70 University of Washington, Health Sciences, and UW Medicine departments.
He enjoys travel; learning languages; exercise; reading mysteries, histories, and science; and is a pen and ink and watercolor artist.
View a detailed consultant profile on Clive Shearer.
Rosemary Simmons
As the former UW Bothell Counseling Center director and licensed psychologist, Rosemary provided ongoing training regarding trending topics in higher education that enhanced knowledge and skill set to respond to the pressing needs of the university. Rosemary integrates her knowledge of psychology and supervision to design strategies and offer techniques and tools that workshop participants can quickly integrate to promote their personal and professional wellbeing in realistic and tangible ways. Her understanding of how people grow and change allows Rosemary to present information in a manner that increases motivation and hope while decreasing defensiveness or resistance to change.
Jayant Swamy
Management Consultant. Trainer-Facilitator. Business-school faculty. Global Program Manager. Finance Manager. Jayant has donned different professional hats over the years, successfully delivering organizational solutions integrating business and technology. Developing human potential is the integral theme of his diverse work experience covering Microsoft, T-Mobile, Nordstrom, IBM and the City of Tacoma. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and is a Certified Associate Trainer in Emergenetics.
View a detailed consultant profile on Jayant Swamy.
Greg Taylor
With over 25 years of training and facilitation experience, Greg Taylor has directed dialogue with groups in the business, educational, government, healthcare, nonprofit, and criminal justice sectors. He navigates easily and comfortably within controversial frameworks with people who have strong beliefs and who—quite often—operate from positions of power and influence.
Greg’s innovative, energetic, and dynamic facilitation and training style creates and sustains authentic engagement from participants. His approach is a transformative synthesis of intentional training design and effective facilitation focused on outcome-based interactions. He seeks to create movement—in participants’ understanding, positions, and values—to establish receptivity to new ways of achieving desired results. He collaborates with clients to cultivate a safe environment that fosters open dialogue in processing new perspectives and deliberating on innovative solutions.
View a detailed consultant profile on Greg Taylor.
Janice Thomas
Janice Thomas is an experienced project manager, educator, researcher, and consultant who has been teaching project management to students and practitioners for almost 40 years. She has taught project management to school children, managers, project managers, and sponsors, working in industries and organizations with all levels of project management maturity, all over the world. In addition, her research has been recognized by both the Project Management Institute (2010) and International Project Management Association (2014) for its contribution to our understanding of project management practice.
Total Talent Management Recruitment Team
Kathleen Farrell, Alberto Lacao, and Jordan Richardson bring a comprehensive knowledge of the hiring process for regular and temporary staff.
Jamie Wilson
Jamie Wilson has worn many hats since joining Professional & Organizational Development (POD) in 1999, including her current role as senior communications strategist. Her varied duties at POD include writing marketing blurbs, web text, and newsletter articles; editing the Leading Edge newsletter and various internal and external communications; crafting marketing strategy for POD’s programs and services; and assisting with course planning. She holds a B.A. in literature and society from University of Tulsa and completed a continuing education certificate in literary fiction through the University of Washington Extension. Troubled by wrongly placed apostrophes and the lack of “comma sense” in today’s world, Jamie enjoys helping people improve their written communication skills. One of her favorite books is a hefty nine-pound unabridged dictionary, and she is delighted every time her toddler correctly conjugates verbs.
John Whitney
John Whitney is a Program Operations Specialist at UW Human Resources.
Jackie Wolfe
Jackie Wolfe is an organizational development consultant and human resources leader with over 15 years of experience in all phases of the people side of business. She has worked as both an internal and external consultant in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and has spent over 10 years working within the University of Washington community. Her professional expertise includes leadership development coaching and consulting, team building, strategic advising, project management, change management, organizational development, employee relations, recruiting, staffing, training and facilitation, program development, new hire orientation, and outplacement services. She is certified as a Dependable Strengths Instructor, sourcing recruitment specialist, and professional coach and is qualified to administer and interpret many psychological assessments. Jackie is also trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction and wellness programs. Her approach focuses on getting to know people’s strengths in order for them to achieve greater personal fulfillment and have more satisfaction in the workplace.
She earned a B.A. in communications and business from the University of Arizona, and currently is finishing her master’s in organizational development with major emphasis in psychology and leadership. She is a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), Puget Sound Coaches Association (PSCA), National Organizational Development Network, American Psychological Association (APA), and participates in monthly panel discussions with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD).
Past clients include: Microsoft, Regence Blue Shield, Swedish Medical Center, Boeing, Accenture, Washington Mutual, Amazon, Cascadia Consulting Group, Alaska Airlines, Planned Parenthood, Group Health, Providence Health System, Safeco, Home Depot, Real Networks, Seattle Pacific University and Starbucks. When she is not at work, she enjoys yoga, meditation, biking, being outdoors and spending time with friends and family.
Lindsay Wright, JD
With over a decade in the field, Lindsay Wright is a Labor Relations Negotiator for UW Human Resources with particular expertise in the higher education and healthcare sectors, including as a practicing lawyer in British Columbia.
Lindsay completed her articling training period at a prominent labor and employment law boutique in Vancouver, BC, and has worked in the labor relations departments of the two largest universities in British Columbia. She has experience providing assistance and advice on a variety of labor and employment matters, including collective agreement and contract interpretation, collective bargaining, grievances and arbitrations, employee discipline, workplace investigations, human rights and accommodation, privacy, and employment standards. She has also acted as legal counsel at mediations and arbitrations, participated on collective bargaining committees, and conducted workplace investigations.
Lindsay received her Juris Doctor from UBC in 2013 and was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2014 (currently a non-practicing member). Prior to entering law school, she earned a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, where she completed the Faculty Program in Industrial Relations, as well as a major in International Development Studies. While at McGill, Lindsey participated in two internships at the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy (IHSP), where she conducted global comparative research on national constitutions, child labor legislation, and workplace policies such as parental leave.