Fielding’s Institute for Social Innovation is Proud to Announce Its ISI Fellows for 2024-25

Human Development

Kathy Bell, PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2023) Recipient of the Dianne Kipnes Fund for Social Innovation in 2024
Finding the Key to Positivity for Elders in Home Transitions
This research uses an arts-based methodology to explore how individuals in their late 70s and 80s can be supported in the process of downsizing their living space and possessions to a potential ideal future environment. Related questions include how elders idealize their future homes, and the emotional support needed to help them create an ideal living environment.

Media and Education

Zoe Broussard MS (Media Psychology 2022)
Digital Activism: LinkedIn as a Tool to Uplift Marginalized Voices in the Workplace and Beyond
This project examines the social impact of LinkedIn within nonprofits, with a focus on how it can challenge the impact of hierarchical structures, provide a platform for inclusivity advocacy, and uplift traditionally silenced marginalized voices.

Mental and Physical Health

Lori Davidson PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2022)
Transformative Recovery in treating Substance Use Disorder
This consulting project focuses on substance use disorder through a project called Focused in Transformative (FIT) Recovery. The purpose of the Focused in FIT)Recovery is to support individuals in recovery from substance use disorders by implementing fitness programs, specifically strength training, as a supplement to their treatment plans.

Organizational Development and Change

Deborah Bucci, PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2023)
Worker Experiences of Well-being in Coworking Spaces
This research explores the factors, conditions, contexts, and elements that might influence well-being as described by coworking members and contribute to a process by which well-being can be a continuous conversation.

Lisa Elliott, PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2021, Evidence-Based Coaching 2022)
Flourishing Organizations that Champion Employees with Invisible Disabilities
This professional development project explores ways in which OD consultants, HR practitioners, and DEIB advocates representing flourishing organizations can use an appreciative inquiry framework to shape a work culture that champions and supports employees with invisible disabilities.

Leesa Riviere, PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2023)
What Color is Your Lens? An Interactive Simulation Broadening Horizons and Building Bridges Among Stakeholder Needs, Communities, and Organizations
This virtual project guides participants in development of diverse perspectives, approaches, and experiences to support cross functional teams, systems thinking, and professional development.

Social Change, Diversity and Inclusion

Lucinda Garthwaite EdD (Educational Leadership and Change 2014)
Reframing Equity: Building a Liberatory Organization
This consulting project synthesizes systems thinking, behavioral science, and lessons from nonviolent and restorative movements for social change. Outcomes include reduction of harm, bias-based exclusion, and punitive behaviors, as well as preparation of the system to integrate diverse perspectives and challenging paradigms such as bias and historical injustice.

Hilary S. Lyn, MS, MA, EBC (Organizational Leadership and Change 2022; Certificate in Evidence Based Coaching 2023)
Bridging Generations of Women in Communications: Unveiling the Community of Continuity Theory
Through a Community of Continuity lens, this project aims to unite women across generations to uncover a spectrum of viewpoints, diverse perspectives, experiences, and contributions within the communications domain. The initiative aims to promote intergenerational communication, collaborative learning, cohesion, and reciprocal mentorship among women in communications in Santa Barbara County.

Cheryl Jefferson Page PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2023)
And What of Reparations in These Perilous Times?
This research project seeks to understand the potential for reparations policies in the state of North Carolina in the context of previous social movements on racial and social justice and what transpires at the federal level.

Cathy Ames Turner PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2023)
Music Inside Out Day Camp: An Arts Camp for Children Impacted by Familial Incarceration and Possible Foster Care
This project investigates the effects of artistic expression and restorative practices on the well-being, self-esteem, communication skills, and emotional resilience of youth experiencing familial incarceration and possible foster care.

Wanda Whiteside EdD (Educational Leadership and Change 2023) Recipient of the Dianne Kipnes Fund for Social Innovation in 2024
Respecting Race and Recognizing Racism through Playback Theatre
This project is a collaboration between Live Garra Theatre and Montgomery College, Maryland’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center to conduct an ongoing workshop series incorporating Playback Theatre. This performance exercise invites the audience to participate in the creation of improvised scenes focused on racial bias and issues of marginalization.

Sustainability 

Mohamed Y. Amer, PhD (Human and Organizational Development 2020)
Sustainability’s mixed reception: A critical discourse analysis at the intersection of economic, political, and social forces
This archival data study will examine the nature of corporate commitment to corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and ecological and social justice to better understand how corporations are adapting their business policies to social change.