Riane Eisler, JD, PhD (hon) President and Co-Founder
is a social systems scientist, cultural historian, futurist, and attorney whose research, writing, and speaking have transformed the lives of people worldwide. She is internationally known for her bestseller The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future, now in 57 U.S. printings and 27 foreign editions. Her newest work, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, co-authored with anthropologist Douglas Fry (Oxford University Press, 2019), shows how to construct a more equitable, sustainable, and less violent world based on Partnership rather than Domination.
Dr. Eisler pioneered the extension of human rights theory and action to the majority of humanity: women and children. Eisler is the recipient of the Distinguished Peace Leadership Award, earlier given to the Dalai Lama, and other national and international awards for her ground-breaking contributions as a systems scientist. She is president of the Center for Partnership Systems (CPS), dedicated to research and education, Editor-in-Chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, an online peer-reviewed journal at the University of Minnesota that was inspired by her work, keynotes conferences nationally and internationally, has addressed the United Nations General Assembly, the U.S. Department of State, and Congressional briefings, has spoken at corporations and universities worldwide on applications of the Partnership model introduced in her work, and is Distinguished Professor at Meridian University, which offers PhD and Masters degrees based on Eisler's Partnership-domination social scale.
Dr. Eisler can be contacted at center@partnershipway.org.
To learn more about Riane's work, see www.rianeeisler.com
View Riane's Curriculum Vitae here.
Board of Directors
David Loye, PhD, Vice President & Co-Founder
A systems scientist and futurist, Loye is a former faculty member of Princeton University and the UCLA School of Medicine. He is author of many books and scholarly articles, including the award-winning The Healing of a Nation (Norton, 1971) on race relations, The Leadership Passion (Jossey-Bass, 1977) on politics, The Sphinx and the Rainbow (Bantam Books, 1984) on how we predict and affect the future, and Darwin's Lost Theory (Benjamin Franklin Press, 2008) on a holistic evolutionary perspective. He is an authority and pioneer on Darwin’s writings supporting Partnership and on Partnership moral sensitivity. See davidloye.com.
Bill Levis, Treasurer & CFO
A renowned expert on nonprofit financial management, Bill has extensive experience in the nonprofit field. He has published works on fundraising productivity and is a nationally recognized expert on the IRS Form 990 for non-profit organizations.
Nontombi Naomi Tutu, MA. PhD candidate
Naomi has dedicated her professional career to advocating for human rights. Tutu is an acclaimed speaker on gender issues and race relations with a passion for helping to build a partnership world of human dignity and peace. Born in apartheid South Africa as the daughter of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Tutu, she faced the challenge of growing up black and female. She now lives in the United States, has taught at the Universities of Hartford and Connecticut and Brevard College in North Carolina, and currently serves as program coordinator for the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee where she is a candidate for her PhD degree.
She holds a BA in Economics and French from Berea College, and an MA in International Economic Development from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Economic Development at the University of Kentucky. She has received numerous awards and honors from civic organizations.
Joe Rando
Founder & CEO at Workstarr. Former President at Trade Area Systems, Manager at Taunton Depot LLC, President at Land Development - Northeast. Developer and owner of a software business and several shopping centers; Joe is a well-known business and civic leader in Boston, MA.
Heidi Sieck, MA
Sought after as a mentor, consultant and keynote speaker, Heidi Sieck's expertise lies in issues of leadership, gender parity and political reform. Heidi has a 25-year career in political action that has focused on implementing foundational solutions that intersect technology, politics and well being. Heidi Sieck is the founding Chief Operating Officer of Civic Hall, the new community center for civic technology and innovation, launched in the New York Flatiron District in February 2015. She serves on the Advisory Board of VoteRunLead and is part of the founding leadership team of CTZNWELL, a new values-based well being movement. Heidi has led complex projects including the award winning San Francisco 311 Customer Service Center, establishing the foundation of the open government movement and ResilientSF, one of the first post-disaster recovery programs in the U.S.
Team
Robyn Baker
Research and Education Associate
Robyn holds a Bachelor in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris and is pursuing a Master in Economics at Sciences Po Paris’ Graduate School of Research. Building upon her background in sustainable development and gender, Robyn intends to research alternative econometrics to facilitate more inclusive and caring capital flows and circular socio-economic systems. She is an avid collector of old books and has a strong interest in fine arts. She is fluent in English, Spanish, and French. Robyn writes and hosts Forward Thinking Fridays: Snapshots of a Partnership World in Practice, and contributes regularly to educational materials, subject-specific resources, and Community Voices blog.
Leah Gowron, MPA
Operations Manager
As one of the longest-term consultants with CPS, Leah Gowron oversees the back-end support of the organization, including donor management, email engagement, grant assistance, support to Dr. Riane Eisler and general office services. Previously Leah has led the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey's alumni relations efforts, including alumni engagement, oversight on the website, and fundraising. Leah holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in history from the University of Manitoba, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from the Middlebury Institute. She has an extensive public speaking background, including annual presentations with the JET Programme in Tokyo, and has conducted cross-cultural trainings and career development sessions with a range of organizations in the U.S. and Canada. A transplanted Canadian, she resides in Hawai'i.
Ian Hunter
Administrator, Data and Outreach
Ian Hunter has been a Developer, Consultant and Project Manager "mainly in Information Technology" since the 1960s. He is South African by birth but has worked there, in the United Kingdom, and the USA. In the 1980s he was a Management Consultant and Partner with Touche Ross & Co. in Cape Town and Johannesburg. During his 12 years in Dallas, Texas, he was active in the work of the Dallas Peace Center and in the Social Action team of the First Unitarian Church. His main work role there was as a Program Manager for the International Expansion division of Mannatech, Inc. He and his wife, Jenni, are now US citizens ' retired and living in the Monterey Bay area.
Teddie M. Potter, PhD, MS, RN
Executive Editor, Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies
Teddie Potter has a rich practice history including over thirty years in home care. Dr. Potter has often been at the heart of paradigm shifts, including being one of the first home care nurses in her state, starting a specialized home care program for people living with HIV/AIDS, and helping start one of the first palliative care programs in the nation. Dr. Potter has been a nurse educator for over sixteen years. She has also shown a long-term commitment to diversity and inclusivity, studying factors that help diverse students succeed in nursing school and teaching healing traditions of our diverse community. Her current positions in the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota are a natural extension of her interests and passions. She is Coordinator of the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership and Director of Inclusivity and Diversity. In 2015, she received the distinguished Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Award. Dr. Potter is Executive Editor for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies; a peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal promoting interdisciplinary collaboration as a solution for solving society's grand challenges.
Dr. Potter has spoken nationally and internationally about Partnership-based health care and The BASE of Nursing, new theories to guide nursing practice, education, and research. She co-authored with Riane Eisler, Transforming Interprofessional Partnerships: A New Framework for Nursing and Partnership-Based Health Care, which received a 2014 AJN Book of the Year award and the 2015 Capstone International Nursing Book Award. This book equips nurses to be full partners, ready to lead necessary change to advance the health of all nations.
Cherri Jacobs Pruitt
Podcast Producer and Editor
Cherri Jacobs Pruitt has spent the majority of her professional life working in maternal and child health policy and systems work at the local, county, state, and federal levels. Cherri holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado. She has been an advocate for Riane’s cultural transformation work since becoming a CPS Caring Economics Leader in 2013. Cherri is the coordinator for the Power of Partnership podcast series, launching April 2023. Cherri is the founder of CJ Connections, catalyzing systemic change through education, empowerment, and helping businesses and organizations thrive by applying partnership principles.
Sara Saltee, MA
Lead, Organizational Partnerships
Sara has been supporting the Center for Partnership Studies' Leadership and Learning Programs since early 2009, when she joined the team that developed the initial Caring Economy Program pilot project. As the programs evolved, Sara has taken a lead role in program development as a curriculum designer, facilitator, and managing director. With 15 years' experience in adult education, five years as an organization development consultant, and broad expertise in the fields of communication, adult learning, and creativity, Sara specializes in the articulation and display of complex concepts, and design and facilitation of high-engagement learning experiences for adult learners.
Quincey Tickner
Communications Lead & Social Media Co-Lead
Quincey brings a strong background in journalism and social media and works with young social justice organizations and leaders in rethinking what a just society looks like in today's modern world. Quincey holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from American University in Washington D.C. and is a passionate advocate for safe and fair elections. Over the 2020 election, Quincey helped launch SeeSay2020, a crowdsourced map of voter suppression across the country, that not only brought attention to voter suppression, but helped solve and fix most of the instances so that everyone was able to carry out their right to vote. Quincey is passionate about teaching young organizers about the benefits of a Partnership/caring economy as many communities are starting to have the conversations about moving away from Domination based systems.
Valerie Young
Social Media Co-Lead
Valerie carries the message and mission of the Caring Economy framework to advocates and policy makers in Washington DC and throughout the country. Immersed in public policy as it pertains to women's status, especially the impact of family care on women's economic status, Valerie is committed to social justice, family economic security, and income equality. Her work appears extensively in social media, @WomanInDC on Twitter, Your (Wo)Man in Washington and on Facebook. She also has written for The Shriver Report, Brain/Child Magazine, and is frequently featured on BlogHer.com as well as the CPS blog.