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About Us
Gary Merrill | Michelle Merrill
Why Emergent Systems?
About the Scrub JayEmergent Systems is Gary Merrill, an experienced consultant and facilitator who specializes in evoking creativity and team problem-solving, and Michelle Merrill, a naturalist who has studied marine mammals and tropical primates in their native habitats. Guy Leflar co-founded Emergent Systems with Gary in the 1990's. They sought to bring together their knowledge and experience around applied behavioral science to evoke the creative potential of organizations. The unique addition of Michelle's background in anthropology and evolutionary biology brings new perspectives and tools for understanding dynamic systems and how they deal with change.
GARY MERRILL (M.S.) has over 20 years of professional experience
as a management consultant, group facilitator, educator and organizational leader. Gary's practice is focused on increasing the viability, vitality and sustainability of organizations and businesses through consulting, leadership education and coaching. He has provided consulting and training services across a broad spectrum of public and private sector organizations throughout the country.
email:MICHELLE Y. MERRILL (Ph.D.) has taught and lectured on evolutionary biology, social networks, anthropology and communication
for groups ranging from junior high school students to advanced university and professional audiences. She studies animal behavior, evolutionary biology, tropical ecology, complexity and social networks, and is actively involved with groups that focus on the future of technology and society. Her recent work has focused on how to teach communications and team-building skills to high-risk community college students. Her previous research focused on the evolution of social learning, culture and the origins of technology. She studied orangutans in the Sumatran rainforests and bonobos in central Africa.
She is Gary's niece, and has been working with Gary to design this website and our workshops, and is available to deliver presentations and keynotes. Michelle is also available to coach you on presentation preparation, using Power Point presentation software and incorporating images in your presentations.
Michelle's C.V. (as .pdf); other website: http://www.duke.edu/~mym1
email:
GUY W. LEFLAR III, has over 25 years experience in the areas of change management and the development of sustainable people systems. He is now retired, but continues to advise Gary and Michelle on the work of Emergent Systems. He has pioneered innovative approaches to teaching empowerment which are now used by several major corporations. Guy's work in diversity comes from a grounding in community building. His efforts have helped organizations of all sizes focus on the power of diversity in the natural world and the ways it creates conditions for sustainability. more background...
You may contact Guy at (713) 523-3312.
woodland
ecosystems of costal California. These jays depend on oaks for
shelter and nest sites, and for a source of storable food in the
form of nutritious acorns. The oaks, in turn, rely on jays for
seed dispersal. The jays harvest and cache acorns when they are
at their most abundant. While they eat many of these seeds, some
germinate in the sites where they are cached (often at a great
distance from the mother tree). The jays are thus creating more
of the habitat that sustains them, just as the acorn production
of the oaks supports a robust population of the jays that allow
the oaks to spread and sustain their population. |
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417 Broadway
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-429-1563
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