Leading with Empathy

We’re on a mission to improve organizational culture. We believe that productivity, satisfaction, retention, and competitive advantage all belong in the same sentence.

EXPERT

Oliver Johnson

Oliver Johnson has more than two decades of experience in process design, facilitation, and training with a concentration in building organizational capacity to improve performance outcomes and service delivery.

From the consumer products industry to public-private partnerships, to local government, he brings a unique perspective and skill set increasingly needed for today’s rapidly changing marketplace of ideas, good, and services.

Central to his work is creating the conditions that support individuals, teams, and diverse stakeholder groups to do their best and most productive thinking and decision-making, whether solving challenging problems, generating innovative solutions, or producing tangible outcomes.

Always drawn to the unknown with a curiosity for unique differences, his intense wanderlust has taken him to many corners of the world in parts of Central and South America, western and eastern Europe, and western, northern, and southern Africa.

Oliver has a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University and is an alumnus of the prestigious Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs.

EXPERT

Hassan Ghiassi

Hassan Ghiassi is the Founder of Aristotle’s Cafe, an entrepreneur, and a consultant.

Coming from an American-Iranian background, growing up he was always fascinated with how different cultures and people communicated.

He has worked for over a decade to design a format that brings people together to have discussions that matter.

He’s made a major impact with over 300 facilitators trained globally, over 1,000 facilitated discussions in person and virtually, and he’s even had the chance to sit down with over 10,000 people to talk about some of life’s most important subjects.

Throughout that journey he’s had the chance to hone his skills in diversity & inclusion, digital marketing, organizational culture, and more.

Hassan has a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from California State University – Chico, a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from Appalachian State University and has been invited onto the TEDx stage to speak on “How Discussions That Matter Create Empathy.”

TESTIMONIALS

What Customers Say

I have more than 30 years of experience as a facilitator, leading many difficult and conflict-ridden sessions, and I would confidently cede responsibility to Hassan to any similar situations. I learned a great deal from him; his unique experience in facilitating conversations worldwide has clearly given him tools to work well with a very diverse conversational group, which can be very challenging.

Beth Shortt

Former Non-Profit Director – Leadership Oklahoma City

Hassan helped me to grow my ability to communicate and listen deeply, especially at a distance. Learning from him was more meaningful than many trainings combined over 20 years of attending professional development workshops.

Kristi Archuleta

Associate Professor & Director of Faculty Outreach and Support for the Office of Global and Cultural Competencies – University of Central Oklahoma

When you leave a session, you feel empowered to invite others (even those you may not know well) to have difficult discussions and grow with you.

Ann-Clore Duncan

Founder – Duncan College Consulting

The Dialogic Approach to optimizing communication through superb facilitation techniques could not be more important in today’s “new normal”.

Renato Silva

Head of Product & Regional PMO at Tencent

Trust