Barry says his job is to empower the associates of IA to make informed decisions, help clients define and achieve their goals, and enhance their own collaborative intelligence.
With 40 years in the learning and performance improvement industry, Barry has led projects at dozens of companies, including General Electric, DuPont, McKinsey, American Airlines, Progressive Insurance, Charles Schwab, Exelon, and Capital One.
Barry is the designer and chief developer of much of Interaction Associates' intellectual content, including leadership, teamwork, and facilitation learning programs.
Barry has facilitated meetings with the Democratic Congressional Caucus, the Carter Center of Atlanta, and with the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, India. He trains Jewish and Palestinian leaders and consultants in Israel to apply The Interaction Method™ in the service of advancing civil society, cross-cultural tolerance, and progressive social change.
Barry is also a co-founder of the Interaction Institute for Social Change, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to racial justice and equity, and to advancing the practice of citizen democracy.
Barry’s favorite facilitative leadership practice is Celebrate Accomplishment. He likes to catch people in the act of doing good things and doing things well.
Barry holds a B.A. in Political Philosophy from Trinity College, Hartford CT, and an M.A. in Urban Planning from University of California, Berkeley.
Michael is passionate about teaching the skills that people need to work well with others in service of the greater good of humanity while on and off the job. Countless individuals, corporations, and communities have benefited from his commitment to developing collaborative capabilities.
Michael joined Interaction Associates in 1997 and has focused on designing and delivering customized learning processes ever since. Prior to joining IA, Michael led the Dublin (Ireland) Institute of Adult Education for 9 years. His responsibilities included overall management of the Institute’s 120 trainers, design and development of new adult education programs, and the continued education and training of his management team.
His published works include Principle and Profit-Corporate Responsibility in Ireland, Watch your Language…Words Really Matter, and Partners in Faith – A Program of Adult Faith Development.
Michael’s client experience includes engagements with Alkermes, Abt Associates, Baltimore Gas & Electric-Calvert Cliffs Nuclear, Biogen Idec, Bon Secours Health System, Catholic HealthCare Partners, Curtiss Wright Flow Control, Dell (EMEA), GE Capital, GE Crotonville (MDC) (ECLP), International Paper, Medtronic, Nokia, Library of Congress, and Sirtex.
In his spare time, Michael enjoys introducing conscious collaboration skills and tools to non-profits. As a European immigrant (and a US citizen since 2013), he is honored to work with immigrants from over 48 countries as a volunteer with The Irish International Immigration Center in Boston. He also serves on the Board of the parochial middle school his two sons attended.
Michael is particularly drawn to the “Sharing an Inspiring Vision” practice, and assisting individuals, groups, teams, and whole organizations frame their future in terms of what is possible rather than merely what is positive (What is POSSIBLE is without boundary and spirals upwards, while what is positive leads to binary thinking and a downward spiral).
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Michael holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a Master in Theology (STL) degree from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, Italy, a Higher Diploma in Adult and Community Education from the National University of Ireland, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy from University College Dublin.