VIEWPOINT LEARNING - Key Persons
Research Director Barbara Lee is an expert in quantitative and qualitative research design as well as an experienced focus group moderator.
Barbara has served as Research Director of Viewpoint Learning since the company's founding in 1999. In more than ten years as a consultant to non-profit organizations, she has conducted research studies and offered insight into strategy development for clients including the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, the San Diego City Schools, Children's Television Workshop, the American Heart Association, and the Adult Literacy Media Alliance.
Formerly the Director of Social Research at CBS Corporation, Barbara is an experienced lecturer on issues ranging from education and the media to the uses of new technologies. She has published many articles in professional journals and the popular press, as well as a book advising parents on using the media to develop children's literacy.
Barbara did her undergraduate work at Hunter College and earned an M.A. in sociology from the University of Chicago. She held executive positions at Yankelovich, Skelly and White, the Newspaper Advertising Bureau, and International Research Associates. She also served on the Executive Council of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, as a member of a Federal Communications Commission advisory board, and as a peer reviewer for the National Institute of Mental Health. She is currently on the Advisory Board for the Social Sciences at UCSD.
Viewpoint Learning founders Daniel Yankelovich and Dr. Steven Rosell have more than 80 years of experience in public opinion research, dialogue and governance issues. Viewpoint Learning builds upon Dan Yankelovich's groundbreaking work on highly sophisticated polls and focus groups, as well as Steven Rosell's work on scenarios, group and societal learning, and local, national and institutional governance.
Dr. Steven Rosell is president and co-founder of Viewpoint Learning.
He leads the development of Viewpoint Learning's innovative dialogue-based techniques and their application in both business and the public sector. These dialogues - whether with the public, key stakeholders or employees - enable decision-makers to understand different viewpoints in depth and use that understanding to find common ground and new ways forward.
Steve acts as an advisor to governments, international agencies and major firms, and is the author of numerous articles and four books on questions of governance, leadership and learning. His most recent books are Renewing Governance: Governing by Learning in the Information Age, and Changing Frames, (in English, PDF, 198 K or in French, PDF, 258 K).
He has worked with hundreds of executives in the public and private sectors developing the learning-based approaches to leadership and governance needed to deal with new social and political realities.
Previously, Steve was a senior official of the Government of Canada, where he led the group responsible for advising four Prime Ministers on the organization and machinery of government and related issues. He also served in the departments responsible for foreign affairs and international trade, consumer and corporate affairs, and housing and urban affairs. In addition, he was senior fellow at the International Development Research Centre, and Director of the Governability Research Program at the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Steve holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University, and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.
Director of Training Frances Michener specializes in leadership training, communication and listening skills, coaching and group facilitation. At Viewpoint Learning Frances works closely with the team of expert facilitators, designs and conducts trainings for private and public sector clients, and serves as the lead facilitator on many of our ChoiceDialogue and Stakeholder Dialogue projects.
Frances spent 18 years in the United Kingdom and Europe, where her clients included PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chevron U.K., and Mars, Incorporated. In the U.K., Frances taught at the University of London¹s Birkbeck College School of Management and Organizational Psychology. Her research there focused on groups that span national and cultural boundaries especially in Eastern and Western Europe and North Africa.
She is the author of numerous articles on these subjects and on interpersonal skills training and the adult learner's ability to transfer newly learned skills from the training setting to the workplace.
Frances pioneered the use of team-building urban adventures to enable inner city youth to develop a sense of agency, new skills and wider perspectives. In honor of this work she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She is also an experienced expedition leader of multi-national climbing teams in remote wilderness settings.
Frances earned a Masters of Science in organizational behavior from the University of London.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Special Projects
Manager of Special Projects Dr. Isabella Furth has a wide-ranging background in research, communication, writing and editing. She has developed the substance and design of many of Viewpoint Learning's dialogue materials, and has conducted dialogues on issues including land use, healthcare, senior services and community water fluoridation. A published author and experienced facilitator, she specializes in translating complex issues into accessible terms.
In her previous life as an academic, Isabella held teaching positions at several universities, including Hubei University (Wuhan, China), the University of California at Irvine and San Diego State University. She joined Viewpoint Learning in 2001.
Isabella holds a B.A. degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from UC Irvine. She lives in San Diego.