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CONFERENCE STAFF
DIRECTORATE and ADMINISTRATION
Journée, Ph.D.
Conference Director and Consultant
Journée has spent thirteen years in group relations work, drawn to the same question: what happens when we let ourselves be vulnerable instead of certain. Journée supports the global community as an executive leadership coach. Journée is administrator and Co-Creator of Group Relations International; member of Association of Black Psychologists, Inc.; member of American Psychological Association; owner of Wisdom Wear. Journée is a mother of one daughter and proud grandmother of two.
Janice Wagner
Associate Conference Director and Consultant
Janice (she, her, hers), is a Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist in Boston, MA. She worked in the Child Welfare and Criminal Justice systems, as well in a private multi-specialty medical practice before engaging in a full-time private psychotherapy practice. She is a member and Past-President of the Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems, a fellow of the A. K. Rice Institute and a Co-Creator of Group Relations International. She is an Executive Coach for Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.L.D students.
Yihe Yang, Ph.D.
Director of Administration
Yihe Yang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on the intersections of critical leadership, group relations, and intercultural dynamics. She currently serves as Secretary of the Executive Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors of the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems (AKRI). As a co-creator of Group Relations International (GRI) and International Group Relations China (IGRC), she has served in a range of leadership and staff roles at Group Relations Conferences (GRCs) in the United States and China, including Consultant, Consultant-in-Training, Cultural Interpreter, and Administrator.
Gabriel Baldwin
Associate Administrator
Gabriel (he and she, not they) - has been immersed in group relations work for the past nine years and has experienced this work to be powerfully transformative in becoming myself. He is a forester, saw mill operator, builder, farmer, forager, hunter, and father in mid-coast Maine (Penobscot territory). She designs and publishes board games (HOMESTEAD or DIE), facilitates Biodanza dance, teaches traditional Buddhist meditation through a radical lens, offers Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy, consults to groups, and leads rites of passage. He is a GRI Co-Creator, AKRI member and LDRS graduate, CSGSS member, and Grex Treasurer.
CONSULTANTS
Alan Ruiz, MFA
Consultant
Alan is an artist, educator, and group relations practitioner born in Mexico. His work as an artist examines how space is produced as material and ideology, and how it informs social and psychic life. He has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University, and currently teaches at The New School and Hunter College. Alan has Group Relations experience across a variety of roles. He is a faculty member of the CSGSS “Leading from Experience” workshop, a Group Relations International Co-Creator, a member and certified consultant of the A.K. Rice Institute, and past president of its regional affiliate, the New York Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations, and Social Systems.
Salina Villegas
Consultant
Salina has spent over fifteen years working across nonprofit, corporate, educational, and government sectors, driven by a deep commitment to healing and the transformative power of authentic dialogue. Salina supports organizations and communities as a facilitator, coach, and decolonial educator. She currently serves as a Race & Equity Manager for the City of San Diego, where she guides city departments and community members toward more equitable policies and outcomes. Salina is a Co-Creator of Group Relations International. She holds a Master of Education in Prevention Science from Harvard University and a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Salina is a proud mother of three human beings and two black cats.
Brian Mahoney, M.Ed.
Consultant-in-Training
Brian (he/him) is a group relations and leadership consultant. He leads a team of teaching fellows in support of two group dynamics-related courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also a member of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 805. In his free time Brian enjoys bouldering and restoring the native habitat in his backyard.
Jon Luke Tittman
Consultant
Jon Luke (he/him) has been involved in group relations work for seven years, drawn by the idea that groups carry wisdom that no one in them possesses alone. He has conference experience across AKRI, GRC, and IFSI. He currently works as a product marketing manager at Rula, a mental health company, and previously spent three years at IDEO and two years in clean energy. He also consults for WholeSchool Mindfulness, spent five years supporting Inward Bound Mindfulness, and serves as a retreat mentor at Insight Meditation Society's annual teen retreat.
Jonathan Rust, Ph.D
Consultant
Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. Jonathan is a New York State licensed psychologist certified psychoanalyst, who maintains a private practice in Poughkeepsie, NY. He is a member and a certified consultant of the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems and its affiliate the New York Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations, and Social Systems. Additionally, Jonathan currently directs the annual Spring Group Relations Conference at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Rosette Cirillo, Ph.D.
Consultant
Rosette is a full-time lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research and teaching presences the inner lives of teachers and their relationship to death and dreams in their pedagogies. She is a consultant and coach for educational and workplace ethics, inclusion, crisis management, and power dynamics in groups at Leadership Lab International. She has served as a board member for the Boston Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems and is a member of CSGSS and the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems, and a co-creator with Group Relations International. She is a proud former Chelsea Public Schools teacher and first-generation scholar.
CONFERENCE ELDER
Patricia Kummel, JD, Ph.D.
Elder
Patricia began thinking about group dynamics while observing partner-associate interactions at her NYC law firm. She studied group relations at Columbia University while supervising a team of attorneys and investigators and used her learning to improve team functioning. While counseling and coaching clients in her NYC private practice, and assisting seniors with end of life issues, Patricia uses systems theories to expand her clients’ understanding of their relationships and interactions. She has been involved with group relations conferences for over 35 years and has held every role from member to Director. Patricia is a member of the NY Center for Groups, Organizations and Social Systems and the Washington-Baltimore Center for the Study of Group Relations. She is a member and Fellow of The A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems (AKRI), where she currently serves as Co-Chair for the Change Committee. She is also a co-creator of Group Relations International GRI) and a member of OPUS (Organisation for Promoting Understanding of Society).
The Conference Director gratefully acknowledges the pre-conference mentorship provided by Elder in the work, Mary McRae. Your time and wisdom ensured the foundation for this conference was strong.
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