Center for Learning Connections

From the Director

By Julie Jacob, Director

Cultural anthropologist Jennifer James spoke recently at a conference for college administrators and exempt staff. Her presentation was titled "The Adaptive Executive: Unprecedented Change." I really resonated with how she identified the typical human response to change: malaise, tiredness, thinking that the past is better, anxiety, inability to establish priorities, rage, and instability.

According to Jennifer James, change and stress reduce the brain’s creative capacity by 25%. She said that challenges experienced today by most of us require us to be adaptable, authentic, and to have the qualities of character, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, creativity, and influence. She defined "influence" as the ability to tell a compelling story, and suggested that now is the time for myth-switching. It’s time to create a new story that supports the change we want and need to see...readmore

High Tech or High Touch?

By Dean Summers, Project Manager

"Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a ...readmore.

CLC is Expecting!

By Cal Crow, Program Director

After a quarter century of providing workshops, conferences and other activities covering a myriad of topics, CLC has decided to add another "center" to the family. It will be called the Center for Efficacy and Resiliency (CER),...readmore

Professional Development through Self-Awareness

By John House, Special Projects Director

As educators, workforce professionals, and leaders, there are times in our careers when we experience a disconnect from what we say we believe. Our mantra becomes, "Do as I say, not as I do." We develop blind spots that negatively affect our performance personally and professionally...readmore

NPSDC: your advocate for staff development

By Anna McCain, Project Manager

"I know the tremendous challenges that non-profits are facing with their budgets being cut, due to reduced funding for their programs, together with the ever increasing need for their staff to be trained to meet increasing demands on their job responsibilities and expectations to perform… the NPSDC truly is a wonderful resource for non-profits especially in these uncertain times…"

From a trainer who delivered a recent NPSDC workshop.

Throughout 2009, the NPSDC Committee has worked to keep the staff-development focus active in its constituent organizations. It has not been easy. Nevertheless, earlier this year, the committee engaged in a process to advocate for the importance and value of staff training and development...readmore

The ASSOCIATION: An Historical Perspective

By Kati Hays, Project Coordinator

The Center for Learning Connections has partnered with The ASSOCIATION in providing professional development opportunities to administrators and exempt staff at Washington’s Community and Technical colleges for more than twenty-seven years...readmore