Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents

Our 40th episode of the Creative Flow podcast features Sue Keller-Mathers, an associate professor who teaches graduate courses in Creativity at the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State. Sue shares her passion for growing Creativity in education and continuing the development of the Torrance Incubation Model (TIM) for designing learning. She highlights the success of engaging learners through the Torrance Incubation Model (TIM) to “set purpose and motivation up front, to dig the learners deep into their content, and to connect it to things to go beyond.” Sue emphasizes the importance of attitudes like openness and flexibility in creative problem-solving. She discusses her work researching the history of Creativity through scholars like Ruth Knoller and Calvin Taylor. When describing the future, she shares her vision of fostering Creativity in schools and understanding diversity. “Wouldn't it be great if every kid grew up knowing their creative abilities were present and appreciated?” Don’t miss Sue's insights from her extensive career experience in creative education and problem-solving. You will also enjoy her tips on entering a state of creative flow deliberately through visualization and isolation to immerse yourself in complex projects fully.

Our 39th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Miggie Wong, a museum professional and artist who creates situation-based performance projects exploring ideas of social interaction, a sense of belonging, and acts of sincerity. Born and raised in Hong Kong and later migrating to the United States, Miggie was creative from a young age but did not have a way to describe her process to others. Studying the Science of Creativity at the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, helped her understand how to utilize Creativity as an artist and have a common framework and language to promote it in others. One example of how Miggie uses Creativity as a survival skill is a project she did when studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts. She created a participatory art project by playing Mahjong for 24 hours to help her make friends despite the language barrier. In 2021, she withstood the enforced isolation of quarantine in a hotel room for 14 days while visiting Hong Kong during the pandemic by working on a creative art project that resulted in her publishing a graphic diary called ‘14 Days Quarantine Meal Drawing Project’. Her current work uses participatory art to connect with her audience and encourage them to tell her stories about the community. Don’t miss our discussion of Miggie's wish for the future of Creativity as “using scientific and artistic creativity to continue to maintain and improve our well-being.” This concept of art as essential to mental health is aligned with her Creative Flow of making art that encourages a connection with the viewer. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 38th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Erin Habes, a dedicated fashion and textile technology department lecturer and Runway Faculty Director at Buffalo State University who is passionate about being a catalyst for inclusive fashion in the Buffalo community. Erin started her career in New York City, opened her store when she returned to Buffalo, and is well-known for producing large-scale fashion shows such as Runway and Mass Appeal. When appointed adjunct faculty in the fashion program, she learned about the Master's Degree in Creativity and Change Leadership at Buffalo State University, and it was what she was seeking to extend her education. She dedicated ten years to completing the degree and discusses how it continues to help her combine the fashion world and Deliberate Creativity. Erin has developed many partnerships through her work on fashion shows and often plays the role of facilitating meaningful collaborations between students, alums, and entrepreneurs, ensuring diverse perspectives are heard and celebrated. One great example is her work with Visit Buffalo Niagara Buffalo to showcase her home city's beautiful boutiques, fashion, and shopping. Erin describes the creativity she uses in the classroom and how she helps her students and the Buffalo community champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in fashion. Using design thinking and a focus on empathy, she encourages her students to understand that they are responsible for the products that we are making. Don’t miss this discussion of how Erin used AI to help her students get new ideas to create a collection for this year’s Runway. To bring the Creative Community together, she is hosting an in-person mixer on January 18, at 7 pm, at Twin Petrels Selzer Company (1250 Niagara St, Buffalo, NY 14213). Please join us if you are in the WNY Region. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 37th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features William Shepard, a thought leader who worked closely with Sid Parnes and many greats in the field of Creative Problem Solving. Bill's first exposure to Deliberate Creativity was in 1972 when he provided technical and logistical support at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI), which impacted him personally and professionally. He later obtained a Graduate Certificate in Creativity from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, and served as Director of CPSI and its programs for 18 years. Bill masterfully walks us through how the history and evolution of the field of Creativity have changed from the beginning to the present day. He describes traveling around the world with Sid and Bea Parnes and working with many of the seminal thought leaders of Creative Problem Solving, such as Ruth Noller, Paul Torrance, and Edward DeBono. He discusses his own emotional breakthrough as he found the side of him that could be creative and the tools to do it deliberately. Don’t miss this discussion of how he uses the principles and tools personally and professionally for individuals, teams, organizations, and executive coaching. As the Group Vice President of the Creative Problem Solving Group – Buffalo (CPSB), he worked on projects with leading firms worldwide. For him, the most personally and professionally rewarding activity was training individuals within organizations to address problems and challenges better. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 36th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Jane Fischer, a Creative Change Facilitator for individuals and groups who focuses on the tools of applied improvisation and Creativity. Jane is a creative trainer at the Creative Education Foundation with over 25 years of experience developing and delivering educational sessions and 20 years of experience as a professional improv comedy performer. Jane was involved in the Applied Improvisation community for many years in her hometown of Jamestown and was introduced to the Center for Applied Imagination by a graduate in this group. The program was so transformative that she described her life “BC – Before Creativity” and “AC – After Creativity.” One surprising benefit of the Graduate Certificate in Creativity from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, was the inclusion of Creative Leadership in the curriculum. She credits this degree with helping her to empower her workplace and make everything “exponentially better” for the people who worked for her. Jane discusses how she uses the improvisational mindset to help teams and organizations experience Creativity. She incorporates exercises and activities from the world of improv, and participants learn how to balance divergent and convergent thinking while finding new and exciting possibilities. One of her favorite success stories involved a person who considered improv fluff until she could practice it and experience the impact it can have on collaboration and communication skills. Don't miss this chance to laugh while you also hear insights from a respected leader who has a vision for the future of the creativity community, where we will continue to convert people and help them make their “own meaning with creativity.” Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 35th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Karina Loera, MS founder of Strategik Minds LLC, and a faculty member for the Masters in Innovation Management at Universidad de la Sabana in Colombia. Karina discusses how she sees Creativity transform the entrepreneurs she works with to grow their businesses. Her other passion is teaching and seeing her students increase their organizational impact by mastering the creative problem solving process. Born and raised in Mexico City, teaching in Colombia, and living in the USA for eight years, she shares insights on how culture impacts our creativity mindset and the tools she uses to create common ground. Karina left behind a high-powered marketing career to achieve a Master's in Creative Studies and Change Leadership at the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State University. Her work at the Small Business Development Center gave her an understanding of how entrepreneurs represent the creative person because they constantly face uncertainty. Working with a startup company and now in her own business, she understands how the creative process can help solve daily problems entrepreneurs face. Karina helped organize the Masters in Innovation Management at Universidad de la Sabana in Colombia and teaches a class on innovation management to give students the tools and resources to develop and ensure innovation is happening in their organization. She shares the thrill of reading their dissertations and describes the many success stories her students have achieved. Learn about Karina's Creative Flow, training people, and imagining the experience she wants participants to have in her class. Don't miss this discussion of the future of creativity and the insights of a multicultural leader. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 34th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Roger Firestien, Ph.D., who has proudly trained more people to lead the creative process than anyone else in the world. He is a Senior Faculty member at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State, President of Innovation Resources, Inc., and Author of Create in a Flash: A leader's recipe for breakthrough innovation. Roger discusses how he came to creativity through music and a desire to help his students become more creative and enjoy their music lessons more. Research led him to the Center for Applied Imagination, where he was the seventh person to graduate with the degree. He discusses his work facilitating, teaching, and creating resources such as offering a breakthrough lab for clients facing a challenging problem to solve. You will feel his passion and fire as he describes a legendary career: "It's just extraordinary to have been in this business for 40-plus years and still just having a blast.” Roger describes three success stories that stood out in his long and impressive career. Working with Clorox, the team solved a problem that plagued the company for 70 years in 15 minutes. He helped Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA combine creative problem-solving with quality techniques, resulting in the plant coming up to speed faster than any other plant in the automobile maker's operation. His work with the New York State Economic Development Council, the Western New York division, helped Buffalo, New York, secure a billion dollars in economic development funding. Now Roger works at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, teaching residents and medical students to ask creative questions to get better diagnoses. Roger is a prolific author and shares a preview of his new book that will be coming out in the Summer of 2023 called "Solve the Real Problem." His creative flow is writing, and he shares his knowledge in his courses, free videos, and numerous books. Don't miss this discussion of the future of creativity and the insights of a leader who has positively impacted the field of Creativity in many ways. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 33rd episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Liz Monroe-Cook, Ph.D., a consulting psychologist in organizational applications who is one of the foremost authorities on leveraging polarities. She earned an MA in counseling, and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Michigan State University, and a Graduate Certificate in Creativity from the Center for Applied Imagination. Liz leverages polarity and combines it with Creative Problem Solving in her work with individuals, teams, and organizations and is a frequent presenter at conferences worldwide. The creator of Polarity Thinking was Barry Johnson, and he has been a great source of inspiration in her life. She shares how polarity thinking helps her clients address both sides of an organizational issue and move from "one-sided creativity" to "whole-picture creativity." She made it her mission "to introduce polarity thinking to the creativity community and bring deliberate creativity, approaches, and tools to the polarity thinking community. " A book recommendation to extend the learning on this topic is Liz's chapter (Ch 9) entitled "Polarity Thinking and Creative Problem Solving" in Polarity Practitioners. And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox or Dilemma; Volume Two: Applications. Amherst: HRD Press, 2021. Volume 1 is Foundations by Barry Johnson. Liz's first exposure to deliberate creativity was attending the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) while working in Qualitative Research. She will attend this conference for the 33rd year and describes its benefits for new attendees and those who have participated for many years. She is on the Board of Directors of the Creative Education Foundation and has received their Distinguished Leader and Leadership Service & Commitment Awards. Learn about Liz's views on the importance of helping teams and organizations embrace discomfort and bring emotions into the process in a productive way to the outcome. The discussion of the future of creativity provides an optimistic view on bringing in ideas from different cultures and using technology "as a tool rather than a barrier." Don't miss this discussion of finding creative flow in incubation and leveraging polarities as analogous to a grandfather clock. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 32nd episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Michael Ackerbauer, Ph.D., a business transformation leader in the IBM Client Engineering organization who received his Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change from the University of the Virgin Islands. He shares his recent dissertation research on team creativity preferences and social style behaviors, as well as insights from helping numerous teams apply the creative process. Mike discusses how he uses FourSight and Creative Problem Solving to help explain how teams interact and how they can improve. With over 20 years in the field, he focuses on teaching people about creativity and the creative process, and his work at IBM involves helping teams develop a reusable creativity process. Learn about his views on the future of creativity using artificial intelligence to augment human imagination and be more efficient, not to replace human creativity. He feels the focus must be on helping people become open and aware of their innate capacity for creativity and their own versatility to work with others. Don’t miss this discussion of creative flow in rock balancing, researching, and writing from a thought leader who excels in research. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 31st episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Teresa Lawrence, Ph.D., PMP, the subject matter expert on integrating Creative Problem Solving into Project Management. She is the president of International Deliverables, LLC, and provides professional services in creativity, creative problem-solving, and project management. She is a certified Project Management Professional and received a Graduate Certificate from the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State, and a Ph.D. in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from the University at Buffalo. Teresa shares insights from her career working with many organizations and teaching over 80,000 people how to apply creativity in ways that are novel, useful, and on-demand. She describes the importance of instilling an understanding in her participants of where they are in the problem and then helping them select the best tool to move them forward. She is passionate about helping the people she works with become empowered and skillful in problem identification so they solve the problem, not the symptom. While she points out the many misconceptions about creativity, Teresa shows how creative problem-solving is an evidence and performance-based process. She describes two success stories, one with a nonprofit organization hiring a new executive director and one with a large healthcare IT company. These impactful examples demonstrate how a facilitated process using the right tool at the right time can impact the entire future of an organization and save millions of dollars. Don’t miss this discussion with a change agent doing impactful work in service to others while living a richer, more alive, and rewarding life. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 30th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Nathan Schwagler, a Military Design and Innovation Facilitator at the US Space Command. He also worked as an expert-level facilitator of Military Design and Creative Problem Solving programs for US Special Operations Command, Dept of Defense, and International NATO allies. As the founding co-director of Innovation Labs at The Dali Museum, he designed programs and facilitated organizations. He received an MS in Creativity at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State, and an MS in Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida, where he worked as a Creative-in-Residence and Instructor. Nate shares how his introduction to Creativity began when he came across a flyer and explored the halls of the International Center of Studies in Creativity and found an environment that looked “unlike anything he had ever seen before in his life.” He worked in diverse circumstances by finding champions at organizations as varied as the Department of Defense and the Dali Museum. His success stories span working with one of the largest breweries to helping a leader develop a whole of government approach to designing national security. Nate discusses the exciting future of Creativity in Extreme Environment Research and using “AI (Artificial Intelligence) in creatively serviceable and optimized ways.” His creative flow is found on the billiard table or climbing stairs for exercise. Don’t miss this discussion of big ideas and opportunities to take deliberate Creativity to space and beyond.Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 29th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Florian Rustler, the founder of creaffective Europe and Asia, who works as a consultant to help organizations worldwide to strengthen agility, innovation, and effective collaboration. He is based in Munich, Germany, and has an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY, Buffalo State. Florian describes how he became interested in creativity through mind mapping, which triggered a journey ten years later to study for his Master's Degree in Buffalo, NY. He shares several examples of his work to support companies in Europe and Asia to be more creative and innovative. One success story involved helping engineers achieve a breakthrough by using the analogy of baking a cake to solve a plating problem on a jet engine. As part of his work with organizations, Florian discovered that he needed to broaden his scope to include collaborating effectively at scale. He now works with customers to find alternatives to traditional organizational design hierarchies to allow for distributed decision-making and agility in “an open, complex, and dynamic world.” Don’t miss this discussion of the global future of creativity and how a cup of tea factors into Florian’s Creative Flow. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 28th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Jo Yudess, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at SUNY Buffalo State College who has been a part of the faculty since 2004. She found her way to Creativity by reading Applied Imagination by Alex Osborn and started presenting to groups. She attended a one-day workshop at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) with the encouragement of Dr. Ruth Noller and fell in love with Creative Problem Solving. With an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity and EDD from St. John Fisher in Executive Leadership, Jo describes her work teaching Generation Z students. She has found this generation understands what is going on in the world, cares about it, and wants to do something to change it. They are open to diversity and inclusion and living their values. Her passion for teaching and inspiring her students to leverage creativity defines her work. Jo uses Creative Problem Solving in every job she has ever had to improve the workplace. In one project, she facilitated a diverse team from every area of the company resulting in 200 ideas in two hours vs. eight ideas achieved in an all-day meeting from the top Leadership. She also describes facilitating a research group that did not know the problem they were solving and how their work was able to change the testing methodology of doctors for babies in utero. Don’t miss this discussion of Creative Flow, which Jo describes as “everything is connected.” Jo’s values and beliefs, combined with the creative problem-solving process, come out in everything she does. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 27th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Steve Martin, who has over 50 years of hands-on experience as an executive, consultant, and business owner. In his business, Steve incorporated advanced innovation tools to change management, cost reduction, and profit improvement. Steve shares stories of using Creative Problem Solving (CPS) combined with his engineering/ business expertise to help one company to find $8 million of bottom-line profit in 10 days. At a billion-dollar company, Steve trained 250 people across the country who converted 133 ideas into projects with an estimated value of more than $50 million. He generously shares his insights on using CPS tools effectively to obtain impressive results for businesses of all sizes. Steve was the 136th person awarded an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY, Buffalo State. After his studies, he decided to leave a corporate executive role to start a business and now is a SCORE Certified Volunteer Mentor. Over eleven years he has worked with over 900 small businesses across the country. In this episode, he provides valuable advice for new graduates who seek to start a business when they graduate with a degree in the Science of Creativity. Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion of “discovery, redemption, freedom, and self-actualization” and the chance to learn about Steve’s rocket scientist level of ideation and why he is always in a state of flow. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 26th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Tamara L. McMillan, MS, an award-winning Lecturer, Author, and TEDx speaker working on her dissertation for the Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change from The University of the Virgin Islands. As an adjunct lecturer at SUNY Buffalo State and Chief Empowerment Officer at empower mee, she uses deliberate creativity in the classroom and with her clients. Tamara discusses her passion for using deliberate creativity in her own life and being deliberate about who she is as a person. She learned about the academic program, Creativity and Change Leadership at the SUNY Buffalo State from her sisters. After taking one class, she went on to complete an Advanced Certificate and is continuing her studies today at the doctorate level. She describes the sacred relationship between professors and scholars and the many success stories she has achieved using creativity in the classroom. You will learn about the Failure Fanaticism Framework and the idea that we all “pass failure on our way to success.” Using the example of Silicon Valley, Tamara describes the subject of her dissertation on using failure to empower rather than disempower. Failure is positive because if you are not failing, you are “probably playing it safe” and may miss out on opportunities to “elevate, scale and leverage.” Tamara uses her voice as her vehicle in her business, empower mee, to help women navigate their next move forward. She has assembled a tribe of women from diverse backgrounds to be Bold Together. Her book, Liberation Now, is a “love letter to her younger self,” and her Creative Flow involves “trusting me with me.” Don’t miss this open discussion of why creativity is essential today because it “allows everyone to show up as their authentic self “ and “holds the space for everyone at the table.” Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

The start of our third season and the twenty-fifth episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Gerard J. Puccio, Ph.D., the Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Creativity and Change Leadership Department at SUNY- Buffalo State. Dr. Puccio explores the trajectory of the field of Creativity from a pioneering graduate program founded in 1967 to a growing program of distinction known worldwide. The degree program is a transformational educational experience that helps students actualize as human beings, build creative confidence and develop leadership skills. Two exciting upcoming projects discussed are the new Innovation Suite planned for the Butler Library at Buffalo State College and launching a doctoral degree in Creativity and Change leadership. Dr. Puccio’s journey to Creativity started at Jamestown Community College when he took a course in Creativity recommended by his academic advisor, Dr. Dean Patton. Today he is one of the preeminent leaders in the field, having written more than 60 articles, chapters, and books. As an accomplished speaker and consultant, he has delivered creativity workshops and presentations across the US and in more than 20 different countries. The Burchfield Penney Art Gallery is an example of a success story where Dr. Puccio led brainstorming concept development sessions for a large group of stakeholders. Concepts directly taken from these sessions are a living representation of using CPS to “engage a community to create something world-class.” The NY Times named it one of the top buildings to visit in the year it was built. Don’t miss this inspiring discussion on the future of Creativity as we discuss the impact of neuroscience in providing insights into why creativity methods work and opportunities for improving physical and mental health with Creative Problem Solving.

Our twenty-fourth episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Laura and Tim Switalski, a married couple who share a passion for using deliberate creativity in their lives and work. Originally from Milan, Italy, Laura met her husband in Buffalo, NY, at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI). They used creativity to find a way to be together despite the distance from Milan to Buffalo. Ultimately, they came to work together at Darwin Associates, the consulting business Tim founded, now celebrating its 27th anniversary. They both have an MS in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, where Laura is also on the adjunct faculty. Tim discusses a success story with the NYS Office of Mental Health, Division of Children and Families, teaching facilitators and conducting youth summits statewide. This work prompted real social, policy, and funding changes, and is being published in a book on Collective Intelligence. During the pandemic, they worked to help two private schools successfully merge into one. From dialogue sessions to action teams, they helped the new organization create a shared vision and strategy. Another legacy of Tim and Laura is their work founding the CREA Conference in Europe, a multi-cultural event that has been held for over 18 years. Tim describes the creative flow he finds in musical harmony, and Laura discusses her flow when doing yoga, dancing, and walking in nature. Don’t miss this entertaining discussion from a married couple who describes using creativity in their everyday lives together and the many successes they have achieved in their work with Creative Problem Solving.

Our twenty-third episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Amanda Lohiser, Ph.D.. Amanda has over twelve years of experience in higher education, teaching undergraduate and graduate students in the United States, Singapore, and Denmark. Her educational background includes a BA and Ph.D. in communication studies, an MS in public relations, an MS in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, and facial action coding systems certifications. Her Ph.D. focus was on socio-emotional intelligence and how understanding your own emotions and the emotions of others can help you be a better communicator. Amanda uses Creative Problem Solving in the classroom at SUNY Fredonia by infusing her lessons with creativity and deliberately teaching workshops on the topic. She describes how she was faced with the challenge of moving her classes from in-person to virtual with only a few days' notice and used her training and a creativity mindset to incorporate techniques such as virtual whiteboards, resulting in a successful semester for her students. Amanda has collaborated with Dr. David Yates, to define best practices when leading a workshop or teaching a course online. She has collaborated with colleagues working on book chapters and sees benefits from incorporating virtual whiteboards in her in-person classes. The key is making learning a fun environment by incorporating interactive elements that are engaging for students. Learn about the crossover between communication and creativity as defining elements of the human experience. Amanda’s research combines emotional intelligence with Communication Studies to explore how our emotions help us communicate more effectively. Don’t miss this positive discussion of using creative problem solving in higher education, communications, and remote learning.

Our twenty-second episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Beth Slazak, MBA, MS, a certified humor professional, the Education and Events Manager at the Creative Education Foundation, and the conference manager of the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI). She has an MBA and a Master's in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State. Beth shares her work with teachers sharing tools such as empathy maps to make learning more engaging, and describes the experience of CPSI as so much more than a conference. This year is again in person, and there are opportunities to learn foundations in Creative Problem Solving or take advanced immersion classes that are deep dives into topics. One of the highlights will be Massimo Agostinelli from Cirque du Soleil, who explores the concept of bouffon characters with a sense of humor. Some people have attended 40 CPSIs, and they keep coming back for the campfires, networking, labyrinth as well as the learning. Beth describes her journey as self-actualization, where deliberate Creativity has given her more awareness and a deeper understanding. She studied improv at Second City and the Comedy Sport and a three-year program offered by the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. She uses improv in every training at CEF and regularly experiences how games can help warm up the brain and help participants practice in a lower-risk way. Don't miss this lively discussion of what it is like to work in the field of creativity and be in the forefront of teaching at the highest level. We hope to see newbies and old friends in June at the CPSI Conference, where the community gathers to learn and laugh.

Our twenty-first episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Nicole Jones, Owner of Artisans Journey, LLC, based in Charlotte, NC. She is a graduate of the Master's program at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State. Her career included working as a Confidential Criminal Investigator for the Erie County District Attorney, a Detective with the Buffalo Police Department for 21 years, and a forensic examiner. Nicole shares how her path to creativity was accelerated by some health challenges she experienced. Using Creative Problem Solving to explore alternative healing modalities helped her solve her problem and find a new world view. She now runs a wellness company where she uses multiple modalities to help her clients heal, and creative problem-solving runs through all processes. Nicole discusses how she was always a clarifier (Foursight Preference https://www.foursightonline.com) in her career as a detective and how her Master's studies illuminated her natural skills in creativity that played a role in her successes throughout her career. One skill that she regularly used in law enforcement was the power of observation, and she tells fascinating stories on how she learned to stop, pause, ask the right question, and hold space for the answer. Now she uses this same skill to ask intuitive questions deliberately. Don't miss this inspiring discussion of using creative problem solving to look within. Nicole discusses how the future of Creativity lies in our ability to attend to the self within and access what is below the surface. If we can free ourselves, we can be as creative as we choose.