Maureen O'Hara
Type of Fellow: Change Fellow
Description: Maureen O'Hara Ph.D. International Futures Forum, St Andrews Scotland and California.
Former president of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco, Principal Emerita Consulting.
A native of England, resident in the US for over 35 years and several years in Brazil, she received an honors degree in Biological Sciences from the University of London. She did post-graduate research in bio-science at Leeds University and Michigan State University before switching to psychology. She received the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Human Development under the supervision of Dr. Carl R. Rogers, where her research focused on psycho-sexual development. She later conducted research with Dr. Rogers on large group dynamics and dialogical process for cross cultural communication. Her recent concerns have focused on the interplay between large scale cultural shifts and the impact this is having on cognitive and emotional development. Most recently she has been focusing her concerns and on the future of higher education in a global society.
Dr. O'Hara is Founding Fellow of the Meridian International Institute on Governance, Leadership, Learning and the Future, a San Francisco-based futures group that consults with leaders in business, government, social service agencies and the media to help them frame the issues that are expected to dominate the public agenda in the next ten years. She is a member of the International Futures Forum, a Scottish based consulting group focusing on social innovation, Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and former president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. She is a Network member at Global Business Network, part of the Monitor Group, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Counseling, Japan.
A prolific write and speaker, her published work appears in popular and academic books and journals including Science, Op-Ed sections of the Los Angeles Times, Whole Earth Review, Futures, Skeptical Inquirer, Education, and The Humanistic Psychologist, Vital Speeches, Family Therapy Networker, as well as several European academic publications . She was featured futurist Fast Company. She co-produced the award winning video Myths that Maim which examines the social construction of gender violence. July 2006 will see the publication of The Handbook of Person-Centered Therapy edited with three European colleagues.
Maureen consults to businesses and non-profits on organizational change, leadership, workplace behavioral issues and futures planning.