Leadership Certificate Program

EVERY FRIDAY, WINTER QUARTER

Humanities-Social Sciences | Room 259

The Division of Graduate Studies offers graduate students a Leadership Certificate Program (GSLP), consisting of a sequence of classes on leadership theory and practical skills. The program takes place every Friday of winter quarter, 1:00–4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, with the exception of the first meeting, January 5, which meets 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Pacific.

To join the program, your faculty adviser or principal investigator must recommend you with an email to Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Peter Biehl at vpdgs@ucsc.edu and state in the email that you are in good academic standing and able to commit to attending every meeting.

Certification of completion of the GSLP will be provided by the Division of Graduate Studies. The UCSC Academic Senate Graduate Council has reviewed and approved the program, and completion of the program is recorded as an official credential on your student record and transcript.

Zoom virtual attendance is available to those attending classes or conducting research remotely or needing to attend virtually for accessibility or to accommodate their schedules.

The maximum number of graduate students in the program cohort: 25

Values-Driven Leadership

Cheryl De Ciantis, Ph.D., and Kenton Hyatt, Ph.D., Founders and Coaches, Kairios

January 5 | Zoom Only

Professional Skills: 

The first meeting, an all-day workshop, focuses on exploring personal values and learning how you define and prioritize them. Interactive work will probe how definitions and the priorities of values vary among us. Drs. De Ciantis and Hyatt will guide the cohort in learning ways to stay connected to, communicate, and demonstrate your values as a leader, while also being open to learning about and understanding different value definitions and priorities among your colleagues.

Cheryl De Ciantis, Ph.D., is a pioneer in creating and documenting creative/reflective learning methodologies in leadership development. Serving as senior faculty and European director for the Center for Creative Leadership, Dr. De Ciantis has designed and delivered leadership development programs to myriad for-profit, not-for-profit, and academic institutions ranging from local to global scale and in most sectors, and has delivered hundreds of hours of executive coaching. Dr. De Ciantis and her husband and collaborator, Dr. Kenton Hyatt, created and developed the Values Perspectives theory and online values survey. The mission of their company, Kairios, is to help people and groups bring their highest-priority values into focus in all that they do and to train practitioners in non-judgmental values-based methodologies. Cheryl is also a working artist, and obtained her Ph.D. in mythological studies and depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, housing the Joseph Campbell Library and Archive, where she initiated her ongoing research into the intersection of art, technology, and culture. She is the author of many articles, and her most recent book is The Return of Hephaistos: Reconstructing the Fragmented Mythos of the Makers (2019).

Kenton Hyatt, Ph.D., specializes in values development and alignment, integrating interactive learning methods based on psychological and behavioral assessment with creative methodologies to produce active learning environments designed to achieve the results that are best suited for each person, group and organization. Following 20 years in academia teaching communication at Rochester Institute of Technology and Humboldt State University, he served as European program director for the Center for Creative Leadership. Together, Dr. Hyatt and his wife and collaborator, Dr. Cheryl De Ciantis, co-created the Kairios Values Perspectives theory, survey, and practice, and authored What’s Important: Understanding and Working with Values Perspectives (2014). Dr. Hyatt has worked with executives and management groups in numerous corporate organizations in the digital, manufacturing, civil engineering, consumer products, and other sectors headquartered in North America, Europe and Asia; and in ongoing relationship with academic institutions including Georgia Tech Institute for Leadership and Social Impact, Presidio School of Management, and Canadian Provincial colleges. An accomplished painter, photographer, and storyteller, Kenton has developed a theory of relational creativity and the unconscious. His most recent book is Radical Creativity: Imaginative, Relational, Dynamic (2019).

 

Executive Public Speaking

Bri McWhorter, Public Speaking Coach, Owner of Activate to Captivate

January 12 | 1:00-2:45 p.m. Pacific Time | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

As a leader, it's important to understand how to leverage key moments to connect with and empower your team. This workshop will cover how to help folks open up and engage in meaningful dialogues, conduct impactful meetings, and encourage collaboration between teammates.

Bri McWhorter is the founder and CEO of Activate to Captivate, where she teaches communication techniques from an actor’s point of view. She specializes in public speaking, scientific communications, interview skills, and interpersonal communications. She has taught workshops at Fortune 500 companies, privately coached CEOs at nonprofits, and led certificate programs at top universities. She is the creator of W.A.V.E.®, a program where she teaches speakers how to overcome nerves, use body language, and rely on their voice to tell an engaging story. She has coached speakers for academic symposia at various institutions, including UC Office of the President, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. She has a Master of Fine Arts in acting from UC Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in theater and performance studies from UC Berkeley.

 

Collaborative Teamwork

Thomas Rogers, Career Adviser and Instructor, Career Development, CSU Monterey Bay

January 12 | 3:00-4:30 p.m. Pacific | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

This interactive workshop begins by drawing on the collective wisdom of participants with a brainstorm on the essentials of a successful team. It continues with an exploration of collaboration best practices for both group leaders and contributors. The content draws on the presenter’s experience, Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, and Successful Manager’s Handbook by Susan Gebelein et al. The closing segment invites participants to reflect on their strengths and challenges with collaborative work practices and identify a specific area they can focus on improving.

Thomas J. Rogers has an M.A. in human and organizational transformation and a B.A. in psychology. A skillful career counselor, he has 20 years of advising, teaching, and mentoring experience. Thomas has worked with a variety of individuals, including college students, veterans, mid-career professionals, and people with disabilities. He is versed in adult learning theory and adept at creating transformative learning situations. Thomas went to China with the Peace Corps, where he lived and worked for three years. He has worked for CSU Monterey Bay since 2011.

Thomas makes his home in Marina, where he is a district leader for SGI-USA and serves on the board of directors for Monterey Bay Charter School.

 

The Power of Clear Communication: Building Effective Performance Management Practices

Michael Stephens, Training Consultant, Learning and Development

January 19 | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

This workshop focuses on creating a culture of clear expectations, in which all parties understand their roles and responsibilities, increasing productivity and professional growth while building trust. In this class you will discuss the importance of clear two-way communication for productivity and performance management, strategize for effective check-ins, and understand the importance of documenting employee work.

Michael Stephens has worked as a manager off and on for over 30 years. Michael has run bookstores and bakeries, overseen short order cooks and technical support teams, guided BLARG SND BLSRG. He’s overhauled inventory record-keeping systems and administered many learning management systems (LMS) simultaneously. He’s written, produced, directed, and acted in dozens of plays, worked at McHenry Library for years, and has trained lawyers, dishwashers, firefighters, and faculty. He’s played in bands, hired over 100 people in his career, and fired quite a few. Michael has had solo and group art shows, has directed multiple departments in tech companies, written many manuals and business plans, has starred in a full-length indie film, worked as a copy editor and voice over actor, is an avid gardener, and has raised three kids while maintaining a mostly good attitude.

Currently Michael presents workshops and facilitates conversations at UCSC for Learning & Development. He also oversees the support team servicing the staff-facing learning management system, SumTotal/The UC Learning.

 

Conflict Resolution for Leaders

Tenzin Chogkyi, Training and Curriculum Specialist, Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County

January 26 | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Tenzin Chogkyi will provide an overview of de-escalation methods and conflict management skills. Participants will gain a greater understanding of how conflict works, why it happens, and practical skills and steps to address conflict. Participants will engage in an informative, interactive, and fun process that aims to improve our capacity to listen without defensiveness, speak without offending, de-escalate anger, and have greater potential for reaching mutually satisfying solutions.

Tenzin Chogkyi is a certified teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training and the Cultivating Emotional Balance program at the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County. She is passionate about social justice, and has taught in prisons in the U.S., Colombia, Australia, and New Zealand. She loves interfaith collaboration and is a volunteer for the Interfaith Speakers Bureau of the Islamic Networks Group in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. She also finds time to create her Unlocking True Happiness podcast, where you will also find her current teaching schedule.

Tenzin’s connection with the CRC began in the 1990s when she served as a volunteer mediator and trainer. She is excited to be returning to CRC in the role of Training and Curriculum Specialist, as her experience in encouraging empathy and compassion, as well as her belief in personal transformation through group process and dialogue, is a wonderful fit for this role.

 

Recruiting, Interviewing, Developing, Retaining Talent

Kimberley Bueno-Schonig, CEO and Founder, BuenoSchonig Consulting, and Project Manager, MoonPay

February 2 | Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Learn best recruiting and interview practices, gain practice interviewing with role play as interviewer and interviewee, and learn best employee retention strategies, such as providing employee professional development programs and using proven motivational and engagement strategies.

Kimberley Bueno-Schonig is an award-winning serial entrepreneur and non-profit founder with an HR background at top financial firms. She is founder and CEO of BuenoSchonig Consulting, a consulting firm that provides strategic business and career solutions for companies and individuals. Kimberley has worked with organizations like the NHL, Lean In NYC, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and UC Davis, providing professional development workshops and training. Kimberley is a UC Santa Cruz alumna from Crown College.

 

Listening, Mentoring, Coaching, Advising

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Negotiating

Andrea Cohen, Director of Strategy and Chief of Staff, Academic Affairs

February 9 | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Listening—actively, intentionally, and with empathy—is essential for developing the skills of mentoring, coaching, and advising. Listening well also aids team performance and enhances professional and personal relationships. In part one of this two-part interactive workshop, learn how to listen conscientiously and the differences between mentoring, coaching, and advising.

In part two, we will explore negotiation theories and strategies, create space for dialogue and preparation for an upcoming negotiation, and offer ample opportunities to practice and apply learning. Through case studies and real-world scenarios, this workshop will empower you with the tools to communicate and lead effectively, build win-win scenarios, and leave a lasting impact.

Andrea Cohen serves as director of strategy and chief of staff in the Division of Academic Affairs at UC Santa Cruz where she engages with strategic initiatives; manages recruitments, supports personnel, and guides employee development; centers DEIA goals; and conducts research and strategizes on divisional and campuswide projects. A trusted adviser to colleagues at all levels, Andrea develops project and implementation plans, facilitates groups through projects and change processes, offers workshops and training, participates on several boards, and was the founding chair of UCSC’s Campus Advisory Committee on the Status of Womxn (CACSW). Andrea earned a master’s in public administration (M.P.A.) from Villanova University in Philadelphia and a bachelor’s in geography from the University of Colorado Boulder.

 

Burnout: Recognizing, Preventing, Managing in Yourself and among Your Team

Richard Enriquez, Ph.D., Psychologist, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
MaryJan Murphy, Director, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

February 16 | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Burnout is a state of exhaustion that can impact our work, personal lives, health and overall sense of well being and purpose. As a leader, you not only need to recognize and take steps to prevent your own burnout, but you also need to aid your team members in doing the same. In this meeting, we’ll discuss how to recognize burnout, as distinct from lesser but easily recovered from fatigue, common causes and symptoms, and learn strategies to recognize, prevent, and manage burnout and how to help your team members do the same.

Richard Enriquez is a cisgender male, gay identified, married, Mexican American, Christian, originally from the Los Angeles area. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Palo Alto University with an emphasis in diversity and community mental health (DCMH). He is a long-time Slug, having earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and completed his postdoctoral fellowship here at UCSC. Enriquez approaches psychology from an integrative perspective, incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to meet students’ individual needs. His clinical interests include alcohol and other drug use, religion and spirituality, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders. He has experience with a wide range of populations and settings, including ethnically diverse populations, adult populations (ages 18-61), LGBTQ-identified clients, residential substance treatment, community mental health, and college counseling. Richard believes in working collaboratively with students, helping them identify their personal goals and supporting them in their journey.

MaryJan Murphy is a white cisgender female-identified licensed psychologist. She has been working in university counseling centers for more than 25 years and has devoted much of her professional career to training and mentoring doctoral interns, postdoctoral fellows, early career psychologists, and practicing psychologists in a university counseling center. She has experience in individual, couples, and group therapy; outreach programing; and education and also directs the APA-Accredited Internship in Health Services Psychology and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Murphy takes a multicultural, feminist, and cognitive-behavioral approach to therapy. She is interested in training and supervision, women’s issues, eating disorders, trauma, and career development. Other areas of interest include leadership development, counseling center administration, and developing a multiculturally and social justice–focused counseling center.

 

Lessons from the History of Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Anju Reejhsinghani, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

February 23 | 1:00-2:30 p.m Pacific | Zoom only

Professional Skills: 

Reejhsinghani will give an overview of the history of DEI efforts in the U.S., including the latest legal efforts to end affirmative action at universities and to end DEI programs at educational institutions and in government and private industry in our society.

Reejhsinghani has deep professional experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion work, as a college educator and senior administrator. She accepted her position at UC Santa Cruz after serving most recently as assistant vice provost for the Strategic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Administration at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Prior to that position, she served as executive director at UW Madison’s Institute for Regional and International Studies. Before entering higher education leadership, she was a tenured associate professor in the Department of History and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, a four-year regional comprehensive campus.

 

 

Cultivating Mindful Leadership in Times of Change and Possibility

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Psychological Safety: Creating a Safe Place for Connection and Innovation

Silvia Austerlic, Communication Consultant, Learning and Development; Founder, Senti-pensante Connections

March 1 | 1:00-4:30 p.m. Pacific | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Mindfulness Professional Skills: 

In these times of continuous change the world is calling us to lead ourselves and others in a different way. Mindful leadership is about taking initiative in and with your life with authenticity, awareness, and confidence. Practicing mindfulness cultivates our ability to pay intentional attention to our experience from moment to moment, teaching us to become patiently and spaciously aware of what is going on in our mind and body without judgment, reaction, and distraction. In this experiential session of the first half of this meeting, you will learn three body-mind practices that will help you introduce mindfulness in your everyday life and work, while further developing internally driven leadership.

Psychological Safety Professional Skills: 

The second half of this meeting in workshop format aims to provide both a theoretical understanding of psychological safety and practical tools for leaders to use to implement psychological safety within their teams and organizations. The workshop encourages self-reflection, open communication, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define psychological safety
• Understand the four stages of psychological safety
• Recognize the primary components and effects of safe environments
• Understand the tools to reframe thinking and check practices

Silvia Austerlic is an organizational communications consultant at Learning and Development, dedicated to fostering the growth of UC Santa Cruz staff through well-being initiatives, skill development, and community building. With over a decade of experience, she served as the Latino culture liaison and grief support counselor at Hospice of Santa Cruz County, providing direct services and diversity training. Silvia became a UCSC lecturer in 2017, teaching “Building an Inner Sanctuary” and facilitating emotional workshops, campus-wide conversations, and UCSC Leadership Academy sessions. Between 2020 and 2023, she played a pivotal role in connecting Spanish-speaking community members in Monterey County with resilience-based grief support services. As the founder of Senti-pensante Connections, Austerlic aims to bridge inner work and social justice for individual transformation, social change, and collective action. She holds a master’s degree in counselor education, is a trained ontological coach, and holds a black belt in Aikido.  

 

Academic Leadership

Lori Kletzer, Ph.D., Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

March 8 | 1:00-2:30 p.m. Pacific | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Join CP/EVC Lori Kletzer for a conversation about her journey into academic leadership, the choices her journey entailed, and the responsibilities of leadership.

Lori Kletzer, Ph.D., is campus provost and executive vice chancellor and professor of economics at UC Santa Cruz. She was provost and dean of faculty at Colby College from 2010 to July 2017. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley and her undergraduate degree from Vassar College. She has been affiliated with UC Santa Cruz since 1992, and she has contributed to the campus as chair of the Economics Department, chair and vice-chair of the Academic Senate, and vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies. She has held teaching and research appointments at Williams College, the University of Washington, the Brookings Institution, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Global Network for Advanced Management, and at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. She is the author of two books on the impact of trade in manufacturing on employment, jobs, and workers and numerous journal articles. Her research focuses on the domestic labor market effects of globalization and policy responses.

 

Proactive Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Lorato Anderson, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Graduate Division

March 8 | 2:30-4:00 p.m Pacific | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

Lorato Anderson will continue the leadership DEI topic with interactive discussion and strategies to proactively engage in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging from a leadership position and perspective.

Lorato Anderson is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Graduate Studies at UC Santa Cruz. Her role centers on advancing initiatives for minoritized graduate student support across multiple campus-wide projects, as well as providing direct support to students, staff, faculty, and programs. Lorato graduated with a B.A. in Literature/Writing from UC San Diego and received her M.S. in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University, where she researched and developed assessment models for English Language Learners and created multiple DEI programs that are still active today. She has extensive experience in grant writing, teaching, advising, assessment, and creating long-lasting research-backed programs to promote minoritized undergraduate and graduate student success.

 

Certificate Awarding Party

Peter Biehl, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean, Division of Graduate Studies

March 8 | 4:00-4:30 p.m. Pacific | Humanities 2/Social Sciences, Room 259, and Zoom

Professional Skills: 

VPDGS Peter Biehl will award the leadership certificates, following which we will enjoy a party!

Peter Biehl, Ph.D., vice provost and dean of the Division of Graduate Studies, held numerous leadership positions at the University of Buffalo in support of graduate and international student education prior to his position at UC Santa Cruz. His last position at the University of Buffalo was in the Office of the Provost, where he worked to enhance the national and international recognition of the university’s faculty, a project supported by a fellowship from the American Council on Education.