Keynote Speakers

John Paul Stephens, PhD, received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morgan State University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan.  Since joining the faculty at Weatherhead School of Management in 2010, Stephens’ teaching focuses on organizational psychology/ behavior, positive organizational scholarship, qualitative research methods, and negotiations and bargaining behavior. His research focuses on the roles of perception, knowledge, and relationships in organizing, particularly in the performance of musical ensembles. His other research interests fall under the umbrella of positive organizational scholarship and include high-quality connections, strengths-based feedback, and the relationship between character strengths and person-job fit.  He currently serves as Associate Professor of Management at the Weatherhead School, as Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Review, and as Chair of the Relational Coordination Collaborative Advisory Board.

Dr. Stephens facilitates change in the US construction sector drawing upon relational coordination tools and frameworks.  He uses relational mapping to help participants “see the whole together” in both classroom and consulting settings.  His current focus is on developing the psychosocial microfoundations of coordinating change.

Brian Park, MD MPH (he/him) is an Associate Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University's (OHSU) Department of Family Medicine and OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. His clinical practice is the OHSU Richmond Clinic, a community health center in Portland. Brian is the inaugural medical director / director of community health justice of the OHSU Health Equity Organization, focusing on building academic-community partnerships that are rooted in power-sharing and community healing.

He also serves as the founding director of the RELATE Lab, a team whose true north is to promote a healthcare system grounded in healing, love, and justice—and believes a renewed attention to being in "right relationship" is necessary to get there. RELATE Lab’s Relational Leadership Institute (RLI) aims to support healthcare trainees/professionals to complement more hierarchical, transactional forms of leadership, with human- and relationship- centered leadership models for interprofessional team work. RLI has since expanded to the University of North Carolina, University of Utah, OCHIN, and Cambia Health systems. Outside of healthcare, RELATE's Health Equity And Leadership (HEAL) program integrates community organizing into health systems. By fostering community-powered policy change, HEAL-R has developed community leaders who have led legislative changes on housing that has raised an additional $67 million for affordable housing in Portland, as well as mandating that non-English languages be mandated on prescription drug labels in Oregon, the most inclusive bill of its kind in the country.