ABOUT
Marisa Zalabak​
Hi, I’m Marisa Zalabak, TEDx Speaker and founder of Open Channel Culture. I’ve spent the past three decades adapting to change as a specialist in Organizational Culture and Climate with expertise across sectors in Leadership Development for the Emerging Future, Social-Emotional Intelligence, Multicultural Communication, Educational Psychology, Wellness, Performing Arts, Creative Thinking, Imaginative Learning, Public Speaking, Artificial Intelligence Ethics Education, & Transdisciplinary Collaboration.
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Whether I’m gathering insights to support leaders, facilitating workshops, in my home, or planning my next trip, my own journey —including my role as a mother—has enabled me to positively transform my own life and the lives of others through learning and mastering new skills in creative collaboration; pushing me to grow and meet challenges with curiosity, optimism, and joy.
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As Co-Chair of the IEEE Planet Positive 2030 Global Methodologies committee, I work with leaders across sectors dedicated to advancing climate repair for human and planetary well-being for current and future generations.
As Co-chair of the AI Ethics Education Committee with IEEE I am also working to expand AI ethics education, exploring the changing role of humanity given the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence. My passion lies in inviting us all to consider the potential for humans to flourish in environments with leaders that cultivate the human skills needed for real connection and flourishing.
What do you think culture means?
We'd like to meet you with your culture.
About Open Channel Culture
Our name, Open Channel Culture, was created based on three concepts: one from nature, one from engineering and one from social science:
“Open Channels”
The world is filled with open channels which, unlike a pipe or a tunnel, has one free surface, open to the atmosphere
—like a river or the ocean—
open to continually changing conditions.
“Open Channel Flow”
A term in hydraulic engineering, analyzes and the flow of liquids occurring in channels and do their best to identify and utilize the dynamics and possible benefits given the elements
and situation.
“Flow”
Then there’s human “Flow,’ as defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, as a state of intrinsic human motivation.
Optimum psychological flow occurs when high levels of skill and challenge are combined — characterized by feelings of
great absorption, motivation, engagement, and fulfillment.
Together, these three form an inspirational combination—a joyful immersion for tackling challenging tasks with high level skills while utilizing existing power dynamics and an open mind.
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OCC supports organizational growth by fostering the uniquely human assets needed for this combination; building community, stimulating imagination, developing social-emotional intelligence, cultivating insight, expanding optimism, and establishing good will that supports visionary, global leadership.
“The ability to shift from reacting against the past to leaning into and ‘presencing’ an emerging future is probably the single most important leadership capacity today.”
– C. Otto Scharmer
M.I.T. Sloan School of Management
“Bring in a kind of leadership that values people working together, that values cooperation rather than competition, that makes room for having a full life.”
- Eileen Fisher
“Culture beats strategy”
– Apple
So…Create a culture that becomes the core of your strategy.
– Open Channel Culture
Giving Back
