10 Circles
This site is curated by Joseph McIntyre.
I started 10 Circles in 2018 as a next step in my journey as a facilitator, systems change agent, and a curious person.
Since the early 2000’s I had been deeply enmeshed in the work of Ag Innovations, a California-based non-profit that has played a major role in the evolution of food movement and collaborative approaches to change. My work there included design and facilitation of everything from local food policy councils to the development of a strategic plan for agriculture in the State. Ultimately I became the executive director, a role I held for over a decade.
And then it was time for a change…
While at Ag Innovations I deepened my interest in systems thinking that began as an undergraduate at Raymond College, University of the Pacific. The problems we were working on had systems failure written all over them and systems thinking was helping our groups uncover solutions that traditional problem-solving approaches could not touch.
In 2015 Peter Senge, Hal, and John Kania published The Dawn of Systems Leadership in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In it they described an emerging understanding of leadership that combined systems thinking, facilitation, and a shift of focus from problem-solving to creating a desired future that wove together many of the threads that had defined my own work. I was hooked.
By 2018 the call to focus more time on systems leadership became demanding enough that I stepped down as the executive director at Ag Innovations and began working closely with Susan Lightfoot Schempf and the Food Systems Leadership Network (a project of the Wallace Center at Winrock International) around bringing systems leadership tools to the grassroots. Many of the fruits of that collaboration you will find on this site.
I continue to be an ally of Ag Innovations and we work together on the Groundwater Leadership Collaborative, which focuses on ensuring the success of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
As you can see on the Offers page, I am available for projects that demand expert facilitation, training on systems leadership and facilitation, and professional coaching.
A few projects for perspective
Over the years I have been fortunate to work on a number of projects that have made a big impact on the ground and with participants. To give you a feel, here are just a few highlights:
- The creation and development of the Food System Alliance network, which has brought together leaders interested in a more resilient and equitable food system in counties across the west. The San Diego Food System Alliance and the Maricopa County Food System Coalition (Phoenix, AZ) are two examples of this work that are now completely locally managed.
- Facilitation of the California Roundtables on Agriculture and the Environment and Water and Food Supply, which bridged partisan perspectives on issues agriculture and environmental impacts and water needs.
- The process design and facilitation of California Ag Vision 2030, the state’s strategic plan for agriculture.
- The Santa Clara County Climate and Agricultural Preservation Plan, an effort to shift land use planning and development patterns in a way that maximizes in-fill and preserves climate-friendly agriculture.
The standard bona fides
My training includes an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies, advanced degrees in both economics and organization development, seven years of leadership of an organization that trained professional in listening and counseling skills, and a broad professional career that includes stops as an economics professor, a corporate middle manager, a preschool teacher and owner, a tribal administrator, and over 20 years as a non-profit executive director.
I live with my wife, Charlotte, in Graton, CA where we enjoy gardening, birding, spending time in the mountains, and the company of our amazing family.