King Arthur's mentor, the Wizard Merlin, lived his life backwards--striding from life's terminal point toward birth. Though this may be an admirable trait in a wizard, remaining fixated on yesterday's slights and old news offers mere mortals only an unhealthy mind and an enduring sour disposition.
Across several decades I spent much time trying to break this bad habit with clients, staff, and others. In my management consulting, sick organizations often contain high clusters of these unhealthy ones. A mentor once reminded me that "you cannot undo history." While history may teach one much, it need not control the present or future. In fact, living backwards, looking over one's shoulder inevitably produces an intellectual cancer ruining the life abundant each of us can live every new day. Both individuals and organizations prosper only to the extent they leave yesterday behind and with "eyes on the prize" stride confidently into tomorrow.
Some years ago the USA Today focused a sport article on the expression "it is what it is", a saying growing in popularity among long time sports enthusiast. The paper drew upon Don Powell, psychologist and author of Best Sports Cliches Ever!. He says the phrase means, "It's happened. 'I'm going to forget about it. I'm going to move on. ... There is nothing that can be done about it.' " In others, forget the past and move on.
For we who labor counseling others our central offerings draw inspiration from Powell's advice. What's good for our clients ought to be equally critical to how we and the organizations of which we are part handle our histories. If we do not our hypocrisy and preoccupation with who did what when leads to poor living, poor loving, and poor futures.
Showing posts with label Beal Best. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beal Best. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
ERNIE BEAL: Resume
PROFILE
Visionary leader with extensive experience across a full spectrum of human service and social justice programs. Proven success advancing social justice causes, creating innovative services, managing quality programs, and facilitating leadership teams. Demonstrated ability to fuse mission, operational, financial, and technology interests into cohesive, driven, and focused activities. Exceptional project management, human resource, staff development, and team leadership skills. Seeking senior leadership role with innovative and dynamic enterprise.
WORK EXPERIENCE
VISION | WORKS, Inc. Fort Wayne, IN
President June 2010 to present
¨ Generating social entrepreneurship within human service organizations and through the executives leading them by strategic vision, business development, fund-raising, project management, and leadership development.
¨ Project coordinator for closing existing and opening new 850 bed state correctional hospital and clinic.
¨ Strategic, fund-raising, and startup planning for rural development initiative based in Lusaka, Zambia.
PEJUS, Inc. Fort Wayne, IN
Chief Operating Officer September 1987 to May 2010
¨ Led transition from small, family-oriented residential, vocational, and clinical services agency (35 employees; $1M annual sales) to large multistate enterprise (600+ employees; $25M annual sales).
¨ Created Indiana’s first residential programs for persons with dual diagnosis, profound disabilities, and significant behavioral challenges, as well as innovative comprehensive mental health centers (in Indiana, Georgia, and Florida) supporting persons with dual disabilities (mental retardation and mental health). Served as Executive Director of Florida nonprofit affiliate.
¨ Comprehensive therapeutic work with individuals with significant challenges, e.g. persons with severe or pervasive mental retardation, individuals who are dually diagnosed, and adults and children with behavioral health needs.
¨ Led new development teams for both new markets (Atlanta, GA; Indianapolis, IN; and Lakeland/Fort Myers, FL) as well as expanded services (computer learning centers, vocational services, and clinical professional teams).
¨ Planned and implemented web-based clinical records system, video conference-based managerial and clinical rounds processes, and innovative behavioral analysis diagnostic systems.
¨ Developed and implemented staff development, regulatory compliance, and continuous quality improvement programs leading simultaneous national accreditation in all theaters of operation (an accreditation agency “first”).
Legal Practice Fort Wayne, IN
Attorney July 1980 to December 1992
¨ Successful civil litigator. Handled more than 400 federal court cases involving civil rights claims, employment disputes, and related public policy matters.
¨ Secured both individual and class-wide relief, including ratio hiring and promotion remedies in municipal police employment class action.
¨ Successfully revised municipal civil rights ordinance (in 1978) to include protections against discrimination based on sexual identity and disabilities, making local community distinctive as leader in civil rights prohibition.
¨ Peer-identified as one of Woodward and White’s Best Lawyers in America for civil rights practice.
¨ Served on United States District Court’s Rules Committee.
EDUCATION
Capella University, Ph.D. (in process) St. Paul, MN
¨ Coursework complete. Academic focus: individual, organizational, and social transformation.
¨ Doctoral dissertation (under preparation) involves the life and writings of Dr. Graham Taylor (1856-1938), a pioneer in American Social Christianity and Chicago civic reform.
Emory University, Candler School of Theology, M. Div. Atlanta, GA
¨ Focus of study: pastoral leadership, psychology of religion, social ethics.
¨ Awarded merit-based scholarship for specialized skill in parish ministry.
¨ Completed three-year degree one semester early while continuing to work full time as PEJUS, Inc. Chief Operating Officer.
Northeastern University, School of Law, J.D. Boston, MA
¨ Editor, Northeastern University Newsletter.
¨ Cooperative education placements at Fort Wayne Metropolitan Human Relations Commission (3 months), Susquehanna Legal Services (6 months), and National Center for Law and the Handicapped (9 months).
Indiana University, B.A. Sociology Fort Wayne, IN
¨ Deans honors list. Completed undergraduate degree in three years, working full time for two of them.
¨ Post graduation, completed nine hours of graduate accounting coursework, Graduate School of Business.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
FAITH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Fort Wayne, IN
Senior Pastor (PT) 2006-2011
n Suburban renewing congregation with active food bank ministry.
PEOPLES CHURCH OF CHICAGO Chicago, IL
Senior Pastor (PT) 2005-2006
n Mission church in Uptown Chicago with extensive program ministry involving food and shelter for persons who were homeless. Religiously, racially, and ethnically diverse congregation.
n Successfully pursued denominational grants and private donations for extensive capital renovation, mission programs, and innovative church growth.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Elkhart, IN
Interim Pastor (PT) 2003-2004
nUrban church hosting head start programs and food pantry ministry.
Visionary, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Consulting, Human Services, Healthcare, Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, Human Resource Director, Development Director, Resume, Homeless, Food Bank, Poverty, Reentry, Behavioral Health, Intellectual Disabilities, Community Development, Microen
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
ERNIE BEAL: Terror, Sex, and the Bible
These video excerpts provide, in three parts, the text of a sermon preached in Elkhart, Indiana on the topic "homosexuality and the Bible." The message emerged in response to adult religious education conversations and responded to inquiries arising in the church's "search and call process.
PART ONE:
PART TWO:
PART THREE
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
ERNIE BEAL: brandyourself.com
For the most part we know only "sound bites" about one another. Events we have heard about, rumors passing our way, and highly selective (sometimes unflattering) comments in both the online and real world conspire unconscously to create an image wholly incomplete about a person, organization, cause, or event. Getting out the full story for our lives and strivings takes much effort in a "sound bite" world. Fortunately, social network media is maturing to the point where you can put forth "the rest of the story", as Paul Harvey used to intone on radio as I was growing up.
I have been experimenting with a site called brandyourself.com. It offers a chance to pull the online fragments of your life into a single place where the best of who you are and what have done become more fully available. For a sample, check out my new site at: http://erniebeal.brandyourself.com.
If you elect to use this tool drop me a note via the links provided in that profile with your new site name. I would love to get to know you better.
~ Ernie Beal
I have been experimenting with a site called brandyourself.com. It offers a chance to pull the online fragments of your life into a single place where the best of who you are and what have done become more fully available. For a sample, check out my new site at: http://erniebeal.brandyourself.com.
If you elect to use this tool drop me a note via the links provided in that profile with your new site name. I would love to get to know you better.
~ Ernie Beal
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ERNIE BEAL: Recovering our past
Between 1980 and 1992 my professional focus involved representing people who claimed their civil and human rights had been violated in some particular. Within this period I handled several hundred lawsuits filed in federal courts and many more administrative claims. My practice ranged broadly, in both geography and scope of claim. Though most cases concluded via settlement several went to trial with verdicts favorable to the folks I served. Among the most notable were:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17329818169633542294&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
Reflecting on this period of my life I am reminded strongly that every life story contains many events, successes, and mistakes no individual one of which tells the whole story. My legal career reflects my desire to work with folks who have been abused, to apply my skills to great achievement, and to work successfully in contexts not ordinarily receptive to the cause I pursued. Those qualities continued to be evident in later professional work, even when making mistakes or falling short of a desired goal.
I recently had an opportunity to talk with an agency providing housing supports to individuals who had experienced multiple life challenges and for whom the present "story" of their lives had very little positive detail. Thinking about my past, present, and future compelled to realize the importance of working with those folks to uncover, recover, and retell the full story of their life. I suspect we can all benefit by remembering the great moments, the good work, and the pleasant memories associated with every person we know. Such action on our part makes a great antidote to the modern tendency to reduce people to "sound bites" and one-dimensional characterization.
~ Ernie Beal
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