Pamela A. Gerloff is co-author, with Robert W. Fuller, of Dignity for All: How to Create a World without Rankism (forthcoming, June 2008, Berrett-Koehler Publishers). She is the founder of Compelling Vision, a consulting business whose clients have included Procter & Gamble, the University of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Army. She currently provides presentations, training, and consulting to individuals and organizations seeking to create dignitarian environments. Her focus is on effecting deep-level, lasting change, with grace, gentleness and ease. Pamela holds a doctorate in Human Development from Harvard University and may be reached at gerloff@dignityforall.org.

Back Story:
Pamela’s experiences of rankism as a child in school led her to deeply question the educational system and how it functioned. Thus began an early passion for school reform. After college, while teaching in a public school, she concluded that the more fundamental problems of education were systemic, i.e., they were built right into the structure of the system itself. Later, while pursuing a doctoral program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, she began to seriously examine why school reform efforts, seemingly successful for a time, seldom lasted very long, once their initial leaders were gone; and why change seemed so hard to effect in institutions such as schools.

These questions led her on an intensive search for the true underlying mechanisms of change. Her guiding question became: How do we create lasting change, gently, compassionately, and joyfully—as individuals, organizations, and societies? Her surprising findings led her to found Compelling Vision, her own consulting business, to help others more easily make the deep-level changes they desired for themselves and their organizations. Clients of her visionary work have included organizations such as Procter & Gamble, the University of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Army, as well as small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. Formerly the editor of More Than Money magazine and an associate editor with Highlights for Children, Dr. Gerloff’s current work includes writing and speaking about dignity and rankism for a diverse audience. She also provides training and consulting for individuals and organizations seeking to create dignitarian environments.

Contact Pamela Gerloff at gerloff (AT) dignityforall (DOT) org.