About the MHA Institute

We’re a leading-edge research and development company that focuses on building your organization’s capacity to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. We work with you to produce measurable results, so that you can learn at the speed of change. We research, field-test, and evaluate a variety of thinking and learning processes to identify which ones produce high performance.

Research that Informs Our Work

We’re a research and development company. We mine knowledge and information from a variety of disciplines, including science, social science, humanities, and fine arts. What makes us unique in the field of thinking and learning is that we take what we learn from the research, and synthesize it into new knowledge about how individuals, teams, and organizations learn. Then, we find ways to put it into practice to meet your needs. In other words, when we work with you, we’re doing research. We’re always learning why something works and why something else doesn’t. And what we learn from working with you is added to our body of research and shared with others. We mine every experience for its learning potential.

How We Work With You

When you work with us, you get your needs met in a way that can be measured — and something more. You get a surprise that no one can anticipate. For example, many of the participants in our programs tell us that they experience increased effectiveness on a personal level in all aspects of their lives. One participant, who was laid off after taking our program, told us that he was far more resilient to change than he ever thought he would be. He takes one day at a time, and is able to manage the complex feelings that accompany uncertainty. The reason these surprises happen is because we design programs that tap into innovation, invention, creativity, and experimentation (the crucial elements of resilient behaviour.)

Who We Serve

We serve customers who come from four different groups. These customers are:

• Decision makers in organizations who want to produce results that improve performance
• Consultants, trainers, teachers, instructors, and facilitators who want support in their work, and who want to know the latest research in the field of thinking and learning
• Practitioners who want to use our work in their organization, and require support in doing this
• People in organizations and in the general public who want to enhance their thinking and learning capacity

About MHA Consultants and Associates

MHA Institute is comprised of a unique collaboration between a number of consultants, associates, and researchers. MHA Institute also works closely with a number of LTL practitioners who are in the process of being qualified in the Leadership Through Learning (LTL) Program.

Marilyn Herasymowych (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Marilyn Herasymowych, a senior consultant with over 20 years’ experience, is the founder and a managing partner of MHA Institute Inc. For the past ten years, she has been focusing on learning in the workplace, consulting with individuals, teams, and organizations in both the public and private sectors. Marilyn uses the action inquiry technologies of action science, action learning, and appreciative inquiry, as well as systems thinking and reflexive practice.  She designs strategies that help people to see their thinking patterns and behaviours from a systems perspective, setting up safe practice fields in the classroom and the workplace so that participants can experience transformational learning. Marilyn also presents at a variety of national and international conferences focusing on learning in the workplace

Marilyn has a BSc in Biochemistry, a PDAD in Education, and a Master of Continuing Education degree, specializing in Learning in the Workplace. She has a Doctorate in Professional Studies degree, with a focus on Leadership Through Learning.  Marilyn is a certified teacher, and she is qualified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, the Strategic Alignment Instrument, and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument®. Marilyn is known for her ability to create learning environments that meet the needs of clients and participants. She is a dynamic facilitator who guides learners through experiences that transfer to the workplace.

Marilyn Herasymowych e-mail: marilynh@mhainstitute.ca

Henry Senko (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Henry Senko, an author and applied research consultant, is a founder and a managing partner of MHA Institute Inc.  For the past seven years, he has been focusing on learning in the workplace, consulting with individuals, teams, and organizations in both the public and private sectors. His specialty lies in working with managers and teams to design work processes that incorporate learning as a part of daily work routines.  Henry has a trades background in automotives, has taught at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and has managed operations in a number of organizations.  Since 1992, Henry has been focusing on learning in the workplace, consulting with individuals, teams, and organizations in both the public and private sectors.  Henry has a Master of Business Administration degree, with a focus on Emergent Strategy in Organizations.  He has a Doctorate in Professional Studies degree, with a focus on Sustainability and Organizational Design.  Henry is qualified to administer the Strategic Alignment Instrument, and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument®.

Henry Senko e-mail: henrys@mhainstitute.ca

Emily Tipton, MHA Institute Associate from Shelburne, Nova Scotia

Emily Tipton is an associate of MHA institute and has been working with MHA for over 6 years, first as a client and now as one of their first Master’s Degree students. She is particularly interested in the application of MHA techniques in the workplace and the surprising results they can have.  Emily has regularly used what she has learned working with MHA in her roles as an engineer, project manager and business development manager over the years to improve relationships and enhance learning in the workplace. Emily is interested in the application of complexity theory to relationships and management and has always been motivated by the application of theory to achieve measurable results. That is why Emily is so attracted to MHA Institute:  their research is always translated into tools that work. Emily was first caught up by the power of these techniques in 2001 when she traveled to England with Marilyn Herasymowych and Henry Senko to present her team as a case study to the Learning Company Conference in Warwick.

Emily has a BSc in Chemical Engineering and is currently working on her MSc with MHA Institute. Over the next two years, Emily will transition in her career from engineering and technical management to become a full MHA Certified Partner and MHA Consultant.  She has skills in facilitation, project management, complex problem solving and team dynamics from her experience in industry which will be invaluable in her future role as an MHA consultant.

Emily Tipton email: emilyt@mhainstitute.ca

See other  MHA Institute Consultants and Associates