Our Team

Board of Directors

Jim Garrison

Founder, President, Chief Academic Officer, Faculty

Jim Garrison

Founder, President, Chief Academic Officer, Faculty

Jim Garrison, PhD, has had a lifetime of social and political activism beginning in the 1960s with the anti-war, anti-nuclear, citizen diplomacy and environmental movements. He founded Ubiquity University having served as President of Wisdom University from 2005 – 2012 which was acquired by Ubiquity in 2013. He has spent his entire professional life in executive leadership, including as co-founder and president of the Gorbachev Foundation/USA (1992 – 1995) and State of the World Forum (1995 – 2004) with Mikhail Gorbachev serving as convening chairman. Jim received his BA in History from the University of Santa Clara, an MA in History of Religion from Harvard University, and a PhD in Philosophical Theology from the University of Cambridge. He has written numerous books, including "The Plutonium Culture," "The Darkness of God: Theology after Hiroshima," "The Russian Threat," "Civilization and The Transformation of Power," and, "America as Empire." Jim teaches a range of courses at Ubiquity in philosophy, history and global affairs.

James Hickman

Co-founder, Chairperson Of The Board, Faculty

James Hickman

Co-founder, Chairperson Of The Board, Faculty

Jim Hickman, MA, served on the Wisdom University Board from 2005 – 2012 and is the founding Chairperson of the Board for Ubiquity as well as CFO. He spent 30 years (1972-2002) developing economic, professional and cultural relations between the United States and the countries within the former Soviet bloc. He was a telecommunications executive during the 1990’s, co-founding the Russian long-distance company Rustel in 1992, serving as its President from 1992-1997. From 1989-1992, Hickman was CEO of AJ Ventures, Inc., a US company that established commercial enterprises in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. In 1993, as Vice President of the State of the World Forum, he worked with President Gorbachev and Jim Garrison on the Foundation’s international programs. He co-founded, with Jim Garrison, Mosaic Networks in 2003 as a business-consulting firm focused on international telecommunications projects. Jim received his M.A. in Psychology from Sonoma State College and teaches a course on Neuroscience and Personal Practice at the Wisdom School of Graduate Studies.

Lindley Edwards

Board Member

Lindley Edwards

Board Member

Lindley Edwards, PhD, is the Group Managing Director of AFG Venture Group (www.afgventuregroup.com) and its various subsidiaries. AFG Venture Group has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, India and Thailand. Lindley is an experienced corporate advisor and has worked on numerous private and public M&A , fund raising and corporate transactions in the food/agri, services, retail, education, technology and financial services sectors. Her work involves merger, acquisition, divestment, fund raising, licensing, strategic consulting, distribution and joint ventures. Since the mid 90’s Lindley has been active in ASEAN and North Asia undertaking corporate transactions as well as micro credit and social impact work. Lindley holds two undergraduate degrees one in Accounting and the other in Banking and Finance. She also holds post graduate qualifications in Corporate Governance and Digitisation. She completed her PhD with Ubiquity University and the Wisdom School.

Gerrit Jan van Zoelen

Adviser

Gerrit Jan van Zoelen

Adviser

Gerrit started his career as a technical business consultant at TNO, a leading institute for applied scientific research and development. For 10 years, he analyzed the production flows of large high-tech companies using self-designed computer models. Based on this analysis, production flows were reorganized and redesigned, (Lockheed Missiles and Space, General Dynamics, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Cincinnati Milacron, John Deere, and other high-tech companies in Europe.)

Advisory Council

Stephanie Pace Marshall

Founding Board Member

Stephanie Pace Marshall

Founding Board Member

Stephanie was a Board member of Wisdom University and is a founding Board member of Ubiquity University. She is the Founding President and President Emerita of the internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. She was the founding President of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, and an international president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, one of the world's largest professional educational associations. Dr. Pace-Marshall is recognized globally as an educational pioneer and innovator. Author of over 40 journal articles, editor of Scientific Literacy for the 21st Century, and contributor to the National Research Council's book: Learning and Understanding, Dr. Pace-Marshall's book The Power to Transform: Leadership that brings Learning and Schooling to Life is path breaking and offers a generative new paradigm for all levels of education. Stephanie earned a BA from Queens College (N.Y.), an MA from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Loyola University of Chicago. She holds Four Honorary Doctorates.

Steve Loyd

Founding Board Member

Steve Loyd

Founding Board Member

Steve is a founding Board member of Ubiquity. He co-founded pH Science Holdings, Inc., a research and product development company focused on acid pollution and its impact on human, animal, and planetary health, of which he serves as CEO. Steve co-founded Wax, Loyd & Company (WLC), a successful investment banking firm originating and managing mergers, acquisitions, and assisting high growth companies. He has taught advanced entrepreneurial finance courses in the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. Steve directed Harbor Development Company for ten years which renovated eleven city blocks in downtown Seattle. The project won the Urban Land Institute Grand Award for Mixed Use Projects. Steve holds a Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law and an MBA in Finance from the University of Washington.

Paul Ray

Adviser

Paul Ray

Adviser

Paul is a seasoned entrepreneur who has built four companies over several decades. He was an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at University of Michigan where he led social systems design at the Environmental Simulation Lab. He served as VP of Set-Theoretic Information Systems developing information retrieval software for major corporations such as General Motors. He was the co-founder and EVP for American Lives, Inc., a values and lifestyles market research company, which led to the forming of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability), an industry association representing what is now a $300 billion sector in the US economy. He has been a cutting edge researcher of the Cultural Creatives, a term he coined, and has led studies worldwide on this emerging values based sociological phenomenon.

Staff

Claire Ryle Garrison

Co-founder, Dean, Wisdom School

Claire Ryle Garrison

Co-founder, Dean, Wisdom School

Claire co-founded the Whole Child Initiative with Jane Goodall, and was Coordinator of the State of the World Forum Intl. Roundtables on the Irreducible Needs of Children in New York. She has worked as Director of the Esalen Institute Soviet-American Exchange; the Oxford Research Group, UK; and the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons. She also trained and worked as a primary school teacher in the UK. She holds a BA in Philosophy & Comparative Religion from the University of Leeds; Art & Design Certificate from the Cambridge College of Art & Technology, Cambridge; Postgraduate Certificate in Education, Goldsmith’s College, London; and Research Fellowship, University of Bradford School of Peace Studies.

Monica Lombana

Comptroller

Monica Lombana

Comptroller

Monica is a lawyer and has just completed her masters in financial management. She works to design and improve Ubiquity’s finance and legal processes. Before joining our team, she worked over nine years in multinational law firms and AIESEC, the world largest youth run organization, where she served as the global CFO. She co-leads the AIESCEC/Ubiquity partnership development.

Richard Buckley

CPO

Richard Buckley

CPO

Richard leads the production team in implementing a new competency based interactive learning design that incorporates innovative technology, team-based learning, and the development of the whole student. Richard also leads the marketing team and brings his twenty years of experience in digital marketing to the challenges of developing a global student recruitment system. Before Ubiquity, Richard created and marketed hundreds of health and business training media based programs in areas such as stress reduction, nutrition, drug and alcohol prevention, ergonomics, team building, critical thinking, high level performance, green technology, leadership, and computer security for government, education, and business organizations. Richard has worked on teams that developed large-scale dissemination of innovative educational programs for the US government, published a series of professional training manuals, and has won numerous awards including seven Golden Eagles (US), a Silver Bear (Berlin), and a BAFTA award (UK).

Peter Merry

Co-founder, Chief Innovation Officer, Faculty

Peter Merry

Co-founder, Chief Innovation Officer, Faculty

Peter oversees all Ubiquity product development from curriculum design to the development of the university’s competency based learning and assessment. He is the founder of the Center for Human Emergence (Netherlands), and a founding partner of Engage! in the Netherlands. He facilitates integral change processes in multinational corporations, government ministries, and in multi-stakeholder initiatives with global players. He has been an environmental activist and spent many years in the non-profit sector including leading international youth training programs for the Council of Europe. He is a recognized expert in the field of evolutionary systems dynamics and Spiral Dynamics Integral in particular. His first book, Evolutionary Leadership has been published in English and Dutch. He has a PhD from Ubiquity University Wisdom School in Volution Theory, and a MSc from the University of Edinburgh in Human Ecology.

Banafsheh Sayyad

Co-director, Chartres Academy

Banafsheh Sayyad

Co-director, Chartres Academy

Banafsheh Sayyad, MFA, MA co-directs the Ubiquity Chartres Academy with Jim Garrison and is also a faculty at the Academy. She is a dancer, choreographer, transformational teacher of embodiment and founder of Dance of Oneness®. Banafsheh has performed and taught across North America, Europe, Turkey and Australia. She brings her extensive experience as a choreographer and artist director as well a profound intimacy with the Chartres Cathedral to Ubiquity. In addition to choreographing the University’s annual pilgrimages to Chartres, Banafsheh has authored the Chartres Framework, which is the foundational principle for the Ubiquity curriculum. Banafsheh holds an MFA in Dance and Choreography from UCLA and an MA in Chinese Medicine.

Michelle Raffanti

Director of Operations

Michelle Raffanti

Director of Operations

Michelle oversees the journey a learner takes from their first point of contact with the university through the entire Ubiquity universe. Prior to Ubiquity, Michelle has worked at all levels with start-ups, nonprofits, and social enterprises in the education, food & beverage, and travel industries. She holds a BA in International Relations from DePaul University and an MA in Sustainable Development from The New School. Throughout her studies and her career, she has focused on issues among indigenous, minority, and tribal peoples in Asia and Latin America, particularly women. Originally from Chicago, she has lived in the UK, Germany, Colombia, China, and now resides in Mexico City.

Dilini Gunasekera

Vp For Business Development/asia; Country Director, Sri Lanka

Dilini Gunasekera

Vp For Business Development/asia; Country Director, Sri Lanka

Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Dilini was CEO of the London Business School 2014 - 2016, and between 2010-2013, CEO of Knowledge City (Pvt) Ltd, an Educational Institute developing vocational education in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Asian Development Bank. She is Center Director and Teacher Training Coordinator of Singapore Informatics, a higher education organization based in Kandy, Sri Lanka; and Representative in Asia for the Eastern Connecticut State University, USA, in higher education. In her role as Executive Member of the Cancer Society of Sri Lanka, she developed a Hospice Center in Kandy. She has been an active member of the Lions Club since 1995. Dilini holds a BSc in Computer Science from Eastern Connecticut University.

Matthew Robertson

Executive Assistant to the President

Matthew Robertson

Executive Assistant to the President

Matt supports Jim Garrison in the Office of the President at Ubiquity University. He brings a background in operations management, institutional development and recruitment to Ubiquity, having worked to support mission-driven institutions in bringing transformational learning opportunities to seekers from all walks of life. Inspired by his first meditation retreat at age 13, Matt’s personal passion has lead him to investigate the intersection of contemplative practice, organizational design and leadership at institutions such as Esalen, Presencing Institute, Generation Waking Up, Pitzer College and Naropa University. He is a certified Mindfulness Instructor and active member of the Arica School from the San Francisco Bay Area, with hobbies including poetry, basketball and mountain biking.

Gyorgyi Szabo

Dean of Graduate Studies, Faculty

Gyorgyi Szabo

Dean of Graduate Studies, Faculty

Gyorgyi is Dean of Graduate Studies at Ubiquity University. She was a Co-Founder and Academic Dean of the ‘Ervin Laszlo Center for Advanced Study’ (ELCAS). She served as the Director of Research and Development of the Center’s Exploratoria Program. She was co-creator of the WorldShift International Foundation, and the WorldShift 2012 organizations, and currently serves as the Executive Director at the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research and a Member of the Advisory Board of the Memnosyne Foundation. She lectures worldwide and has published two books; papers in The Scientific and Medical Network’s Review, The Shift Network, and World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research. Gyorgyi Szabo holds a PhD in Sociology - Summa Cum Laude awarded by the Sorbonne, University of Paris. She is also a trained Reiki and Reconnective Healing practitioner. Her holistic approach to metaphysics and interest in conscious evolution serves as foundation for her work in facilitating cooperative evolution toward a peaceful and regenerative world.

Willem Overbosch

Director of Business Development

Willem Overbosch

Director of Business Development

Willem Overbosch (1973) started his career as a management trainee at ExxonMobil in 1997 after he graduated at the University of Maastricht. After three years he quitted his job to travel to Australia and New Zealand. In 2001 he started working for Informore, a small IT company specialized in supply chain management software. He soon discovered his entrepreneurial skills and he founded his own company in 2003. In his first two years as an entrepreneur he learned the hard way that he had a lot questions he couldn’t find the answer to. With his logistics and IT experience he structured his ideas and created an “how-to” / Q&A business support platform and launched www.mkbservicedesk.nl (wwww.smeservicedesk.com) in 2006. His company grew rapidly and in 2012 he got his first seed capital injection. In 2013 together with his new shareholder he founded Dutch Network Group and acquired the business platform www.dezaak.nl Dutch Network Group became one of the leading Dutch business platforms inspiring, educating and supporting present and future generations of people with an entrepreneurial mindset. The story continues with Big Dash Dutch Network Group’s unique Software as a Service platform for community building with over 15 large business and consumer communities with over 100.000 profiles, including the owned media platforms. Throughout his career Overbosch inspired other people as a public speaker to take a next step and explore the world with an entrepreneurial mindset. He’s always full of energy and beliefs an entrepreneurial mindset creates a better future for individuals and has a positive impact on their environment. In September 2017 he published his first book “TopTrends voor Ondernemers” (TopTrends for Entrepreneurs) that was nominated Management book of the Year 2018.

Nora Silini

Director of Admissions & Enrollment

Nora Silini

Director of Admissions & Enrollment

Nora is training to become a Biotransenergetic counselor. She comes from a background in one of the world’s leading Cyber Security companies, trained by experts from UK intelligence agencies such as GCHQ and MI5. Prior to that, she worked in the charity and non-profit sector, including organizations such as Women & Girls Network and the Royal National Institute for Blind People in London. She is an English, Finnish and Italian native speaker with a remarkable capacity to work in various fields and with people from all over the world. She holds a first-class degree in Critical Theory from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Nora brings her linguistic and cultural competence as well as her partnership development and strategic skills to Ubiquity.

Rajinda Jayasinghe

Vice President For Asia, Press Officer

Rajinda Jayasinghe

Vice President For Asia, Press Officer

Rajinda has over 10 years of experience in the international development, education and startup space. After graduating from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School in 2003, and receiving his Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins’ School for International Studies (SAIS) in 2006, Raji went on to direct country programs for Relief International. He immersed himself in this work during Sri Lanka’s post-Tsunami era and continued to contribute during the climax and aftermath of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Raji then went on to pursue an MBA at the National University of Singapore, following which he took on a role as CEO at Knowledge City (a Sri Lankan organization specializing in IT and English education) before moving on to start his own company in the fintech space in Singapore.

Mayteck Arenas

Marketing Manager

Mayteck Arenas

Marketing Manager

Mayteck is a passionate and creative communications professional. She has over 6 years of experience developing strategies to boost brands in different countries, generating reputational value and brand positioning through marketing, public relations, and communication plans.

Federico Restrepo Sierra

Coordinator, Impact

Federico Restrepo Sierra

Coordinator, Impact

Federico is a co-founder of Energia Vectorial an electric mobility startup focused on infrastructure and leasing of EVs; and Impact Hub Medellin a social innovation lab focused on supporting entrepreneurs and social innovator in creating solutions to impact the world, both startups located in Medellin, Colombia. He has a BA in Marketing Management, MA in Marketing and Sales Management and Currently finishing his MSc in Sustainable Development.

Georg Boch

Course Production Manager

Georg Boch

Course Production Manager

Georg is passionate about unleashing the human potential for the good of our global village. At UU he works on producing paradigm-shifting educational offerings such as courses, webinars and live-events. His background in brand story consultancy and film production lives at the intersection of exponential technology, immersive media and conscious leadership purposed towards the “more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”. In his spare time you can find him cooking Mexican food, playing with his daughter and hosting Virtual Reality Mindfulness Retreats.

Calen Rayne

Director Of Organizational Architecture, Faculty

Calen Rayne

Director Of Organizational Architecture, Faculty

Calen is a Unitarian Universalist Community Minister. His current focus is Institutional Energetics within Ubiquity. He has an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University, and DMin from Wisdom University. Calen has studied with great masters of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Bon and pre-literate Bon masters, geomancers from both Celtic and Druid traditions, and with alchemists of various indigenous religions, including the first (nameless) religion of the Himalayas, known as "sacred conventions" or "patterns of heaven and earth.” He is trained in Feng Shui/Space Clearing, Egyptian Bio-geometry, and Sacred Geometry. Calen is a Master of Himalayan Singing bowls, a Veriditas Advanced-Certified Labyrinth Facilitator and a Reiki Master in four lineages.

Veronica Saldias

Registrar

Veronica Saldias

Registrar

Veronica comes to Ubiquity after three years with AIESEC where she was Director of Talent Management and the designer of the Mentoring Program. The emphasis of this work was defining skill profiles required to achieve greater productivity and emphasizing specific skill training focused on the values of AIESEC. As an AIESEC volunteer in Colombia, she worked on the SDG: Quality Education. During her last year with AIESEC, she was President of the Cochabamba, Bolivia chapter. Veronica has a degree in industrial engineering from the University of San Simon, Bolivia, where she graduated with honors in 2017. She is a person who enjoys life and who seeks change and innovation. As an artist and a writer, she sells her art through her Instagram page and writes articles for Globedia and other publications. She is currently the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer and to the Office of the President of Ubiquity University.

Carlos Leaño

IT & Web Developer

Carlos Leaño

IT & Web Developer

Carlos is our IT guy to go, he currently oversees the website, he's a Programmer from Cartagena, Colombia and he's also part of our development team, he likes to learn new things, hanging out with friends, he speaks English and is currently learning Portuguese, when not working with us he likes to watch Japanese Animation, play videogames or read a good book.