Jen Simpson

I am a teacher, and artist, and scholar, and leader, and mother, and friend, and then some. I’ve lived a far-reaching career, and I’m excited to give back to building the field of the future in this next chapter.

In 2023, I synthesized decades of scholarship and practice into a method that sits at the edge of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science. I call it the KOAN method and it argues two things: that the ability to sit with a question longer than is comfortable — in the fashion of a zen koan — is an underdeveloped leadership artform; and that clinging to rigid structures no longer aligned with our purpose works against that very purpose, while building Kind, Open, Adaptive Networks gives us the flexibility to adapt with the changing tides.

Now, I'm building a commons to bring those ideas to life. My goal is simple: make extractive models that rely on gatekeeping, oversight, and control obsolete and set ideas free to circulate, then gather those who gravitate to them in community.

I am an applied scholar, a bold practitioner, and a playful provocateur devoted to the belief that that creativity is born of connection & flourishes in community.
 
Learn more at: jenniferlynsimpson.com/abolderfamily/