Conference Planning Team
dr. dan deneui
Co-Executive Director of Creativity Conference Dr. DeNeui is the Director of the Social Science Division and Professor of Psychology at Southern Oregon University. During his 17 years at Southern Oregon, he has served in a variety of campus leadership roles. Previously Dan held academic positions at Elon University and Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota. He has also served as an organizational consultant for a wide variety of organizations ranging from small, regional non-profits to large Fortune 500 companies. |
dr. Mark runco
Co-Executive Director of Creativity Conference Mark is one of the leading personalities in creativity. He has devised numerous tests that measures potential and performance in creativity. Dr. Runco received his PhD in cognitive psychology from Claremont Graduate School. Dr. Runco is also known for being the founder of the Creativity Research Journal and in 2014 he founded the journal of Business Creativity and the Creative Economy. Click here to view Dr. Runco's website. |
Michelle johannes
MJ Communication - Marketing Coordinator Michelle Johannes is the founder of MJ Communication. She has an extensive background in writing, producing, social media management, event planning, public relations and keeping high-end customers happy. Prior to starting her own company, she was the Membership and Marketing Director at Rogue Valley Country Club, the Marketing and Promotions Manager for KEZI-TV and the Small Market Representative for the ABC Affiliate Group representing 100 small markets to ABC News and ABC Entertainment. Michelle grew up in Medford and graduated with a Journalism and Communication degree from the University of Oregon. She is married to Glenn who is a teacher. They have three young boys who are always on the move and are the center of their universe. 
Cari powell
rsvp event group Cari Powell is VP and Director of Events at RSVP Event Group. Before joining RSVP, Cari served as Vice President of Communication, Programs and Events for the largest chamber of commerce in the State of Oregon. There she played a major role in planning community-wide Fourth of July celebrations, black-tie awards banquets, producing one of the largest monthly speaker series in the state, all while serving as Editor of an award-winning monthly digital publication. Cari brings to the team excellent logistics and organizational skills to ensure no details of an event are missed. She also has a Masters Degree in Applied Psychology which has proved invaluable in navigating both challenging and colorful situations both in life as well as event planning. |
Kimberly Hicks
rsvp event group Kimberly Hicks, president and owner of RSVP Event Group, has been planning events since she was 16 years old. She has over 30 years of experience with all aspects of event planning from weddings to non-profit fundraisers, corporate events, parties and celebrations. She is a Certified Professional Bridal Consultant with the Association of Bridal Consultants, a graduate of the Alison Howard Events Refine Course for Wedding Planners, and is currently pursuing an Accredited Event Designer with the Institute of Wedding & Event Design. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communication from Arizona State University and has completed graduate work in Organizational Management and Psychology. 
Dee Fretwell
Logistics coordinator |
Review Committee
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dr. dan deneui
Co-Executive Director of Creativity Conference Dr. DeNeui is the Director of the Social Science Division and Professor of Psychology at Southern Oregon University. During his 17 years at Southern Oregon, he has served in a variety of campus leadership roles. Previously Dan held academic positions at Elon University and Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota. He has also served as an organizational consultant for a wide variety of organizations ranging from small, regional non-profits to large Fortune 500 companies. 
Michael araki
universidade federal fluminense Michael Araki is a polymathic researcher with works in the fields of Creativity, Leadership, Governance, Differential Psychology, and Entrepreneurship. He is a Professor at Universidade Federal Fluminense (Brazil), Lecturer in MBA courses, and Chair, Panelist and Presenter in conferences such as the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, SOU Creativity Conference, EnAnpad, AdCont, and SemeAd. He has papers published in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of Economics, Psychology and Management. He is a Reviewer for the journals Sociedade, Contabilidade e Gestão and Cadernos de Gestão e Empreendedorismo, and committee member for the Minor in Entrepreneurship offered at Universidade Federal Fluminense (Brazil). Finally, he also worked as Director of SMEs, Professional presenter, ERP Solutions Architect, and Business consultant. |
dr. Mark runco
Co-Executive Director of Creativity Conference Mark is one of the leading personalities in creativity. He has devised numerous tests that measures potential and performance in creativity. Dr. Runco received his PhD in cognitive psychology from Claremont Graduate School. Dr. Runco is also known for being the founder of the Creativity Research Journal and in 2014 he founded the journal of Business Creativity and the Creative Economy. Click here to view Dr. Runco's website. 
Dr. Carlos cardoso
College of Design, Iowa State University Carlos Cardoso is an Associate Professor at the College of Design, Iowa State University. His research interests are in the area of creative thinking, design cognition and systems thinking. He adopts an interdisciplinary approach to studying how to support and inspire designers to think more creatively about global (wicked) problems, and not just artifacts or services. Carlos teaches and coordinates design courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as professional training on creative thinking in both Europe and the US. He has been a frequent reviewer for several scientific journals, presented his research in different conferences, and published his work in engineering and design journals. |
