Helping small nonprofits build more engaged communities
Five Directions is a small, personalized consulting
firm. We bring many years of experience as community builders, communicators, and
anthropologists. We enthusiastically apply this knowledge to your unique situation
and needs... please get in touch with us!
Maia Duerr
Maia Duerr Founder
With more than 20 years of experience in social profit
organizations, I mix a unique set of ingredients into my professional
'stew.' I have academic and field training as a cultural
anthropologist, and I can offer perceptive insights into organizational
culture and change strategies. I've conducted research on companies
that use contemplative practices as a vehicle for cultivating
meaningful work and sustainable work environments and have published
several journal articles on this topic.
I have a love for language and for helping groups and individuals
discern their mission and message, and developing strategies to get
their word out.
And finally, I have a passion for making the world a better place,
and am committed to help others become agents of change in both
nonprofit and corporate settings.
Lisa is a research anthropologist, organizational consultant and educator. She has extensive experience working as a manager, applied researcher, teacher and group facilitator with groups and organizations in the United States and abroad, addressing theories and practices of social and organizational dynamics and change, leadership and management skills, collaborative team building and problem-solving and the development of effective virtual teams.
For the last six eight years Lisa has worked on applied research projects with NASA. Her current project involves participant observation and user studies with NASA Mission Flight Controllers at Johnson Space Center as part of a team developing new automation technologies for extended NASA missions.
In addition to her on-going consulting practice, Lisa co-founded, directed and taught in the graduate program in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, from 1982 through the mid-1990s. She lives in Medanales, New Mexico, and, with her husband Djann, is developing an organic farm and a demonstration and workshop facility for sustainable living practices.
