Catherine (Cate) Creede, PhD
Partner, The Potential Group
A Partner in the Potential Group consulting firm, Cate’s current projects are mainly in healthcare, especially in the complex network of Ontario teaching hospitals. Her recent focus has been on creating more effective interprofessional collaboration and leadership, and on developing innovative and integrated care models. She is a masterful designer and facilitator of planning and engagement processes to create commonality and understanding across diverse perspectives, a skilled capacity builder to develop internal stakeholders as change leaders and facilitators, and has deep skill at transforming systems and enabling leaders to be inspiring and effective change agents.
Cate views her core role as creating meaningful conversations, especially new ways of talking about and framing a group’s work that inspire the entire community. Cate’s PhD dissertation was about the co-construction of identity narratives in conversation, and she draws on this foundation in much of her consulting work. Other clients have ranged from global companies to grassroots not-for-profits, especially agencies dealing with HIV/AIDS.
Cate’s practice is integrated with her research and writing. She completed her PhD in Human and Organisational Systems at Fielding Graduate University in 2008. In 2009/10, she was an originator and Co-Director of an innovative learning programme for health professionals becoming change leaders in the area of interprofessional care. She is working on several healthcare research projects, and is co-editing a book on advances in theory and practice of the Coordinated Management of Meaning communication theory which will be published in early 2012.
Cate’s other passion is for her volunteer work with children in Africa. She is one of 3 co-leads responsible for all fundraising, strategic direction and operational oversight of the Nikibasika Children’s Centre for 51 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and conflict in Kasese, Uganda, and she is a member of the Board of the Canada Africa Community Health Alliance.