Job Function: Advisory Board

Lisa, Ed.D., is Axialent’s advisor in personal and organizational transformation. Together with long-time collaborator Robert Kegan, Ph.D., she is credited with a breakthrough discovery of a hidden dynamic, the “immunity to change,” which impedes transformation. For more than 20 years, Lisa and Robert have studied why people struggle to make the changes that would significantly improve their lives and repeatedly fail at it: from losing 10 pounds to becoming better leaders, through eating healthier food or quitting a bad habit. By means of a step-by-step, deep soul-searching methodology, Lisa and Robert guide people to close the gap between their good intentions and their behaviors.

Executives, senior teams and individuals are now using this work in business, governmental and educational organizations in the United States, Europe and Asia. It has also recently expanded its reach through the Immunity to Change MOOC, Harvard Graduate School of Education’s first MOOC to be taken by any individual through the EdX online platform. Lisa and Robert recently received the Gislason Award for exceptional contributions to organizational leadership, joining past recipients Warren Bennis, Peter Senge and Edgar Schein. In 2013, they received the Vision of Excellence Award from Harvard’s Institute of Coaching.

Lisa is also co-director of Minds at Work, a consulting firm serving businesses and institutions around the world, and on the faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She is also regularly asked to present her work throughout the world, most recently in Australia, China, Kazakhstan and New Zealand. Her seminal books, “How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work” (2001) and “Immunity to Change” (2009) have been published in many languages. Lisa has been on the faculty of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Conference and had her work featured in the Harvard Business Review; The New York Times Sunday business section; O, The Oprah Magazine and Fast Company.

For the past several years, Lisa has served as a trusted advisor and executive coach to leaders in the private and public sectors worldwide. A passionate pianist and hiker, Lisa lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.

Dr. Rajendra S. Sisodia is Axialent’s advisor in Conscious Capitalism. Author of “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose,” co-founder and co-Chairman of the Conscious Capitalism Institute, Raj has devoted his work to the dissemination of the conscious capitalism principles and philosophy through his academic, writing, speaking and consulting endeavors. He is now focused on expanding the movement globally with chapters in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and India.

In 2003, he was named to the “Guru Gallery” by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and was described as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers”. Four years later he received the “Excellence in Scholarship” award and in 2008 the “Innovation in Teaching” award from Bentley University. He was also named one of ten “Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. As a leading figure in the Conscious Capitalism movement, Raj is an expert in corporate strategy and leadership, globalization, stakeholder management, marketing strategy, marketing ethics, relationship marketing and marketing productivity.

He has consulted with and taught executive programs for numerous companies, including AT&T, Nokia, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Siemens, Sprint, MCI, Volvo, IBM, Ernst & Young, Walmart, McDonald’s and Southern California Edison. He has led programs in North and South America, Europe, and Asia and is also a frequent and well-admired keynote speaker. Raj held over 500 presentations on Conscious Capitalism at leading universities, corporations and other organizations around the world. He was Trustee Professor of Marketing and founding director of the Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley University and is now F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College.

Raj has an MBA in marketing from the Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Bombay. He also holds a Ph.D. in marketing and business policy from Columbia University. He has published seven books and over 100 articles in prestigious business journals. His book “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose” was named as named one of the best business books of 2007 and has been translated into seven languages. In 2012 he published the book “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” (with John Mackey, founder & CEO of Whole Foods Market), a New York Times bestseller.

He lives in Lexington, MA. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, sports and music.

Nithya is an internationally respected spiritual teacher, seminar leader, writer and educator committed to sharing practical wisdom teachings for happiness and enlightenment with people in a joyful and transformational way.

Blending a deep study of ancient scriptures, along with a broad survey of contemporary discoveries, Nithya specializes in facilitating profound shifts in awareness for people to release limitations and awaken latent potentials for a fulfilling life. An interest in inner growth and spirituality from an early age inspired him to study with many wise teachers and awakened masters.

Not satisfied with intellectual understanding alone, he began a daily practice of meditation at the age of 16 and attended many meditation retreats.

Nithya completed a Master of Business Administration from XLRI, Jamshedpur, and then worked in the corporate sector. Despite having a promising career, he was drawn to pursue his spiritual quest further. In 2002, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk.

After six years of living in forest meditation monasteries in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and also various parts of India and the United States, he was guided to live, learn and serve in broader ways than the traditional role of a monk permitted. With the blessings of his teachers, he stepped out of the robes in early 2008 and now shares joyful teachings in happiness joyshops, youth programs, corporate trainings and meditation retreats around the world.

He has been invited to share his insights around the world by leading universities, corporate and nongovernmental organizations. He has coached CEOs, senior government officials and school teachers and has taught these principles at international conferences as well as in prisons.

His work is orchestrated by the Nithya Shanti Foundation, a nonprofit organization, with the purpose of reawakening a heart and earth-conscious culture based on wisdom and joy.

Shauna received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, graduating summa cum laude. She received her Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology (1998), and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology (2001) from the University of Arizona. She conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (2002 ­– 2003). In addition to her formal education, she has received extensive professional training in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (2002) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (1997, 1999, 2000), and studied mindfulness meditation in monasteries in Nepal and Thailand.

Shauna is a tenured professor at Santa Clara University’s graduate department of counseling psychology (2003 – present) and is the recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies teaching award, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to graduate education. Shauna has also held faculty positions at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (2008 – present) and the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical Center (2000 – 2004).

Shauna’s research and clinical work focuses on the application of mindfulness to developing greater health and well-being. Her work has addressed the effects of mindfulness on the individual as well as its implications at a global level. Shauna’s extensive clinical research has investigated the effects of mindfulness training across a wide array of populations, examining the impact of mindfulness in medicine, psychology, education, business and law.

Dr. Shapiro lectures and leads mindfulness training programs internationally and has been invited to present for the King of Thailand, the Danish Government Centre for Development of Human Resources, Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine program, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, Beijing, China. She has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and is co-author of the critically acclaimed text, The Art and Science of Mindfulness and the forthcoming text, Mindful Discipline: A loving approach to raising an emotionally intelligent child. Dr. Shapiro’s work has been featured in WIRED, USA TODAY, Oxygen, Yoga Journal and American Psychologist.