Free Webinar: Creative Climate in Action
WISE HD Founder, Dr. Melissa Schmitz, is proud to serve on the board of the Global Creativity Initiative (GCI).
GCI is a network of creativity scholars who organize creativity conferences, symposiums, and webinars both virtually and in person.
Presenter: Laura Barbero Switalski (Co-founder of the CREA Conference)
Date: November 6th, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Register Here
Several elements need to be in alignment for creativity and innovation to take place in an organization: People, Process, Product and Environment.
This webinar will focus on the factors that stimulate a creative Environment. We will introduce the concept of Climate as distinguished from Culture and, drawing from the seminal work of Swedish researcher and organizational psychologist Göran Ekvall, we will illustrate the climate dimensions that affect creativity in organizations.
We will present CREA Conference as a living example of those dimensions in action, where creativity can flourish because of a deliberate stimulation of factors such as Trust & Openness, Freedom, Risk-Taking, Playfulness, and other significant variables that impact creative thinking and creative behavior.
About Laura Barbero Switalski
Laura is a partner of Darwin Associates, a consulting firm in Buffalo, New York, specializing in in organizational growth, creativity and change leadership. She works with organizations across North America, Central America, and Europe to facilitate creativity and innovation, help manage change and transition, and enhance teamwork and leadership. Born and raised in Italy, Laura lives in the United States, in Buffalo, NY, and has an extensive experience in working internationally and facilitating cross-cultural teams. As a facilitator, trainer and coach Laura has worked globally with several multinational corporations, such as Johnson & Johnson, Baxter, Astra Zeneca, Coca Cola, Mondelez, IFF, LVMH, to help people develop their leadership potential, build cohesive teams and enhance their creative thinking skills. Laura holds a Master of Science degree in Creativity and Innovation from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY Buffalo State, where she is now adjunct faculty teaching a course at the Master program level. She is a founding member and organizer of CREA Conference. Laura has coauthored the book Creativity Rising. Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the 21st Century, published by ICSC Press in April 2012. More about Laura’s work at: http://darwinassociates.net
Hope to see you there!