Pete’s Bio

I aim to create environments that inspire people to excel in their pursuits.

I am a social scientist with an interdisciplinary background that spans the study and practice of organizations, knowledge, and creativity in the modern workplace. As a senior consultant with the New York office of DEGW, I work with a variety of corporate, academic, and nonprofit clients on workplace and learning space design strategies. In this effort, I work to create high performance social and architectural spaces that enable people to learn, work, collaborate, and innovate in ways that nurture the human condition.

As an academic social scientist trained in qualitative methodology and theory development, I am experienced in designing case studies, conducting systematic fieldwork observations and interviews, and integrating fieldwork data with other sources of qualitative and quantitative data. Click here for more details about my academic work.

I previously worked as a consultant and project manager with Competing Values – an Ann Arbor-based community of scholars and industry experts in the area of creativity, innovation, and organizational development. In this role I helped develop the “Innovatrium”, an on-campus innovation learning institute and collaborative learning space that was built in partnership with the Ideation Group at Haworth and integrated into the MBA, EMBA, and executive education programs of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. I was also responsible for developing various learning tools around the Competing Values Framework school of thought.

You will see various photographs scattered throughout my website. I have a passion for aesthetics and design and am an avid photographer of architecture and the built environment.

I earned a PhD in Education, with a concentration in Organizational Behavior, from the University of Michigan. Additionally I hold a BA in American Studies and History, as well as an MBA, both from Case Western Reserve University. I am also an FAA-licensed private pilot with land and seaplane ratings.

November 2007 in San Francisco, captured on Ektachrome