Speakers
Speakers' Page
Mark Frein, PhD
Consulting Practice Leader, The Refinery Leadership Partners Inc.
As The Refinery’s consulting practice leader, Mark Frein oversees the design and delivery of all leadership and organizational development services. Mark holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of British Columbia, where he received the prestigious Killam Predoctoral fellowship for research on imagination and learning. Before joining The Refinery, he spent seven years as a senior associate in the Learning Strategies Group at Simon Fraser University. Today he continues at SFU as an Adjunct Professor in Business Administration, specializing in organizational development and change, and organizational theory. Mark is a seasoned presenter, speaking at various professional associations on emerging trends in strategic human resource management, organizational learning and development, and learning design.
Speaking Engagements
“Leadership for Retention”
Midlyn Communications -- October 1, 2007
Mark reviewed the research on engagement and retention, and focused on the importance of leadership values and integrity for establishing a community of trust among employees.
“Getting Results with Action Learning”
American Society for Training and Development,
Global Conference -- June 5, 2007
Along with a client partner, Mark presented an in-depth case-study on a major action-learning based leadership development program that significantly impacted the firm’s bottom line. The talk highlighted key factors in choosing action-learning as a method of leadership development and explained why a positive training ROI isn’t always in the best interests of developing leaders.
“SimCity: The Many Uses of Experiential and
Simulation-based Learning”
Justice Institute of British Columbia Innovation, Education, Teaching, and Learning Series 2007 -- April 16, 2007
While simulations are a powerful way to foster learning, they must be designed and implemented carefully to ensure the right results. In this presentation, Mark discussed the appropriate use of simulation-based learning, particularly simulations that use technology as a medium of instruction.