Dr. Don Waisanen believes that everyone has stories to tell, lessons to share, and contributions to make to the world. Every person also has a deep well of creativity within that needs accessed and nourished. All of Don’s work focuses on unleashing these capacities in others, supporting our fully human needs for expressiveness, ethical and effective leadership, and the joys of collaborative creation.
Don is a “pracademic” and professor in the Baruch College, CUNY Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, where he teaches courses in communication and leadership.
He has authored over 50 scholarly publications, including the books Leadership Standpoints (Cambridge University Press), States of Confusion (New York University Press), Improv for Democracy (State University of New York Press), Political Conversion (Rowman & Littlefield), Innovation Soup (Business Expert Press), Real Power, Real Money? (Palgrave- Macmillan), and Immigration and Strategic Public Health Communication (Routledge).
In a previous life, Prof. Waisanen worked in broadcast journalism, as a speechwriter, and on political campaigns. He is the founder of Communication Upward, an adjunct at Columbia and NYU, and receive a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California.
He’s a tennis fanatic, sometimes does improv comedy around town, and runs a blog/newsletter on communication that elevates leadership and creates thriving communities at www.donwaisanen.com.
