Plano, TX - Catherine Oleksiw, PhD is a woman to listen to. She has decades of experience in education, government, and a special arm of consulting work known as measurement and evaluation. She is the founder of a dual-sided practice Measured Transitions--a self-explanatory name for the course of helping people to develop tools and systems used in evaluating every aspect of their organizations—goals, processes, team activities, and outcomes. She stays in it for the long term, guiding each organization to take steps to change the trajectory of success, and acting as a coach in making it all happen.  Her business card says a mouthful: Focus. Measure. Change.

Doctor O, as she is informally known, had a progressive education herself, culminating with a Ph.D.  in Educational Psychology: Measurement & Evaluation from Columbia University in New York City. The analysis involved in what she does relates to organizational and program needs and actionable data  (not mental health as some might mistakenly think.)

Doctor O has worked in some government data analysis and information asset positions, including for the tax assessor’s office and as the very first City CIO (Chief Information Officer). One of her greatest gifts is serving as the bridge between IT, other departments, and all the users and the customers down the line. This is also what makes her so effective in consulting roles, she not only evaluates data and situations, but Catherine O also makes information into something tangible for improvement across the organization. As she puts it, there is a way to turn numbers into words.

In her December and January shows, she will look at what launching an evaluation program can be like in two different scenarios: when going at it alone and when using a consultant. Having new eyes on things can be powerful, she notes.

Dr. O’s approach is both pragmatic and profoundly human. Clients and students respond to her because of her wisdom, patience, and the way she gives them permission to be who and where they are. Once when a client was late for a meeting, she told him it was fine, and that we all get to be human! Life, she says, happens while we are being human; open, vulnerable, and imperfect.

Over the course of her engagements training clients in the implementation and ongoing use of their programs and systems, she realized that she was in effect coaching her clients. She helped them to improve team cooperation and communication, and in cultivating an accountability mindset. To further develop her coaching skills, she studied at a coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has now held the ICF Professional Coach Certification (PCC) for over ten years.

Dr. O has been engaged in scholarly positions over the years as an adjunct professor of research and statistics, director of education research, and most recently as department chair of Business Psychology for The Chicago School Dallas campus. Her sweet spot is advising PhD students on their dissertation research. Over the years, she has added coaching to her favorite interactions with her students, supporting them in addressing the inevitable psychological and emotional challenges of staying focused on their dissertations.

The radio team has conducted a recurring series with Dr. O, with increasing opportunities to hear and learn from her as a subject matter expert in measurement and systems thinking. She is a definitive authority who has been both published in and written about in media, such as Who’s Who from whom she received a Lifetime Achievement Award.  In her radio interviews Catherine has proven to be an informative and engaging guest, which is not that easy considering the technical minutiae of the consulting work and evaluation program follow up.

For more information about Dr. Catherine Oleksiw and her accomplishments, please visit www.measuredtransitions.com