Research Leaders & Associates
LCARE brings together an internationally diverse network of scholars, civic innovators, and systems thinkers — each rooted in a different place, each committed to the same living intelligence.
Dr Marina Demchenko Ph.D is a Social Ecosystems Evolution researcher and Integral Development practitioner, a futurist and visionary focused on the development of humanity. With a PhD in economics and international marketing of territorial development, she has a substantial experience in public administration and global change management. A TED speaker and author of several peer reviewed papers, for more than 20 years Marina has been researching the patterns and principles of integral personal, organisational and place-based development.
Co-founder of the Russian-Swiss PANORAMA LAB, she was the first ever Advisor to the Mayor on the holistic wellbeing and happiness of citizens (Zverevo, Russia), and during that time developed her own methodology for the diagnosis and assessment of integral development of social ecosystems INNER KEY©. Marina was also a co-creator and for two years the operations and community leader in Living Cities Earth (LCE) — a global horizontally organised action community of 100+ world's leading researchers and practitioners in the field of integral urban development. She represents Russia and Russian speaking communities in global Ecocivilisation movement.
Dr Demchenko is a Research Leader in Living Cities Action Research Ecosystem, aimed at transforming cities into living, resilient, interconnected ecosystems that thrive in harmony with nature. The object of her current research is the integration and augmentation of key aspects of individual, organisational, local and global evolutionary development to ensure the social wellbeing, sustainability and planetary health.
Wendy Ellyatt is a futurist, writer, systems thinker, and social entrepreneur whose work focuses on creating the conditions for human, societal, and ecological flourishing. She is the Founder of the Flourish Project and the architect of the Ecosystemic Flourishing (ESF) Framework, an integrative approach that brings together insights from wellbeing science, education, systems thinking, ecology, leadership, economics, spirituality, and cultural transformation. For more than three decades, she has worked at the intersection of education, wellbeing, values, and systems change. Throughout her career, she has championed approaches that recognise the interconnected nature of human development, community wellbeing, environmental stewardship, and social renewal. Her work has been presented internationally through universities, research institutes, educational networks, and global wellbeing initiatives.
She was an early Global Council Member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) and is currently a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Community, a Board Trustee of the Charter for Compassion, an advisor to the Spirit of Humanity Forum, a steering group member of the Galileo Commission, Co-lead of the three-year Worldviews Study, and an awardee of the Brahma Kumaris '100 Women of Spirit'.
Valerie Gleeson is a transformative executive coach and facilitator, accredited as a Senior Practitioner with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). With more than 30 years in management and leadership roles, she brings insight to leaders navigating complexity and change. Valerie has held global roles in organisations and worked with semi-state bodies in Ireland, with experience across manufacturing, distribution, utilities, IT, healthcare and consultancy.
Her coaching is grounded in adult and vertical development frameworks. A member of the StageSHIFT Vertical Leadership Development Network and an Inner Development Goals (IDGs) Ambassador, Valerie partners with strategic leaders to unlock potential, expand perspective, and strengthen capabilities at individual, team and organisational levels. Clients include local government, Enterprise Ireland, An Post, Boston Scientific, Munster Technology University, Irish Cement, Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, Eirgrid, Aptiv, and The Project Foundry. She holds Irish Management Institute/University College Cork diplomas in executive coaching and organisational development and transformation.
In recent years, Valerie has deepened her focus on place-based leadership and city development, coaching senior leaders across Cork City Council and Cork County Council directorates. Valerie is a Non Executive Director with Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland, which is a national charity supporting autistic children, families and communities with highly trained dogs under their Assistance Dogs and Schools Programmes. She is recognised for wholehearted presence, powerful listening and a strategic approach — supporting C-suite executives, board directors, senior and middle managers, and newly appointed leaders to help organisations flourish, so more people can lead fulfilling lives in a joyful and sustainable world.
Dr. h.c. Violeta Bulc is a visionary thinker and systems observer who deeply contemplates the interconnectedness of all things and maintains a profound awareness of humanity's evolutionary shifts. She approaches the world with curiosity and sensitivity, balancing scientific reasoning with intuitive insight.
She is the founder and curator of the global Ecocivilisation movement, currently active in 52 countries, connecting people who care and who are committed to harmonising humanity's relationship with Nature, communities, with each other, and with oneself.
Dr. Bulc is a former European Commissioner for Transport and Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia, an entrepreneur, leader and innovator, an engineer, lecturer, established international speaker, and a philanthropist. She is the author and co-author of several professional books and book chapters, publications, and articles, she is a member of professional and business boards and is a respected international speaker. She holds several domestic and international awards for innovation, leadership, professional partnerships, among others International Women Leadership Award (2025), European Railway Award (2023), Honorary FIA Award (2020), 2 FENIKS awards for best national consulting projects and many national rewards for business and social innovation.
Marilyn Hamilton, Ph.D is a renowned writer and integral thinker, urban development expert and social entrepreneur, founder of Integral City Meshworks Inc. and author of Integral City Book Series. Her meshworking, appreciative inquiry and action research methodologies build capacity for individuals, groups, organizations and communities to inquire, act and impact city wellbeing.
Marilyn develops communities of collaborative practice and trains whole-system teams of 4 Voices — citizens, civic managers, business innovators and 3rd sector — so they reframe complex challenges for their cities and bioregions. She has developed training programs for Findhorn College and Ubiquity University's Master Regenerative Action with students in 70 cities around the world. Humanity Rising Programs have livestreamed to thousands more.
Wanda Krause is an international researcher and Global Leadership expert, who works for the planetary health and incorporates the indigenous and marginalised approaches that help integral leaders see themselves as ONE with our Mother Earth. She integrates modern knowledge of social development and leadership with the indigenous wisdom through teaching and working with Indigenous governments in Northern Canada. She also has an extensive experience of research and teaching students in the Middle East; she is an expert in Middle East politics, civil society, women's participation and gender issues, embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and decolonization.
Her mission in life is to contribute to planetary health through conscious living, leadership development, civil society expansion, and all the ways she may be guided to at different times, phases, in the various local and international contexts she traverses, and the networks with which she chooses to strengthen. She currently works to incorporate integral approaches and planetary health into the curriculum of the MA programme in Global Leadership, which she heads at Royal Roads University Canada. She has three single authored books, in addition to an edited book. For one of her books, she won best title on the Middle East. She has contributed to numerous other texts and journals and speaks at conferences internationally every year on the above topics.
Dr. Alexander Laszlo is Professor of Sustainability Leadership in the School of Leadership Studies at Fielding Graduate University. He mentors doctoral students in leadership and systems thinking, with a focus on transformative learning and the design of thrivable systems. His mission is to advance meaning-driven, systems-informed scholarship and practice that translates complexity into life-affirming learning, evolutionary leadership, and systemic innovation.
He earned an International Baccalaureate in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the United Nations International School in New York City, a BA in International and Comparative Politics from Haverford College, and an MA and PhD in the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. Across his career, Dr. Laszlo has held leadership roles in academic, research, and non-profit contexts, contributing internationally to the evolution of systems science and systems-informed leadership education.
He served as the 57th President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) and as Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at ITBA in Argentina, where he lives. He has also served as President of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS) and as Director of Research at the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research (LINPR).
His research and practice span leadership, systemic innovation, sustainability, and education ecosystems, with engagements including the Italian Electric Power Agency, UNESCO's Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe in Italy, and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, USA. He continues to teach and consult internationally across MBA and doctoral programmes, supporting scholars and practitioners in refining methodology, strengthening voice, and shaping inquiry that makes a measurable difference.
Dr Ekaterina Matveeva (h.c.) is the author of the theory Language Alter Ego and the founder of Amolingua and Lingo+. Her work around Language Alter Ego explores how individuals create new personalities while acquiring a foreign language and culture, and how this influences their ability to adapt to unexpected cultural situations and global work environments. With over 15 years of teaching experience, Ekaterina has developed innovative learning and teaching strategies for her first company, Amolingua. Her second company, Lingo+, was established with the support of the Erasmus+ fund by the European Commission, aiming to provide professional development for teachers in international schools with a focus on the application of multilingualism and multiculturalism in the classroom. She is also a member of the Advisory Council of Language Connects Foundation, advancing the appreciation of languages and cultures at local, national and international levels.
Ekaterina was named a "linguahacker" by the magazine "Yes!" during her university years for managing nine languages and understanding another dozen. Her academic background spans across disciplines from comparative linguistics to socio-cultural anthropology and neuroscience, with studies at the University of St Andrews, Santiago de Compostela University, University of Bergamo, Perpignan University, Vistula University, and Moscow State Linguistics University. She received her business education through grant-based executive programs and fellowships taught by professors from Babson College, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. Ekaterina has been recognized with several awards for her entrepreneurial achievements in ed:tech and her contributions to the fields of education and humanities. She has published academic articles and three books on Language Alter Ego, language acquisition, and learning strategies. She is also a TEDx speaker and a retired memory athlete with two world memory championships under her belt.
Paddy Pampallis (Dr: Executive Coaching and Supervision) is an integral, developmental psychologist and master coach; Founder & CEO of The Integral Africa Institute, The Coaching Centre, Founder/Director of IA Conference, Founder/Board member of The Ubuntu Coaching Foundation; Director of the Child & Family, Assessment and Therapy centre; Chair and Board of analytical and family systems psychotherapy groups, founder member of Coaches and Mentors of SA; and contributing faculty to Meridian University, UCT, Da Vinci Institute. Her pioneering spirit is deeply connected to the soul of Africa — her current work includes being a founder member of Living Cities Earth, The Wisdom School (McGregor: SA), and supporting leaders across multiple sectors in Higher Education, Primary Health Care, Business, Government and NPO's, locally and internationally.
Her ground-breaking doctoral (MDX) research in supervision led the way for supervision in the coaching profession. With 21 years of research and practice in the TCC school, she has founded the Integral Africa approach and IU (Ubuntu) framework which expands Africa's wisdom into the western approaches. This work has been cultivated through the flagship Integral Practitioner Coaching and Leadership — a public online offering as well as in business, health, higher education and international NPO's where the exploration of the inner world of being aligns to outer impact for individuals, teams and organisations. Teaching and learning with Dr Susanne Cook Grueter internationally has led to current research and application in leadership maturity. Her social activism expresses itself in her work of supporting others to become developmentally deliberate through nuanced design and emergence for collaboration as a systemic whole and as an effective means for embodiment.
Paul van Schaik is a provocateur of thought and a gardener of potential. He is the founder of integralMENTORS and the pioneering force behind the Integral UrbanHub series, through which he has spent decades exploring the intersection of human development, systemic design, and urban thriveability. His journey is one of continual evolution, moving fluidly between the roles of architect, author, educator, publisher, and mentor. For over forty years, his work as an international development adviser has taken him across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East, immersing him in the lived reality of projects concerning social and ecological sustainability. This vast field experience, engaging with governments, development banks, and local communities, provided the essential scaffolding for his intellectual pursuits. It was a living laboratory that revealed both the utility and the profound limitations of dominant Western frameworks.
An early adept of Integral Theory and Spiral Dynamics, he has thus matured into a critical and compassionate voice in the movement to decolonise these very models. Paul's work is now dedicated to composting the limitations of a purely rationalist worldview and nurturing a more inclusive, ecological, and pluriversal understanding of how we can live together in our cities.
Now based in Hout Bay, South Africa, he writes and works at the sharp edge of urban complexity, where profound natural beauty coexists with deep social inequality. This context has cemented his conviction that any meaningful approach to our planetary poly-crisis must be grounded in the hard, necessary work of historical redress, relational repair, and a re-animation of our connection to the more-than-human world.
Paul is not an academic theorist but a meta-pragmatist. He is less interested in constructing perfect models than in cultivating the conditions for collective wisdom to emerge. He is a lifelong learner, a reluctant Weaver, and a firm believer that the future of our urban worlds depends not on smarter plans, but on our capacity for deeper listening. The UrbanHub series is the synthesis of this lifelong inquiry, an invitation to step beyond the known and participate in the co-creation of a more alive and syntonious future.