AC Creative Collective

The 40 Over 40 Awards, presented by U.S. Bank, shine a spotlight on the remarkable individuals quietly making profound contributions to the Charlotte community. Beyond age lies a wealth of wisdom, and the 40 Over 40 Awards magnify the power of experience. We had 137 eligible individuals nominated this year. These are the individuals who have navigated the lessons of their 20s and 30s, using that knowledge to fuel meaningful change in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. With the help of our roster of first-class sponsors - U.S. Bank, Ducie Stark of Dickens Mitchener Residential Real Estate, By George Communications, AC Creative Collective, and Charlotte ToolBank - we would like to announce this year's class of 40 Over 40 Nominees: Bryan Adams Montez?Alford? Alexandra Arrington Rodrick?Banks Suzanne Bereis Gilberto Bergman Angela?Best? Christopher Boe Carla Boles Kurt Bouley Marcus Brimley Jessica Bronzert Andy Bunn Amanda Burch Kristy Busija Caroline Calouche Suzanne Canali Shawn Carr Darci Carter Bo Caudill Jada Charley Sherri Chisholm Tiara Cloud Steven Cole Kathie Collins Johnny Conklin Daniel Coston Whitney D'Allaird Jeremy Davids Cary Davis Jennifer De La Jara Adrienne Dellinger Dr. Samantha DeLoache Tayuanee?Dewberry Frank Dominguez Lewis?Donald? Marinn?Esch Susan Evren Whitney Feld Alix?Felsing? Meg Fencil Karen Gipson? Angela Gordon Lori Gougeon Mike Grippo Cherie Grisso Ruth Ann Grissom Nicole Hanks Carol Hardison Hannah Hasan Greg Hatcher Sarah Henderson José Hernández-Paris Brooke Hodge Charles Hollar? Martha Honeycutt Christen Hoover Amy Horner, CPA Betty Howell-Gray, PhD Gregory Jackson Sallie Jarosz Nikki Jarrell Amy Johnson Heather Johnson Sharon Jones Carlos Jorge Nathalie Jorge Kim Lanphear Wendy Laxton Jeremy Letterman Kristen?Lieber Kelly Little Gary Little, MD Allison Lucas Keith Luedeman Spencer Lueders Jason Luker Camille Maara Doug Madar Kim Marks David McGibbon Rodney McGill Phillip McLamb Ayisha?McMillan Cravotta? William McNeely David Middleton Jerry Morris? Cary Murphy Nancy Nicholson Eric Norman ShaVodka Nowacki The Adult Staff of Evolutionary Aquatics Michael Orzech Kathy Pressley Angela Pullom Andrew (Drew) Quartapella Moira?Quinn Tory Raether Joan Randall Marcus Reddrick? Allison Rhodes Jason Rhymer Winston Robinson Hailey Rorie Shaheedah Ross Rodney S. Sadler Jr. Steve Sawyer Sean Seifert Cel Smart Steve Smith? Todd Smith? Ron?Sodoma? Ketan Soni Keith Stanley Gina Stewart Erin Stone Kristi Straw Trish?Stukbauer Amy Sullivan Matt Susong Rachel Sutherland Danyae Thomas Amanda Thompson Blake Van Leer Jill Vande Woude Hogan VanSickle Matt Villmer Lisa Vogel Cherise Walker Clint Watson Kate Weaver Kristi Wells? Emily Wheeler Christopher White June White Venitra White-Dean Donja Williams

This thoughtful card a client sent about my work means the world to me so I had to share it. I couldn't have asked for a better testimonial about the kind of impact I want to have with the groups I work with. If you've checked out my website (www.travisljones.com), you'll see I've been thinking a lot about craft, and framing my work as craft consulting, so I wanted to share a few thoughts on my approach. 1. Craft is Human-centered: My working definition of craft is "the harmony between one’s skills, wisdom and tools meeting the demands of complex realities." Plastics are mass-produced by machines; maples are crafted by a carpenter.? Since nothing is more complex than people, craft consulting starts with understanding the human dynamics in your industry, organization and team as the foundation of any solution. 2. Craft is Critical: The arts and craft movement of the 19th century was largely started in response to industrialization threatening the skilled labor of artisans. We see similar trends now with the rise of AI and scalable learning solutions and the increased desire for transformative and human-centered learning experiences. 3. Craft has Character: When something is crafted, it always has the imprint of the maker. My interdisciplinary tool-kit is one of the ways I create unique experiences in the marketplace. The vast majority of thought leadership in business is shaped by psychologists (and I/O psychologists specifically) so I try to incorporate the work of sociologists, artists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, philosophers, communication studies and other humanities scholars to create more holistic solutions. 4. Craft is Experiential: I see Learning and Development as a part of the massive shift to an experience and attention economy so I specialize in creating experiential, skills-based learning where outcomes are evaluated in real-time through practice. 5. Craft is Crafty: As a solopreneur, I am able to provide high-impact custom experiences faster, and for a fraction of the cost, than larger vendors. If you like tag lines, I combine the best of science with the wisdom from your world to create learning experiences that address exactly what you need, right when you need it.???

I'm still riding the high from a custom workshop I just delivered for the senior leadership team at Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education. As a former educator, it was especially meaningful for me to work with leaders whose work is dedicated to enhancing the learning journeys of so many in the Duke community and beyond. I adopted the centers' commitment to approaching challenging topics through curiosity and creativity in my design. The workshop, Emergent Exchange: The art and science of turning difficult conversations into drivers of innovation, explored what happens when we treat our diverse perspectives as the source for greater innovation, empathy and understanding. In one of my favorite activities, I combined research on feedback with insights from the Critical Response Process from the art world and used LEGOs to model a more human centered approach to feedback (pics below). A special thank you to Stefany Sanders and Yakut Gazi for trusting me to craft something unique and innovative for your team. I'm looking forward to following all the future success of the Center. If you, or your organization, are interested in crafting an experiential learning experience that is tailored to your team and organizational needs, I'd love to explore building something together.