Past Board of Directors

RYAN EWERS

DIRECTOR OF MOSAIC PARTNERSHIPS

Ryan Ewers comes to Idea Connection Systems with a background in organizational psychology and history. Ryan has always had a desire to understand the impact of history and culture on people, as he believes that visualizing patterns of the past empower us as we move forward. Some of his professional interests include ISPI™ development, talent management, culture change and team development, which were realized while working in the areas of human resources, communications, and project management. Additionally, Ryan has a strong commitment to community development, as he regularly contributes his energy to New York based youth programs.

MARGARET ROSENFELD

CHAIR

Maggie Rosenfeld has been involved with Mosaic Partnerships from its inception. The program was started while Maggie was a high school student and even though she experienced the program for the sidelines at first (attending large community and cluster meetings) she immediately saw the impact and wanted to be involved in creating unity in our communities. She went on to get her Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling and later joined Idea Connection Systems to work in creativity and innovation consulting.  When Maggie is not serving on the Odyssey of Humanity board she is helping babies be born as a Doula in the greater New York City area.  

DEBORAH ROSENFELD

SECRETARY

Debbie Rosenfeld was born in Israel and moved to New York City in 1951.

She has been an educator for 20 years, serving communities in both Connecticut and New York. As a graduate of City College New York (New York City, 1963), she taught her first class in New Haven, CT. Later relocating to Rochester, NY, where she resides now with her husband, Robert Rosenfeld and their family. In Rochester, Debbie worked for the public schools teaching children, and started her family. As her family grew, Debbie focused her teaching on pre-school aged children, where she enjoyed a rewarding career helping generations of children learn and prepare for life. Debbie became head teacher of her nursery school and continues today to enjoy seeing her former students, now as young adults. Debbie chose to leave her teaching position in order to raise her own family with Bob Rosenfeld. The Rosenfeld family quickly grew to seven children, with five of these children being adopted.

When her youngest child entered high school, Debbie returned to teaching in the Greece Public Schools. As a teacher of special needs children, a growing demographic, Debbie enjoyed helping children suffering from autism, dyslexia, learning disabilities, and the emotionally challenged.

Concurrent to raising her family and teaching, Debbie has been an active member of the Rochester Baha’i community, where she has served as an assembly member for her Local Spiritual Assembly. Debbie shares her husband’s commitment to diversity and the elimination of all forms of racism. Debbie has helped many small groups interested in adoption and often finds human resources for those struggling with severe food allergies.
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Debbie joined Idea Connection Systems in 2008, as Executive Assistant to the CEO. This position provides her with greater opportunity to spend time with her husband, learn more about his life work, and allows sharing her years of understanding, learning, and witnessing the infant processing stages, which are the early life exchanges of experience and processing that often later form the diverse personality traits of adults. As Executive Assistant, Debbie heavily participated in the Mosaic Partnerships Program, a product designed by Idea Connection Systems to help cities and organizations deal with racial polarization and to find ways to eradicate this destructive force in our society. For the Mosaic Partnership Program in Rochester, Debbie worked on recruiting participants, organizing meetings, interviewing coaches and finally becoming a participant in the very first session that took place in Rochester, New York.

DEREK NOLAN ANDERSON

TREASUER

Derek Nolan Anderson has been an operations and sales business generator in the media and television industry for over 30 years. Over the past two decades in Nashville, he worked at News2 (ABC) for 18 years as Sr. Account Executive, Business Development and National Sales Manager, and as a Marketing Consultant at NewsChannel 5 (CBS) for five years.  In his television sales career, Derek Nolan has developed and billed over $80 million in business with attention to detail with multiple stakeholders to ensure successful social and business enterprise outcomes for clients.
 
Most of his creative energy has been in pursuing cause-marketing projects to help under-served populations. In working with the American Red Cross, Second Harvest Food Bank, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Metro Nashville Health Department, the New Life Fatherhood program, and Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Derek Nolan has made a positive social impact in the community.
 
In the spring of 2014, Derek Nolan formed Streets-Anderson Enterprises, LLC to foster social capital and business development in diverse communities.
 
Over the past fifteen years he has studied innovation and human dynamics, and has been trained and certified in the Innovation Strengths Preference Indicator (ISPI) tool, which is used to map out human traits that foster creativity and success. Having previously served as VP of Sales and Business Development for HumanGrid, Derek Nolan currently consults in Nashville, TN as an ISPI Certified Practitioner.
 
Derek Nolan has served on several non-profit boards, and is currently the treasurer of Odyssey of Humanity, whose mission is to support initiatives that systematically foster inclusion and bridge differences.
 
A background in classical violin performance at Michigan State University and the Eastman School of Music has been a continuing source of inspiration and creativity. Harmony in music, and harmony in diversity can be thought of as having a similar goal: many separate and unique elements working together, resulting in something much greater than its individual parts.
 
Derek Nolan and his wife, Karen, live in Nashville, TN and have two sons.  They enjoy creative connections with gospel choir activities, building bridges in the community, family vacations, and the companionship of their 4-legged friend, Miller.

MIGUEL RIVERA

SENIOR CONSULTANT

As a native of New York City, Miguel grew up observing the rich cultural diversity as naturally seen in the Big Apple. There, Miguel learned to love cultural differences and to appreciate the unique gifts that each culture brings. As an advocate of advancing civilization, Miguel was fascinated by the concept of the Bi-Racial Partnership Program and its potential benefit to society. He believes the program is
something that will help teach society to facilitate cooperation across racial and cultural lines and ultimately lead to greater prosperity for all. Miguel has a Master’s
of Science in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University.
Miguel began in Research & Development where he spent the first 8 years of his career. He spent over 3 years in Sales & Marketing before moving on to
manufacturing management where he’s spent the last 6 years. He is currently Site Leader of ExxonMobil Chemical’s Manufacturing Scale-up Facility in Macedon, NY.
The facility employs over 35 individuals. Believing that the greatest gift one can give to a child is time, Miguel focuses on balancing the needs of his work and family
lives. Miguel is a dedicated husband and father of 4 lovely daughters, Olivia (6 years old), Victoria (4 years old), Arianna (2 years old) and Alysha (4 months). As a former Sunday school teacher of virtues classes for 4- & 5-year-olds, Miguel learned the importance of providing young children with a sound, values-based education.

JASMINE BARKSDALE

CONSULTANT

Debbie Rosenfeld was born in Israel and moved to New York City in 1951.

She has been an educator for 20 years, serving communities in both Connecticut and New York. As a graduate of City College New York (New York City, 1963), she taught her first class in New Haven, CT. Later relocating to Rochester, NY, where she resides now with her husband, Robert Rosenfeld and their family. In Rochester, Debbie worked for the public schools teaching children, and started her family. As her family grew, Debbie focused her teaching on pre-school aged children, where she enjoyed a rewarding career helping generations of children learn and prepare for life. Debbie became head teacher of her nursery school and continues today to enjoy seeing her former students, now as young adults. Debbie chose to leave her teaching position in order to raise her own family with Bob Rosenfeld. The Rosenfeld family quickly grew to seven children, with five of these children being adopted.

When her youngest child entered high school, Debbie returned to teaching in the Greece Public Schools. As a teacher of special needs children, a growing demographic, Debbie enjoyed helping children suffering from autism, dyslexia, learning disabilities, and the emotionally challenged.

Concurrent to raising her family and teaching, Debbie has been an active member of the Rochester Baha’i community, where she has served as an assembly member for her Local Spiritual Assembly. Debbie shares her husband’s commitment to diversity and the elimination of all forms of racism. Debbie has helped many small groups interested in adoption and often finds human resources for those struggling with severe food allergies.
​
Debbie joined Idea Connection Systems in 2008, as Executive Assistant to the CEO. This position provides her with greater opportunity to spend time with her husband, learn more about his life work, and allows sharing her years of understanding, learning, and witnessing the infant processing stages, which are the early life exchanges of experience and processing that often later form the diverse personality traits of adults. As Executive Assistant, Debbie heavily participated in the Mosaic Partnerships Program, a product designed by Idea Connection Systems to help cities and organizations deal with racial polarization and to find ways to eradicate this destructive force in our society. For the Mosaic Partnership Program in Rochester, Debbie worked on recruiting participants, organizing meetings, interviewing coaches and finally becoming a participant in the very first session that took place in Rochester, New York.

LINDA MECCOURI

EXECUTIVE CONSULTANT

With over thirty years of teaching experience at the community college, undergraduate and graduate level, Dr. Meccouri is the recipient of two Endowed Chairs for Teaching Excellence and is highly respected for her creative approaches to leadership and positive change. Linda is a masterful Appreciative Inquiry facilitator using this powerful model of “discovering the positive core of organizations” and moving forward to “planning the preferred future”. 

What she does best is cultivate the strengths of an organization, walking the visionary path with practical feet. Linda has a reputation for getting things done while maintaining integrity and promoting human dignity and offers consulting using a strengths-based, appreciative inquiry approach.

REBEQUA GETAHOUN MURPHY

VICE CHAIR

Rebequa Murphy was born in Ethiopia and has traveled to or lived in 64 countries.
She is a Co-Founder and Director of The African Institute on Leadership and
Governance, and currently serves as a member of the Continental Board of
Counselors for the Americas. She holds a B.A. in Social an Economic Planning from
the University of Alaska, and an M.A. in International Studies with a focus on
Women and Development. Rebequa has extensive experience in the design,
delivery and coordination of training programs in the areas of education, conflict
resolution, creativity, gender, leadership, and change management.

BADI MECCOURI

CONSULTANT

Badí Meccouri is an artist, educator, creative director, music producer, songwriter, graphic designer and activist. His work deals with oneness and identity, be it through original music with his collective and production company The.Wav, or his work in communities around the world speaking and organizing youth groups. Heavily influenced by R&B, Hip-hop, Reggae and Afrobeats, Badí now creates his own unique brand of music for todays generation of diverse listeners. He has had work featured on HipHopDx, Blavity, OkayAfrica, A&R Report, and more. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and has released two full length albums. Born in Massachusetts, Badí has lived in New Mexico, Thailand, New York and is now based in Los Angeles.

CARL STIENBRENNER

LEGAL CONSULTANT

CHARLOTTE CLARK

SECRETARY

Charlotte Clarke is Director of Community Affairs at WOKR 13, Rochester’s ABC affiliate. She is also the creator and producer/host of “Many Voices, Many Visions” a weekly public affairs program celebrating Rochester’s cultural diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, creed, age, gender, gender orientation and ability. A graduate of
Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, Charlotte majored in German and spent her
junior year abroad kindling a lifelong fascination with other cultures. She married a college classmate, a foreign student from East Africa, whose subsequent work with
the United Nations took the family to Jordan, Thailand, Brazil and Kenya. After 13
years living abroad, where she raised two daughters and taught English as a
Second Language, Ms. Clarke returned to the U.S. to complete graduate work in
English and Education to earn permanent teaching certification in German and English. She moved from education to broadcasting in 1984. During her tenure at WOKR, she has received numerous awards including two New York State Emmy
nominations and the National JC Penny-Missouri School of Journalism National
Award for Best Public Service Announcement. She also received the New York
State Broadcasters Association award for “Best Regularly Scheduled Public Service
Program” several years in a row, and in 2000 and 2002 won national recognition
when awarded “Best Regularly Scheduled Public Service Program Markets 31+” by
the National Broadcast Association of Community Affairs. In addition to producing
award-winning television programs, in 1996 Charlotte co-produced a CD of her
original Many Voices theme song featuring Rochester musicians from many
different cultural backgrounds and musical traditions. To date, the theme has been performed in 11 languages and over 40 musical styles illustrating that there are many ways to sing one song, all uniquely beautiful. Ms. Clarke serves on the Board
of the Urban League of Rochester, the Mayor’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity and Young Audiences of Rochester. Her interests are reading and music. Her
hobbies are gardening and photography. Her dream is a world which harmoniously
celebrates all of its parts.

MALIK EVANS

MEMBER

Malik Evans was born and raised in the city and graduated from Wilson Magnet High School before going on to earn his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and his Master’s degree from Nazareth College. The son of parents who were committed to civic activism, Mayor Evans’ dual callings in elected office and the banking industry share the complementary ambitions to help others and share prosperity.

At the age of 23, when he became the youngest person ever elected to the Rochester Board of Education. He served in that role until 2017, including as President of the Board from 2008 to 2013. It was at the School Board that he adopted a mantra that would guide all future decisions in elected office: “We can find solutions to our most pressing challenges by focusing on finding common ground.”

In 2017 he was elected to an at-large seat on the Rochester City Council and held the position through 2021, serving as chair of the Finance Committee.

Mr.  Evans worked as an officer in the banking industry holding various leadership positions at M&T Bank Corporation and ESL Federal Credit Union. He developed a focus to ensure the financial sector responded to the needs of all customers with equity and fairness by ensuring all individuals and businesses have access to the knowledge, tools and information that will help them build a stronger financial future.

DR. FRANCIOS NADER, m.d., mba

MEMBER

Dr. Nader leads Aventis Pharmaceuticals’ Medical Affairs division in North America.
His responsibilities include Medical Research, Clinical Operations, Medical Education, and Medical Communications for marketed products in the US and
Canada. Dr. Nader previously was U.S. Medical Director and vice president, Medical Affairs for Hoechst Marion Roussel North America. Dr. Nader has extensive international experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where he has held senior positions in international sales and marketing, R&D, and licensing in Europe and Canada. He joined Pasteur Vaccines in 1982, where he was head of the
International division. In 1990, Dr. Nader joined Nordic Laboratories in Canada as director of R&D Planning and Administration and served as company secretary for Nordic Merrell Dow Research. Later he was named medical director for Marion
Merrell Dow Canada. In 1993, he moved to the United States and served as vice president, U.S. Medical Affairs for Marion Merrell Dow Inc. In 1995, he assumed the
role of U.S. medical director and vice president of Medical Affairs for Hoechst Marion Roussel North America. Nader holds a French state doctorate in medicine from the French Faculty of Medicine of Beirut, Lebanon. He completed his
education in France, where he received degrees in pharmaceutical marketing and finance. He currently is pursuing a Physician Executive MBA from the University of
Tennessee

REV. GORDON WEBSTER

MEMBER

ROBERT ROSENFELD

FOUNDER

Robert Rosenfeld is driven by his passion and belief that innovation is the lifeblood of every organization. He is firmly convinced that the most critical success factor to nurturing and sustaining innovation lies in an organization’s ability to release the potential of its people. For over 40 years, Bob has dedicated himself to creating environments, which foster the creative, innovative spirit and has developed proprietary approaches and tools that unleash an organization’s potential to innovate. In 1988, he founded Idea Connection Systems Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations make innovation happen through people. He has worked with numerous organizations and at conferences all over the world including Europe, South America, India, APAC and the United States.
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Social Entrepreneur
​In 2001, Bob served on Rochester, NY Mayor William A. Johnson’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity. The Commission was charged to reduce the racial polarization in the City of Rochester. Teamed with a diverse group of business and community leaders, Bob and his Idea Connection Systems team created and developed the “Biracial Partnerships for Community Progress” program, an innovative process for breaking down barriers between races. This later became known as Mosaic Partnerships.

This program has also been implemented in Greensboro, NC in 2004–2005, and in Milwaukee, WI in 2006 to present. The Mosaic Partnershipsâ„¢ program enjoys an overwhelmingly positive response from these communities as it continues to work toward bringing about the genesis of a prejudice-free society. It has received wide attention attracting the interest of other municipalities and several colleges and universities. Mosaic Partnershipsâ„¢ has also attracted interest in Chile, South Africa and India to help resolve long-standing conflicts between groups of people.
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Acknowledgments

• National Defense University Industrial College of the Armed Forces [1983] awarded for his contribution to stimulating Innovation in the Armed Forces.
• Greater Metro Chamber of Commerce [1997]  listed as one of the Top 100 Companies in Rochester, NY.
• Martin Luther King Community Peace Award [2004]  awarded for his contribution to the eradication of prejudice in the Rochester Community.
• Community Renaissance Award [2005] awarded for his contributions for the improvement of race relations in the City of Rochester.
• Excellence in Innovation Award [2008] Innovation Summit held in Mumbai, India.

Active on Boards of Directors Bob currently serves and has served on the boards of many local and national organizations, including the Governing Body of the Baha¡’­s of Rochester, New York, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Eastman Commons (creating homes for the homeless), and is the founder of Odyssey of Humanity, a not-for-profit enterprise that promotes racial harmony and inclusion in cities or companies. He is also a founding member of Association for Managers of Innovation and has served on the Creativity International Advisory, Board and Green Acre Bahai’s School Advisory Council, and Diversified Technologies Resources, Inc.
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Bob’s Personal Commitments Bob’s personal commitment to helping society and his neighbors is another lifelong passion. For over 30 years, Bob and his family have shared their home to help individuals with their personal transformation and transitions in their lives. Over 130 people have lived with their family; some staying as part of the household for as long as five years. The blend of people Bob has sheltered includes immigrants moving to the US, struggling college students, the recently released from incarceration, and some facing short term difficulties who need a refuge. The Rosenfeld family and the business share a common mission: releasing the creative potential of people and fostering unity within the world.

Bob and his wife Debbie have been married for over 30 years. They have seven children, five of whom are adopted, and six grandchildren who live in Rochester, New York. The diversity of their family is a true reflection of the world today and inspires Bob to continue to understand humankind and find ways to cope with the struggles facing modern society.