The Art of Becoming

Laura Berland and Evan Harrel join us representing The Center of Compassionate Leadership. In many conversations with security leaders, we have seen more and more emphasis in building empathy into the leadership toolkit. But empathy takes a mindset that is foundational to the core curriculum that the center is using in its association with Cornell University and to its students worldwide.

Laura Berland is the Founder/CEO of the Center for Compassionate Leadership.  She is a weaver of transformative businesses and experiences, as a serial entrepreneur, Fortune 500 executive, meditation teacher, yoga therapist, executive coach, and creator.  Now, through the Center for Compassionate Leadership, she is sharing a new model for our time that melds evidence-based principles of leadership and the latest scientific research with the wisdom of contemplative practices.  Laura has extensive experience in teaching and facilitation with groups including military veterans, entrepreneurs, post-doctoral students, and yoga teachers. She is an E-RYT500 (accredited educator) from Yoga Alliance, and C-IAYT (certified yoga therapist) from International Association of Yoga Therapists. Laura is an alumna of Cornell University and New York University.

Evan Harrel is the Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Compassionate Leadership. He leads the Center’s thought leadership efforts and the integration of scientific and business research into the work of the Center. For the last fifteen years, he has worked in the nonprofit field, including as the executive director of a group of inner-city Houston preschools and of Houston Habitat for Humanity. More recently, as a consultant and board member to several nonprofits, he has focused on developing meaningful measurable outcomes and devising strategies to further organizational mission and impact for a number of clients. Evan has taught about compassion to both nonprofit organizations and for-profit corporate boards.

Prior to beginning work in the nonprofit sector, Evan was an investment manager for over twenty years where he managed a thirty-billion-dollar equity mutual fund. He was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree, with distinction, from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Princeton University.