Creative Problem Solving Institute 2026: Full Schedule

2:00pm EDT

Intelligent Collaboration: Human + AI for ELEVATE-ing your Creative Problem Solving Practice

Monday June 15, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

In this dynamic, hands-on session, participants will discover how human creativity and AI’s analytical power can work together to accelerate the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process. Leveraging the AI tool Sluice AI and CPS principles, attendees will engage in experiential exercises that demonstrate how AI can amplify ideation without replacing human insight. This workshop introduces a practical AI tool and frameworks for accelerating organizational innovation, enabling smarter, faster, and more impactful solutions. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to blend technology and creativity for breakthrough results.

*If you have a laptop, it would be great for you to bring it to this session*

Takeaways

Human-in-the-Loop Innovation: Understand how combining human judgment with AI-driven insights enhances creative problem solving in real-world contexts.
Practical Tools: Learn to use Sluice AI and other tools to Explore Data, Clarify the Problem, Ideate, and Develop Solutions quickly and effectively.
Integration Strategies: Gain strategies for embedding AI into creative workflows without sacrificing human perspective.

Presenters

Hallie Brinkerhuff

Sr Director R&D and Innovation, Zimmer Biomet

A 25-year career fostering innovation in the Medical Technology industry to solve unmet patient needs. A passion for creativity, technology and encouraging growth in others. Wife, mother, youth group leader, STEM champion, service dog trainer.

Rush Bartlett

Co-founder, CEO, Sluice AI

Rush Bartlett is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sluice AI, where he combines human-centered innovation with AI to dramatically accelerate the creative problem solving process. Over the past 15+ years, he has helped startups, Fortune 500 companies, and hospital systems turn unmet needs into... Read More →

Monday June 15, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Current Topics, Process Tools & Techniques

2:00pm EDT

Reframing Creativity at Work: Turning Pushback into Possibility

Monday June 15, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Creativity often gets a bad rap in corporate and educational settings, dismissed as frivolous or irrelevant. This interactive 90-minute session will explore how to reframe creativity as a vital, strategic tool for solving today’s complex challenges. Drawing on the principles of Positive Creativity, participants will learn to shift perceptions, build buy-in, and demonstrate the tangible value of creative thinking. Whether you’ve faced resistance from a client, manager, or colleague, this session will equip you with the tools to advocate for creativity with confidence and clarity.

Takeaways

Reframing Creativity: Learn to position creativity as a strategic, results-driven approach rather than a "soft skill."
Positive Creativity Tools: Discover practical techniques to overcome resistance and build enthusiasm for creative thinking in the workplace.
Actionable Advocacy: Leave with a personalized plan to communicate the value of creativity to skeptics in your organization or community.

Presenters

Kim Marie McKernan, MBA, MS

Founder, Inspired Outcomes Now LLC

Kim is an international marketing leader, facilitator, and presenter. She left a career as a marketing executive at a 3 billion company to found her business, Inspired Outcomes Now, to help organizations be more positive, creative, and strategic. Over 125 organizations and individuals have leveraged her A Nu Way™ Branding and Co-Creating the Future processes to stand apart and design their desired future. With an MBA from SUNY at Buffalo, an MS in Creative... Read More →

Monday June 15, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Process Tools & Techniques

4:00pm EDT

Implementation Lab: Getting Ideas—and Intentions—Done

Monday June 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Why do good ideas so often fail to become finished work?
This hands-on session explores the creative challenges of implementation, exploring five common reasons meaningful goals and projects stall—and what helps them move forward. Using Creative Problem Solving tools and guided reflection, you will reframe and rework a current goal in real time, building clarity, traction, and a more workable path toward action.

Takeaways:
Participants will:

Identify why a current goal or idea is stalled and where implementation breaks down
Apply Creative Problem Solving tools such as mind mapping, action planning, and assistors/resistors—to redesign a goal for traction and follow-through.
Leave with a clearer, more workable path forward they can begin implementing immediately

Presenters

Kathy Goller

Life & Leadership Coach, Facilitator & Presenter, Teal Horizon Coaching

Kathy Goller is a life and leadership coach who helps people who are stuck, stretched, or starting something new to live and work in a way that’s more purposeful and productive so that they can lead and serve others more generously. With 20+ years of personal and leadership development experience... Read More →

Monday June 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Personal Growth, Process Tools & Techniques

4:00pm EDT

Pattern Theft: A Cross-Domain Problem Solving Experience

Monday June 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

What if your next breakthrough comes from a place you've never considered before? This hands-on workshop teaches the mindset and tools needed to systematically find creative ideas and solutions by recognizing patterns across unrelated domains. Through live exercises and real problem solving, participants will practice pattern recognition both with and without AI tools, experiencing firsthand how strategic "theft" produces solutions that pure brainstorming can't. This is a new approach to creative problem solving. You'll want an AI tool handy on your phone or laptop.

Takeaways:

Learn a repeatable framework for finding creative solutions by recognizing patterns across unrelated industries and domains.
Get firsthand experience using AI as a creative accelerant, expanding your "theft radius" far beyond your own knowledge and experience.
Develop the mindet and skills needed for pattern recognition in a human-AI world that is effective and solves real problems.

Presenters

Prashant Anilkumar

Founder/Speaker, Beyond Singular

Monday June 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Education, Process Tools & Techniques

2:00pm EDT

Co-Create to Elevate: Designing Better Services Through Shared Creativity

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

In this workshop, participants will explore how to use creative collaboration and design thinking to transform the way government and public institutions deliver services. Through an immersive design sprint simulation, attendees will learn how to bring together staff, citizens, and leaders to co-design people-first solutions that stick.

Takeaways

Experience the impact of co-creation on problem solving and alignment.
Learn facilitation techniques to foster creativity and inclusion.
Identify ways to adapt design thinking for complex government challenges.

Presenters

Ponja Hoxha Ocumarez

Principal experience researcher

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Current Topics, Process Tools & Techniques

2:00pm EDT

Storytelling for Impact: Elevate How You Communicate Through the Creative Problem Solving Process

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

The most compelling storytellers do more than inform—they shift perspectives, spark emotion, and catalyze action. TEDx Talks provide great examples. This workshop teaches participants how to design powerful, audience-centered stories using the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process as a backbone for crafting impactful narratives. Through hands-on exercises, participants transform a personal or professional insight into a compelling talk outline that elevates ideas and connects deeply with listeners. Attendees leave with a structured storytelling method they can use in classrooms, boardrooms, and stages of all kinds, even TEDx.

Takeaways

A repeatable storytelling framework based on each stage of the Creative Problem Solving process.
A draft TEDx-style talk outline built in-session using tools for insight generation, reframing, and story shaping.
Techniques to elevate message clarity, emotional resonance, and narrative flow for greater audience impact.

Presenters

Christa Heydt-Hernandez

Founder and Principle Consultant, Idea Alchemy

New to independent contracting and freelance work. I help organizations, teams, and individuals who have a challenge or problem to solve and do not think they have the tools or time to solve it. I work with clients to: Position the user first, whether customer, employee or individual... Read More →

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Process Tools & Techniques, Personal Growth

2:00pm EDT

The Right Strength at the Right Stage

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

It’s not a question of IF you are creative, it’s a question of HOW you are creative. In what ways can you leverage your unique talents in the creative problem solving process? Through guided reflection and process mapping, you will examine how your CliftonStrengths talent themes support—or sometimes complicate—different stages of the Creative Problem Solving process. You’ll learn how you are wired to make a unique and valuable contribution to problem solving processes and help teams achieve better outcomes.

Note: It will be helpful for participants to come to the session knowing their top 5 talent themes from Gallup’s CliftonStrengths Assessment.

Takeaways:
Participants will gain:
1) Clarity about where their strengths are most powerful in the CPS process—and where they may need to adapt or partner
2) Greater awareness of what supports or drains their energy at different CPS stages
3) Practical insight into how diverse strengths can be intentionally leveraged on creative teams

Presenters

Kathy Goller

Life & Leadership Coach, Facilitator & Presenter, Teal Horizon Coaching

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Personal Growth, Process Tools & Techniques

2:00pm EDT

Unlocking the Power of Constraints: How Limits Make Us More Creative

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Creativity is often sparked not by unlimited freedom, but by meaningful constraints. In this interactive workshop, participants experience how limits on time, materials, and rules can actually increase innovation through hands-on design challenges. Drawing on Creative Problem Solving principles and Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, this session will reveal how identifying and leveraging limitations can unlock new possibilities. Participants will leave with practical strategies for using constraints as powerful tools for creativity, problem solving, and systems improvement in any context.

Takeaways

Constraints are catalysts, not barriers.

Participants will understand that thoughtfully designed limits can focus thinking, increase originality, and lead to stronger creative outcomes.

Identifying the constraint unlocks improvement.

By experiencing and reflecting on "bottlenecks" in hands-on challenges, participants learn to recognize leverage points in creative processes, teams, and systems.

Creativity thrives at the intersection of structure and imagination.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for balancing freedom and structure to improve problem solving, collaboration, and innovation in real-world contexts.

Presenters

Nicole Wagner

Director of STREAM Programming, NativityMiguel Middle School of Buffalo

Nicole Wagner is the Director of STREAM Programming at NativityMiguel Middle School of Buffalo, where she designs hands-on, creativity-driven learning experiences that integrate problem solving, collaboration, and 21st-century skills. She is currently completing a Master’s degree... Read More →

Tuesday June 16, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Education, Personal Growth

4:00pm EDT

Beyond the Ordinary: Elevating Your Creative Identity Through Archetypes

Tuesday June 16, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

In a world of AI-generated sameness, your creative identity is what elevates you above the noise. This experiential workshop uses archetypal frameworks—rooted in Jung, Campbell, and modern brand psychology—to help you discover and articulate the distinctive character that makes you extraordinarily you. Through visual exploration, guided reflection, and structured storytelling, you'll craft a clear "personality signature" that brings dimension and authenticity to how you show up as an entrepreneur, educator, creative professional, or changemaker.

Takeaways

Your Archetypal Identity – A clear understanding of the two archetypes that define your creative character, complete with a simple framework that captures your unique personality beyond generic descriptors
Your Authentic Story – A compelling narrative that articulates who you are at your core, what drives you, and the distinctive role you play in others' lives—ready to elevate your pitches, profiles, and presentations
Your Elevation Plan – Three concrete, actionable ways to bring your creative identity to life immediately, from reimagining your email signature to redesigning your next workshop or pitch deck"

Presenters

Amie Dowker

SVP, Integrated Strategy, Dentsu Creative

Tuesday June 16, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Personal Growth

4:00pm EDT

Elevate the Invisible: How What We Don’t Say Shapes Creative Leadership

Tuesday June 16, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Most leadership and creative breakdowns don’t come from bad ideas—they come from unspoken assumptions, invisible power dynamics, and communication habits we don’t notice. This session helps participants elevate the invisible layers of communication so teams can think more creatively, collaborate more bravely, and lead more consciously.

Takeaways:

Notice what’s shaping the conversation before words appear
Recognize how creativity rises or falls based on subtle leadership signals
Interrupt default patterns that quietly limit innovation

Presenters

Katharine Rumrill-Teece

Professor / Facilitator, Onondaga Community College

Katharine Rumrill-Teece is an accomplished Trainer, Facilitator, and Professor of Communication with over 30 years of experience leading impactful workshops and training programs. With a Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication & Conflict Resolution and a Doctorate in Executive... Read More →

Tuesday June 16, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Process Tools & Techniques, Education

2:00pm EDT

Language of Renewal™: Using Narrative Intelligence to Expand Creative Capacity

Wednesday June 17, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Narrative is one of the most under-used tools in applied creativity. This workshop introduces Language of Renewal™, a framework that helps participants reframe complexity and ambiguity through metaphor, story structure, and reflective creativity practices. Through hands-on exercises, participants learn how narration can discover insight, reduce cognitive rigidity, and strengthen creative problem-solving. The session blends research and experiential learning to help educators, leaders, and practitioners integrate narrative-based creativity into their work.

Takeaways

How to use metaphor, reframing, and story-mapping to enhance creative problem-solving.
Practical methods for helping students, teams, or clients navigate ambiguity by reshaping the “story” of a challenge.
A replicable framework (Language of Renewal™) for integrating narrative intelligence into teaching, leadership, and innovation.

Presenters

Michelle Wicmandy

Global Marketing Campaigns Manager, KBC (A Yokogawa Company)

Michelle Wicmandy, DBA is a global marketing and communications strategist who helps organizations communicate complexity with clarity. Her work integrates applied creativity, sustainability communication, and narrative design to strengthen engagement and leadership impact. She is... Read More →

Frederik Hertel

Associate Professor, Aalborg University (Denmark)

Wednesday June 17, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Education, Process Tools & Techniques

4:00pm EDT

A Historical Perspective of Divergence and Convergence

Wednesday June 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is a process with many hidden gifts and coping mechanisms to fact today's challenges. This experiential and interactive session will explore the evolution, revolution and application of Divergence and Convergence in CPS in every aspect of our daily lives, if we are willing to take the plunge. We will take a deep dive in the intricacies of divergence and convergence and leave with a self-constructed personal plan for implementation. Come open --minded, open-hearted and thirsty for the outcomes.

Takeaways

Taking this deep dive into the history of divergence and convergence helps us understand its potential and power in all aspects of our lives.
Exploring brain theory and emotional intelligence, as they relate to divergence and convergence, facilitates one's pathway to walking into ourselves with tools and skill sets to manage ever-increasing challenges today.
Understanding the importance of self-exploration with this dynamic thinking duo promotes investment, practice, and commitment for success.

Presenters

Joette Field

Consultant, Creative Problem Solving; Retired, Daemen University

Wednesday June 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Current Topics, Process Tools & Techniques, Business

4:00pm EDT

How to Create a Personal AI Assistant for Creative Collaboration

Wednesday June 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

In this session, participants will learn to create their own personal AI assistant by exploring and applying easy-to-use AI tools in ChatGPT. Attendees will learn to enhance their skills in creative problem solving, productivity, and innovation with the help of their personalized AI assistant. We’ll cover the fundamentals of prompt design for creating customized projects for real-world applications. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies to build AI tools that support their unique role in the workplace. They will use their AI assistant to apply the FourSight™ Collaboration model and CPS to amplify their creative thinking and collaboration skills.

Takeaways

Learn how to use ChatGPT to build a personalized AI assistant that supports your unique role, workflow, and creative challenges.
Gain practical strategies to leverage AI as a thought partner—enhancing your creative problem-solving, decision-making, and overall productivity.
Use their new AI assistant to apply the FourSight™ Creative Mind Set Collaboration model and CPS to amplify their creative thinking and collaboration skills.

Presenters

Dr. Greg Buschman

Co-Founder, Strategic Leadership Development

Debbie Buschman, MPA, CDO

Co-Founder, Strategic Leadership Development

Wednesday June 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Breakout Workshops

Program Category Business, Education, Process Tools & Techniques

2:00pm EDT

Charting Your Path Without a Map: Using Deliberate Creativity to Anticipate, Adapt, and Move Forward

Thursday June 18, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Charting Your Path Without a Map invites participants to explore how deliberate creativity can support forward movement when certainty is unavailable and conditions continue to change. Building on the Osborn–Parnes tradition, this live session frames creative problem solving as a shared foundation for anticipating change, adapting with intention, and making progress without waiting for perfect clarity. Designed for both emerging and experienced practitioners, the session elevates how deliberate creativity is understood, taught and practiced-strengthening its relevance and impact in an uncertain future.

Takeaways

Position deliberate creativity, grounded in the Osborn–Parnes tradition, as a shared foundation for anticipating change, adapting with intention, and charting purposeful paths forward in uncertain environments.
Interpret signals that indicate when to persist and when to pivot, using progress, iteration, and learning as feedback to guide creative action rather than waiting for certainty.
Translate key insights from the session into one elevated reframing or teaching move that strengthens how deliberate creativity is practiced, facilitated, or introduced to others.

Presenters