Tom O’Connor brings an enviable and varied history to the practice of dialogue. He has degrees in law, philosophy, theology and  counseling. He spent nine years as a wandering monk, a friar within the Catholic religious order of the Carmelites. He led of team of 24
chaplains and over 2,000 volunteers who co-created a model of humanistic, spiritual and religious prison chaplaincy within the Oregon Department of Corrections that reduced recidivism. All of this broad experience he brings to his work on Whole System Change.

He draws on David Kantor’s ideas on dialogue, that are so central to the work in the Virginia Correctional System. He also has an in-depth knowledge on how to implement the work of Robert Kegan on adult development and Ron Heifetz on adaptive change. Tom uses Implementation Science to integrate this learning, and to help agencies implement evidence-based practices and sustain change in their cultures. His work on Whole System Change has taken him to many states in the U.S., and to other countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, France and to his country of origin, Ireland.