The Collaboration Code

Strategies and Science to Shift Conflict and Change into Collaboration and Community

A College-Accredited Course with Degree Units & Certificate.

Program Overview

U.S. employees spend about 2.8 hours per week dealing with workplace conflict, costing roughly $359 billion annually in paid hours. 85% report experiencing workplace conflict.
Many transformation efforts fail when there is not enough engagement from employees or support from leadership. Research shows that their efforts fail about 70% of the time, emphasizing the need for behavior-aware approaches.

The Collaboration Code equips leaders to navigate the complex intersections of conflict, change, and culture with precision and purpose. Grounded in behavioral science and organizational strategy, it provides actionable frameworks to decode dynamics, channel conflicts into collaboration and innovation, and create connections with cross-cultural communities as a competitive advantage. Participants gain the insight and Tools to align teams, deepen trust, and build ecosystems of cooperation that extend beyond their own organizations.

Course Topics Include:

Culture of Conflict: Build awareness of how workplace norms, behaviors, and beliefs shape conflict—and learn how to transform tension into insight and progress. Resolve conflict strategically to transform “us vs. them” into “us vs. the problem.”
Culture of Change: Reframe disruption as an opportunity by leading with clear narratives, empathy, and adaptive communication. Navigate change with resilience to turn resistance into growth
Culture of Collaboration: Strengthen voice, trust, and mutual accountability across silos through intentional communication and shared problem-solving. Master tough decision-making to align actions with values under pressure.
Culture of Community: Create belonging across teams and industries by connecting people, purpose, and performance into one unified culture. Activate cross-industry community to build bridges across functions and external networks.

Program Format & Uniqueness

This program offers a unique educational experience comprised of eight strategic dimensions and deliverables:

Accredited College Credentials & Multi-University Certificate

Earn an accredited college certificate and degree units (transferable to a degree or CEUs) and a formal transcript. Why limit your credentials to one university? Elevate is a multi-university partnership that includes the University of California Office of the President—MESA.

Job-Related & Competency-Connected

Our practical learning outcomes directly align with your specific job roles, ensuring you can apply new skills immediately.

Advising & Coaching with Executives (ACE)

Gain confidential, small-group access to executives from major organizations. Receive targeted advising for your career and leadership development (often 4:1, or 1:1 for stand-out engagement).

Experiential & Interactive Learning

Engage in high-velocity interactions with fellow cohort members, expert faculty, and executive-level guest speakers.

Individualized Assessments

Take personalized assessments tailored to your professional needs, paired with actionable insights for immediate growth.

Customized Report

Receive a data-driven report to showcase your growth and ROI directly to your managers and colleagues.

Continuous Learning Toolkit & Events

Access a toolkit of learning ad networking opportunities, including exclusive follow-on sessions to propel your momentum.

Publication Opportunities

Spotlight your expertise in Elevate’s publications, positioning you as a cited industry professional.

Upcoming Courses

All locations connect in three shared virtual sessions.

This creates a cross-industry advisory community for all cohorts.

Southern California

The Collaboration Code

Strategies and Science to Shift Conflict and Change into Collaboration and Community

📅 Thu & Fri, April 30 & May 1, 2026
📍 Anaheim, California
🕒 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM PT
🎓 Individual Course, 2 Degree Credits
💳 $3,000

Northern California

The Collaboration Code

Strategies and Science to Shift Conflict and Change into Collaboration and Community

📅 Thu & Fri, May 14 & 15, 2026
📍 Oakland, California
🕒 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM PT
🎓 Individual Course, 2 Degree Credits
💳 $3,000

Mid-Atlantic States

The Collaboration Code

Strategies and Science to Shift Conflict and Change into Collaboration and Community

📅 Thu & Fri, June 4 & 5, 2026
📍 Washington, DC
🕒 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET
🎓 Individual Course, 2 Degree Credits
💳 $3,000

Virtual, Live on Zoom

The Collaboration Code

Strategies and Science to Shift Conflict and Change into Collaboration and Community

📅 June 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, & 24, 2026
📍 Virtual, Live on Zoom
🕒 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM PT
🎓 Individual Course, 2 Degree Credits
💳 $3,000

Meet the Faculty

Dawn Garibaldi

Faculty, Elevate

Christine Itano-Cosner

Faculty, Elevate

Dr. Charles Moore Jr.

Business Owner & Corporate Director

Vu H. Pham, PhD

CEO of Spectrum Knowledge & Chair of Elevate

“Live a PURPLE life!”

Founder of the Elevate tagline:
“Purpose + People = PURPLE™“

Shannon Snowden

Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Wellbeing

Executive Advisors

Executive Advisors will join the three virtual follow-on sessions (see dates in the Program Format), allowing participants to network with them in Zoom breakout rooms. Some may also join in person locally.

Karim Adatia

Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Insight

Denise Agatep, LCSW

Behavioral Health Director, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Early Developmental Screening Program (EDSP),
Kaiser Permanente

In-person in Oakland, CA

View bio ->

Thomas Ahn

Executive Director, MESA
University of California, Office of the President

View bio ->

Bharat Amin, NACD.DC

Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) (Retired),
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Member, Board of Trustees,
The Aerospace Corporation

View bio ->

Jason Aranda

Vice President of Clinical IT Solution Delivery, Providence Health, Providence

View bio ->

Loida Begley

Director, Nuclear Materials Integration Division, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Shirani Benitez

Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Cheryl Biagini

Senior Director, Northrop Grumman Corporation

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Stephen Bieda

Acting Deputy Director, NOAA Center for Artificial Intelligence

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Sophia Bright

Vice President of Engineering for the Government Services Division, Boeing Global Services, The Boeing Company

View bio ->

Daniela Castanotto

Faculty, City of Hope

In-person in Irvine, CA

Premeela “Prem” Chacko

IDT&S E&PS Director Product Support, The Boeing Company

In-person in Mukilteo, WA

View bio ->

David Chao

Director, Strategy & Business Development, Northrop Grumman Corporation

Jessica Choi

Senior Director, Field D&I, Asian Segment, Northwestern Mutual

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Angela Chung

Director of Digital Platforms & AI Adoption, Motorola Solutions

In-person in Irvine, CA and Mukilteo, WA

View bio ->

Feby Collins

Program Manager, U.S. Department of the Army

In-person in Washington, DC

Anna Cordrey

Deputy Program Manager, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

View bio ->

Nancy Diaz

DEIAB & EEO Officer, Environmental & Social Justice Director – Executive Division, California Public Utilities Commission

In-person in Irvine, CA

Wei Ding

Sr. Product Manager, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

In-person in Washington, DC

Norman Eng

Vice President Industry Strategy,
Siemens Government Technologies

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Bo English-Wiczling

Vice President, PayPal

In-person in Mukilteo, WA

View bio ->

Mark Esguerra

Director of Transmission and Substation Engineering, Southern California Edison

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Randy Fields

Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Ultra Intelligence and Communications

Gene Fraser

VP Programs Quality and Engineering (Retired), Northrop Grumman Corporation

In-person in Irvine, CA

Maricela “Mari” Garcia

Supervisory Project Portfolio Manager, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Sabina Garde

Senior Director, Sales Enablement & Operations, Sales Strategy & Operations, Kaiser Permanente

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Sean Gil

Director, Career Center,
University of California, Riverside

View bio ->

Ian Gilkerson

Executive Director Digital Engineering, The Boeing Company

Dr. Candace Givens

Sector Vice President of Quality and Mission Assurance (Retired), Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems

View bio ->

Allen “Al” Goshi

Deputy Associate Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Ebony Grey

Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

In-person in Washington, DC

Michelle Chung Hart

EEO Chief, Former U.S. Department of Agriculture

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Sheila Archambault Helke

Chief of Staff, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Vivian Hoang

Application Delivery Services – Technical Shared Services & Delivery (TSSD), Sr. Director of Demand Management, Governance, & SharePoint Svcs,
Kaiser Permanente

Michael Huff

Asst Admin Ops SCPMG • Medical Office Administration, Kaiser Permanente

In-person in Anaheim, CA

View bio ->

Christine Itano-Cosner

Faculty, Elevate

View bio ->

Albert “Bert” Lacher

AI Technology Enablement, Product Management, Verizon Business Group

In-person in Irvine, CA

Albert “Bert” Lacher

AI Technology Enablement, Product Management, Verizon Business Group

In-person in Irvine, CA

Angela Li

Executive Director of Software Engineering, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, The Boeing Company

View bio ->

Eileen Yu-Chen Lin

Senior Partnerships Officer, Ed Advancement

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Michelle Linares

Senior Vice President of Workforce Engagement & Impact, Pacific Clinics

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

MyMy Lu

Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, PetCo

View bio ->

Marvin Maldonado

Interim Deputy Director, MESA
University of California, Office of the President

In-person in Irvine, CA

Danielle McNamara

Assistant Director, Strategic Communications, MESA
University of California, Office of the President

Kevin Mitchell

Chief Executive Officer / Founder, MfgChainX
Senior Vice President Global Technical Operations (Retired), The Boeing Company
Sector Vice President, Global Operations/ Executive Leadership Team (Retired), Northop Grumman Corporation

Esmeralda Mora

System Director of Hace Program, Health Access and Comminity Enrichment, City of Hope

View bio ->

Todd Newton

Medical Director and Chief of Staff, Kaiser Permanente

In-person in Anaheim, CA

View bio ->

Loan Ngo

Vice President of Quality, Henkel – Adhesive Technologies

In-person in Irvine, CA

Minh Nguyen

Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration

In-person in Washington, DC

View bio ->

Glenn Oyoung

Chief Marketing Officer, Covered California

In-person in Irvine, CA

View bio ->

Tuition Support & Reimbursement

Secure your spot with no upfront payment required.

We offer tuition deferment/financial aid, early bird rates, and tuition reimbursement guidance through your employer.

1

Register for Your

Chosen Program

No upfront payment required.

No cancellation fees—full flexibility.

Go to the Elevate website and complete the registration form for your chosen course.

2

Apply for Tuition Assistance or Reimbursement/Vouchers

Submit the course, review your organization’s requirements (e.g., manager approval, payment options, annual benefit limits), and wait for approval.

3

Attend & Complete

the Program

Join the class, participate fully, and complete the program.

Upon completion, you’ll receive your transcript, ledger, and certificates from Pacific College.

4

Submit for

Reimbursement

Submit the documents to your tuition portal for reimbursement or direct payment, per your company’s policy.

NOTES:

Not all organizations require manager approval.
Be sure to check your annual benefit limit, payment methods, and repayment options.
This course provides degree-bearing units in Business Administration.
Transcripts, certificates, and receipts will be issued by Pacific College, a WASC-accredited institution.

In fairness, I attended the class in person. My rating was based on experiencing the dynamic surveys and conversations. Great learning and powerful messages from the facilitators. Would recommend to all!

Engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm—be bold, be a risk-taker, and learn to let things go or walk away. This was one of the best classes!

The book is great! The leadership skills, toolbook, and strategies are helping me lead my team more effectively.

A lot of assessment tools that I can use to evaluate myself and better align with my boss, organization, and customers.

The instructor found ways to adapt to the natural discussion while introducing new points from the course and showing how they could be applied. It was versatile and highly applicable!

The instructor was fantastic! Even though this was a late class for me, their consistent energy encouraged everyone to participate. It was a truly great course—filled with practical examples that were easy to follow and immediately applicable to my work. I really appreciated the high energy and the clear, useful insights. Excellent session overall!

Loved the course! I’ll be putting the tools into practice for my team meetings. Great session—very helpful!

The instructor is one in a million—bringing together talent, wisdom, and charisma. An inspiring team with truly exceptional value. I especially loved the standing exercises—they kept the blood flowing, energy high, and engagement strong.

Networking was excellent, with amazing guest speakers from various industries. I loved it and only wish I had invited more people! I'm also interested in becoming an ambassador or sponsor.

I appreciated the instructor making themselves so available to us—even during breaks. They’ve got a lot of energy! 😊 It really helped me gain clarity, especially during the discussion around retirement as a false picture.

Good interaction. Breaks and roadmaps—where are we going? Outsourcing. Focus on high performers. Power line/environmental advantages.

Very eye-opening. Shared ways to look at every situation differently. Very engaging conversations and examples. Dynamic speaker. Relevant materials for the audience. Had a great time. Thank you so much for the information and tools.

Very useful in providing clear, understandable data. The in-class activities were a great way to deepen my understanding of the topics. What I learned will definitely help me in the long run of my career. I'm thankful for the gems I gained from this class and eager to apply them to my role.

Loved the collaboration shared by all—it helped us learn additional skillsets within the module. The flowcharts were helpful for strategizing.

The real-life examples were effective and helped get the message across. I think the class really resonated with me when I realized that reaching the executive level wasn’t everyone’s goal. It became more personal. The class was very informative and great for growth and development.

We learned more about ourselves through the breakout rooms. I realized I need to develop a better relationship with my boss.

Fantastic course—tailored perfectly to meet our needs! How do I become an adjunct instructor for this course? I want to teach this content to others. Outstanding. Thank you!

This is a very informative class and the best presenter I have ever had or attended. I would not mind if the time went longer because the knowledge he presented is powerful. I am very pleased with everything he presented in the class.

It was incredibly beneficial to hear others’ insights and real-world experiences during the class discussions. The tools introduced will be helpful for prioritizing what matters most and managing workload to reduce stress. The instructor did a great job leading this course!

I’m grateful for these courses—they helped me identify areas of opportunity to work on, as well as areas where I’m already doing well. I especially appreciated the real-life applications of the models and tools. I’m extremely thankful to the Elevate team!

Super engaging and relatable. Very engaging and fun content. People were very open and forthcoming with their stories. Great session—exceeded my expectations.

The program allowed me to look at the background of where I am and gave me tools to make specific changes. The instructors were phenomenal. They had a very casual way of showing us how to look at ourselves. I loved the class. Will work to make sure my kids are aware of these pitfalls as well.

Dynamic instructor and excellent materials. I loved the group discussions and felt the online format worked wonderfully. This is my fourth series of classes—loved them all!

I wish we could have spent a little more time going through the various exercises—I really enjoyed the dialogue with the team; it was very insightful. Great tools for my own personal development and for Future Forward leaders (which I can share with my staff). I really enjoyed this session and look forward to others.

Great instructor and focused materials. The decision-making, prioritization, and optimization processes were especially valuable. This is a great class to take at this stage of professional growth.

Best! The open discussions and group activities made the training interactive and interesting. So much knowledge and wisdom from the instructors made the training effective and memorable.

Appreciated the interaction and exercises done in class. The instructors were very approachable and made the content fun. The way they presented the material made the class interesting. I’m learning to shift fear into courage and find my advisory board/sponsorship to help promote me.

Excellent opportunity to join this pilot program. I felt very seen and heard. Collective influence changes the world. Loved this—I'm so fortunate to have participated. This changed my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Upcoming Courses

Eligible for funding through your organization's tuition assistance benefit. No upfront funding or tuition reimbursement application required.

Tuition Support & Reimbursement

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