I have a PhD in Psychology and MBA and a Masters in Psychology and a specialization in Instructional Design. I am a lifelong learner who understood the importance of setting goals and working hard at a very early age. When I was 14 I was a member of the national gymnastics team competing internationally. At 18 I obtained  an academic and athletic scholarship and became a student-athlete. 

 

One of my most memorable experiences as an elite gymnast was at the World Championships. Our team was on the same rotation as the Romanian gymnasts who were then top in the world. I remember feeling excited and energized about the opportunity to face such a strong opponent.  I learned that what makes one resilient is the way we interpret challenges, identifying the necessary skills to face them and setting realistic goals.  

As an elite athlete I also realized the importance of mental toughness and how mental training can make a difference between winning and losing. That is what motivated me to get involved in Sports Psychology working with Olympic athletes, empowering them through the use of specific strategies to improve performance in order to optimize results. 

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Global environments fascinate me. At a very early age I got exposed to different cultures and I learned that there is more than one way to do things right! That is why I enjoy working and teaching across cultures.

Working in executive education and in executive coaching I realized that many of the executives I worked with had  similar challenges as elite athletes do: perform under pressure, managing emotions under high stakes situations, keeping motivated after failure, to name a few.  I found the same situation with my students: they are more than just students in a classroom. They are individuals having personal lives who are looking for ways to grow through education. Therefore, those same strategies that we use with elite athletes are also relevant for executives and other students.  Working in different countries and with clients in many parts of the world requires  tailoring these strategies to specific cultural environments. What works in one culture may need to be modified to work on another one. 

I have also been influenced and fascinated by technology. Early in my career I obtained my first grant to work with experts in Artificial Intelligence to develop a simulation for Leadership Development.  This fascination with technology has accompanied me throughout all of my career  in many aspects, whether it is through the design, delivery and evaluation of impact of e-learning, the use of expert systems for global business, and lately through the use of virtual reality for global skills development.

 

I am currently working on a second simulation using virtual reality where users can become executives from different nationalities, genders, perspectives, and they are placed in immersive scenarios where negotiations need to happen considering  cultural competence and specific skills.  Virtual reality provides a "safe" immersive environment where new skills can be put into practice while receiving feedback according to the users' decisions.
My passion is in using education and technology to empower others through education. I believe in the power of a growth mindset where the teacher becomes a partner in the discovery of students' new skills. We have to meet students where they are. 

Email: Ivonne_Chirino-Klevans@kenan-flagler.unc.edu

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