Our People

Gisela Wendling, Ph.D.

CEO

Dr. Gisela Wendling is CEO at The Grove Consultants International. With more than 30 years of experience, she supports leaders, their teams and their organizations to realize visionary futures. She helps her clients to embrace challenges as transformational opportunities and frequently engages people from across stakeholder groups to tap into their intelligence, vision and capabilities to initiate and realize their desired future. Gisela works with senior executives to develop their ability to lead effective change, connect to their own vision, grow their self-awareness and relational skills and increase their capacity to stay centered through turbulent times. Gisela is the author of The Liminal Pathways Study and the co-author of Visual Consulting: Designing and Leading Change. Born and raised in Germany, she has lived in Australia and Canada and spent most of her adult life on the West Coast of the United States.

Bobby Pardini

President

Bobby Pardini supports clients in leveraging The Grove’s service and training options to meet their objectives. He has worn many hats in his 30+ years in the organization, including project manager, communications-designer, product-developer and writer/editor. He has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia and a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined The Grove Consultants International in 1990.

David Sibbet

Founder

David Sibbet has been an organizational consultant and information designer since 1977. He is the author of John Wiley & Sons' four-volume Visual Facilitation Series as well as many of The Grove's leading-edge group-process tools and models for facilitation, team leadership and organizational transformation. David is a master facilitator of large-scale group processes, strategic visioning and creative, future-oriented symposia. He frequently lends his coaching and design expertise to Grove project teams. His practice is informed by eight years of public affairs leadership development with the Coro Northern California Center for Civic Leadership. He holds a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a B.A. in literature from Occidental College.

Erik Rolland, Ph.D.

Senior Consultant

Dr. Erik Rolland is a senior consultant, advisor and facilitator who works with organizational leaders and teams to guide change and innovation. He supports leaders in developing excellence in their organizations through his passion for making people and organizations better. Over more than three decades, he has supported organizational leaders across four continents and in a multitude of industries, including high-tech, banking, healthcare, government, non-profits and higher education.

Ronita Johnson

Advisor

Ronita Johnson has worked in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for over 35 years. She began her DEI career as Manager of Diversity for Pacific, Gas & Electric Company where she was responsible for training and development of the company’s 20,000 employees. She began consulting externally in 1993 with a focus on cultural assessments, awareness training & development, strategic planning, diversity dialogue and coaching.  With a belief that humans must do their own unique personal diversity work, Ronita currently convenes circles of diversity & inclusion that focus on race, culture, intersectionality, trauma, forgiveness and healing. She invites inquiry and reflection, storytelling and creative art into each process of truth telling focused on building relationship, liberation and transformation. She has a B.S. in Psychology from Cal State, Hayward and is a certified coach from New Ventures West.  Ronita brings her lived experience, her VOICE and her passion regarding DEI to The Grove. 

Megan Hinchliffe

Chief Administrative Officer

Megan Hinchliffe brings more than sixteen years of administration experience to her role managing all facets of administration and accounting at The Grove. She has a bachelor's degree in American studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and holds a certificate in human resource management from San Francisco State University. 

Anne Merkelson

Marketing Manager

Anne brings over 17 years of marketing and communications experience to the Grove, in such varied industries as performing arts, higher education, alumni relations and tech. She is endlessly curious about what makes people tick and channels that curiosity into her messaging-strategy work. She has a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a teaching credential from San Francisco State University.

Olivia Sibbet

Administrative Assistant

Olivia supports all aspects of The Grove’s operations from product development and marketing to tech-hosting and workshop support. Olivia is a recent English and Psychology graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. Outside of work, she runs a local writing group in her home base of San Francisco, CA. Her time is best spent talking to people from all walks of life, asking absurd questions and playing table-top role-playing games.