Marifrances “Gert” Garman has joined Valencia College as director of its Collaborative Design Center, located on the college’s west Orlando campus. “Collaborative design” (or facilitated meetings) is the hot new trend in meeting facilities, giving companies and nonprofits a chance to work with a professional facilitator to troubleshoot, brainstorm and come up with creative solutions.
Garman has more than 10 years experience in leading facilitated meetings, including her most recent post as a “creativity and innovation catalyst” for Disney Destinations, where she facilitated brainstorming sessions and trained fellow cast members in Disney’s Innovation Toy Box for the Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. Prior to that, she worked with the mayor of the city of Orlando, the University of Central Florida Alumni Association and UCF Athletics department.
Garman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a specialization in advertising and public relations from UCF. She is certified as a facilitator in the Creative Problem Solving (CPS), Think X and Five Faces of Genius processes. She regularly attends and speaks at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI), Mind Camp and the Florida Creativity Conference.
To take a virtual tour of Valencia’s Collaborative Design Center.