Instructor
Besides being on the Saturday Degree Completion Program faculty team, Barbara Widhalm currently also teaches at Peralta Community College District, St. Mary's College of California and John F. Kennedy University. Originally from Vienna, Austria, she has a Bachelors in languages with a minor in environmental economics, a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico and earned a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning and Change from the California Institute of Integral Studies. As a global citizen who has lived, studied, and worked in Russia, Austria, and the U.S. she has a passion for the wellbeing of the planet and all its inhabitants. Her dissertation research focused on designing dynamic learning experiences that congruently mimic living systems in learning content, process, and structure. She brings 20 years of experience working in social, environmental, and economic sustainability in various nonprofit and educational settings. She is also the owner of a small cottage food bakery making gluten-free low-and no-sugar treats derived from traditional Viennese recipes. She is also the proud mom of a recent high-school graduate who is about to embark on a global gap year.