A Message about COVID-19: Dr. Bowen gave humankind a way to think about, engage with, and adapt to systems crises we face in our world, whether it is COVID-19 or problems we experience in our work and family systems. Time spent studying and understanding the nature of these systems can help us face these challenges with greater wisdom and resiliency.
"And it goes that when one person can focus on self and not focus on what’s wrong with the others, he can serve as a working model for others, then another, then another, and then others will pull up a little bit. And over time they will pull up a fair amount. That is true for the future of the family business, any business." - Dr. Murray Bowen, in conversation with Kathy Wiseman


The Murray Bowen Archives Project is pleased to present Looking Ahead by Looking Back , a webinar that chronicles the history of applying Bowen theory to workplace and organizational systems. For this webinar, Kathy Wiseman and the Murray Bowen heirs are generously making available an archival treasure: a never-heard-before interview Kathy conducted with Dr. Bowen regarding the application of Bowen theory to organizational life. As part of this webinar, Kathy will summarize key themes that have emerged from published works, dissertations, and real-life consultant practices guided by Bowen Theory over the past four decades. She will also examine ways in which past learnings might serve as springboards for continued application and evolution of the theory to organizational systems. 

As a “thank you” for your support, you will receive a transcript of this unpublished interview between Kathy Wiseman and Dr. Bowen prior to the webinar date.

Although Dr. Bowen’s theoretical research began in mental health, it was only a matter of time before his idea of the family as an emotional unit would be expanded to include the idea that work places are emotional systems as well. In 1978, the Georgetown Family Center held the first organizational meeting focused on non-biologically related emotional systems, organized by Kathy Kerr.  Several meetings followed. Forty-two years later, there are still questions to be answered and applications of theory to be made. We invite you to join us in this robust conversation.   
 
One hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will be donated to The Murray Bowen Archives Project (TMBAP).
Name: Looking Ahead by Looking Back: 40 years of Bowen Theory Applied to Work Systems

About: Fundraising for The Murray Bowen Archives Project

Save the Date: September 18, 2020

Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST (5:00pm - 7:00pm UTC)

Registration Fee: $200 per person
Group pricing is available

$75.00 of each registration fee is tax deductible, and its purchaser will receive the appropriate documentation reflecting a charitable contribution to TMBAP.

Can't make it live?
We'll send all participants a link to view the recording for up to 1 month after the event.

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For More Information contact The Murray Bowen Archives Project Board Member, Kent Webb; kent@kentwebb.com
About the Presenter
Developing the most competent families and the professionals that serve them is the overarching goal of Ms. Wiseman’s professional life.

Her leadership at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, The Family Firm Institute, Collaboration for Families Flourishing, and George Washington University allowed her to develop new strategies for assisting families with the challenges they face working together to make decisions for their shared assets – family offices, family businesses, family foundations, trusts, and wealth. She assists family members and their professional(s) to make the next right decision for the assets and the relationships. The foundation of her work is Bowen family systems theory and Zengar Neurofeedback.

Based on the latest studies of the human brain and family relationship systems, Wiseman’s skill-full guidance promotes effective decision making when the stakes are high and emotions cloud possible options.

Wiseman is a faculty member at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, formerly the Georgetown University Family Center. She is the founder and president of Working Systems, Inc., and a founding member and past president of the Family Firm Institute. Wiseman is a cofounder of Navigating Systems, a course for lawyers, accountants, trust officers, and family office executives who want to learn more about family and how families predictably function. Wiseman was in partnership with Charles Collier of Harvard University teaching a course titled “Working with Families of Wealth.”

Wiseman is the co-editor of several books, including Understanding Organizations and The Emotional side of Organizations , both of which are available at the Bowen Center in Washington, DC.

Wiseman received her undergraduate degree in sociology/anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from George Washington University. In the summer of 2015, she attended Burning Man for the first time with two of her children, their spouses and a nephew. She is now considered a Burner.
About The Murray Bowen Archives Project
Dr. Bowen gave his theory as a gift to the world.

The history of The Murray Bowen Archives Project is the story of making that gift a reality. Shortly before Dr. Bowen’s death in 1990, the National Library of Medicine became the repository for his extensive archival records by accepting a collection of early video recordings of interviews with clinical families and accepting the L. Murray Bowen Family Trust donation of the entirety of Dr. Bowen’s archives, including an extensive collection of Audiovisual and paper records that are unprocessed but open for approved researchers.

Dr. Bowen gave his daughter, Joanne Bowen, responsibility for seeing that his archives became a reality. In 1990, Dr. Bowen’s family transported audio and video recordings from his home to the Georgetown Family Center (now The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family) to join a larger collection used by the faculty. This video and audiotape collection is now at the National Library of Medicine. Selections from these videotape recordings are now showcased on TMBAP’s website. The Murray Bowen Archives Project Board of Directors is committed to the raising of funds that will ensure Dr. Bowen’s life works are preserved and accessible to everyone. Learn more about the Archives.