Tana Kjos (MA) brings her unique perspective as a commercial designer to the work of bringing people together to solve problems and imagine solutions. She is one of the co-founders of A Renewal Enterprise, Inc., and one of the original architects of The Renewable OrganizationTM. She is the author of several published articles and co-author of “Reclaiming the V Word: Renewing Life At Its Vocational Core” (Augsburg Fortress, Spring 2009) with Dave Daubert. She did her graduate work in leadership, helped pioneer a national training program for congregational leaders, and spent a decade in hands-on parish ministry. She is a member of the International Federation of Coaches.
Tana studied both business and design at the Harrington Institute of Interior Design in Chicago, IL. What she learned there - including the principles of commitment, collaboration, and creativity - have been shaping her work with leaders and organizations ever since.
After a stint working with design firms in the Chicago loop, where she handled over six million square feet of commercial and retail space, Tana joined the staff of a redeveloping congregation in exurban Chicago. She put design principles to work on the development of a new organizational culture, which she believes led to the success of her second major project - the design build of a new 11,000 square foot community center - which came in at $65 per square foot (half the average cost for similar buildings at the time). Ten years later, Tana was managing the entire day-to-day operation of that growing congregation, including the supervision of professional and support staff members, work teams, and hundreds of volunteers. Along the way, Tana earned a Masters degree in Congregational Mission & Leadership from Luther Seminary in Minnesota. She is the author of "Fearlessness, Faithfulness, and Falsies" (Lutheran Women Today, November 2007) and co-author of Reclaiming the V Word:Renewing Life From Its Vocational Core (Augsburg Fortress, 2009).
"Whether you're talking about the design of public space, print materials, or organizational structures," Tana says, "one of the first rules is that form should follow function. But in too many places form is allowed to drive function. You know that is what's going on when people are resistant to change and you hear them say things like ‘But, we've never done it that way before!' One of my goals is to help people embrace change for the sake of engaging work and world with purpose and passion."
Email Tana at: tkjos@arenewalenterprise.com
