L. Lee Riddell, MS, RD Excels in Higher Education Administration

SYRACUSE, NY, March 19, 2014 (Press-News.org) L. Lee Riddell, MS, RD, Director of the SUNY Leadership Institute has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in higher education.

Ms. Riddell has 15 years of professional experience, with three years as a director of the SUNY Leadership Institute. Over the years, she has established herself as an expert in leadership development, as well as sustainability, women's leadership, campus-based leadership, strategic planning, program design, and public speaking. She has also gained significant skills in contemplative leadership and indigenous leadership. On a daily basis, she holds leadership conferences for SUNY senior leaders while conducting executive leadership conferences and creating new programs. Ms. Riddell is also involved in succession planning with the SUNY system and its colleges.

Ms. Riddell feels that the highlight of her career was her program coordination of medical supplies for Dr. Patch Adams to Indira Gandhi Childrens' Hospital in Afghanistan; bringing together healthcare, education, government, religion and industry to accomplish the goal.

Prior to joining SUNY Leadership Institute, Ms. Riddell facilitated educational seminars at CBORD (an international software company) and was the director of the Institute for Community College Development at Cornell University, where she also managed the International Global Seminar on Sustainable Development and participated in an international gathering of university professors from six countries to discuss how to educate students on sustainability efforts across the globe.

Ms. Riddell has also studied sustainability leadership internationally and traveled to Honduras as part of a medical relief team after Hurricane Mitch. She has worked as a journalist for Positive News.
Ms. Riddell is a recognized innovator in crafting and delivering cutting-edge leadership development programming for higher education professionals. She is the co-developer of the first research-based leadership programs for mid- to senior-level practitioners, adopted by the nation's largest unified system of colleges and universities. She pioneered the replacement of conventional "one size fits all" leadership development, which focused on participants' shortcomings compared with an idealized model - with a more positive and personalized approach based on the participant's individual strengths and motivation, and delivered via programs employing contemporary best practices in interactive adult education. She is an in-demand producer and presenter of workshops, panels, meetings and conferences.

A life-changing experience for Ms. Riddell occurred during a near-death experience, where she realized that people only feel emotions as a human with a body. Additionally, during a spiritual experience in Peru, she sensed a more advanced spiritual being communicating with her. Other memorable moments in her life include climbing a non-active volcano in Costa Rica, zip lining on Whistler Mountain in Canada, dog sledding in Alaska, interviewing Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize as a reporter for Positive News, and living in a Sufi spiritual retreat center.

Looking back, Ms. Riddell attributes her success to her passion and ability to listen to others. She is able to move an individual or a group from each individual's world view to a co-created higher level group perspective that uplifts the individual, the group and those they influence, thus making a significant impact on their world, all in a supportive, fun, unlimited and safe environment. She became involved in her profession after starting out in health care as a registered dietitian and facilitating workshops across the US for a software organization. The highlight of her career was studying leadership with indigenous cultures nationally. She currently facilitates leadership programs that ignite people's passion and informs a wide range of individuals with perspectives on how they view the world, how they communicate and engage others, and how they develop their personal mastery.

Ms. Riddell is a park communications fellow, having completed a master's program in organizational communications, a Master of Science in communications from the Ithaca College Park Graduate School of Communications in 1999 and a Bachelor of Arts in nutrition from the College of St. Scholastica, where she graduated with Cum Laude honors in 1988. In addition to her degrees, she is certified in organizational development through the Institute for Organizational Development, and she is a certified supervisor of development through Cornell University. She has received a Myers Briggs Step I and IICPP Certificate, as well as a 360 Feedback Assessment Certification, a Certificate in Sustainability Leadership through Ithaca College, and a certification as a TC3 StrengthsQuest Educator. Ms. Riddell was recently inducted into Worldwide Branding and has affiliations with the SUNY Contemplative Network, the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, American Association of Women in Community Colleges, CommunityWellnet, the National Institute for Leadership Development, the Women's Environment and Development Organization of the United Nations Department Commission on Sustainable Development, Women Leading Sustainability, the National Association of Professional Women, the International Leadership Association, SoL Sustainability Consortium and Dining for Women, which is part of the International Women's Giving Circle. In years to come, Ms. Riddell aims to publish an eBook.

For more information about SUNY Leadership Institute, visit http://www.sunyli.suny.edu.

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