About Us
Welcome to Origin Trainings
We believe that multiple voices bring out the best solutions, and we want to equip you with the tools to funnel the collective wisdom of your people into definitive action.
Think together, act smarter.
Who We Are
A team of passionate, committed people seeking to change the way we work together.
Our Mission
Transform our collective work culture to one of ownership, openness, and continuous improvement.
What We Do
We dramatically increase the quality of decision making and employee engagement in your business through Agile and Sociocratic trainings, amplifying your bottom line.
Our History
After watching highly valued employees leave for other firms, experiencing distrustful work cultures, and spending significant portions of our time managing employees, we knew a change was needed. Since implementing the Sociocratic/Agile approach in our organizations in 2014, productivity has increased and each of our members has expressed feeling heard and deeply valued. The level of trust and respect that we feel, not to mention the financial results, have risen tremendously. We believe this is the new way to work and think together, and are excited to share these ideas with you.
Meet the Team
Kester Wilkening, PE
Lead Trainer
About Kester
Kester is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of New York, a graduate of Cornell University, and has 10 years of experience as an organizational coach and trainer. He uses an engineering approach to design the flow of work and people in a company, and has served as chairperson on the boards of multiple organizations. For the last 5 years, Kester has been providing trainings in sociocratic and agile methods. As an Eagle Scout, he enjoys occasionally unplugging on a Tuesday evening with an overnight hike and campfire. Kester lives in Westchester, NY with his wife and two children.
John Buck
Associate Trainer
About John
In 2007, John co-authored the first book in English about Sociocracy, now in its second edition. He has 30 years of experience in organizational design and training organizations on Sociocratic and other governance methods. John has extensive experience in managing hundreds of workers in both government and corporate sectors in computer systems installation and management. In 2018 he published a new book, which ties together Agile, Beyond Budgeting, Sociocracy, and Open Space. The father of three children, he lives with his wife in Silver Spring, MD.
Jana Iparraguirre
Logistics
About Jana
Jana has more than 8 years of experience working with non-profits, NGOs, and businesses as an executive administrator, operations manager, and in HR. From invoicing to social media campaigns to managing an office, she does it all. Most recently, Jana directed a 5-day/4-night, sports & culture festival with over 600 attendees, managing a core staff of 15, and over 100 volunteers. When not working with business logistics, Jana enjoys salsa dancing and practicing yoga. She lives in Westchester NY with her husband and two young children.