About the author
President and founder of Spiral Impact, an Indianapolis-based training and development company, found in 1992, Karen Valencic leverages her expertise in communication, science and martial arts to provide a distinct perspective on performance improvement.
A black belt in aikido, a degreed mechanical engineer and author of the program Using Conflict Creatively and the recently released book Spiral Impact: The Power to Get It Done with Grace, Valencic channels her vibrant experience into team retreats, motivational conferences, coaching sessions, etc. – tailored to your individual needs or your organizational team’s specific goals.
Prior to establishing Spiral Impact, Valencic spent ten years working as a project engineer in product development at Delco Remy, at the time a division of General Motors. Her time there also included the responsibility of manufacturing resident product engineer. She earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tri-State University.
For nearly two decades, Valencic has been a devoted student of aikido, the Japanese art of reconciliation. She holds a shodan black belt; she studies and teaches at the Indianapolis Aikikai. Aikido is unique in that it is based on position rather than force. Spiral Impact uses this idea to gracefully create movement through conflict and into resolution.
Past-President of the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Training and Development, where she also served on the board for six years, Valencic remains current with evolving and emerging trends in the training/performance improvement industry. She is an adjunct professor and Executive-In-Residence at Butler University and is a former adjunct faculty with the Center for Servant Leadership.