Eric Svaren
Principal
Groupsmith, Inc.
MA, University of Washington, 1987
Areas of Specialization:
Managing Teams, Group Decision-Making, Organizational Development, Strategic Planning
Eric Svaren is the principal of Groupsmith, Inc. in Seattle. He teaches courses through Cascade Executive Programs and the Evans School Executive Master of Public Administration (Executive MPA) program on managing teams, group decision-making, organizational development, strategic planning. He has also taught courses in sociology at the University of Washington.
In his work with Groupsmith, Inc., Svaren helps managers and employees with team building exercises, conflict resolution, and labor contract bargaining. He is known for his insights into underlying dynamics that hinder performance and his creative application of organization research and theory. Prior to founding Groupsmith in 2002, Svaren oversaw a labor and management program for the City of Seattle that was designed to increase employee participation in the improvement of service delivery. He has also served as a public policy analyst for Seattle City Councilmember Tom Weeks and a human services planner for a regional nonprofit.
Svaren has served as a volunteer consultant and board member for several nonprofit organizations and presented at conferences such as the National Labor Management Conference, the Housing Washington conference, and the Public Sector Performance Conference.
Svaren holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Sociology and Social Psychology from the University of Washington.