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Beyond Resiliency: Why We Struggle with Complexity and What Human Adaptive Capacity Changes

Author:
Craig Zelizer

•

October 18, 2026

Join the next episode of Season 16 of the Social Change Career Podcast

Dr. Jennifer Kai Lynne has spent her career studying how people and organizations hold up when the ground keeps moving.

She is the founder of YOULAB, a global social enterprise she started in 2007, and the creator of the Engaged Identity™ theory and the Human Adaptive Capacity Model™. Her work and research have reached people across 110 countries. She has served as Senior Advisor to the United States Institute of Peace on the Peace ReWire project, Visiting Scholar at the Mind & Life Institute, Professional Peacebuilding Practice Research Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Professorial Lecturer at American University. She holds a Ph.D. in Peace Studies, specializing in human adaptive capacity, identity, and systems.

Jennifer will trace how she moved from peacebuilding into advising leaders on change, uncertainty, and high-complexity environments, and what she has learned about building a career across research, practice, and advisory work.

Why join the live stream. We will explore

  • Why resilience falls short when complexity keeps rising, and what adaptive capacity adds
  • How identity shapes the way leaders and organizations respond to change
  • Moving from peacebuilding into advisory and organizational development work
  • Building a career that spans research, practice, and institutions
  • What it takes to found and run a venture like YOULAB
  • Working across 110 countries: what travels and what doesn’t
  • Open questions on impact careers

Event details


Tuesday, October 20
10:00 to 11:15 am EDT


Live on YouTube and LinkedIn. Bring questions.


Can’t make it live? The recording will be up shortly after, along with 200+ past conversations at pcdn.global/listen.

Speaker


Dr. Jennifer Kai Lynne, Founder, Advisor, and Partner, YOULAB
linkedin.com/in/jklynne

About Jennifer
Dr. Jennifer Kai Lynne is a strategic advisor, researcher, and pioneer in human adaptive capacity and systems transformation. Founder of YOULAB, her career spans transdisciplinary research, global peacebuilding, advisory, and organizational development. She completed her graduate studies in Organizational Leadership and Peacebuilding and holds a Ph.D. in Peace Studies, specializing in human adaptive capacity, identity, and systems.

Her work and research have reached people across 110 countries, focusing on the capacities leaders and organizations need to navigate change, uncertainty, and high-complexity environments. She is the creator of the Engaged Identity™ theory and the Human Adaptive Capacity Model™. Her approach integrates scientific inquiry with grounded, real-world application, making her a trusted partner and advisor for leaders transforming complex social, organizational, and global systems.

Her institutional background includes serving as Senior Advisor for the United States Institute of Peace (Peace ReWire project), Visiting Scholar at the Mind & Life Institute, Professional Peacebuilding Practice Research Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Professorial Lecturer at American University. Jennifer has also served on international governing and advisory boards, including the Chetanalaya Institute for Spirituality and Peace in Kathmandu, Nepal, the Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association, and SheForumAfrica.

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