Industry Experts: ​Imparting ​Real-World Skills

The UCR Extension Design Thinking Executive Program instructors are not only noted authors and C-Level executives in the Design Thinking space, but expert thought leaders who work in the industry. You’ll benefit from their first-hand skills and practical knowledge, as well as gain new strategies and innovative methodologies to transform your business to a more human-centered approach. 

​JC Quintana
Design Thinking Program Chair / Instructor​

As a globally respected business relationship advocate and author, JC has led design thinking and innovation workshops for the past 20 years in support of strategic and software product development efforts. He has facilitated hundreds of design thinking workshops in support of business relationship improvement, strategic alignment, ideation, prototyping, and product implementation endeavors for companies in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

JC is the founder of the collaboration think tank DialoguePrime, and he currently lectures on business relationship psychology and customer experience at various universities. He holds undergraduate degrees in Human Resource Management and Theology, a graduate degree in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, and is an Organizational Psychology Ph.D. researcher with a focus on interpersonal relationships and business relationship dynamics. 

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​​Lisa Perrine
CEO, Cibola Systems

As an experience designer and communication strategist, Lisa's professional career spans over 30 years and includes more than 1,000 consulting engagements. Her firm designs and builds places that inspire people to collaborate productively, learn quickly, and make sound decisions. Unique in their commitment to co-creation, they use Design Thinking methods to engage end-users in crafting compelling experiences. This diverse client list includes the Annenberg Foundation, Microsoft, Pacific Life, and Sony Music. Cibola’s team is also committed to supporting the underserved and vulnerable, and they volunteer professional services for many Southern California charities.

After earning an undergraduate design degree, Lisa began her career building prototypes for a small product design studio. She became the CEO of Cibola Systems in 1991 and completed her MBA at Pepperdine University shortly thereafter. She's also earned a doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine where her research focused on multidisciplinary teams. 

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Carol Buehrens 
Customer Experience Strategist

Carol Buehrens is a Customer Experience Strategist, Author, Keynote Speaker, and 
Educator. Her best-selling customer experience book, Happy R.A.V.I.N.G. Customers!, provides practical advice to bring customer experience best practices to your organization.

Focusing on constructing extraordinary experiences for over 30 years, Professor Buehrens currently leads Customer Experience at ICW Group Insurance Companies, a national leading group of insurance carriers. She has also worked for other major companies such as Liberty Mutual, Northrop, McDonnell-Douglas, Bechtel, GE, and Mercury Marine. Her passion for improving customer experience has resulted in numerous awards, including the “CX Innovation Award” from the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), ICW Group CEO Award, and the Liberty Mutual Star Award. She has been listed in the top 20 of the Global Top 30 Gurus for Customer Service since 2015. She's also a Founding Member and Expert of the international Customer Experience Professional Association (CXPA) and an active member of the San Diego Customer Experience Special Interest Group (CX SIG). She provides corporate and educational workshops on Customer Experience worldwide. She brought to fruition the first University-backed, accredited Customer Experience Certificate Program, now taught across the nation at leading Universities.