Starling Center’s Mission

Guide organizations in the conscious development of community and organization citizenship; this results in a positive institutional culture wherein people bring their whole and best selves to work.

When people flourish, organizations flourish.

At the Starling Center, we are committed to conducting ourselves with integrity; this means that we embody the following principles:

Speak the truth: Communicate in a forthright and honest manner, while speaking from the heart.

Keep agreements: Follow through on commitments.  Do what we say we are going to do.

Open to learning:  Recognize that each interaction provides us with a learning opportunity; and as such, we commit to forwarding action that holds the intention of growth and learning for self and others.

Have fun: Engage in authentic relationships that uphold the important balance of purpose and play.

Embrace passion: Pursue each client engagement with vitality, creativity and interest.

Principal Stacey Starling focuses on human and systems development in all facets of her life’s work.  Stacey’s passion for transformational change is palpable; her commitment to integrity is paramount in advancing the Starling Center’s mission of guiding organizations in the conscious development of community and organizational citizenship.

Stacey received her Ph.D. in the Humanities with a concentration in Transformative Learning & Change from the School of Consciousness and Transformation at the California Institute of Integral Studies.  Her doctoral research focused on organization culture transformation.  CIIS's distinctive signature is the development of an integral education that combines academic scholarship with spiritual transformation.  Dr. Starling carries forward this same tradition in her work with organization transformation and human development in both the private and non-profit sectors. 

In recent years, Stacey had served as key personnel in several funded projects that aim to transform the culture of aging in healthcare.  Her body of work includes the design, development, and implementation of the Person-Centered Thinking Curriculum and Core Dementia Care™, including master trainer and train-the-trainer components.  These funded projects were in partnership with the Michigan Aging and Adult Services Agency, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, and Health Care Association of MI respectively.

Additional certifications include an Appreciative Inquiry Certificate in Positive Business and Society Change at Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management, Certified Instructor of Transpersonal Learning at The Living University founded by Gay and Kathleen Hendricks, and Certified Instructor of the Conscious Aging Program with Noetic Sciences.

Stacey has also served as adjunct faculty at Oakland University in the Department of Education, Human Resource Development.

Henry Boutros has dedicated more than 35 years to practice management and business consulting as a health care executive, practitioner, educator, and consultant with progressive business and human development expertise in the fields of skilled nursing, physical therapy and complementary medicine and wellness.  His achievements include the growth of a proprietary rehabilitation practice, employing 200 individuals in 18 locations, across 4 states; appointments as instructor for programs within physical therapy and complementary medicine and wellness at Oakland University; and C.O.O. of a Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Provider. 

Henry is a proud University of Michigan alum with a degree in physical therapy, he holds a Master in Education, and is a graduate of the Barbra Brennan School of Healing.   Along with Stacey Starling, he is a Certified Instructor of The Living University founded by Gay and Kathleen Hendricks.

Henry is a Co-Founder of Core Consulting, Inc (1998), currently doing business as the Starling Center.

Jamie Garcia, LMSW, ACC

Clinical Medical Social Worker, Certified Activity Consultant

Jamie is a fully licensed clinical master social worker and certified activity consultant. The primary focus of her work with the Starling Center is in the role of Training Coordinator with the Core Dementia Care™ Programming. She wears many hats as part of the Core Dementia Care™ Team. Her work developing plans and supporting individuals who have experienced significant trauma in infant mental health and early head start and assessing for difficulties related to brain development provided her with knowledge contributing to her understanding of the effects of both on the brain. Her experience in skilled nursing facilities, which has included working directly with residents with dementia, developing policies and procedures to support the well-being of residents and training staff, provided her with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop portions of the Core Dementia Care™ curriculum as a primary contributor. In her current role as the Training Coordinator for the program her vast teaching experience in research methods, program development and evaluation, and behavior management has been a huge asset. We’ve also leveraged her knowledge of program development and implementation within the skilled care industry to further refine program content and program implementation in order to best support the needs of facilities in Michigan and the well-being of their residents.

Evaluation Partner

Carol Barrett, PHD has been involved in evaluation and research since 1982. While trained as a researcher at Michigan State University and the University on Michigan, she moved towards evaluation due to her elephant’s child approach to the world and her admiration for the work of Michael Quinn Patton, a participatory evaluator.  Her main mission in life is to provide information for programs to identify problematic processes and procedures, while helping stakeholders discover solutions so they can achieve success.

At Michigan State University, Carol worked with Linda Nelson, PHD, where she learned ethnographic interviewing, and qualitative data analysis.  While at Michigan State, she enrolled in the University of Michigan Institute for Survey Research Summer Program.  Carol was drawn to the research atmosphere at the Institute, and interdisciplinary collegiality of the graduate programs. She earned her PHD from the Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning from U-M while working at the Institute for Social Research for seven years with Robert Marans, PHD.

In the late 90’s, Carol worked at Michigan Public Health Institute where she first began working with programs benefiting older adults and children with disabilities.  Carol started her first company, So What Evaluation and began working exclusively with federal, state, and locally funded programs benefiting older adults and people with disabilities.  Evaluation projects included Fall Risk Assessment, Senior Volunteer Program Impact, Evidence-Based Wellness Programing for Personal Action Towards Health (Stanford Chronic-Disease Self-Management), Living Well in the Community (University of Montana), Aging and Disability Resource Centers, and the Michigan Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program, among others.

Carol is delighted to be affiliated with the Starling Center, and the opportunity to work with the talented and knowledgeable people who share their talents for the improvement in quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.