Allenna Leonard facts for kids

Allenna Leonard at a meeting about Stafford Beer's work in 2015.

Allenna Leonard is an American expert in cybernetics. Cybernetics is the study of how systems, like a computer or a company, control themselves. She is also a consultant, which means she gives expert advice to organizations.

Allenna Leonard leads a group called Team Syntegrity International. Her work focuses on using ideas from Stafford Beer, especially his Viable System Model and a method called Syntegrity. These are tools to help organizations work better. She was the president of the American Society for Cybernetics from 2002 to 2004. She also led the International Society for the Systems Sciences from 2009 to 2010. Since 2022, she has been the president of Metaphorum.

Early Life and Education

Allenna Leonard studied at several universities. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, from St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe). Later, she received a Master of Arts degree from the George Washington University. She then earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her advanced studies focused on how organizations are managed, with a special interest in cybernetics.

Her Work and Contributions

Allenna Leonard works as a consultant through her company, The Complementary Set. She helps different groups use the Viable System Model. This model is a way to understand and improve how organizations function. She also teaches at a university part-time. Currently, she is the Director of Team Syntegrity Inc. in Toronto, Canada.

From 1981 until his death in 2002, Allenna Leonard worked closely with Stafford Beer. He was a very important person in the field of cybernetics. She is dedicated to continuing his work and sharing his ideas with others. She is especially interested in using Syntegration. This method helps people have democratic discussions, especially about important public issues.

See also

• Variety (cybernetics)
• Viable System Model