Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents

Anne Brisson is a creativity educator, professional artist, and researcher based in Montreal, Canada. She brings more than 25 years of experience in business, design, and adult education. Anne holds an MS in the Science of Creativity from the Center for Applied Imagination, a Bachelor's in Adult Education, and a Bachelor's in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design. She is now a PhD candidate at Concordia University, where she researches how drawing and mark-making develop affective creativity skills in adult learners. In this episode of the Creative Flow podcast, Anne explains how art thinking differs from design thinking. Design thinking improves solutions to a known problem, while art thinking asks whether we are solving the right problem. She describes leading early patient partnerships in Canada's pharmaceutical industry. When an HIV patient group first threatened to sue, she chose to listen with empathy. Ten months later, the group honored her with an award on World AIDS Day. Anne links that success to three affective creative skills: openness to novelty, tolerance for complexity, and tolerance for ambiguity. She argues that these skills drive our cognitive thinking, and that a daily drawing practice, with nothing more than a pen and paper, builds the courage to turn ideas into action.To see the artwork described in this podcast, visit her Instagram account at @parlamainestudio. This conversation shows how the arts strengthen the courage to create. Anne offers a fresh voice to the Science of Creativity. She reminds us that bold ideas matter only when we find the courage to act on them, at any age. If you have studied at the Center for Applied Imagination, attended CPSI, or practice deliberate creativity, this episode will challenge how you approach the problems you choose to solve. Follow Creative Flow and listen now.

Kristin Fields serves as Associate Vice President of Extended Learning at Buffalo State University, bringing more than 20 years of experience supporting adult learners. She holds a BS in Speech-Language Pathology and an MS in Creativity and Change Leadership, both from Buffalo State. Her work has already reshaped access to education: she created the Thrive Reentry Education Program and expanded Buffalo State's dual credit program from 48 students to more than 1,500. In this episode, Kristin traces her path to deliberate creativity, which began with a single undergraduate course and evolved into a lifelong calling. She shares the story of the Thrive culinary reentry program at the Erie County Correctional Facility, where curiosity, persistence, and strong partnerships opened new doors for participants. She also describes her collaboration with the Center for Applied Imagination on New York State's Portrait of a Graduate "Creative Innovator" initiative, explains how micro-credentials meet today's learners' needs, and makes a clear case for creativity as a core skill for workforce readiness. Kristin shows how creativity turns limits into momentum, and how structure can open doors to bold, practical change. If you care about the Science of Creativity, lifelong learning, or the future of education and work, this episode will leave you with ideas you can use right away. Follow Creative Flow and listen now.

Dr. William David Yates has taught for more than 51 years and continues to view teaching as a creative act. He serves as Adjunct Professor, Instructional Designer, and Technology Coach in SUNY Buffalo State's Department of Creativity Studies and Change Leadership, where he explores how AI and emerging technologies can deepen creative learning. Named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2007, David holds an EdD in Education Leadership with a specialization in educational technology. In this episode, David traces his path to deliberate creativity and examines how AI is reshaping education. He shares the instructional design frameworks that guide his work, describes how he coaches educators to drive real change, and explains why human creativity remains essential as AI evolves. Five decades in the classroom ground every idea in practice. This conversation places creativity and human ingenuity at the heart of teaching in an AI-driven world. If you want to think more clearly about technology's role in education and leave with practical tools you can use right away, follow Creative Flow and listen now.

Our guest on episode 59, Joe Todaro, founded and leads research at Silk Verse AI Labs in Buffalo, where he studies how artificial intelligence can expand rather than diminish human work. He earned his master's in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State and is a signatory of the Network First manifesto. Today, he designs new roles, industries, and institutional structures for an AI-driven economy. In this episode, Joe explains how he brought deliberate creativity into the IT world and how fellow professionals embraced it. He unpacks his Mighty C model, which maps creative problem-solving onto the software development life cycle and adds meaningfulness and review to the process. He argues that creativity is an intrinsically human faculty, shows how it can partner with AI, and explains why it matters more than ever in the future of work. This episode celebrates human ingenuity at the heart of technological change. If you value creative problem solving, collaborative freedom, and practical guidance for working alongside AI, this conversation will intrigue you. Follow Creative Flow and listen now.

Meet Beth Miller and Gerard Puccio Ph.D., two pioneers driving the global movement for creativity education. Beth serves as Executive Director of the Creative Education Foundation, expanding creative problem-solving in communities worldwide. Gerard is a distinguished professor at SUNY Buffalo State University and Chair of the Center for Applied Imagination, where he shapes the future of creative leadership. In this special edition, Gerard and Beth highlight the dynamic collaboration between their organizations, working together to preserve creativity’s powerful legacy while advancing new frontiers in research and practice. Tune in for an inside look at the major event happening on June 15 at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) 2026, a milestone gathering featuring an academic panel, a keynote on AI and metacognition, and the dedication of the Dr. Sidney and Beatrice Parnes creativity collection at Buffalo State University’s Innovation Center. Dive into the episode to hear how this partnership is helping build a global network of creative practice and discover why this event marks a pivotal moment for the creative community. In this episode, you will discover the rich evolution of creativity education and how it applies to our modern world. Beth and Gerard explain why creative thinking remains a critical skill for navigating complex issues, especially as artificial intelligence reshapes how we work. You will learn how deliberate creativity offers a powerful framework to build human connection, foster mental resilience, and address pressing global challenges with confidence. Episode 58 featuring Beth Miller and Gerard Puccio gives you an inside look at the institutions championing the science of applied imagination. If you care about education, innovation, and how human ingenuity can thrive alongside new technology, you need to hear this inspiring conversation. Listen now to uncover how you can adopt a more creative mindset and apply these proven problem-solving methods to your own life and work.