EMERGING TOGETHER
A PILOT IN NYC
February 24, 2025 10am-5pm
Lunch provided 1-2:30pm
East Side Sound [directions]
An immersive leadership masterclass in a recording studio in NYC!?!
Join MIT faculty, Aithan Shapira, pianist and creative director, Elan Mehler, and a jazz trio (world-class musicians coming together for the first time) in this unique opportunity to focus on transforming your capabilities to work with others in uncertain, ever-changing contexts at speed.
This is a pilot for an upcoming 4-day program being held in a recording studio in the south of France. Please come prepared to engage, listen, and self-reflect with other leaders and put researched frameworks for leading in rapid change into practice in unexpected ways.
Please bring your full attention, capacity to listen (inside and out), and a notebook and pen. Thank you for being fully committed to stay present for the entire time. There will be an extended lunch from 1-2:30p, such that people can take an ample break to connect, reflect, and catch up on calls and emails.
Aithan Shapira
In a nutshell Aithan Shapira (MFA PhD) is an established artist, internationally acclaimed Lecturer in Work and Organization Studies at MIT Sloan, and founder of TILT, a firm focused on the artful evolution of leaders and cultures as they move critical initiatives forward in ever-changing contexts.
Impressive details Aithan has worked with global entities forwarding the UN SDGs, as well as a range of organizations including NASA, Google, and Roche. He also serves on McKinsey's think tank for Learning Innovation and is pioneering curricular approaches for training leadership at MIT Sloan, Harvard ilab, Stanford d.school, and the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship. Over the past 7 years, Aithan has trained more than 12,000 leaders, 200 facilitators, given over 100 keynotes, and customized and delivered leadership curricula for more than 30 Fortune 500 organizations in health, technology, finance, and energy. Aithan developed his research on the creative process at the Royal College of Art & Design, lived in an Australian Aboriginal community for three years to study creativity in cultures of survival, and continues to be a visiting critic at arts institutions internationally. He exhibits his art in museums and galleries in New York, London, and Miami.
Personal Mission Aithan is committed to applying his progressive ways for training leaders to serve high-performing change agents and global entities that are sincere about transforming concepts and processes into living practices and environments that facilitate ongoing growth of individuals and communities.
Father of two small daughters, Aithan is often found playing with them underneath the piano, or adding more fairytale characters to the life-sized mural on their bedroom wall. He is at his happiest cooking a feast of flavorful dishes for friends and family, studying painting and music, or on a plane heading…anywhere. He makes a home with his wife in Boston, and is usually in over his head (and full of splinters) from some latest DIY construction.
Elan Mehler
In a nutshell Elan Mehler has released twelve albums under his name, and headlined major venues and festivals worldwide. Elan’s most recent record “There is a Dance” features an all-star rhythm section of Tony Scherr on bass and Francisco Mela on drums. “This record has a real personality: it creates its own atmosphere in a way that jazz records often don’t.” —Jazzwise Magazine
Other notable releases include a 2018 collaboration with guitar legend Bill Frisell “TJ and the Revenge” a 2020 duo record with famed Grammy Nominated singer Becca Stevens “Pallet on Your Floor” and a 2021 co-led project with the iconic trumpeter Dave Douglas “If There are Mountains” Halied as “an Instant Classic.” by The Arts Fuse
In 2015 Elan and Jean-Christophe Morisseau founded Newvelle Records. As artistic director of Newvelle Records, Elan has produced every record on the catalogue and had the privilege of collaborating with incredible musicians, film makers, photographers, visual artists and writers.
Elan’s new solo piano record is out on Sunnyside Records as of January of 2024.
“Mehler’s touch is as nuanced as Bill Evans’s, and his phrasing draws on both jazz and classical music without directly importing licks from either. The subdued certainties of his playing bring a crowded room to total silence.” — John Fordham, The Guardian
Father of an incredible eight year old girl, Elan is most happy making things with her, traveling, cooking large meals, wandering on the beach or in the mountains and singing loudly, occasionally all at the same time.