Derek Mccracken Email & Phone Number

New York, United States

Narrative Mindworks is the international professional association for the advancement of narrative work. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves to foster professional development, the exchange of ideas, and to provide a space for ongoing collegial community building. The association is dedicated to serving inter-professional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary engagement, scholarship, research, and the effort to advance the field of narrative practice and professional opportunities for the narrative community.

Greater New York City Area

Pedagogy is one of the core classes in the Narrative Medicine Certificate of Professional Achievement program. Effective Narrative Medicine pedagogy depends on several related skills: teaching of close reading, guiding of creative writing, and developing of respectful climates of shared learning. Narrative Medicine is typically taught in small groups with continuity, establishment of trust, shared practices, and shared discovery. Not group therapy, effective narrative medicine pedagogy requires the facilitator to have sensible and sensitive skills in guiding groups toward cohesion and trust. This course guides participants in tailoring Narrative Medicine pedagogy to specific learners--health care professionals, students of the health professions, clinical trainees, patients, families, and those outside of health care settings. It enables participants to articulate the goals of pedagogy of a particular learning project, to specify learning objectives, and to design a curriculum with the potential to reach its goals. Each participant in this course works on a project to design a specific learning experience during this course, stating its goals, articulating its learning objectives, and proposing a curriculum of texts and exercises.

Greater New York City Area

–Adapt and deliver interactive training content to business professionals seeking individual and team growth.–Specialize in creative problem solving, strategic thinking, innovation, change management, and business development.–Client portfolio: retail, I/T, health care, animal wellness, narrative medicine, and product development

New York City

As practicum supervisor, I collaborated with faculty, health care professionals and students to ensure that students delivered compelling and relevant Narrative Medicine workshops onsite. The practicum is integral to the Methods of Narrative Medicine curriculum.

–Promoted 5 times in 5 years in privately held company – ultimately as Divisional Leader, catapulting growth of 5-7% during economic downturn and competitive threats.–Managed and grew the largest division of the company, valued at $973MM.–Grew business substantially in 3 of 5 platforms, earning Hallmark Vendor of the Year Award from Walmart and Disney. –More than doubled business area by focusing resources, reshaping workflow, and creating mentoring relationships while eliminating non-essential positions.–Grew profit by 3-5% ahead of industry performance levels by taking over competitive space, opening new accounts, and developing partnerships.–Maintained a 98% retention rate amongst divisional employees by revamping teams and responsibilities and allowing them to pave their own path of success.–Created products for International Markets. Hired bicultural staff to service multicultural markets, yielding a 30% growth in market share.–Asked and often recruited to speak on company’s behalf to national and international news sources as well as leading, participating or consulting on special projects.–Conceived aggressive cut-maintain-grow strategy with one division that reduced waste by 80%. –Drove Lean Processes that reduced product development workflow by 50% and staff by 25% without sacrificing morale.–Embarked on 5-year initiative to replace content management systems to a new cloud-based system, reducing processing time by 30%, and reduced staff by 15%.–Authored and delivered change management curriculum that was ultimately adopted and rolled out division-wide to support a billion dollar business.ROLES:• Writing Studio Manager• Innovation Leader• Writing Recruiter• Senior Editor Licensing • Humor Card Editor

• Managed team of client relations representatives (seasonal, part-time and permanent) to resolve consumer issues that had escalated beyond local, district and regional offices.• Wrote and edited articles and scripts for internal and external clients.• Designed and delivered communications training to nationwide field management staff.

Master Of Science (M.S.), Narrative Medicine

Master Of Arts (M.A.), English, Professional Writing

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.) In English And Creative Writing

Activities and Societies: Editor in Chief of student literary magazine, Graduate Teaching Assistant: Composition 101Emphasis on journalism

Education record