Michael O’Bryan is an expert practitioner and budding researcher in the fields of community development, organizational culture, and human wellbeing who has spent more than a decade working directly with resilient yet underserved populations —including veterans, adults in recovery, returning citizens, and families experiencing homelessness. He is currently an Innovation Fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and was recently a Corzo Fellow at The Corzo Center for The Creative Economy at The University of the Arts. He is the founder of HD2 Solutions, a consultancy working with nonprofits, businesses, local government agencies and their employees to transform how they understand and support human development, interaction, and performance. Clients include NeighborWorks America, ArtistYear, New Jersey Community Capital, and Temple University Health Systems. O’Bryan has spoken nationally about his work, including convenings at Cornell University, The Urban Consulate, The Vera List Center for Arts and Politics at The New School, The Sphinx Music Conference, and the famed Apollo Theatre in New York.
O'Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of the Arts and a graduate certificate in Childhood Trauma Studies from Jefferson University. He is a faculty member of the Career Studies Department at The Curtis Institute of Music and serves on The American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on The Arts. He currently serves on the boards of two philanthropic institutions, The Samuel S. Fels Fund and The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and is every day inspired by exploring the science of our humanity.
The Village of Arts and Humanities mission is to amplify the voices and aspirations of our North Philadelphia community by providing arts-based opportunities for self-expression and personal success that engage youth and their families, revitalize physical space, and preserve black heritage through projects like the Rich Quick Workshop. Click here to learn more about The Village of Arts and Humanities.
HD2 Solutions works with organizations, their employees, and other stakeholders to transform how they understand and support human development, interaction, and performance. We develop and share know-how and tools that enable clients to address their most intractable challenges where inadequate soft/behavioral skills meet issues of stress, social cognitive bias, and race-equity-and inclusion (REI). Click here to learn more about HD2 Solutions and Mike O'Bryan.
Join The Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University in July for the next installment of “Urban Strategy in the Present Tense” conversation series!
Click here to listen to the inaugural conversation about urban resilience and the life of the city with educator, youth advocate, entrepreneur, and Lindy Institute Urban Innovation Fellow Michael O’Bryan.
On June 9-11, SPECTRUM hosted it's second annual gathering in Atlanta, GA! Through a curated mix of panel discussions, fireside chats, networking sessions, and receptions, SPECTRUM will cut through the noise to have honest and unfiltered conversations about how to support entrepreneurs and business leaders of color.
This year's event was an interactive virtual conversation about access, inclusion, and impact. This pandemic is shining a light into the cracks in our systems and SPECTRUM is an important piece in creating the pathways for action to build upon.
Click here to listen to Mike and many of the other speakers below.
Click here to listen to the debut episode of DISCOVERY, Knight’s new weekly show exploring how the arts and artists build informed and engaged communities, kicks off with an episode on arts, trauma, and thriving amid systemic challenges.
Victoria Rogers, Knight Foundation vice president for arts, spoke with Michael O’Bryan, an expert practitioner and budding researcher in the fields of community development, organizational culture, and human wellbeing. They discussed how the arts and artists have a unique role in addressing systemic issues in communities.
Click here to listen and/or read the transcribe from Mike's recent interview on the Love Extremist podcast.
Click here to learn more about the Rich Quick Workshop
Click here to listen to Mike's recent interview for the Rich Workshop Fireside Chat Series