Barbara Perry is a cultural anthropologist and teacher, who immersed herself in the tribes we call companies 50 years ago. Her practice was founded on one question: could organizations be interested in building dynamic learning cultures grounded in their own shared experiences? If so, what principles, processes, beliefs and skills are at the heart of learning how to learn together? How do we weave them into HOW we work together?

Working with whole systems in a variety of Fortune 500 companies across categories, she has seen first-hand the interaction between what’s “Out There,” consumer needs and context, and what’s “In-Here,” the organization’s culture and employee needs. For many years she has led women’s development retreats in Taos, New Mexico, and Greece.

Whether it be in service of innovation, brand, leadership development, or whole-system transformation, her work lives at the intersection of cultural anthropology, individual and organizational learning, and hope.

She has studied hopeful cultures and leadership for 35 years. Her first book with Harry Hutson, (Putting Hope to Work, Praeger Publishing 2006), was named by Harvard Business Review as one of the 20 breakthrough ideas of 2007. Since then, there has been an explosion of research proving hope matters in well-being, health, high performance, engagement, retention, innovation, collaboration, learning, and more—all of which is reflected in her second book with Harry, Hope in Action, a 2025 Armin Lear title.