About Us

At Cultivate, we love everything about culture. The flavors, the textures, the colors, the sights, the smells. We see culture everywhere, we understand how it impacts people and teams, and we’re passionate about helping you engage across cultures in meaningful and life-giving ways.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Peter Drucker

In everything we do, we aim to bring:

 

Empathy
Accessibility
Effective Solutions
Lasting Change
Happiness

Meet the Team

  • Ming-Jinn Tong

    COACH / CONSULTANT

    —

    + Certified Professional Coach, Certified Intercultural Coach
    North Point Academy, Dubai, UAE

    + Certified Practitioner of Intercultural Intelligence
    Knowledgeworkx, Dubai, UAE

    + Qualified Administrator, Intercultural Development Inventory®

    —

    Ming-Jinn is the founder of Cultivate. He’s a trained interculturalist that speaks three languages (English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish) and is raising three kids with his wife, Catherine, in Northeast Minneapolis. The aim of his life is to help every person around him to flourish in all that they do.

  • Nina Barnes

    COACH / CONSULTANT

    —

    Nina Barnes is a trained spiritual director and coach with a passion for accompanying others in navigating life. Through Transforming Journey, Nina considers it a sacred privilege to help people listen for and respond to possibilities.

    She creates space for people to discover purpose & meaning, discern opportunities, work through challenges and conflicts, and develop as leaders. Nina is honored to help others experience and embody love, hope, redemption, and a journey of belovedness.

    Nina has extensive human resources experience, stemming from 30+ years of service within a variety of organizational settings.

    Along with a Master of Arts degree in Spiritual Formation & Leadership, Nina holds certifications in:

    - Conflict Coaching / Mediation
    - Bias Awareness and Mitigation
    - StrengthsFinder Training
    - Enneagram Training and Coaching
    - Spiritual Transformation
    - Spiritual Direction
    - Human Resources Management

    Outside of work, Nina desires to make a meaningful impact as she serves as a board member of two non-profit organizations, and in her most cherished role as mother to an adult son and “daughter-in-love”, along with being “Gramma Nina” to their two beloved little girls.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to help you have a greater understanding of your own self-culture and the culture within your organization — and to help you cultivate the culture you want to have in an increasingly diverse world.