Evan unger
Evan Unger | |
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| Residence | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Education | Duke University (BS, Psychology and Economics) University of Michigan (MBA) |
| Occupation | Executive facilitator, collaborative leadership consultant |
| Employer | Schwartz + Associates |
| Known for | POPRA® framework for collaborative decision-making |
| Website | www |
Evan Unger is an American executive facilitator and collaborative leadership consultant based in Denver, Colorado. He is the Managing Partner at Schwartz + Associates, where he works with executive teams, boards, and operating leaders on high-stakes meeting facilitation, collaborative decision-making, and organizational change.[1] He is the practitioner behind POPRA®, a five-element framework for designing collaborative meetings and decision-making conversations.[2] His recent work addresses how artificial intelligence is changing organizational decision-making; he has argued that AI increases rather than diminishes the need for leaders who can run effective, well-facilitated collaborative meetings.[2]
Education
Unger received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Economics from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.[3]
Career
Unger has worked in organizational change and leadership development since 1988, both as a corporate executive and as an external consultant.[3] He served in several leadership positions at Merck, the global pharmaceutical manufacturer, and later as Vice President of Leadership, Change & Development at Centura Health, at the time Colorado's largest healthcare provider.[3]
As a consultant with Schwartz + Associates, Unger has facilitated for executive teams in Fortune 100 companies, healthcare systems, school systems, and growth-stage organizations across the United States, Europe, the Pacific Rim, and South America.[3] His practice centers on executive facilitation, collaborative leadership development, organizational change, and virtual meeting facilitation.[2]
POPRA® framework
POPRA® is a registered methodology of Schwartz + Associates consisting of five elements for designing decision-making conversations: Purpose, Objectives, Process, Roles, and Agreements.[1] The framework is applied to meeting formats ranging from short alignment sessions to multi-day strategy offsites, in both in-person and virtual settings.[2]
In discussing the framework, Unger has also addressed the "HIPPO effect" (Highest Paid Person's Opinion), describing techniques for preventing senior voices from suppressing input from other participants in high-stakes meetings.[2]
Personal life
Unger lives in Denver, Colorado. He attends an annual ten-day silent meditation retreat, a practice he has described as informing his facilitation work.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Episode 249 – Stop Wasting Time in Meetings: High-Performance Strategies". Manage This (Velociteach). May 18, 2026. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "PPP 503: How to Facilitate Meetings That Actually Lead to Decisions, with Evan Unger". People and Projects Podcast. March 25, 2026. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Quality Time Podcast: Most Meetings Shouldn't Happen with Evan Unger". MoreSteam. Retrieved July 12, 2026.