Kenneth R. Downes
Wherever Ken’s work takes him, he is helping individuals and organizations better understand the emotional impact of change. This specialized consulting has been primarily with non-profit organizations interested in community reconciliation. Ken is one of the original board members of the Andrus Family Fund, a charitable family foundation located in New York City. In that capacity, he had the opportunity to experience first-hand the impact of William Bridge’s Transition Theory and Aria’s Collaborative Change Process as applied to programs and organizations that are trying to be more effective in effecting lasting social change. He resigned from the Board so that he could receive specialized training as a certified transition consultant and as an Associate of the Aria Group, which has integrated transitions theory into its collaborative change process.

Ken is also a part-time ordained minister. He has served American Baptist and United Church of Christ congregations since 1986 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. He is currently using his skills as an Intentional Interim Minister to serve the Congregational Church of Buckland, Massachusetts.

In 2003, he received his Doctor of Ministry Degree in pastoral counseling from Andover Newton Theological School. Ken is a Certified Member in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and has had a part-time practice since 1995 with individuals, couples, and families. Common themes in his client work have included: bereavement and loss, spiritual concerns, depression and anxiety, the support of individuals facing major life transitions, and consultations with local congregations facing issues of leadership, conflict, and change.

Prior to his theological and psychological training, he received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, in Music Education. He is an avid vocalist who sings professionally in the greater-Hartford area. Ken spends much of his time working as the at-home parent of Sam (10) and Lauren (7) and lives with his wife Kate, in the heart of the western Massachusetts village of Shelburne Falls.